Franklin Pits - Initial Review and First Cooks

[au4stree]

Great job on that write up, fantastic looking cooker and ‘Q. Thanks for posting.

[Greygoose]

Great write up and kudos to you for stoking the fires for science on those -5 cold days !!!

[Arsenlael]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. Looks amazing!

[MBMorgan]

Great writeup and congratulations on the new cooker! Thanks for taking the time to share ...

[ecowper]

Congrats, the meat looks fantastic and it sounds like you are really enjoying!

[Starsky]

Great review. Everything looks great!

[fzxdoc]

Thanks for the writeup about your new Franklin Smoker. It's always fun to learn the details of a smoker from the user's eye view. It was an enjoyable read even though I will never buy one (or something similar) only because it doesn't fit with our current lifestyle. Who doesn't love a little vicarious MCS, after all?

Your cooks look delicious!

Kathryn

[Sam6687]

that thing is a beauty, great write-up.

[frailinryan]

Thanks for the detailed review. Looks like a great smoker. Offsets have sparked my interest recently, so I'm always looking for more information about how to use one. Maybe one day I'll own one too.

[GolfGeezer]

Great write-up! At least now, glitchy doesn't need to get one just to review for us!

I did wonder how difficult and often the firebox needs cleaning out. There does not seem to be a firebox basket to keep the coals from getting buried in ash, but I have no experience with stick burners, so that may not mean much.

[glitchy]

Ash draws moisture and stick burners are usually raw steel on the inside, so you usually want to clean out all ash as soon as reasonably possible after a cook to keep the firebox from rusting...and I would love a Franklin stick burner as I think he put mega effort into designing this thing, but I don't realistically see it in my future. Thankfully bmcleveland bought one and is sharing so I can live vicariously through him.

[bmcleveland313]

glitchy is right - I try to clean it out asap. I also like to keep the firebox pretty ash free because it's easier to see where your active coals are when needing to rearrange/manipulate the coal bed during a cook, but that's secondary to the moisture concern.

[JGrana]

Beautiful smoker - and the pictures of that brisket make me very hungry!!!

[Jerod Broussard]

It's one of those, "hey, why doesn't my bark look like that????"

[Jerod Broussard]

Moberg is pushing $4000 on his backyard with insulated firebox. Metal is $$$$$$ right now.

[scottranda]

Well, not Moberg, but an offset.

[Mr. Bones]

What'd ya git, scottranda ???

[scottranda]

Mr. Bones oh, this is the one I’ve had for a while. I found the thread for you!

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/log-burners/other-log-burner-smokers-misc/752154-introducing-the-newest-member-of-my-family-stickburner

[70monte]

Nice review. I was on the list and got the offer to buy in March but decided to not pull the trigger. The price had gone up and I had bought the M1 after I was on the list so I decided I didn't need another stick burner. I mostly cook with charcoal or lump so I really couldn't justify spending that kind of money on something I probably wouldn't use enough. It looks like a great cooker and all of the reviews I've read have been positive.

[Sid P]

Great review and pics! That brisket looks amazing!

I’ve been smoking on the WSM for a couple years and finally have time for an offset, but trying to choose one is just about impossible. I emailed Franklin to see where I am on the list, so maybe that will force my hand….

Thanks for the detailed review 👍.

[bmcleveland313]

Can't recommend enough! An unexpected improvement when switching to an offset was how much more moist the final product was. Not sure if it's specific to the Franklin or offsets in general, but I can't replicate the moisture level on my WSCG even after controlling for a bunch of things.

[PaynTrain]

Nice review @bmcleveland313 . Quick question please and thank you. What temp differences are you seeing end to end? I have a Yoder Durango, and I see about a 50 degree difference from fire box end to vertical cooker end (100 degrees in vertical vs. box end). Good luck buddy!!

[bmcleveland313]

Good question, and wish I had measured it prior to my fireboard breaking . Based on cook experience alone, I think it's maybe between 30-50 end to end difference. I know as long as I leave about 6 inches between the meat and baffle, cook times are pretty much the same anywhere in the chamber. I also keep the fire in the firebox as far away from the chamber as I can. Hopefully thats marginally helpful in lieu of real data!