Red's Newest Build: A Direct-Heat Smoker/Grill
- Thread starter seenred
- Start date
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Darn those wings look tasty. I'm seeing complete success in that build thus far. Can't wait to see future cooks.
Thanks Brother! They were pretty good!
Red
Sorry to be late to the party here my friend… but you are really getting that dialed in! Loving the Q pics and making me want to place an order for one of those cookers.
Ribs and wings both look delicious!
Sorry to be late to the party here my friend… but you are really getting that dialed in! Loving the Q pics and making me want to place an order for one of those cookers.
Ribs and wings both look delicious!
Hey Justin - thanks Buddy!
Red
HI RED!
You are the only reason I joined here ! Been watching Yur Build since the start : Direct Cooker
Why ? I was looking @ Backwoods smokers and saw Yur amazing ability to create an absolute masterpiece from scratch !?
Still!? Totally amazes me Yur Talent and neutral feedback.
You should be very proud and I hope Mrs RED gives you a BIG HUG! AMEN !
You are the only reason I joined here ! Been watching Yur Build since the start : Direct Cooker
Why ? I was looking @ Backwoods smokers and saw Yur amazing ability to create an absolute masterpiece from scratch !?
Still!? Totally amazes me Yur Talent and neutral feedback.
You should be very proud and I hope Mrs RED gives you a BIG HUG! AMEN !
Hello E Elf@shore . Thank you very much for all the kind words!
Why a direct heat cooker? I really chose to build this one for only one reason: I had been seeing some guys cooking on cookers like the Chud Box and the Hasty Bake Roughneck...and was intrigued by the design and with that style of cooking. I had no other experience with direct heat cookers, but just wanted to try it. It's been a fun build!
Thanks again for the comments!
Red
I finally have pics of the finished smoker! I have to admit that I've procrastinated a little - mostly because painting is my least favorite part of the whole smoker building process. But I prefer the look of a painted pit over the rustic bare metal look...so I finally got around to prepping and painting. Anyway, here's the finished pit:
The last thing I finished fabricating was this heat shield. This was an idea I stole from Hasty Bake Grills. All their charcoal grills come with something similar. It is removable of course, so if you're doing direct heat cooking you can take it out. But when you want to do indirect, low and slow smoking, just slide this in over the coals to provide a heat shield.
Top view of the heat shield. It can slide forward or back as needed to provide indirect heat.
The cooking grate is 22 1/2" x 23 1/2" for a total cooking area of about 529 square inches, and it slides out for easier access.
One of the features I believe makes this cooker most versatile is the ability to move the coal basket up to the top rails - 5 inches directly under the cooking grate. This turns it into a searing and grilling machine, for steaks, burgers, etc. And the coal basket and cooking grate are big enough to make a 2 zone cook. You can confine the coal to 1 side and leave the other side as a cool zone.
4 x 4 square tubing exhaust stack with a swivel cap/damper on top.
Pinwheel dampers on both sides of the cabinet.
Heavy duty 3 inch double locking swivel casters on all 4 legs.
So I'm calling this project complete! IMHO, it has turned out better than expected. I'm real happy with the whole build. I appreciate all of y'all who have followed along from the start.
And I hinted at this in earlier posts, but I'll go ahead and make it official - this pit is for sale.
The only place I have room to store my outdoor cooking gear is in my garage...which I prefer anyway because I've never liked leaving expensive cookers outside in the elements. I just don't have the extra room in the garage for another cooker...so something has to go! I'm thinking of advertising my big gravity feed smoker as well, and see which one sells first - and keeping the other one.
If you've watched my previous builds, you've heard me say that, while I'm never looking to make a profit, I do try to get back my expenses for a build...which allows me to fund the next project. So that's what I'll be doing with this one too. I'll make a post over in the classified ads, but I've spent right at $700 on steel, hardware, paint, and welding consumables on this project. So that's what I'll have to get to sell this.
Look for the posts for both smokers over in classified ads if you're interested!
Thanks again guys!
Red
The last thing I finished fabricating was this heat shield. This was an idea I stole from Hasty Bake Grills. All their charcoal grills come with something similar. It is removable of course, so if you're doing direct heat cooking you can take it out. But when you want to do indirect, low and slow smoking, just slide this in over the coals to provide a heat shield.
Top view of the heat shield. It can slide forward or back as needed to provide indirect heat.
The cooking grate is 22 1/2" x 23 1/2" for a total cooking area of about 529 square inches, and it slides out for easier access.
One of the features I believe makes this cooker most versatile is the ability to move the coal basket up to the top rails - 5 inches directly under the cooking grate. This turns it into a searing and grilling machine, for steaks, burgers, etc. And the coal basket and cooking grate are big enough to make a 2 zone cook. You can confine the coal to 1 side and leave the other side as a cool zone.
4 x 4 square tubing exhaust stack with a swivel cap/damper on top.
Pinwheel dampers on both sides of the cabinet.
Heavy duty 3 inch double locking swivel casters on all 4 legs.
So I'm calling this project complete! IMHO, it has turned out better than expected. I'm real happy with the whole build. I appreciate all of y'all who have followed along from the start.
And I hinted at this in earlier posts, but I'll go ahead and make it official - this pit is for sale.
The only place I have room to store my outdoor cooking gear is in my garage...which I prefer anyway because I've never liked leaving expensive cookers outside in the elements. I just don't have the extra room in the garage for another cooker...so something has to go! I'm thinking of advertising my big gravity feed smoker as well, and see which one sells first - and keeping the other one.
If you've watched my previous builds, you've heard me say that, while I'm never looking to make a profit, I do try to get back my expenses for a build...which allows me to fund the next project. So that's what I'll be doing with this one too. I'll make a post over in the classified ads, but I've spent right at $700 on steel, hardware, paint, and welding consumables on this project. So that's what I'll have to get to sell this.
Look for the posts for both smokers over in classified ads if you're interested!
Thanks again guys!
Red
A build of that quality and function and price... I would have to believe it's sold already...
Red, brother... That is as
civilsmoker
said... "TOP SHELF" .... Been messing around myself with a couple of projects...
Thanks Brother! I'm hopeful that folks will see it as a lot of cooker for the price, and it sells quickly.
A build of that quality and function and price... I would have to believe it's sold already...
Red, brother... That is as
Been messing around myself with a couple of projects...
Appreciate it Keith! And if your working on something that cooks, I'll be waiting to see a build thread!
seenred .... Looking at the ash catcher/coal basket... Can the ash catcher be slid out first and then coal basket over the top to catch ashes outside of the firebox ??
The ash pan doesn't have it's own rails - it just pushes in and sits on the floor of the cabinet. But I expect that with the narrow distance between the ash tray and the coal basket, it might stay in place if you pull out the coal basket and rest the back of the ash tray on it.
Red
That's one heck of a build with attention to detail .
I do the same with wood projects . Sell them to fund the next one .
Really nice work bud .
I see features that would be options on any other smoker . That base price is a gift .
I do the same with wood projects . Sell them to fund the next one .
Really nice work bud .
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