First Smoke on the new Char-griller

[jirodriguez]

Well just got my new Char-griller with fire side box! Thank you to all the posts with tips for assembling this grill and doing the knockouts in the barrel body and fire box. I also made some nice mods to it that really help - also courtesy of this fine forum!

Here is the Grill assembled and ready to go:
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Here you can see the nice mahogany coloring I got from seasing the inside of the smoker with a 6 hr. heavy smoke. I have foil lined it as well for easy clean up!

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I successfully maintained a 225-240 temp over my six hour seasing smoke using the minion method with a charcoal basket (grilling wok from Home Depot) full of unlit lump and a full chimney of lit lump dumped on top. So I am doing the same thing for today.

<a href="http://s831.photobucket.com/albums/z...t=DSC02402.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i831.photobucket.com/albums/z...0/DSC02402.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

For my initial smoke I kinda went a tad overboard, but I really wanted to do both ribs and shoulder.... so lots of meat! Guess my neighbors will have to help me out heh-heh! Here is the meat rubbed and ready to go!

<a href="http://s831.photobucket.com/albums/z...t=DSC02401.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i831.photobucket.com/albums/z...0/DSC02401.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Well thats all for now... I will post some picks later after I get everything pulled off! Happy Fathers Day to all us Dads!

 

[iron]

Looks awesome.....i do have a question..i have the same smoker except i dont have the front wood shelf, did that come with yours? ive seen others with that shelf,thought it was a extra add on.

 

[billbo]

Looks good so far! Congrats on the maiden run and keep us posted!

 

[amdisc]

I just had to go to Lowes today and pick up another Char-Griller Pro, and for $99.00 it was a great deal , and add a $69.00 SFB for a complete smoker,,,Such a deal....Then I happened to come upon a great deal for a used Treager for $275.00

Guess it's a good ting that I'm single, otherwise I would be..

Happy SmokeN'

Sunny St. Petersburg, FL

 

[jirodriguez]

Mine came with the front shelf. If you need one I imagine you can get one from the char-griller website. They sell all the parts.

Well I would call the first smoke a success (overal)

unfortunately in my haste to eat and process all the left overs I forgot to take pictures of the finished product

Ribs - went with the 3-2-1 method just to play it safe. They were falling off the bone, nice bark, very moist! Family and neighbors loved them!

Shoulders - great bark, nice ring, very moist.

Had some fire issues, I think I was waiting to long between chimneys of lump. Ran at 200-225 for first 3 hours OK, but then around hour 4 or 5 my temp dropped to 160'ish and took a while for me to get it back up. At hour 6 I checked the temp on the shoulders and it was at 165, so I wrapped them in foil with a splash of apple juice, and put them in a 300° oven for 1 hour. Pulled them at 185 and wrapped them in towels, and put in my cooler to rest for another hour and a half. They pulled perfectly! Very moist!

Overall good first attempt... many more to come

 

[amdisc]

You need to watch the amout of ash that builds up in the slide out ash tray, I learned along time ago that on the Char-Griller, the ashes will build up and then your carcoal get get proper air flow, and it will smother itself out..

Happy SmokeN'

Sunny St. Peterburg, FL

 

[jirodriguez]

Yeah.... I did try to keep it somewhat free of ash, but I need a good metal ash bin to put hot ash and coal bits into till they cool. Also does anybody have a picture showing the use of insulated fire place gasket around the lid of the main chaimber? I tried using heavy foil to help create a seal, but I still lost smoke out of the lid... especially at the back of the lid.

 

[mcmelik]

I dont have any pics of mine but I used 3/4 inch flat rope on the front of the chamber and 3/4 flat on the back of the lid. On the sides I used 5/8 round and still had a fair amount of leaks so I glued another strip of 5/8 on the inside of the lid. Now I have almost no smoke lose at all just a little at the corners by the hing pins. I did learn that you have to grind the metal down until you get all of the black off or the glue will not stick. I used those big black office clips to hold it in place over night. Just to keep the corners of the rope from fraying I cut a small piece of weldable metal and bent it around the corners and screwed them into the chamber. I still need to do a little touch up painting but just havent gotten around to it yet. Here is my last post you might be able to see it a little.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=78190

 

[mballi3011]

Welcome to SMF you'll really like here theres alot to learn so get started and enjoy the Thin Blue Smoke.

 

[scpatterson]

Ive used one of these for a long time and you definantly have to keep an eye on the ash. I had heavy duty fire grate made for mine that lifted the wood up a little and kept it further from the bottom and out of the ash....Great smoker....Make sure you clean the firebox out as the ash will collect moisture and rust the bottom out....