Smoker and Grill

[darius]

Hello all, had a quick question. Has anyone built a reverse flow smoker and grill. In other words, can I use the smoke plate to put charcoal and turn it into a regular grill?

Thanks

 

[oscar]

Hello all, had a quick question. Has anyone built a reverse flow smoker and grill. In other words, can I use the smoke plate to put charcoal and turn it into a regular grill?

Thanks

Yes, you can. My build was a reverse flow with a removable rf plate. I can do a full-on smoke with the plate in, use the firebox and cook chamber for indirect with the plate out, or use only the cc for grilling. Charcoal (and/or wood) sit on the bottom of the barrel, not the rf plate, for grilling, as the rf plate is too close to the grates. Mine is small enough to add wood to the cc through the firebox if need be. I like the versatility.

 

[bill1]

Or during direct cooks, you could replace the RF plate with a charcoal plate perforated with holes which you might find helps your coals burn better. As oscar notes, the placement distance of the coals to the meat grate may be something you want to vary a bit as well. A charcoal plate supported on legs made of all-thread rod that can be adjusted may be worth a try.

 

[oscar]

I've used the charcoal basket from the fire box in the cook chamber before, but something dedicated to the cc for grilling would be a nice touch. Something that sits an inch or two off the bottom of the cc, with a couple handles. There, I've got a project!

 

[bill1]

Maybe a dozen or so long nails, spaced ~6 inches apart along the bottom, that support some 1/4-1/2" inch mesh steel hardware "cloth"? The stuff is cheap and lasts a reasonably long time. I make charcoal baskets out of it for my Weber 22 and vertical charcoal smoker.

I'm sure it's available in stainless steel but I just use the galvanized stuff from my local Walmart at $10 per roll. Many might be uncomfortable with the possibility of zinc oxide powder being generated from it at heat. Then again, some may think it has covid benefits.

 

[darius]

Great ideas all. THanks