Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

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Sarcastic_Smoker
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Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by Sarcastic_Smoker »

G'day. I'm going to give my review of a smoker I've just purchased which is the Dusty Moose Charcoal Smoker. I'm an Amateur Smoker and this is my first BBQ I've bought, just fyi. Why am I reviewing this? Because it's very new to the market and I want to give my honest opinion on this big boy.

Here's their website.
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What is it? What's the story?

A charcoal smoker of course! 43cm. Made by (I believe) a couple of Aussies in QLD. The people behind the Dusty Moose spent a few years over in the US and when they came back to Australia they felt that our options were over priced for what you received so they've gone and designed their own. Read their About Us section for a more detailed story.

What does it feature?

The features are already listed on the website, but I'll sort through and list what I feel are the key features

1,295cm2 of cooking space across two levels
Porcelain enamel water bowl
Sturdy, high quality construction backed by 1yr replacement warranty
Vertically hinged steel door for ease of access to water bowl and charcoal
Top & bottom air vents for precise temperature control
Built in thermometer
PVC cover included
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What do I like about it?

It cooks meat, pretty well too! Yum! Seriously tho, It seems to hold temperature well. It has a sturdy, solid design that weighs in at 16.5kg. It water pan is large which means less worry about refilling water. The air vents work as intended and it's thermometer seems rather accurate. (Though you should always use your own digital thermometer ;) ) The door is handy for the most part, it lets you add more fuel, top up the water pan and check out the meat on the bottom grill without the need to open the entire smoker. Overall it works, and does it's job well.

What didn't I like?

The instructions weren't as clear as I liked. With a little bit of guess work you could figure it out yourself but still I found needing to view their installation video, which is just a film of a fellow installing it but sped up. The side door doesn't close perfectly leaving a 1-1.5cm gap at the top. This doesn't seem to have much effect on the temperature but that might be an issue for some. One of the clips on my smoker doesn't actually clip. I've been told you just need to fiddle with the positioning of the top part in relation to the bottom and it'll work but I shouldn't need to do that. Two clips still work fine tho. Perhaps I screwed them on poorly tho.

Final thoughts

This is honestly an awesome starter smoker. Fair priced and I believe slightly bigger then the ProQ and Forentto. Also $15 dollars cheaper. In the end it comes down to quality and design. Apart from the two points I made in my dislikes, I would say this is in fact a good quality smoker made from good materials. The design is different from the ProQ/Fornetto. They favour stacking levels while the Dusty Moose is three solid pieces. This is because the Dusty Moose isn't trying to be a ProQ/Forn, it is in fact trying to be a Weber. Personally I prefer the Dusty Moose in terms of looks but design wise it's all up to preference. As far a I can tell the Moose is designed by a couple of Aussies, and despite the smoker being made in China, you would be supporting an Australian company, if that's your kinda thing.


So far I've cooked two things. One brisket and a couple of chicken breasts wrapped in bacon. Going to have a go at another brisket tomorrow. If you got any questions let me know and I'll do my best to answer them. In saying that email the people at Dusty Moose as they are very helpful and very chatty. Which is awesome and the main reason I now own one.

Cheers
12x7
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by 12x7 »

Great write-up

Post some photos of the cooks.

What fuel are you using? Heat beads, Kingston, red heads.
Sarcastic_Smoker
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by Sarcastic_Smoker »

12x7 wrote: Sat Nov 25, 2017 12:07 am Great write-up

Post some photos of the cooks.

What fuel are you using? Heat beads, Kingston, red heads.
HI, thanks! :)

I'm not much of a photo my food guy haha, so ain't got anything to show sorry.

I was using Heat Beads Coconut Shell Charcoal and then switch to a cheaper alternative, can't remember it's name. Prefer the Coconut Shell tbh. Seemed to get hotter quicker and stay warm for longer.
Sarcastic_Smoker
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by Sarcastic_Smoker »

Anyone know how to edit a Post. I labelled this smoker as 43cm. It's 47!
luke-h
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by luke-h »

Just want to say that I got one of these over Christmas thanks to this post. It's my first smoker (I've only ever used a gas grill up till now) and I can't wait to start using it, but unfortunately I've had a busy start to the year and haven't yet. I did correspond with the Dusty Moose guys on Facebook and asked a few questions (including why their unit was cheaper) and they answered all my questions very satisfactorily. Looking forward to giving this a go really soon.
paulr
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by paulr »

Pls let us know... I used to have a WSM (looks similar but is likely dearer...)
Hows the air leakage on these BBQ's (ie after a cook how quickly does the charcoal stop burning?)

Happy BBQ-ing, Paul
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Lovey
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by Lovey »

Sarcastic_Smoker wrote: Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:44 am Anyone know how to edit a Post. I labelled this smoker as 43cm. It's 47!
All fixed up.
deeps7
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by deeps7 »

Any updates on how these are? Good for a beginner? The 50 shipping to WA is the deal breaker for me at the moment, but if it's got good reviews I may go it anyway

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luke-h
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by luke-h »

Perfect timing! I actually used mine for the first time last weekend and am intending to post a write up this week with pics.

In short - really good. As a first time BBQ cook I managed a good brisket flat, which took a heap of research as it is not exactly the easiest thing to take on. The smoker did it’s job nicely though.

More details to come..
Davo
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by Davo »

If these units feel as solid as you say they are, then I'd definately buy one over a 18 inch Pro-Q.
I wasn't impressed in the tinniness of the small Pro-Q at all but its bigger brother is chalk n cheese over its smaller sibling....felt almost like a WSM but still fell short but are much cheaper than the Weber.
I must say though, given the prices asked for some other smokers, mainly offsets & Komados, the 57cm WSM at just under $1K is looking good value...one will grace my backyard one day.
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luke-h
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by luke-h »

Okay, here as promised is my full write-up.

As background, I have never used a smoker before but I love the taste of smoked brisket and have always wanted to make my own. I was extremely nervous about doing this as my first ever cook though. I was cooking for myself, my partner and her parents who were over.

For about $280, I got a combo pack last Christmas that included the Dusty Moose smoker, a cover, wood chunks, a two-probe wireless thermometer and a mix of rubs and sauces. I was quite impressed with the value and if anything a bit nervous that it was a bit too cheap. I actually contacted the Dusty Moose team before laying down the purchase and asked how they did it for the price and they answered to my satisfaction.

Compared with a WSM the value is superb.

I found the Dusty Moose smoker easy enough to assemble, although the assembly video and instructions they provide are not perfect (for instance, in the video where they are screwing on various components, often the guy's fingers obscure what he is doing which doesn't help in an instructional video). Using the instructional video and the printed instructions together I was able to figure it out easily enough though.

The unit is heavy and sturdy and everything holds together really well. The only real issue, as others have highlighted here and elsewhere, is the door. The shape of the door doesn't match the contour of the smoker and the door handle is too flimsy. However, this doesn't seem to affect temperature in the unit.

As sarcastic_smoker also said, the clips are a bit misaligned but on my unit they do all join together with a bit of wrangling.

Now for the cook I did: even though it is not generally advised as the cook to start with, I wanted to do brisket. I did a heap of research beforehand. I only wanted to cook a small one (which makes getting a good result more difficult) and I wanted it to be relatively lean for diet reasons, so I opted for a flat cut rather than the fattier 'point cut'.

The flat cut is indeed quite lean, so it's recommended to inject it beforehand.

The piece of meat I got (1.2kg) - as you will see, the first thing I did was inject it with beef stock:

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I did this in about 5 or 6 spots.

Next I applied a rub I acquired from a recent BBQ festival that was a mix of spices and included a small amount of espresso:

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Popped it in the smoker and made my first rookie mistake - I put wayyy too much charcoal in. The temp very quickly went to about 400F. Eventually I removed about half the briquettes (I only needed to use about 7-10 after that) and also put the water pan in (I wasn't using it up to this point) and half-filled it. Then I sprinked some wood chips I had around.

The smoker smoking at the desired 225F:

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After about 45mins I (carefully) took the water pan back out, since the temp had settled where I wanted it. I'd read that its better without the water pan for brisket, in order to get a good smoke ring on it.

Eventually I reached the dreaded stall when the meat hit 155F - which I knew was coming, but it still made me very nervous. I took it out and wrapped it in foil and popped it back in.

The meat at the stalling stage:
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And finally, after about 7 hours, my little brisket hit 198F and I took it out (ideally you should wait until it hits 201F but it was around 8PM at this point). Sat it for 30 minutes (ideally you should sit it for 1-2 hours) - and here was the end result:

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I was absolutely thrilled with the result, particularly given it was the first ever cook on a new untried smoker. It tasted great and there was an excellent smokey flavour there.

Now, because it was my first time, I did not set-and-forget, in fact I was checking every 15-30 mins. I had to top up the charcoal briquettes maybe 3 times, but I wasn't using any particular method to stack them and I think a more seasoned chef would be able to set it up for a set-and-forget cook in this smoker easily. I am very happy with my Dusty Moose overall and can't wait to show it off to more people.
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by Davo »

Excellent effort Luke...that briskie looks pretty darn good.

I have found that after having a WSM, I tried all different methods and the method i found best of all was to use it the way it was intended and thats as a water smoker.

When smoke mixes with the steam of the water, the smoke carries the water vapour to completely surround the meat and keep it nice and moist as well as being a good heat sink.

The best method for fire is have the charcoal basket (if its got one) filled up with unlit beads or lump charcoal with smoking wood buried throughout the unlit coals, then dump a 3/4 chimney of lit coals on top, place the pan in and fill it with hot water, close the lid and wait for the temp to go up to about 180f and close all bottom vents completly untill the temp stops rising...it'll probably stop between 230- 250 but thats no drama, open hatch door and throw a couple of smoking wood chunks ontop of the fire for the first initial smoke and let it go till the temp resettles to the desired temp. Re-open the bottom vents to about 25%.
This is called the Minion method named after American comp smoker Jim Minion.

The coals will slowly burn down rather than up and in the WSM i used to get up to 15 hour sessions with this method.

Then you place the meat in the smoker and that thing should hold temp for many hours. If you find the temp going down, just open bottom vents a bit more.

Every 4 hours check water pan and refill with hot water to keep temps stable.

Temp variances of 30f will not affect the result..so next time you do a similar brisket...try it that way and see if you like it.

Happy smoking

Davo
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deeps7
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by deeps7 »

Have a Dusty Moose on the way! So excited

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deeps7
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by deeps7 »

So have had the dusty moose for a few weeks now. This is my first smoker too.

Done a lamb shoulder from coles, and a pork shoulder from warnbro butchers

Pretty happy with the dusty moose, mine clips together well, and is a sturdy construction etc.

Only complaint is also the door - paint scratching away where it rubs against the main body - no biggy, it's a smoker, not a fashion statement - but still not ideal. Also the door doesn't seal great - need to fit some sort of gasket on it. Apart from that, it's been great.

Ran out of water and charcoal for the lamb shoulder (got distracted by guests) and the lamb fell 5 degrees short of my target. It still pulled pretty decent, and tasted good.

The pork shoulder came out brilliant, was very happy with it.

Will try a brisket next (yikes!)
deeps7
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Re: Review - Dusty Moose 47cm Charcoal Smoker - A smoker made for Australians

Post by deeps7 »

Oh - and the part I hate the most. The lower vent is at the very bottom (which is probably better for the fire), but it means I need to get down on my hands and knees to adjust :(
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