New Patio Build from Australia

SoCalCooker said:

Mine is bigger than yours but it's long and skinny. My grate is 32 by 19. I'll measure and see how big I can do a second rack. How many inches is between your grates?

Kyle

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Sorry Kyle I didn't see this. 6 inches is the gap. Yours looked like it turned out well

Bazza

AussiQ said:

Ur almost there bazza. Should be able to fire her up this weekend [emoji]128521[/emoji] bet ya looking foward to it and wordering if all this work as been worth it? Well it will be. Have u thaught about what meat ur going to smoke first?

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Haha yeah it's getting exciting! Just need the spare time to finish. I'm thinking it's gonna have to be ribs as I know I can cook them well and if the first smoke is a failure I will never be able to convince the wife it's all been worth it 

Bazza

Finally managed to finish my smoker (or as my wife's nicknamed it "the other woman")!!

A word of warning about Dave Omaks calculator tho. ONLY FOLLOW IT IF YOU WANT YOUR SMOKER TO FUNCTION PERFECTLY!!     

I've only done 2 cooks so far but I couldn't be happier with how it functions. A full chimney of briquettes gives me bang on 225 for close to an hour and a half before I need to top it up. I did some thighs at 300 for the first smoke and all I needed was some small splits to keep me up there easily. 

It's funny how small adjustments of the intakes can control the temps so well. Interestingly enough the Tel-Tru gauge is almost bang on with the maverick which surprised me.

Thanks to everyone who weighed in on my build with advice and encouragement. You're all awesome!

Anyways as they say a thread is worthless without pics...



You can see my drop shelf support here. Simple but rock solid.


I did some chicken thighs for the first smoke. Took off the skins and removed all the fat then secured them on again, brined for a day then dried them in the fridge for 2 days.


Hit them with a rub then into the smoker at 300 with hickory


They turned out really well. The skin was bite through delicious! 


Second smoke was a few racks of ribs for Sunday night dinner. Hit them with Meatheads dust and into the smoker with hickory again.


Here they are after 1.5 hrs and already smelling amazing


Thought I better throw some bratwurst in there as well....


Finished product which barely made it to the table!


And here was my Humpty Dumpty cake from the first BBQ. Even tho I'm in my mid 30's I still pick a birthday cake each year from a childhood cake book! Makes us all laugh  


Cheers!

Bazza

SoCalCooker said:

It turned out really nice. Ribs look amazing. I'm almost ready to cook on mine.

Kyle

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Thanks Kyle! Will be watching to see how you go.

WoodyG said:

Great job Aussiebazza! Everything from the smoker to the end product. Smoker looks great, food looks even better! Nice job!

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Thanks as well Woody. Was really happy with the end result. Just need to muster the courage to tackle some brisket!

DaveOmak said:

 
Nice finish on the smoker....   Thanks for the compliments...    The results are only possible because the members whom were building smokers all worked together providing feedback on their builds while theory was "percolating"...  a real community effort...  It's gratifying when a smoker is built and does what it's supposed to do....  cook great food....    I'm happy you stopped in here for an idea  to build your smoker...  Smokers that don't work are disheartening at best...   

  ...   Only downunder brews I'm familiar with is Toohey's or Foster's...   CLINK !!!

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As much as everyone else has also weighed in over the years to perfect the builds I'm still tipping my hat personally to you Dave. I'll share a Fosters with you anytime down here 

SmokinAl said:

 
That's a great looking smoker!

Very nice job!

The ribs look pretty awesome too!!

Al

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Thanks Al. I love following your cooks and advice. Always keen to learn from the experience you gentlemen throw in here!

isaac said:

Freakin awesome. Great build and I LOVE the handle.
You must be thinking of ways to smoke breakfast!!! Looks amazing, and clean, I didn't see any smoke with the lid open, have you tried a wood fire cook?

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Haha thanks! I reckon it's easily the best thing on the smoker (although I did pinch the idea from some pics I saw somewhere).

You're correct on the smoke. I warm the chunks on top of the box so the second I throw them in the fire they catch alight. Only seem to get that sweet TBS I've always lusted after 

I will give a wood fired cook a shot (maybe after I've tried some brisket with the charcoal) but to be honest it's just so easy to replicate really good cooks time and again with the briquettes and chunks. 

I have managed to sweet talk a friend into giving me his apple tree off cuts which I'm excited to give a shot. Will get some pics up again soon. Cheers

Bazza