eBay smoker

[esselle]

Butts on an hour ago and the excel is sat at 230 - so far so good

[Tucker]

I didn't have a saucer so I used 3 air bricks (The type with three large holes cut out of the middle), I placed them in the water pan in a the shape of a triangle and covered them in tin foil and the triangular hole in between them all I pushed the foil in to make a well to catch any dripping fat and juice.

I put the smoker on at 08:00 by 08:30 I was already up to 255, I placed the butt on the grill and closed two of the bottom air vents and left one open. The temp moved between 255 and 275 for the whole day (I even left the smoker for 3 hours) and took the kids to the zoo) every 30 mins or so I threw a small handful of Weber mesquite chips on the coals, I read on the net not to bother soaking the chips in water as it actually doesn't do anything apart from lower the temp of the smoker. Let me know if anyone else has a theory about soaking them in water?

If the smoker went above 275 (when the alarm went off) I left it for 5 mins and it went down all on it's own.

At 20:15 the butt reached 190 and I took it straight off and ripped it into pieces, I didn't bother with wrapping it in foil this time.

Wow, what a difference the butt wasn't dry like last time and tasted fantastic and fell off the bone, really juicy and loads of flavour.

The things I have observed with the bricks rather than water are:

- No mess (during and after smoking)
- Easier to move (if you need to)
- Gets to temp quickly
- Has no effect on the moisture in the smoke (my pulled pork was the best it's ever been)
- Maintains a constant temp
- When I did need to control the temp I only had to open one or close the 2nd bottom vent

All in all a much better experience this time

[esselle]

After my first smoke with the saucer I must say I am very impressed. Temps held well and no messing about with topping up water. I haven't looked at the shoulders yet or tasted so can't comment on taste yet as we aren't having them until later today. I will have to warm them though. What's the best way? And will that affect moisture and/or taste?

[All Weather Griller]

What was your final view on the saucer method Scott?

[esselle]

What was your final view on the saucer method Scott?

Excellent Ady - I owe you one saucer cos I'm keeping this one

[Tucker]

Have you considered a Traeger if you want something that's convenient and easy? Worth thinking about for sure. If that's not your bag, you could consider a ceramic cooker like a Kamado Joe.

Steve, I've been looking at the Traeger since you mentioned this and been looking at the lil Tex , how do you find yours? Are the expensive to run? Looking to smoke on this and want to keep the authentic taste.

And does any one know a good place to buy these in the UK?

[Steve]

I've not used mine much yet but I've been very impressed. It produces great food as well as being very easy and consistent to use. I'm a real charcoal lover and I would never move entirely over to pellets but it's definitely a good machine to have in your arsenal.

Running costs seem reasonable in terms of pellet use, I think it's probably a little more expensive than charcoal at the moment. However when you consider the waste in a bag of charcoal (small slaggy bits that are useless) it's probably a close call.

My only quibble at the moment is the availability of pellets. I know of only two suppliers of pellets in the country and shipping costs bump the price up. I'm a 2 hour drive from Jackie at American BBQ which means I have to buy in bulk to keep the costs reasonable. This might not work for some people though, I do hope that as more people buy pellet cookers we might see a more ready supply of pellets and in particular I'd like to see some of the other flavours of wood appearing.

As for buying a Traeger, American BBQ is the only dealer but don't let that put you off. Jackie is well established, holds all the spares and offers great customer service. I have no hesitation in recommending her to anyone.

[Tucker]

Thanks Steve, I think I will get one at some point and I've been looking on the American BBQ site and they have an offer on too

Do you think the lil Tex is big enough? For small parties upto ten people, been looking at them on YouTube and you can't get a true feeling for the actual oporating size.

I don't think I would move totally over to using this however with two young kids at the weekend I don't always have the time to tend to a charcoal smoker and the Traeger would give me the flexibility to put it on during the week and leave it on and my wife can look after it

How have you found the temp control with only the three settings or have you upgraded to the thermostat?

[Steve]

The lil tex is easily big enough to cook for twenty and Jackie told me she has cooked for fifty on one.

A tip is to use two foil wrapped bricks and a second grill for two cooking levels. Any grill that will fit or a wire cooling rack will do.

Unfortunately we in the UK can't easily upgrade to the digital thermo as Traeger don't do it in 240v although it wouldn't be difficult to lash up a thermo using a pic, a thermocouple and a couple of triacs. Not something I've got time for at the moment but if I get round to doing it I'll publish the circuit diagram and pic code here.

However temp control with three settings is ok. Temps sit nice and stable, I use smoke and medium and am getting good results.

[Tucker]

Damn the thermostat would have been really hand

I think I'm going to drop the American BBQ company an e-mail tonight as I really like the look of them and will have to buy one this year