weber performer w/cajun bandit ext.

[rober49]

a charcoal model weber performer the Cajun bandit extension came up for sale here. it also had a heat deflector, charcoal box, & charcoal ring. this has all the best features of a weber grill but the extension ring still looked limited size wise. anyone here have this set up? I'm also wondering whether with the limited height if the meat is far enough away from the fire.

 

[rober49]

no opinions??

 

[smokinadam]

Never seen one. I'll have to look it up.

 

[SmokinAl]

I've seen them and I don't know why they would be any different than a WSM. Not sure on the exact size of both, but they look very similar.

Al

 

[maple sticks]

I smoke on a weber charcoal grill all winter long. Have no problem except maybe size. Don't have the Cajun bandit ring so can't give an opinion as to there usefulness. What I can say is temperatures stack easily on a weber and can usually run 50* between grill level and top of lid. Here is a site that sets up a weber for smoking.

http://weberkettleclub.com/blog/2013/11/05/smoking-on-a-weber-kettle/

 

[rober49]

I have smoked on my 22" weber as well. here's the grill i'm looking at. the grill without the Cajun bandit ring sells for around $400.00 which at that price it  looks to me like you're paying $200.00 -$250.00 for the table.

 

[rober49]

well I guess i'll find out how it works cuz' I bought it. came with the Cajun bandit smoke ring extension, coal ring, coal baskets, heat diffuser, & a weber cover.

 

 

 

 

[bauchjw]

I'll be curious to hear what you think. I have two Webers I love and use for indirect and direct BBQ a lot. Only recently have I heard about these after factory additions.

 

[rober49]

I'll be firing it up next weekend. I'll do a follow up about how it goes. I'll be doing a pork butt & some st louis style ribs. if anyone else is using this set up let's hear from ya'!

 

[cody0707]

Any updates? Curious how this works compared to other smokers and if the Cajun Bandit is worth the cost. 

 

[rober49]

this set up comes with a light weight disc that goes on the bottom grate just above the fire  that is the heat diffuser. while bringing it home in the dark & during rush hour my stepson was following me & called me to tell me something had blown out of my truck 4 miles further down the road. it was the diffuser. I thought it was under the grate. so someone on this site or the weber kettle site suggested wrapping the bottom grate with foil which I did. 1st cook everything cooked really fast. the food was grilled not smoked. I have since called the previous owner for hints & bought a 20" pizza pan to replace the diffuser. I suspect my problem was more that the temperature was too high not the ab lib foil diffuser. I have a maverick dual probe digital thermometer on the way. when it arrives & I can monitor temps i'll fire it up again & let y'all know how it goes. in the past when smoking with webers I either did a small indirect fire or a thin ring of coals along the outside edge. this time the fire got away from me. next time i'll use the minion method for the fire. overall I think i'll be happy with this set up. I also plan to buy a wsm or horizontal offset so this can be used for smaller smoke or as an extra capacity grill.

as far as the gear & it's price? and this just m.h.o.. if you've smoked on a weber kettle & were happy with that this is for you. it is better than a kettle but is still limited size wise. if you are serious about smoking i'd go for a wsm. I see this as a compromise. the quality of the coal ring & the extension are excellent. the heat diffuser was nothing to write home about. I've read about great customer service but I've sent 3 them maybe 4 emails inquiring about replacing the diffuser in the last 3 weeks & as of yet have not received a reply. there's a contact form only on the site, no email address or phone number.  the full set up which includes; extension ring, cooking grate, diffuser, & heavy coal ring is $159.00. I've seen 3 18" wsm's on my local craigslist go for $75-100.00 since early December. one used twice with a weber rotisserie ring for $125.00 & 1 went for $200.00. I suspect these are being sold when the owners upgrade to 22" wsm's. I've not seen a 24" YET but i'll jump on it with both feet if I do.

 

[bauchjw]

Thank you for the update rober. I'm trying to decide what to do with one of my two Webers, this is a notion I'm thinking about and your review helped shape expectations and what to spend! Points!

 

[rober49]

my heavy gauge 20" pizza pan & the maverick 732  thermometer arrived so I fired it up again. this was a small short smoke so I only filled the charcoal ring about one third. with a proper heat diffuser & having a good read on the grill temperature the food came out great. I am now officially a fan of this set up. one thing though, i'm up to 5 emails & still have not heard back from Cajun bandit.​

 

[rober49]

typo

 

[bauchjw]

my heavy gauge 20" pizza pan & the maverick 722  thermometer arrived so I fired it up again. this was a small short smoke so I only filled the charcoal ring about one third. with a proper heat diffuser & having a good read on the grill temperature the food came out great. I am now officially a fan of this set up. one thing though, i'm up to 5 emails & still have not heard back from Cajun bandit.​

Thank you for update! I'm looking around to pick up a used one!

 

[rebar]

Hey guys anyone no were to find info smoker divider plate thougt i read sometimg here berfore thanks

 

[bauchjw]

Hey guys anyone no were to find info smoker divider plate thougt i read sometimg here berfore thanks

Do you mean a diffuser? Rober used foil around the bottom grate. Probably can use a pizza pan too. If you mean for setting up indirect heat I use logs or chunks of wood, but Webber sells it as an accessory too. Good luck!

 

[rebar]

20160409_152839.jpg

• rebar
• Apr 10, 2016

 

[rebar]

So i found the plans to make this

 

[bauchjw]

So i found the plans to make this

Did you make that one? Looks awesome! You should start a new thread showing how you did it and use!