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Smoker conversion kit

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    Smoker conversion kit

    Well I bit the bullet and bought the Cajun Bandit smoker conversion kit for my Weber kettle. It will be here tomorrow.
    i have two large bags of premium Fogo lump charcoal. I'm thinking about smoking a large brisket this week end.
    Does the Fogo lump charcoal work ok in a smoker for a low n slow cook?


    Note: I updated my first use in post 8 below.
    Last edited by Joetee; August 6, 2019, 09:16 AM.

    #2
    Sure many users will chime in, an I know many do use th lump, in stickburners, ceramic cookers, even kettles an such...

    My best reckonin is, it'll depend on how ya build yer fire, an how many lit ya start with...

    Lookin forward to some more experienced answers, right along with yerself...

    Comment


      #3
      I have tried lump in my kettle in my kettle and never had much luck with various brands.

      Comment


        #4
        Following this for sure, as I'm interested in getting that kit for my Performer. Not sure the airflow of a kettle would be what is needed for lump for long cooks, but I'm no expert on that.

        Comment


        • Joetee
          Joetee commented
          Editing a comment
          Hello Steve, we're almost neighbors. Georgetown here.
          Anyway, I used lump when making chicken wings with good results. But that wasn't with the smoker attachment.
          I may do a test run just to see if I can maintain temps ok.

        • Joetee
          Joetee commented
          Editing a comment
          Hey Steve, well I smoked my first brisket with Fogo lump charcoal using the Cajon Bandit smoke stacker on my Weber kettle. It smoked for 15 hours without having to add any charcoal. Came out wonderful. There was even enough left to grill corn on the cob while the brisket was in the cooler. So just to let you know, it worked great on one full load of lump.

        #5
        Congrats. Lookin' forward to your impressions.

        Comment


        • Joetee
          Joetee commented
          Editing a comment
          It worked great. 15 hours on a brisket.

        #6
        Harry Soo recently added a Weber Kettle, Hot And Fast Brisket cook using lump coal on his YouTube channel.
        You may find it helpful for your next brisket Que.

        Comment


          #7
          FOGO will work just fine in your Weber. I my experience, FOGO is the best lump out there.

          Lump gets a bad name because a lot of people use cheap brands like Royal Oak or Cowboy. You get what you pay for in that respect. Sometime those work fine, sometimes not. I have never had very good luck with them on long smokes.

          FOGO will run just fine in your Kettle. Very little ash and it burns nice and clean.Congrats on the Mod!

          Comment


          • AverageJoe
            AverageJoe commented
            Editing a comment
            Hmm. I have only used Royal Oak lump in Fred. And I use Fred for brisket and pork butt. Never seen FOGO local so have never used it. Is this one that needs to be special ordered to get?

          • Spinaker
            Spinaker commented
            Editing a comment
            Some places will carry it. You have to go to their website to see where the dealers are in your area. If none are available, you can always order it. That is what I end up doing every time. AverageJoe

          • Joetee
            Joetee commented
            Editing a comment
            I just ordered it from Fogo.Com. I think it is cheaper there than Amazon and others. Besides coming from manufacturer means less bag moving around and less dust. I think it was free shipping also.

            It only took maybe 3 days or so to get here.

            Order Details: FOGO Premium Lump Charcoal (17.6lbs)

            Quantity: 2
            Total: $19.95

            Discount (code: WELCOMEWVKM6P4T): $-3.98
            Subtotal: $35.92
            Shipping: $0.00
            Total: $35.92
            Last edited by Joetee; August 6, 2019, 12:55 PM.

          #8
          Cajun Bandit smoker conversion on a 22 inch Weber kettle. With water pan on lower rack.

          Well I used my new smoker for the first time. I used Fogo premium lump. I smoked 6 large think boneless, skinless, chicken breast.

          I piled up a volcano looking mound about 1/2 to 2/3 basket full and placed a Weber fire cube on top.
          Took about an hour trying to get it to 225° while slowly increasing the vent opening. Didn't want to try and cool it down from being to hot.

          Smoked for about 3 hours.

          Though the meat was good, I think I cooked it a little too long. Or perhaps seared it after I smoked it a little too long. The meat was tender and juicy but I prefer it a little less cooked.

          Had a problem keeping the temp stable after about 2 hours. I think it was because I didn't use enough charcoal. Next time a full basket. I can always close it down and use left over on another cook.

          Next problem I had was when removing the smoker from the kettle to check the coal to see if it was about all burned up. It was getting close to being gone but enough to finish the cook. I used a large tin foil pan of water on the lower grate to help stabilize the temp. So when I lifted the smoker off, I spilled a little bit of water.

          So, what I learned was:
          1. Fill the charcoal basket full.
          2. Get a deeper water pan so I don't spill any water if I need to add fuel etc.
          3. Put the fire starter in the middle maybe at the bottom instead of the top.

          All in all I am happy with my smoker/kettle combo. It did a very good job. I just need to practice and perfect it.

          Would I buy again? Yes.

          Comment


            #9
            When I open a bag of Fogo, I pour it out on a piece of cardboard and septate the chunks into 3 sizes. I use 3 containers. Small, medium, and large chunks. Dust and bits gets thrown away. Not very much waist at all. I use the small chunks for stuff like hamburgers and steaks etc on the grill and the large chunks for long Cooks.
            works well.
            my next order is going to be super premium Fogo. It's said to contain a larger % of larger chunks.

            Comment


            • JeffJ
              JeffJ commented
              Editing a comment
              That is a really good idea. I'm definitely going to try that.

            #10
            Can I advise using briquettes for your first few runs? In my opinion they are much more predictable and remove "one variable" until you get everything else figured out. I'm not a lump fan in low and slow because there's just so much that changes from run to run.

            I wouldn't be afraid of ramping up the temperature. Unlike the Kamado's there isn't a lot of 'cooker' to store thermal energy. When you close your vents on a kettle (even a WSM) it doesn't take long to cool down. I found filling one Weber basket with briquettes I'm good if I use two lighter cubes, one at each end. It gets me to 225 quick enough that I can close things down when I get to 170'ish or so.

            Comment


              #11
              I would also advise using briquettes. Only because FOGO is expensive and you really don't need it for kettles. FOGO is meant for kamados because they require very little airflow, which is why the low ash characteristic of FOGO is so important. On a kettle, it really does not matter. If you already have the FOGO, then let it rip.

              Comment


                #12
                I am not sure what the cajun bandit is, but one of the best Brisket cooks I have ever done was on a Weber kettle. I have the grate that has the lift up wing things, and 2 small baskets that stay on the sides, Brisket down the middle with a drip pan. Small hot fires on the sides and you are good to go, adding maybe every hour or so.

                Comment


                  #13
                  I also think maybe you should try a different protein for low and slow. Maybe a small butt - that is a longer smoke, and it is forgiving enough so that when you are dialing your temps in, the end product should still be pretty darn good.

                  Comment


                    #14
                    I agree with the last 3 posts. No need to use FOGO on a kettle. Use a good briquet type. They burn more evenly, than lump. I have used a WK since the late 70's and am convinced that briquets are better for it over lump and I have tried several types of lump.

                    Comment


                      #15
                      Ok, I heard from a lot of briquette users, so just to be fair, I'd like to here from the premium charcoal lump users.

                      Advice, pros/cons. Positive or negative.

                      Comment

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