Brinkmann Trailmaster Limited Edition

[badjackson]

Hey everyone, I'm back. I bought my BTLE in March, I had to take a day off yesterday to finally put it together. I'm curing it tonight & 1st smoke tomorrow. 6 racks of ribs. I'm a bit nervous. Any tips will be appreciated. I did a stack mod & sealed everything. Here she is.

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• badjackson
• Jun 20, 2015

 

[smokey whaler]

Just finished smoking 4 racks of Spare Ribs!!
for the first time( 6hrs)! They came out awesome, but I need to control my heat a little better!! Next I'm going to try whole chicken

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• smokey whaler
• Jun 20, 2015

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• smokey whaler
• Jun 20, 2015

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• smokey whaler
• Jun 20, 2015

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• smokey whaler
• Jun 20, 2015

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• smokey whaler
• Jun 20, 2015

 

[badjackson]

Well, it's not as good as I had hoped. I have some temp problems. I'm at about 265° on the right & 185° on the left. Should I move my rib racks around? The probe on the right is not over my makeshift convection plate, a cookie sheet wired to the top right grate. So I think it's reading a bit higher than what the actual temp that the ribs are at.
You can see it in the pic

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• badjackson
• Jun 21, 2015

 

[smokey whaler]

Well, it's not as good as I had hoped. I have some temp problems. I'm at about 265° on the right & 185° on the left. Should I move my rib racks around? The probe on the right is not over my makeshift convection plate, a cookie sheet wired to the top right grate. So I think it's reading a bit higher than what the actual temp that the ribs are at.
You can see it in the pic

IMG_2018.JPG

• badjackson
• Jun 21, 2015

That sucks!! I built a heat distribution plate and it worked well my right side of the pit was 250 and the left side was 225. I hope this helps

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• smokey whaler
• Jun 21, 2015

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• smokey whaler
• Jun 21, 2015

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• smokey whaler
• Jun 21, 2015

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• smokey whaler
• Jun 21, 2015

 

[badjackson]

Yeah, they didn't turn out great. They were tough... like Famous Dave's. But they tasted good! I have to make a GOOD convection plate.
Sad.

 

[motownphill]

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• motownphill
• Jun 21, 2015

put this to the winter test... not the greatest at getting above 250 in that weather. Stil did the trick but a little costly in propane since it had to run both burners at almost max for entire cook.

 

[johnnyrockford]

Yeah, they didn't turn out great. They were tough... like Famous Dave's. But they tasted good! I have to make a GOOD convection plate.
Sad.

Don't get discouraged. 6 racks of ribs is a big load for a machine that's fresh out of the box. You just have to get to know each other a little better. ;-)
I have a trailmaster and found it frustrating at first also, but after you break it in and get a few smokes in, it will get easier to manage. Before long you'll be naming it! (Mine is named Susan)
You can drive yourself crazy with mods and "fixes", so my suggestion is to just make one change at a time and enjoy the process.
Good luck to you.

 

[badjackson]

Thanks JohnnyRockford... I'm not too upset... just a bit. More upset with myself for getting talked into cooking for 9 people on its 1st smoke. I was so busy getting everything ready this weekend, I didn't even get to cure it like I wanted to. I got up at 6 and stared the cure. The sweet charcoal basket my buddy (pro welder) made me didn't fit. After I had the ribs on for a few... I felt I needed to add charcoal. My temps shot up to almost 280°!!!!!! I knew I was screwed.

Any tips on cleaning the BTLE after a smoke?

 

[donger22]

Haven't posted in quite some time. 

Made a packer brisket a couple weekends ago. I like to separate the flat from the point to speed up the cooking time. Here are a couple pics

brisket 2.jpg

• donger22
• Jun 24, 2015

brisket.jpg

• donger22
• Jun 24, 2015

 

[smokeymoake]

Looks very good!

 

[oldgamefreak]

Badjackson. Try rib racks to get them to cook better. Also i wouldn't sweat high temps for ribs. A few of the good bbq restaurants I've talked to say they always do ribs hot.

 

[rookiesmoker18]

Hello all!
Been reading a lot of these posts about problems evening out the temps on the TMLE. I have this smoker as well and had the same problem. Tried making my own plates and deflectors with minimal success. Finally ordered a baffle plate from kick ass bbq south, worth every penny. Even temps now and using less fuel! Doesn't cost much and works great

 

[badjackson]

Well, I got started on ribs by accident. My grandma announced one weekend that I would be making ribs for dinner the following evening.... I had never cooked ribs in my life prior to that. I used an oven and then finished them on the grill. They were great! Since then, I have been going steadily towards smoking them in a charcoal smoker. This was my 1st attempt at that. They TASTED way better, but they were also WAY tougher! I just need to work at it a bit more. I just need to learn my BTLE and figure out how to even out the heat and keep it low. I also don't know how to estimate my smoking time.

I have thought about putting in an extra stack in the fire box, just as a way to dump some heat. I was opening the lid thus time... I guess that worked a bit.
I think I need to practice.
THIS website helps A LOT!

 

[thackman]

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• thackman
• Jun 28, 2015

My new smoker after mods.

 

[thackman]

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• thackman
• Jun 28, 2015

 

[thackman]

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• thackman
• Jun 28, 2015

Finished product.

 

[thackman]

My TMLE holds within 5* F end to end with the mods.

 

[gary s]

Ribs, Look Great, Nice Job

Gary

 

[oldgamefreak]

For ribs I go about 275ish and between 3-4 hours. I usually get my brisket going then add the ribs. I spritz them about every 45 min with apple juice and let them rest for 1.5 to 2 hours wrapped in a cooler. My last set I did them for a full 4 hours and when I tested it, one of the bones pulled completely out of the meat. It didn't have any meat even on it. A BIT too long but the flavor was amazing and the creations I was cooking for likes the "fall off the bone" part. What do you expect with trying to make Q for people in AZ.

 

[philter171]

I bought my BTLE around Memorial Day and added the silicon, rope gaskets, charcoal basket, chimney extension, and a Maverick 73 and 732.  This has been my first adventure with a smoker and I have used it several times since getting it all set up.  Here are some of the Qviews from my successful smokes, I say successful because everybody so far has loved whats come out of the smoker!!

breakfast fattie.jpg

• philter171
• Jun 30, 2015

brisket resting.jpg

• philter171
• Jun 30, 2015

full smoker - brisket, ribs and loin.jpg

• philter171
• Jun 30, 2015

pork butt and kc messy ribs.jpg

• philter171
• Jun 30, 2015

pork butt.jpg

• philter171
• Jun 30, 2015

sliced brisket.jpg

• philter171
• Jun 30, 2015

st louis ribs with mr. brown.jpg

• philter171
• Jun 30, 2015

the bend test.jpg

• philter171
• Jun 30, 2015