I've been thinking about acquiring a smoker, but the ones I've seen don't really do what I want it to do. Most backyard smokers won't get the temps up past 250F, and that's fine for pure smoking, but when we have a big gathering here, it's nice to have extra oven space for things that we might like to bake or roast, and being able to crank open the valve and get the temp up to baking is a big help.
So, I've been casting around and I found this one. The
Camp Chef Smoke Vault. They come in both 18" and 24" widths, and they run on a propane tank. Temps are adjustable from 160 to 500 degrees and that would add a lot of baking space when we've got the whole crew over.
This thing might be just what I'm looking for. I can run the heat down low for smoking brisket and ribs, yet crank it up when Milady needs extra oven space. Better yet,
Amazon sells them with free shipping.
What do you think?
5 comments:
I've not used that brand, but I got mine at some point from a Home Depot, http://www.homedepot.com/p/Masterbuilt-2-Door-Charcoal-and-Propane-Gas-Dual-Fuel-Smoker-20050412/202904343?N=5yc1vZbx92 This is the exact one.
I love it. Having a big box smoker you can use as a warming oven is handy too, or for smoking lots of meat.
I bought one and returned it after one use. Part of it was mine turned out to have a door not tightly fitted. Lost a lot of heat. I did not want it anyway after that use. All that metal gets very hot if you use it for a grill. I had a lapse and got second degree burns on three fingers. I would not want one if little ones could be around it.
Mine was from a another big box store and not sure of the brand. It was made in China though. Ben
Upwards of thirty years ago a local electronics company (Fluke) had a contract with the Navy to build shipboard and airborne electronic cabinets. When the Navy cancelled the contract Fluke. was saddled with about 15 tons of heavy aircraft grade sheet alumin(i)um. Instead of scrapping it they folded and riveted it into smokers which they sold for about $15. I equipped mine with a cheap Toastmaster single burner hot plate with wood chips in a steel pie tin. It works wonderfully. It's a plain alumin(i)um box 16"x16"x24" tall with an overlapped lid and a door at the bottom to feed the chip pan and rivets inside to lay the smoker grills on. It came with chromed refrigerator grills which I replaced with alumin(i)um expanded lath 'cause stuff slid around on the chrome grids too much.
I set mine on a base of 4" cinder blocks because I nearly set the back deck on fire early on.
I've successfuly smoked everything from hard boiled eggs (delicious!!) to almost every kind of bird, fish, sausage, cheese, (Cheddar type and white cheeses work best), and meat. I also smoke Kosher Salt, The Vikings sold smoked salt all over their world, it is wonderful and so easy to do.
My jury rigged smoker used to have a LP burner, then I switched it to a electric hot plate.
There is something about the gas flame and taste to me.
On the hot plate I put a very cheap cast iron frying pan. In this pan I put some charcoal and the wood chunks that I use for smoking.
Above the frying pan I placed a old steel pizza pan to deflect the dripping away from going into the pan where they would flare up too much.
Now the drippings sizzle on the pan where they add flavor to the smoke.
This setup with only the hot plate going I can hold about 200 degrees for as long as I want.
With charcoal going I can get the steady heat up over 350.
Making cooker / smoker is one of those, keep trying different things until you find what you like projects.
Around these parts, it's been customary for folks to make their own out of VERY OLD all
metal fridges. Those fridges used to be give-aways, but you're lucky to find one now. No fire inside the fridge; you have a separe fire/smoke chamber (old wood stove works well) and use flexible 4" exhaust pipe to get the smoke and heat into the fridge.
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