New Smoking Rig!
Oh how I love my wife Tamar. She bought me a brand new smoking rig for Christmas. I’m so happy I could cry. It’s the Char-Broil Silver Smoker – smoker, bbq, and grill. What a beast. This thing is made of solid cast iron – it weighs a ton. It seems very well put together – very robust fittings, ceramic coated cooking grates. The legs seem a bit wobbly considering how heavy it is, but we’ll see. Note that there should be a shelf on the front of it, but we decided to water seal the planks first because Tamar read some complains about mold and rot. The key feature here is the offset firebox. Basically, light a fire in the smaller chamber on the left, add wood chunks, and fill the smoker chamber with meaty goodness. The indirect heat is just what you want, and the chimney on the opposite side draws smoke through past the meat. Of course, I could just light a fire in the main chamber and grill normally. And did I mention this thing is BIG? I could fit 3 or 4 giant briskets, maybe 10 racks of ribs, a whole pig, 3 turkeys, a giant salmon, the largest block of tofu ever made. You name it. I’m giddy.
So, of course I had to try it out. As Tamar reminded me, becoming a great smoker is mostly about getting in tune with your equipment, so I didn’t have high expectations for the first time. I bought a nice, meaty rack of gourmet back ribs from Ver Brugge for the occasion. I gave ‘em a dry rub, sat ‘em in there for about 3 hours under mesquite smoke. Every now and then I spritz’d them with a special recipe made mostly from Worstershire sauce. While cooking I had the joy of opening the smoker chamber to spritz my ribs, only to find that I couldn’t actually see the ribs because the smoke was so thick. YES!
Anyway, they turned out amazing. Tamar thinks the best tasting ribs I’ve ever made. Very smoky, tender and juicy. I could have left them on for another hour or two – the meatiest part of the rack in the middle was not as tender as the ends. I also should have trimmed the fat a bit better. I like to leave a good amount of fat on – it’s what makes the meat juicy and tender, and imparts a ton of flavor. If you smoke it right, a lot of the fat should render off. But there was a big thick layer of it along one part of the ribs, and I should have trimmed it. Oh well.
Unfortunately, the smoker doesn’t come with a thermometer for the main chamber – it’s an added accessory for $9.99. Well worth the price, I think. I had to call Char-Broil directly to mail order it, but it wasn’t a hassle.
Comments (2)
Judd – read your post and couldn’t agree more! I write the weekly newsletter and web log called Sizzle on the Grill, sponsored by Char-Broil. This past summer I went to Home Depot and purchased the same unit. So glad I did. I’ve been happy smoking and grilling in it. I did not purchase the thermometer for the hood – instead I use two grate thermometers I picked up at my local restaurant supply store. These can be moved around the grates and give me a good reading of what the temperature is at different spots on the grate where the meat is resting. They are not “instant” but I’m happy with the results.
By the way – I like the look of your ribs! Do you use briquettes or hardwood charcoal? Happy Smokin! – CB
CB – I can see the wisdom of using multiple thermometers on the grates instead of just the one. I’ve checked the built-in one that I bought with a digital probe thermometer, and found that it’s quite accurate as an average. It’s been 20-40 degrees hotter on the firebox side, and 20-40 degrees cooler on the opposite chimney side.
As to charcoal, I use briquettes. I’ve tried the hardwood stuff, and I like it, but I’ve found it so inconsistent and hard to manage. Different size pieces of different densities that burn at different temperatures for variable amounts of time. If I’m not going to burn whole hardwood logs (which I’d love to do someday!), I’d just assume use the briquettes to get an even heat. Then I add wet hardwood chunks for smoke.
Thanks for the comment – I’ve added your site to our blogroll!