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Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 6:15 am
by nic0
I have been wanting to get a smoker for a few years now but couldn't decide whether to go Gas, Electric or Charcoal. There was no way i could afford a pellet grill so after spending a weekend reading the Amazing Ribs website and watching a heap of videos on youtube i decided the offset was the way to go. The videos and advice from the experts say to stay away from the cheap offset smokers (COS).

I have temporarily relocated to the US for work and two COS appeared at my local Aldi, at $99 i though it was worth the gamble.The metal is really thin and after i assembled it i noticed there were a shit load of gaps in the fire box so i ordered some Lava Lock high performance smoker gasket off amazon and sealed it up.
Lava Lock High Performance gasket seal
Lava Lock High Performance gasket seal
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I covered the whole thing in cooking spray, got the chimney going and tested it out on some Costco ribs with the Kingsford briquets as that is what one of my mates recommended.
Range Master Offset
Range Master Offset
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Range Master Offset
Range Master Offset
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Ribs one dry rub, two wet rub, hot dogs, spuds and corn.
Range Master Offset
Range Master Offset
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Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 6:34 am
by nic0
I managed to keep the smoker between 200f and 240f by adding briquets every 30-40min, most of the time it was on 225f but i was only adding 20 at a time after they had ashed over. The ribs were in for 5 hrs, the spuds 3hrs, corn 2.5hrs (way to long), i added some steak 2hrs, hotdogs 1.5 hrs.
ribs, steak, hotdogs,
ribs, steak, hotdogs,
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The spuds probably only needed 2hrs but they were still great and the corn was stuffed it was way over done.
the spuds were great.
the spuds were great.
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Steak was over done but still really tender.
steak
steak
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The end result, for my first go with a COS i was pretty happy.
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Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 7:00 am
by nic0
For the second cook the temp was a bit lower at 210f, i did the ribs again but this time i did two half racks salt and pepper and four half racks with the Grill Mates Brown Sugar Bourbon. I also did a brisket but forgot to take a photo of it in the smoker.
two half racks salt and pepper and four half racks with the Grill Mates Brown Sugar Bourbon
two half racks salt and pepper and four half racks with the Grill Mates Brown Sugar Bourbon
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I moped the brisket and ribs every hour and at the 5 hour mark i removed the brisket as it had reached 160f. I wrapped it in foil and put it in an esky.
brisket having a rest
brisket having a rest
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Four hours later the brisket was still 145f, i did the ribs for 7 hours this time.

Brisket
brisket
brisket
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Ribs
ribs
ribs
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Ribs were great but the brisket was tough, i think next time i will do the brisket the day before and put it in the slow cooker over night and the next day to finish it off.
ribs and brisket
ribs and brisket
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Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:18 am
by nic0
For the first smoke i just used the kingsford briquets only and the ribs still had a lot of smoke flavor. For the second used the rest of the bag of the kingsford and then used range master briquets for a majority of the cook which were harder to light but burnt longer than the kingsford. I also added a water tray in the fire box used hickory chips. The ribs were fine but the steak was a bit over smoked and was slightly bitter.

For my third smoke i F#$%ed up, i tried something different which i will never do again, i loaded up the fire box with 52 briquets mix of kingsford and ranger master and covered them with charcoal lighter fluid. What i normally do is use paper and the chimney which produces a lot of smoke initially but the neighbors haven't complained yet. The lighter fluid didn't produce as much smoke but i could taste it in the ribs even thou i waited for the briquets to ash over before i added the meat.

I told another mate of mine what i did and he suggested that i just put the chimney on the wok burner of my gas BBQ and light the briquets that way, i will give that a go and report back. The kingsford briquettes seem to be way to easy to light and burn out way to quick so i am not overly happy with them. I have purchased two bags of stubbs all natural which is meant to be the next best thing to using real wood so i will give them a go. Anyway below are the pics of the third cook.

Ribs Chicken & Steak
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I am really happy with the COS so far and i went and had a look at some of the more expensive offsets and for $700 you don't even get a reverse flow :-( i might have to add some more mods my COS.

Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2018 11:14 pm
by Groovy Gorilla
Great photos looks delicious well done

Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:11 am
by Davo
Looks a good little unit for $700

Yeah i'm not a fan of kingsfords either...I always use heatbeads.....found them to be the best overall for consistency and I've been using them well over 20 yrs.

Brisket needs to be brought up to 203F or about 95C, wrapped and rested for about 2-3 hours.....you didn't cook it for long enough so no chance of rendering.

All in all...so great results.....don't worry about mistakes, some mistakes can be eaten, some can't but they are valuable learning curves on your way to being a BBQ Master-chef.

Keep churning out those goodies nicO

Cheers

Davo

Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:29 pm
by gnol
Awesome looking cook ups.

Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:35 am
by nic0
I went and looked at some $700 smokers but the one i got was only $99. I checked my log and i made a bit of a stuff up in that brisket post, just before i removed the brisket from the smoker the internal temp of the brisket was 207F, it had started to rain and the temperature of the smoker quickly dropped to 160F so i decided to pull the brisket out and rest it. Even thou it was raining i added some more briquets and managed to get it back up to 210F and finish off the ribs.

I did an Oktoberfest cook up and used the stubs instead of the kingsford and i also used the wok burner on the BBQ to light them up, they definitely burned hotter and longer and i had a lot less crap in the firebox at the end of the cook. I will keep an eye out for the heatbeads when i get back to Oz. The kingsford are cheaper than the stubs but i didn't have to use as many of the stubs.

I will put up pic of the Oktoberfest cook up once i resize all the photos.

Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:06 am
by nic0
The Bacon, the American stuff is CRAP!!!!
The Bacon, the American stuff is CRAP!!!!
The Bacon, the American stuff is CRAP!!!!
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Loaded the smoker up.
Loaded the smoker up.
Loaded the smoker up.
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Getting my smoke on!!!!
Getting my smoke on!!!!
Getting my smoke on!!!!
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The Smoked Bacon and spuds for the German Potato Salad
The Smoked Bacon and spuds for the German Potato Salad
The Smoked Bacon and spuds for the German Potato Salad
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The bratz and started the Texas Cheat
texas cheat
texas cheat
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Did the 3-2-1 method for the ribs
ribs and bratz
ribs and bratz
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Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:11 am
by nic0
The potato salad (my kind of salad) :lol:
The potato salad (my kind of salad)
The potato salad (my kind of salad)
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Ribs
ribs
ribs
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ribs
ribs
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ribs
ribs
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Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 8:39 am
by paulr
Late reply but that just looks amazing!!.
I have my Komodo Kamado and 2 gassers and a smoker.... Would love to get my hands on an offset smoker!

Happy BBQ-ing, Paul

Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 7:42 am
by Davo
Just keep in mind.....I note that a mate of yours suggested to use your gas burner on your gas bbq to light the charcoal.....just be careful of that and don't have it going for too long....just 5-10 minutes until the bottom ones start going.....the heat from the charcoal could melt and ruin your gas nodule and even the trivet you place the chimney on......then once the bottom rows are lit...take it off and place somewhere safe till the coals are ready.

Cheers

Davo

Re: Nico's Cheap Offset Smoker

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 12:20 pm
by nic0
Hi Davo

You are correct the chimney only needs about 5 min on the side burner and I am watching it the whole time. I then move it to a fire pit until they ash over.

Cheers

Peter




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