backed... but i dont want to share it on FB or anywhere because i dont want everyone to know my new secret. LOL
hope you hit the mark, good luck. if its not successful are you still going to go to market and get the small batches out because i will still pay for one. otherwise i will have to try to weld one myself with my tears...
That looks terrific David. Very well done. My $100 is pledged - a decision that took about 4 seconds. I've also doubled down and passed my smokenator on to an aspiring pitster - I'm clearly very confident in your design and future success! But no pressure
I have been eying the 26" OTG as well as the 22.5" WSM. I already have the 22 with the Smokenator and I have a 14.5" WSM. Maybe a 26" kettle equipped with this device is BBQ Utopia for me?
The water "pan" is a stroke of brilliance. I didn't see it when I was reading this on my mobil device but when I got home and showed it to my wife I noticed it.
Suggestion: Why not increase the capacity of the water "pan"? It seems like it would use only a negligible amount of extra steel but would make it even more of a set-it-forget-it device especially if the Pit Boss using it wasn't planning on wrapping.
This may change the matrix of my next acquisition. I got a Smokenator last year for my 22 Performer. I really like it and have had nothing but success using it. Then for Christmas I got a WSM 14.5" and concurred with Ernest that it's definitely a better smoking experience than a kettle with Sn. Per a suggestion (can't remember whether it was David Parrish or Huskee) I did a side-by-side between my WSM and my Bradley electric. Well, the WSM won hands down (the Bradley still produced really good ribs though). So, obviously capacity is an issue so then I began debating between a 22.5 WSM or a PBC (concluded the WSM is probably a better fit for me). However, last summer we had 2 other families over and I was cooking chicken legs on the 22". Using the charcoal baskets I could only use half of the grate and we were in a time crunch. I ended up using the hovergrill, putting the legs into a standing rib rack on the hovergrill to further increase capacity AND I had to use my rotisserie ring (minus the spit) to raise the lid in order to make room for everything. It was right then that I concluded the 26.75 would be great for slightly larger gatherings....
What I am getting at is I keep going back and forth between a 26.5 or a 22.5 WSM understanding that I am dealing with trade offs either way I go. I am going to be putting one of these devices on my Christmas wish list this year. Seriously, perhaps the 26.75 kettle equipped with the SnS is the optimal choice. Keep in mind I just got the Weber gourmet BBQ system for Christmas this year so the grate that it replaced would make for a nice (and free!) hovergrill in the 26.75".
I missed this thread when it was first introduced. A big thanks to Huskee for linking to it for a newbie who has a kettle.
JeffJ I can't speak to the water pan question... but the right answer to your size problem is to own both sizes! Problem solved!
The problem I have is trying to justify to my wife that I need even ONE of the devices I am looking at. Getting both simply won't happen, so I've got to closely evaluate versatility, price and value.
I think you are wise to be cautious with your claims. However if your test subjects are hitting ten hours on the coal and six with the water there is nothing wrong with saying: you can get 8-10 hours with one batch of coal and 5-6 hours of steam with the water pan.
Jeff the product claims of 8 hours for the charcoal and 5 hours for the water are indeed conservative, but the SnS is so easy to refill for both the water and the charcoal that even for much longer cooks the SnS works very well.
Alex Hambrick ran his SnS for 28 hours straight in competition last weekend and placed 5th in brisket among 55 competitors. So a Weber kettle with a SnS beat out 50 high priced dedicated smokers. It doesn't get much better than that!
JeffJ it's not "set and forget" easy, however once you learn how it works you can get steady temps for hours. I did a rib cook a couple of weeks ago where my goal was to touch the vents as little as possible to see how the SnS would manage temps. The SnS held 225 to 250 for 5 hours without me touching a vent. In fact I didn't touch the grill at all for 5 hours. Didn't even crack the lid. I was so excited at how it was holding temp I let it go longer than I should have and overcooked the ribs a little. At the end of the 5 hours the temp was at 244F and it was heading down. It would have kept going another 2 or 3 hours I'm guessing based on how much charcoal was left. I have a video somewhere. I'll try and find it.
I hope this thing takes off and is a HUGE hit. I can already see the Pit Crew sitting around a campfire:
Huskee - I just smoked 5 four pound butts in my kettle for 27 hours with the SnS and only used .9764532% of a full chimney. Now THAT's efficiency!
Jerod Broussard - Efficiency my Boston Butt! Using reduced molasses and a boatload of thumbtacks I just squeezed 11 briskets into my PBC and was able to create the needed 1.324453353 millimeters of space necessary between the meat to ensure even cooking!
David Parrish - PeeBeeSeeeEEeee??!!!??? (laughing uproariously) Puh! That hideous looking thing is a heap of dung compared to a kettle equipped with a SnS!!!
Then, with Pit Boss and Huskee laughing and slapping each other on the back with Broussard's face all red stammering for a good comeback....
Meathead - You clowns are out of your league! I just rigged up my chimney, cut down and smoked a 2 pound butt, IN THE CHIMNEY, for 11 hours with 4 Kingsford briquettes and 1 hickory chip! So, take that!
David ParrishJon Solberg See post #46 I was the 3rd one in for the Early access hand built special edition small batch before I ordered the kettle. LOL Still waiting
Excellent! So the way KickStarter works the money isn't "real" until the project ends. It doesn't matter if the goal is met, folks can still back out until 24 hours before the project completion time. Because of that I have to wait until project completion before I can ship. The other side is the small batch Slow 'N Sears are being made by a local job shop. They can only do so many per week. It will probably be the end of the project before all of the small batch Slow 'N Sears are made. We've got 28 more days to go... *sigh*
Hey everyone! It does take me a minute to get seals back as I have a 6 month old that makes it terribly hard to keep a schedule. Set up a post on this, give me some ideas and I can make it happen!
So honest truth appreciated. What do you folks think of the videos? I realize they're low budget, but it's just me manning the camera and it seems like these videos are the best way to show off how the SnS works. So let me know what you think of the videos and what else you'd like to see!
If you're trying to simplify the BBQ process for the Everyman and make them feel like a pit master (myself included) I would start from the beginning: video of how to fill the coals, how to ration the coals(specifically important for those on a charcoal budget and a constant topic of discussion on MBs) inserting the unit into the kettle, light a chimney, add the coals, adding the water, Setting the vents for both styles of cook. It took me quite a while to calibrate my weber and if this device is supposed to be able to be "out of the box" easy, showcase it!! All things being equal: i would much rather get the results the SnS produces without the work I have put into my cooks. I am chomping at the bits for the ship date!
Borrow a friends GoPro too, you can have both hands free
The web sight has some good information on how to set it up although finding the sight seems a little difficult. Google search for Slow n Sear or Adrenalin Barbecue does not bring the sight up.
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
So honest truth appreciated. What do you folks think of the videos? I realize they're low budget, but it's just me manning the camera and it seems like these videos are the best way to show off how the SnS works. So let me know what you think of the videos and what else you'd like to see!
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Here's my pastrami as well, on the SnS. Instead of a full chimney of unlit coals, I used about 2/3 since I planned to take it to only 160 per Meathead's new directions. 12 lit briquets. A few small pieces of pecan.
Per I believe richinlbrgfzxdoc & I's conversation, I said I'd try taking it to only 160. This (below) in the bark after steaming it to 203, smoking it to 161 the day prior.
I must say next time I will cook it to bark, even if that means 200 IT. I cooked at avg 230, with some variance either side, for 5 hrs until hitting 161. I wasn't happy with the bark on this, it remained pasty and a lot came off on my gloves as I sliced it. It seemed, and this may not be the same for everyone in every case, but it seemed a little less tender too. I steamed it in a turkey roaster pan, elevated off the water, light steam until it hit 203 IT, which took about an hour. Meathead probably didn't have this experience or he probably wouldn't have changed his technique to 160 on the smoker.
And, starting with only 2/3 chimney of unlit briquets (instead of full) and 12 lit briquets, here is what's left after a 5 hr cook. Looks to be half or just under half left. Water reservoir was filled about 1" from the top and it was just drying up at 5 hrs here.
fzxdoc my next one will be taken to the point of good dark bark. Pit Boss did one the same day as me and smoked his 8 hrs, but he never told me his IT at 8hrs. 160 took my ~4lb flat 5hrs, about 45-60 min of that was the beginning of the stall which started around 154. As you can see above his bark is better. I'll plan on taking it to 203 if that's what it takes.
Thanks, Huskee, I'll do the same. I took my first pastrami up to 203 and it wasn't dry in the least. It's good to know that we have a wide window of temps to take it to.
Comment