What are the general thoughts on these smokers?

lookes like a lot of work to me . look at a gas smoker a lot less work. i have a great outdoor smokey mtn. and love it

 

Opus,
I'm with you. I don't use gas either and would rather cook with charcoal/wood mix.

Joe

 

Actually, that Brinkmann (we call it the ECB) has 1 speed (about 240°), you can mess with the door some, but it’s mostly controlled by the water pan. That smoker will make some fine Que, don’t kid yourself. Til recently I have used one for several years with great results. Give it a shot! :lol:

 

Try to shield it from wind and cold, it’s not insulated, so when it is really cold, you might have trouble keeping temp up! Some guys drape a moving van blanket around smoker to insulate.

Here is something you can try for less than $10. Go to a hardware outlet and get a sheet of 1/2" to 1" foam insulation-it’s either pink or blue, grab some duct tape and see illustration. close with a piece of duct tape, close lid and put brick on top (make sure lid is bigger so it doesn’t collapse in! Then just move brick to check your grub Good Luck!

 

Great idea for insulating that type of smoker - how about an offset?

These MN winter nights are making it difficult to smoke

I either need to insulate or move, and moving isn't gonna happen!

~Geigs

 

Geigs have you considered enclosing a room like say a green house and "pipe" the smoke outside. This way the side box would heat the green house and if the green house is small enough make it down right enjoyable in there during the winter

 

I am SO happy to hear some of the traditionalists stand-up for true WOOD SMOKE!!! This forum has almost turned into a testimonial for gas smokers. Sure, I own a GOSM BB, but it is a back-up unit and only for when I run out of room in the Beast or I'm too busy on the weekends. We've become such an "I Want It Now!" society, nobody wants to take the time to learn the basics of REAL Barbeque. A good Pitmaster can turn out great 'Q on anything. Remember........."It's the Cook, not the Cooker!" I've seen a competitor place in a National with just an upright 55 Gal. drum and a piece of plywood for heat/smoke control!

Fortunately, here in South Florida I rarely have to deal with cold weather effecting my cooker, so I kind of feel sorry for you guys. The top photo looks alot like a New Braunfel Cimmeron. They turn out awesome "Q!

Jeff

 

Great idea Cheech - I will fab something tonight...I've got some plywood and tarps I can use...I think you may be onto something! Doing another Butt tomorrow along with a couple racks - Should be easy, it supposed to be 40* for a high!

SoFlaQuer - I agree, If you have the time, nothing like standing around playing with wood and charcoal...although I am going to look for a small gas smoker for days when I can't put the time in!

 

There are a few Cold Smokers that used to be around. Believe me, I wish I had the space for a Smokehouse.

Jeff

 

I'll make a stand for wood any day. As with anything, it's all a matter of taste and patience. As for babysitting, once you get your smoker dialed in, know how to choose quality wood, understand how different woods burn, and practice, practice, practice, babysitting isn't that bad. I did 6 turkeys over 3 days, Thanksgiving weekend and got 5 hours of sleep at one time when the alarm finally went off on the therm to tell me it was time to stoke the fire. All said and done, I got a full nights sleep on every smoke. And other than the Butterball, the turkeys were perfect. Some purists would argue that a digital therm is cheating. In my mind, it's about food safety, and if you can afford a set of therms with bells and whistles, then more power to ya.
The whole thing is a learning process and you have to make a real commitment, if you're going to use wood. But once you make it, you and the people eating your food won't be sorry. Besides, for some of us, wood is free and plentiful.