New Smoke Hollow 44" Dual-Door Smoker - Photos Added

[krivera1]

I had heard previously that this was coming out - this is the first time I've seen somebody carrying it.  Sounds really sweet - this will give the GOSM Big Block a run for its money.  Check it out.

http://www.thesmokercompany.com/items/smokers/44inchtwodoor-detail.htm

 

[cactuskid]

Thats not a bad looking smoker

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks pretty impressive.

 

[krivera1]

Well, I stopped at my local Academy Sports and lo and behold - they had a sample of the 44" Smoke Hollow smoker on the floor, so I snapped a few photos with my phone to share.  The smoker is very nice - large, sturdy and lots of features.  This is the real deal - they had it for $299 at Academy.

Here are some of the features you can see in the photos below:

• There are 5 racks total - two regular, two jerky and one with rib rack integrated (can be flipped-over and used as a normal flat rack).
• There is a sausage hanger in the ceiling of the unit which can spin.
• The bottom of the top smoker box has a tapered rectangular hole in the floor which directs all the drippings into the water pan (no separate drip pan needed).
• There is a single large rectangular drip pan that slides into the bottom unit.
• There are two separate wood chip pans - both are "open" and do not have lids (they sit right underneath the water pan, so I think that stiffles air flow a bit).  They slide into chip pan holders which sit on "spikes" to hold them in place.
• There are two long burners which run under each rectangular chip pan.
• There are two side-vents with dampers on the bottom, and a covered "chimney" vent on the top.
• There are very sturdy handles on each side to move the unit.
• There are latching locks (two on the top door, one on the bottom door) to tightly keep the doors shut.

Overall I liked the entire design, but the only aspect I wasn't smitten with was the door latches.  It seems like more work to get the doors opened and closed with this style of latch.  On the positive side you get a pressure lock on top and bottom of the door, rather than only one retention point in the middle, so that's good.  This smoker is very unique versus most other units on the market today (longitudinal burners versus round, two burners/chip boxes versus one, etc.), but if it all works well (and it should) it should be a monster.  The size of the grids and amount of space in the box should allow for enough food to feed an army.  

Being the same price as the GOSM Big Block I would buy this unit.  My two brothers have the GOSMs, and they are nice, but this unit just totally eclipses the GOSMs in features and build quality (that is a very strong last statement).  I'm not in the market myself, but for those willing to take the leap I'd love to hear your impressions of this unit.

Ken

 

[beer-b-q]

Nice looking smoke looks to have some nice amenities...

 

[danelmore]

deleted

 

[krivera1]

The link on the first post has the unit for $399 with free shipping.  Higher than what Academy Sports has it locally here, but no sales tax so it may not be such a bad deal (especially considering you'd get that monster box delivered to your door).

 

[billyq]

The only thing I did not like about this smoker are the chip/chunk pans. They are very thin and it looks line you would burn through chips/chunks line there's no tomorrow. I was wondering if you could buy a couple of cast iron loaf pans and take a plasma cutter to them to cut them the same height as the stock pans. Any thoughts?

 

[krivera1]

The only thing I did not like about this smoker are the chip/chunk pans. They are very thin and it looks line you would burn through chips/chunks line there's no tomorrow. I was wondering if you could buy a couple of cast iron loaf pans and take a plasma cutter to them to cut them the same height as the stock pans. Any thoughts?

Well, the exterior dimensions would have to be pretty close, especially the width since there are guides on the chip pan holders which keep them aligned.  Honestly, I also have a little bit of reservations about the chip pans.  They are relatively shallow, no covers on them (which may allow you to burn through chips pretty fast), and since the water pan is right above (maybe 1/2-inch or so of gap between the two) you may not be able to use chunks if they are too big.  I still think the concerns may be without merit - that's why I'd love to hear some input for early adopters to see how the system works.

 

[hammmerhead]

Not too bad. . Maybe they could have gone with one cast pan that covers both burners (would be really heavy though). All in all, I like the build and all the accesories that come with it, but dual chip pans and dual burners would be too much going on for me.

 

[tx smoker no8]

My girlfriend just bought me one for my birthday and I just got done seasoning it. The build is pretty sturdy wieghs about 100lb, was a bit worried about the tube stainless burners (looked like a thin piece of pipe with holes drilled in them) but they burn exact and clean on both burners. after seasoning I put in the water pan & smoke boxes (trays in this instance) with water & a few hickory chips dry. I set both burners on low & let it go for about 30 min with an oven thermometer hanging from the middle rack. checked back & the door thermometer read 235 the one hanging from the rack reads 225. That's the closest I've seen on any smoker wood or gas. The wood chips did not catch fire as I assumed they would & lasted about 15 min, if they were soaked & stacked they should last hours. WIth both burners you could cold smoke by using just one with a pan of ice considering that low on both got a consistant 225 & in Austin right now at 10pm it's still 90 degrees outside (this is with no meat in the smoker either).

Were having a BBQ this weekend & I am smoking a brisket, sausage, pork ribs, 2 big salmon fillets, and 2 chikens (there will be room to spare, I can't wait till deer season). I will post my results with pictures next week.

 

[krivera1]

If anybody is interested to buy this unit Sports Authority has it on their online store here for $300:

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_248560_-1

Shipping is about $50 - taxes if you live in AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MO, MS, NY, OK, SC, TN, TX, and VA.

 

[meateater]

Looks great, lots of gadgets to boot. 

 

[danelmore]

deleted

 

[dewman]

Okay, ordered this from Academy and it got here in less than a week ($347.00 total to NH), it was warped and damaged. There are some chips and finish missing in places, but instead of sending it back, I took a pair of plyers and a rubber mallet to it... and it is acceptable now.

Took about 2 hours to get together (with the pounding out of dents)... and my wife and I were joking about the size of this thing as we went (compensation etc)

It is actually (including the smoke stack) 60" tall & 2 feet wide... though footprint is larger as the legs flare out.  This unit has the cooking space of 5 racks (adjustable!!!!! my big block didnt have this option) and is 15" deep (I measured) and 24" across. A TON of room!!!!

Okay... wood boxes and water pan.

Water pan looks small, but this actually deceiving. This tapers out, and to my surprise it held 14 cups of fluid with a little room to spare (112oz) IE this holds just shy of a gallon of fluid! Still, I think it's smaller that the big block, but cant be by that much... and I never filled the pan in my big block all the way.

The wood boxes... my second biggest fear (besides temp control with 2 burners)

These also are not done justice by the pictures... you have to see them in person. They, combined, will actually hold slightly more wood than the cast iron box in my old Big Block.

REALLY!

AND... there is room for chunks...

I also believe, soaked chips with a pouch of chips in tin foil perforated on top of the soaked chips... will last for 3+ hours... let me explain.

For me, 225-250 can only be achieved with one burner going... even with both intake dampers shut it runs at 275-300 with both burners going on lowest setting... here is where I think this smoker is INGENIUS!!!!

If you run one burner, dampers shut between low & medium, you get about 225-235 and smoke for well over an hour.... then when the smoke stops, I turned on the other burner, set between low & medium, turned the first burner off, got it to 230 and got another hour+ of smoke out of it WITHOUT opening the doors/having to replace chips... though adding/replacing chips would be super easy in flight!

I would but foil over the chips as when I seasoned my smoker they caught fire... but not when I put the foil packs over them.

I am doing 5 full St Louis cut racks of ribs tomorrow... I will get pictures of the full process and post... plus report.

I LOVE THIS THING!!!!!

Andy in NH

This was my first post, but I have been lurking a while!...lol

 

[SmokinAl]

Okay, ordered this from Academy and it got here in less than a week ($347.00 total to NH), it was warped and damaged. There are some chips and finish missing in places, but instead of sending it back, I took a pair of plyers and a rubber mallet to it... and it is acceptable now.

Took about 2 hours to get together (with the pounding out of dents)... and my wife and I were joking about the size of this thing as we went (compensation etc)

It is actually (including the smoke stack) 60" tall & 2 feet wide... though footprint is larger as the legs flare out.  This unit has the cooking space of 5 racks (adjustable!!!!! my big block didnt have this option) and is 15" deep (I measured) and 24" across. A TON of room!!!!

Okay... wood boxes and water pan.

Water pan looks small, but this actually deceiving. This tapers out, and to my surprise it held 14 cups of fluid with a little room to spare (112oz) IE this holds just shy of a gallon of fluid! Still, I think it's smaller that the big block, but cant be by that much... and I never filled the pan in my big block all the way.

The wood boxes... my second biggest fear (besides temp control with 2 burners)

These also are not done justice by the pictures... you have to see them in person. They, combined, will actually hold slightly more wood than the cast iron box in my old Big Block.

REALLY!

AND... there is room for chunks...

I also believe, soaked chips with a pouch of chips in tin foil perforated on top of the soaked chips... will last for 3+ hours... let me explain.

For me, 225-250 can only be achieved with one burner going... even with both intake dampers shut it runs at 275-300 with both burners going on lowest setting... here is where I think this smoker is INGENIUS!!!!

If you run one burner, dampers shut between low & medium, you get about 225-235 and smoke for well over an hour.... then when the smoke stops, I turned on the other burner, set between low & medium, turned the first burner off, got it to 230 and got another hour+ of smoke out of it WITHOUT opening the doors/having to replace chips... though adding/replacing chips would be super easy in flight!

I would but foil over the chips as when I seasoned my smoker they caught fire... but not when I put the foil packs over them.

I am doing 5 full St Louis cut racks of ribs tomorrow... I will get pictures of the full process and post... plus report.

I LOVE THIS THING!!!!!

Andy in NH

This was my first post, but I have been lurking a while!...lol

Looking forward to tomorrow!

 

[meateater]

Looking forward to a full smoker. 

 

[dewman]

Actually, got 5 racks of ribs in the smoker... and she still looks empty. With the soaked foil packs (made them much bigger today covering all the wood except a half inch around the edges)... I am able to keep both intake dampers closed to the tab, both burners on MED and have held a temp of 225 for about 30 mins with full smoke now.

I have taken some pictures, will take more as I go and keep you posted.

With 5 racks, you could easily do 10-15 full racks of St Louis cut rib racks... with 2-3 more rows of rack holders (which would fit easily) you could crank out 20-24 full racks of ribs with still some room.. I'll bet 16+ pork buts could fit in this as well!

More to come!

***Okay, almost 2 hours since I started.... smoke lasted about an hour and 45mins... which is a bit longer than it did in my old Big Block. Once the smoke stopped, the temp climbed to almost 250... I had to lower both burners to "LOW" and once I did, it has been a constant 225.... I just need another 60 mins and I can open it for the first time and see the ribs! I will add sauce and take pics.

I did open the lower door to check the water pan... still has fluid, and seems to be catching the fat/drippings very nicely!!!!

 

[dewman]

Okay, here are the images I have so far... saucing the ribs in 10 mins.... I will see how the "attach" photos work here, if they are not good, I will add them to my photobucket and repost.

 

[dewman]

MMMMMMM Rib Goodness!

There is a spot inside that should be covered in foil for easier clean up and to prevent build up that you can prolly see in the pictures.... but the ribs came out perfect!

I only cook my ribs for 3.5-4 hours, that last half our being about 200 degrees just to add layers of homemade BBQ sauce and have it paste up.

But I was super happy... 5 racks of ribs, all came out great!

Will also order sevral more regular racks as using these jerky racks for anything causes a nightmare for clean up.... so I will order some more regular racs.

Also, a cover wont be available for a month or two I am told... so I am using a riding lawnmower cover for now....lol

Here are the last 2 pictures... this thing was a dream the first time out, and will only get better as I learn it!

Hope this post helps a little!!!!