Sound Off!! What is in your cooking arsenal?

[manintheboat]

What are you cooking with now? What did you have in the past, or what did you learn on? What would you like to cook with in the future? Sound off!!!

I will start.

My smoker is a basic New Braunfels Bandera smoker. It makes good bbq, but it is a little on the cheap side. It is made from very thin metal, so maintaining a constant temperature is a challenge. With that said, I really like using it and have it dialed in. Like I said, it makes great bbq. Pics are below.

The Bandera is my first offset smoker, but I did all of my past BBQ on a standard 55 gallon barrel pit. You know, build a fire on one end and meat on the other.

For fish, steaks, chicken breast or anything else I want cooked fast, I have a 3 burner Weber gas grill. There is nothing fancy on it, but Weber makes good stuff and it is easy to get replacement parts for them. My last grill was from Barbeques galore. It was okay, but replacement parts 2 years after the sale were non-existent.

The smoker I want is a Klose 48" Pipe smoker with 1/2" thick firebox. I will probably order one next year if things go well.

[32redman]

20" SMOKER PIT, AND MY NEW GREEN EGG

[bogan]

I am still on my first smoker. It was a gift from my Grandfather in law. It is the heavy gauge Outdoor Gourmet from Academy. I have only cooked a couple of things but I will be lighting it up this weekend. I will hopefully learn enough from this one to justify spending the $ on a nicer larger smoker.

[bwebster]

waiting (any day now) on delivery of a Klose 42x24 pipe smoker. didnt go 1/2" on box, but weighted single door, slide out trays, gas ignition and ball valve drain

looking fw to breaking it in

[CoastalOutfitters]

30"X48" heavy pipe "barrel" pit .no firebox. in back yard, built by me.

big green egg cooker

the dreaded gas grill

custom 30"X48" trailer pit with oversized firebox and 30"X48" fajita grill on the other side and 2 gas burners built by me

[Charles Helm]

Tejas pit with a cabinet on the end. Not a monster but enough for my needs.

[drfishalot]

cookshack 055 (stainless/electric). I am telling you these electric smokers while expensive- are definitely the cats meow. I can put on a fattie and when I get home from work it is done. no fire tending. set it, and wait for the desired meat temp. no pucks to buy, or pellets or chips. can use what ever wood is laying around- cut into small chunks-couple ounces- all it takes. cold smoke cheese or whatever.

Also have a green egg grill. for some reason (055) I haven't used it since I got my cookshack

[Texan]

I have one of the original Southwest Smokers from Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was my Uncle's business and a fine smoker. 48" cooking chamber and 24" firebox, cooking chamber is 16th inch steel and firebox is quarter. I've had it for dang near 20 years!

I also have a Charbroil gas grill, a Weber Kettle grill, and one of those "Smokey's" grill. I usually can find one of them to cook something on, lol.

[SwampRat]

C'mon fellas, talking is nice, but let's see some pics of these babies....

SwampRat!!

[Charles Helm]

C'mon fellas, talking is nice, but let's see some pics of these babies....

SwampRat!!Not a very good picture of my pit...

http://www.pbase.com/image/104386024/large.jpg

[monkeyman1]

not good pics, from the top...post-ike, pre-ike and in fab mode. bought the custom smoker and had just welded on the lid trim, firebox trim (opp. end) and coupling for brass drain valve. it's a wonder that the 3" gauges didn't get broken in the hurricane...

have:

the smoker in pics below and mentioned above
a new braunfels smoker, metal too light but has sentimental value
charcoal grill from lowe's that you can raise or lower the charcoal on each side
a jennair gas grill (hers)
a suitcase gas grill, perfect for taking to the beach, rv, etc.
oven smoking pan

[Jerry-rigged]

I've got 3 in active service...

The big pit is a home-made job, built by my F_I_L. 24", sch40 pipe for firebox and main box, about 34" cooking box, 18" fire box. I need to get the vint in the fire-box door re-done, it leaks full closed, and will fall closed when I need it open... LOL other than that it is a great smoker. Although I love to cook on it, and love the results, I don't really use it much anymore. :( Sorry for the bad pic, but it is a crop from another picture of something else :oops:

Pit #2 is a 18" Webber - one of the small, patio ones, a relic of my apartment days. I still used it, though for quick stuff like burgers and dogs, because I could lite the fire, cook, and be eating faster than I could get my smoker up to temp. (no picture)

Pit #3 is a home-depot specal - grabbed it on clearence a few months ago, a $400 pit for under $175 :D 5-burner, all stainless gas pit. I've added a wood chip tray that I add pecan chips to so I can still get some wood smoke flavor with it...

[ifish2]

I use a New Braunfel's Longhorn for slow smoking and a Char-Grill for grilling. I really love the Longhorn!

[kweber]

for big gatherings, we use an old 500gal butane tank that was converted to a BBQ. it's rusted out on the bottom in the fire end, so I slid in a piece of sheet steel to hold the coals(we always build a seperate fire on the ground and feed mesquite coals as needed) for grilling a good ribeye or NYS, we have a piece of 16in well casing about 20in tall. fill it with mesquite, burn down, lay a piece of expanded metal, steaks and another shorter piece of casing and a plow disc for a lid. for quick grilling, burgers and such, I use a Weber(what else) Kettle. for T-day turkey, we use the old black dome-top water pan smoker.

[trodery]

Just came back from Pheasant hunting out in Western Kansas and our host had a "Traeger" electric smoker. Really neat smoker that uses some sort of an auger system to feed wood pellets (looked like rabbit feed) into the burner system.

The meat (Pork Butts) was awesome that came off of that grill!

This is the one he used... http://www.traegergrills.com/grills/professional.cfm

file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/tpr/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpgfile:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/tpr/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpghttp://www.traegergrills.com/grills/bbq124_professional.jpg

[NicklesOSU]

For me, the magical combination for a successful smoke is 1. My pit from Gatorpits in Houston, 2. Some rub from TexasBBQrub.com, call Bill over there, his stuff is magic. and 3. Plenty of Ice cold Coors Light for the day and some Knob Creek when the sun goes down. Usually Pecan wood or Mesquite wood is the fuel of choice. A couple of ribbons and a very happy Golden Retriever later, we are still enjoying the great American Dream.

[Charles Helm]

For me, the magical combination for a successful smoke is 1. My pit from Gatorpits in Houston, 2. Some rub from TexasBBQrub.com, call Bill over there, his stuff is magic. and 3. Plenty of Ice cold Coors Light for the day and some Knob Creek when the sun goes down. Usually Pecan wood or Mesquite wood is the fuel of choice. A couple of ribbons and a very happy Golden Retriever later, we are still enjoying the great American Dream.

Nice pit! They seem to do a real good job.

[kweber]

dang, that's nice. our old patched-together stuff looks pitifull compared to that.

[yer_corks_under]

36" pipe pit 6' cooking space 2' fire bx

[NicklesOSU]

Nice call on the specs, And yeah the old man and I tend to overkill on certain things. The pictures were not meant to brag, I am glad to see that we all have a good case of the BBQ bug. Keep the smoke rolling, low and slow.

[Brew]

1 old Academy special, 2 propane fired Great Outdoors upright smokers & a Charbroil natural gas grill. Fixing to convert the 2 uprights to NG so I don't have to tote the tanks for refilling anymore.

I was checking out the one Trodrey posted above the other day, that's a sweet unit.

Jeff

[madhatter1256]

XL big green egg

[wil.k]

I have been working on this project on and off for over a year ,we are now working on turning it around on the trailer and putting a fire box on the end opposit the end with the vertical smoker. Then blast and paint and its ready.

[JCHjr55]

New Braunfels Bandera Smoker
ECB (El Cheapo Brinkman)
UniFlame Charcoal Grill

John

[Fisher_Of_Men]

This is my cooking baby. Six racks rotating slow. What's that famous saying, Oh yeah... "Set it, and Forget it"... yep when one brisket is done, they're all done (As long as they are around the same weight) It can handle 12 briskets, 24 pork butts, 30 chickens, 30 racks of babybacks. One great portable cooking machine...

:cheers:

[RLwhaler]

Dayyuummm..Fisher of Men,That pit is bad to the bone!!did you built it yourself?

This is my cooking baby. Six racks rotating slow. What's that famous saying, Oh yeah... "Set it, and Forget it"... yep when one brisket is done, they're all done (As long as they are around the same weight) It can handle 12 briskets, 24 pork butts, 30 chickens, 30 racks of babybacks. One great portable cooking machine...

:cheers:

[bcj]

FOM - that's awesome!

Large big green egg (most versatile smoker/grill I've seen)
4 burner gas grill w/rotisserie
2 burner built-in pressure cooker for boiling/frying

[manintheboat]

AWESOME, FOM. I love that rig.

I sent my old Bandera into exile at our place in the La Grange/Fayetteville area and replaced it with a brand new Bandera. Hopefully this time, I will take better care of the firebox.

[RLwhaler]

Manintheboat,
Is there certain way to maintain your fire box..for longer life?whats the do's and don't?

RL

[RedRubi]

Just came back from Pheasant hunting out in Western Kansas and our host had a "Traeger" electric smoker. Really neat smoker that uses some sort of an auger system to feed wood pellets (looked like rabbit feed) into the burner system.

The meat (Pork Butts) was awesome that came off of that grill!

This is the one he used... http://www.traegergrills.com/grills/professional.cfm

file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/tpr/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpgfile:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/tpr/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpghttp://www.traegergrills.com/grills/bbq124_professional.jpg


I use a Traeger and it's the best darn grill and makes the cooking\smoking process much less time consuming. Load the pellet hopper up and turn it on. It's temperature is controlled with the thermostat. Auger system automatically feeds the pellets on demand to maintain the temp. You are correct, it makes some of the most tender and moist pork butts. The nice thing is pellets are available in many wood types (flavors), from mesquite, hickory, apple, alder, pecan and others.


The down side are the cost of pellets. Roughly about $1\per pound so you really need to load the grill with meat to justify the expense.

[H2O]

Klose 24"x60" main chamber 24"x40" upright 24"x24" fire box.
Double sided pit belonged to FMC, we cooked on once. It was a hoss.

[H2O]

Wild pig cooking. Tin sides were recently upgraded to cinderblock.

[Fisher_Of_Men]

Dayyuummm..Fisher of Men,That pit is bad to the bone!!did you built it yourself?


I got my pit fro Brad Shannon in Rock Springs, Texas. His website is www.peppercooker.com (http://www.peppercooker.com) . He can custom build just about any kind of pit you need. It was brand new never fired. I payed around $2500.00 for it. If you can imagine it, Brad can build it.

[MarshJr.]

nice spread

1 old Academy special, 2 propane fired Great Outdoors upright smokers & a Charbroil natural gas grill. Fixing to convert the 2 uprights to NG so I don't have to tote the tanks for refilling anymore.

I was checking out the one Trodrey posted above the other day, that's a sweet unit.

Jeff

[MarshJr.]

i currently have three i use

old smokey (charcoal)
smoker (custom built by father-in-law)
gas grill made from a old traffic control box (custom built by my dad)

[Cat O' Lies]

Stainless gas grill - 4 burner grill area, 2 are infra-red and the other conventional, rotissorie, side burner.
Large round Weber charcoal grill <my fav>
Smoke Cube - about 2 cu. ft. charcoal smoker.

[Baywolf]

:texasflag:texasflagAnd many a broken diet.

[Procrastinator]

Weber and then a Chargriller (http://www.chargriller.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=30&osCsid=d19300f90bb3de1c11d8a4132ee013cb) with an of set firebox. Cheaply made but, it does a pretty good job.

Would like to get one of these New Braunfels Longhorn Smoker (http://academy.com/index.php?page=content&target=products/outdoors/grills/smokers&start=0&selectedSKU=0263-02219-3369).

[Northsider]

Well I pulled the trigger a while back on a 24"x48" with twin gas burners from www.lonestarcustompits.com (http://www.lonestarcustompits.com)





We're gonna be doing some comp cooking, so I had to get a new smoker to fit the bill.

[atcNick]

Dang, you boys have some nice rigs. I use a Weber 22" one touch gold kettle grill and a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. The grill is perfect, plenty of space, I love the charcoal/wood flavor when grilling. The WSM is perfect, I can smoke 4 butts/briskets or 8 racks of ribs easily and it holds temperature perfectly. I can go to bed and eight hours later it will be +/-10 degrees.

[SeaDeezKnots]

I've got a Weber Performer for around the house. Charcoal w/gas ignition. Then, there's the Big Nasty for competitions and family events... I'll try to post up some pics later.

[Jester]

Late last summer I took delivery of a Spicewine Iron Works Smoker.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3151/2930501436_03c48df7a2.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/2929638849_03de46e7c7.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3239/2956462981_3a7c4bf90b.jpg

[JakeBrake]

Not a very good picture of my pit...

http://www.pbase.com/image/104386024/large.jpg

Man, I have this exact same pit! Paw-n-law just gave it to me!!!!

[frenzyfinder]

This is what I cook on...

[Baywolf]

What's in the bacon?

[frenzyfinder]

Dove breast, jalepeno and cream cheese...MMMMMmmmm