My first custom smoker on a trailer with a converted grill. (Lots of pics)

[gent]

So today I mounted a thermometer in the big old hole on the door.  Sealed it in real good with a little silicone.  We then decided to season both the grill and the smoker today.  We got em all oiled up and rearing to go!  We got the smoker to about 500 where we let it hold for about an hour then brought it down to 250 and let it sit there for 5 hours without any adjustment before I got tired of babysitting nothing (that's a good thing right),  The grill we got up to 550 and let it cook it's way down normally.  My wife put some brat's on the grill just to take advantage of the heat when it was in an acceptable range so we'd have something for dinner.

So far I'd call it a huge success.  My oil run-off like I said wasn't exactly level but it still drains ok.   The wife is now on a lookout for a good price on brisquet then I'll have some qview for you all :)

Wasn't able to test the temperature differential but we'll do that with our electronic probes when we actually throw some food in it.  Once again I'd like to shout a huge THANK YOU to everyone on this site,  whether your post count is in the hundreds or you like to lurk and take in information.  It's all good karma and even better Q

 

[roller]

Super job...

 

[scarbelly]

I think you should come to my house and build me one 

 

[gent]

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

Here's the thermo I put in,  This was earlier in the week when we seasoned it for a few hours.

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

Using the Air inlets it works like a dream,  was able to bring it down to around 230° and will sit there unattended for hours

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

Here's our first actual cooking fire,  Using a mixture of lump coal,  briquets and a few pieces of chunk tossed in a charcoal basket (using the minion method)

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

top down view and you can barely see the TBS

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

12 lb brisquet and a shoulder just put on,  They look a bit lonely with all that space.  We'll add ribs and tri-tip a little later in the process.

This is our first actual smoke on our baby and were excited,  we've never had this kinda room before.  We'll update ya'all in a few hours.

 

[daveomak]

Gent, morning.... Looking real good.... I like the picture of the coal burning... cool colors....   The meat looks like it will be delish...  Dave

 

[gent]

Thanks Dave,  My wife took that pic and even the kids were like "ohhh pretty"

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

Just put 3 st louis spare ribs on the other side.   Just enough room left on the far end to sneak some tri-tip in.  (in a few more hours)

 

[coronaca92879]

Great job. Food looks good to.

 

[rabbithutch]

Thumbs Up

 

[gent]

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

 

About 9 hours in I just had to peek

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

I think it's about time to sneak that tri-tip in and get it going.

 

[jarjarchef]

Looking good!

 

[diesel]

Very nice.  All that work is starting to pay off.  Getting to know your cooker is going to be fun.  Many good meals will come off that rig.

Good job!

Aaron

 

[gent]

Yes Diesel it's a whole different animal I noticed.  I am so used to having to babysit and fight with temps but this girl.  I open that air vent 1/8 one way or the other and temps change and hold steady.  I was excited.  Our first smoke was a success.  I overdid the ribs a bit with that reverse plate radiating heat,  but the pork shoulder was pretty much on par with what we expected with a good smoke.  The best part however was that brisket,  I would say it was probably our best we've ever done.

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

This picture just doesn't do it ANY justice,  I wish you could have seen the juices flowing with the ever so slightest pressure of the blade.

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• gent
• Oct 20, 2012

\

And the majority of the meat feast here before the big boys got into it.  Overall a huge success.  Some learning curves for sure,  and a tweak or two to improve some minor incoveniences.  

so once again a huge thanks to everyone here.

 

[rgacat]

Great build you should be proud. Thanks for all the pictures.

 

[gent]

I have a 20 lb turkey in there today,  with plenty room for more.  The family nominated us for Turkey day this year (imagine that) so I figured I'd better get another cook out of her to learn what makes her purr before the big day.

When I first hit 225°  in the center,  I have about a 100°   difference from side to side but I think that's from the firebox heating one side up first.  Once she's settled in its about 50°  difference.

I'll try and get Qview in a few hours when I open the door to sneak a peak.  

Things I learned about her from my first cook have been tweaked such as tightening up the air flow slider. How she handles recovery time,  a better estimate of how long she sit's happy before a little massage is needed.  The only thing left to tweak is trying to figure out a way to get a small amount of oxygen on the side opposite the firebox to keep my amaze'n tube smoker going without compromising the smoke/heat and draft.

 

[gent]

Just threw a couple pieces of chunk in and it started to billow so figured I'd let the white smoke air out for a sec before it settle's back to TBS,  and take a quit picture.

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• gent
• Oct 28, 2012

 

[jabbo]

Hey Gent, great job on the build.  If I may offer my 2 cents, careful how much smoke you put on a turkey.  My experience has taught me that they can be sensitive to smoke.  It doesn't take much to be too much.  But then again it is all about individual taste.  If you like a lot of smokey flavor then by all means, but in my humble opinion, less is more when it comes to turkey.  Good luck on Turkey day.  I'm sure everyone will love it.

 

[roller]

 

[raastros2]

Very nice....one of the things on my want list is a trailer pit

 

[raastros2]

Very nice....one of the things on my want list is a trailer pit

 

[gent]

Hey Gent, great job on the build.  If I may offer my 2 cents, careful how much smoke you put on a turkey.  My experience has taught me that they can be sensitive to smoke.  It doesn't take much to be too much.  But then again it is all about individual taste.  If you like a lot of smokey flavor then by all means, but in my humble opinion, less is more when it comes to turkey.  Good luck on Turkey day.  I'm sure everyone will love it.

Thank you very much Jabbo.  Ya we didn't put to much actually.  That pick was taken just after I threw some chunk in the pit and it started to billow and well I didn't want that white smoke on my turkey so I opened the door to let it out and snap that picture while it was open.  It toned back down.  But Awesome advice I'll keep in in mind for our turkey day. :)