# HIllgrillies BBQ saying hi from California



## hillgrillies (Apr 15, 2016)

HI Guys,

Just thought i'd introduce myself, as i am new to the Forum. I have been lurking from quite a while, but feel that I now have something worthy to post about. 

My buddies and I call ourselves the Hill Grillies :) We have been cooking together for years, and decided to take the plunge and build the untimate trailer set up. We are from California, and Santa Maria open pit BBQ is a big deal. So, we decided to have the best of both worlds. We are installing an 8' x 3' Santa Maria pit, with adjustable stainless steel grill, and adding a 36" round x 60" long reverse flow smoker. We are toying with the idea of eventually adding a gravity feed to the fire pit, but for now we are just going to do it the old fashion way and use oak wood fed in by hand. I have included some pictures of the build, and the progress we have been making. we all have regular jobs so we are only able to work on it a few hours at a time. we are hoping to have it fired up next week, to start seasoning the pit.

thanks,

Sean


----------



## jasper7 (Apr 15, 2016)

Looks like a heck of project.  Welcome to site, good luck with the build and keep your pics coming.


----------



## SmokinAl (Apr 16, 2016)

Welcome to SMF!

Looks like your going to have quite a rig!

Here is a tutorial on posting photo's.

This way the photo will appear in your text, instead of links to jpeg files.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/125263/how-to-upload-a-photo-q-view-to-your-post

Al


----------



## hillgrillies (Apr 17, 2016)

Thanks guys, I was looking for some help on posting pictures! 

Sean


----------



## bauchjw (Apr 17, 2016)

Looks like a Mother Of All Santa Maria Pits And Reverse Flow Smokers! (MOASM PARFS) I can't wait to see the end rig!


----------



## hillgrillies (Apr 22, 2016)

Hi Guys,

Here are some updated photos, hopefully I got the photo adding right this time. We burned the mid night oil the last few nights and made some good head way. The Santa Maria pit is welded down, and the smoker is installed. We are going to finish the doors this weekend and build a test fire in it before paint. If we need to make any mod's we will before paint and finish. We are hoping to have it complete in the next 2 weeks. I also included a photo of our logo. We have playing around with shirt and hat ideas. A little more background, we do things old school. So all of our rubs, and sauces are home made. We dont use store bougt products, unless it is requested. I went ahead and included some pictures of our food for your viewing pleasure.

Thanks,

Sean B. 













IMG_4346.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 22, 2016





   













IMG_4236.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 22, 2016






Full View of trailer                                                                Brisket Prep! (trusty Coors)













IMG_4347.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 22, 2016





  













IMG_4170.PNG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 22, 2016






Smoker install                                                                     Finished Brisket













IMG_4348.PNG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 22, 2016





   













IMG_4240.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 22, 2016






Hillgrillies Logo sample                                                         Smoked Pork Butts













IMG_4249.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 22, 2016





   













IMG_4287.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 22, 2016






Typical Plate                                                                       Sweet Heat BBQ sauce. 













IMG_4326.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 22, 2016





   













IMG_4327.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 22, 2016






Sweet beans                                                                       Vinegar based chopped slaw!


----------



## SmokinAl (Apr 22, 2016)

Man, that's some good looking brisket!!

Al


----------



## bauchjw (Apr 22, 2016)

:points:
Great build and food!


----------



## hillgrillies (Apr 25, 2016)

Hi Guys,

Here is this weekends update. We installed the fire box door, settled everything on the trailer, installed the 6" steel vent on the Cook Chamber, and installed the slide vents on the fire box. We built a fire in it to see how good the flow was, and I must say that we were pleasently surprised. Here are some photos. I know it looks like there is only one guy working on the pit, but thats because I stopped to take pictures!!!!!

thanks,

Sean B.













IMG_4365.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 25, 2016


















IMG_4372.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 25, 2016


















IMG_4373.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 25, 2016


----------



## hillgrillies (Apr 25, 2016)

Mods,

Can you guys move this thread to the smoker build thread? I just realized that I keep posting in the Roll Call forum. And dont want to be "that guy" if its an issue.

thanks,

Sean


----------



## SmokinAl (Apr 25, 2016)

I moved it!

Al


----------



## hillgrillies (Apr 25, 2016)

Thanks Al!


----------



## HalfSmoked (Apr 25, 2016)

Great looking build and tasty looking brisket.


----------



## hillgrillies (Apr 29, 2016)

We're on the home stretch now. We have been slamming this thing as often as we can. We built custom 9 gauge stainless steel grills in the cook chamber and built a temporaryfire rack for the fire box. Were going to build something better when we get around to it. We ran a test fire last night and had an even 75 degree split between the top and bottom racks. We're  going to run some meat in it this weekend to see how it operates. Super excited to see this pit finished. We are planning on paint and finishing touches early next week. I will take more detailed pictures once its done. I think you guys will like the finished product.

The thing we are most excited about is that, we designed this pit based on info we gathered from this forum. And custom built every part, from the fire box and cook chamber to the grills and trailer. We are more then happy with the results this far and cant wait to run her as often as possible.

thanks,

Sean B.













IMG_4399.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 29, 2016





  

This is the mast for the Santa Maria Pit!













IMG_4405.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 29, 2016






Custom Stainless steel grills, for the cook chamber!













IMG_4406.JPG



__ hillgrillies
__ Apr 29, 2016






Test Run!


----------

