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Woodwind 24 Capacity

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    Woodwind 24 Capacity

    Hi Looking into buying a pellet smoker, and am all but decided on the Camp Chef Woodwind. Any owners have any ball park maximums for brisket and ribs? Can you fit 2 packer's on a 24 inch, one on each level? Also,how many racks of ribs can realistically fit?

    85% of my needs would be set with the 24 inch, but I have a huge close neighborhood, so at times I would want to load up.

    Thanks for any advice!


    #2
    I am sure you could fit two packers on it if it has two racks. 24 inches is plenty of room. I would think you'd be able to fit quite a few racks of ribs oil there too. Sometimes the top racks are about half the size, in depth, as the bottom rack so that might limit the amount of ribs you will be able to fit onto the unit.

    Comment


      #3
      If you buy the jerky racks to go with it, they will give you 4 levels for ribs.

      Comment


        #4
        While it might fit 2 packers, double check the heat distribution on various reviews. On some of these cookers the outside 1-2"s around the grates might be unusable or require multiple rotations through the cook. Some of the pellet smokers actually perform better when fully loaded. I just can't remember which "camp" the woodwind models fall into. Not a huge deal, but something to be aware of.

        Comment


          #5
          I happen to have and still use a Woodwind. It’s a pretty good unit; however, I would suggest no more than one 14 lb. brisket at a time. In other words, only one will fit properly. An 18 Lb. or larger brisket is just too much, as it will not fit correctly. Yes, you can close the door and yes it will stay inside, but it won’t leave enough internal elbow room for the "wind" part of the woodwind to actually perform as expected. There are several aftermarket trays that you can insert and use to accommodate more product, increasing overall available cooking capacity. Lots of people like to use them for chicken wings and for homemade jerky.

          My personal experience with this unit has been positive when not overcrowding it. I have tried fitting more than it can normally handle and the heat distribution is significantly compromised, cooking turns out uneven and the results are not as spot-on as if you go with a normal arrangement.

          While the grate surface is essentially all available to use, there are 2 side gaps that allow heat and smoke to rise from the fire pot compartment, up into the cooking chamber. These 2 side gaps aren’t readily apparent. If you choose to place product on top of the gap(s), fat drippings during the cooking will become a problem, particularly during long cooks. More on this later.

          I learned this the hard way, so keep that in mind and avoid placing anything over those 2 gaps. The heat deflector tray conveys fat drippings out into a little tin bucket that sits to the side of one of the unit supporting legs.

          One way to ensure all works well is to carefully place your product over cooking grate areas that are "directly above" the coverage or service footprint of the heat deflector tray. Once you start introducing smoke and heat, fat drips onto the heat deflector tray, from where it is drained out. If fat or oils miss the heat deflector tray and get to pass through any of the 2 side gaps, which are probably say 1.5” wide along the front and back of the cooking chamber, then you could end up with a challenge. It’s possible that the fat may ignite under prolonged cooking conditions, as it’s mixing with ash and it’s not supposed to be entering the lower part of the unit. The likelihood of it happening is low, but it’s real and it has happened to me twice.

          To facilitate cleanup, consider adhering to this recommendations plus using aluminum foil on the heat deflector tray before starting it, and replacing it every time. Keeps things nicer and much cleaner inside.

          if you stay within the design foot print and don’t overstuff or overcrowd the unit, you will be just fine. There is an internal whirlwind fan on the upper side of the unit, right where the chimney exists the cooking chamber, If you stuff the cooking chamber, then the whirlwind fan can not operate as designed, and of course, your results can and will be compromised as its convection feature can’t do it’s thing. Another reason to keep it within originally intended capacity.

          Hope this helps. BTW, not sure if this is your first smoker or not. In my case, it was my second smoker; however, my first was a COS, and while I learned a lot after purchasing it, the Woodwind was actually my first real smoker. I still use it and enjoy what it produces for us. I would characterize it as: Simple, straight forward and reliable. If you keep it clean, it will work great for you. If you keep you pellets dry, it will work for you. If you use quality pellets and good ingredients, it will reward you.

          I kind of felt for a while that in some odd manner, I outgrew the unit and moved to a larger smoker. I’m happy I did, but to be honest, I still use and enjoy the Woodwind for its reliability, simplicity and very nice results without having to go out of my way with much preparations. I shortly thereafter realized it was just a case of MCS, which we are all susceptible to and as many here on the forum will readily share, there is no known cure for 😎.

          I’m going to try uploading a few pictures so you can see how I place items in the cooking chamber, it works for me.

          Click image for larger version

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          This would be a 14 lb. brisket half way through the smoking process.
          BTW, the gap I’m referring to would be along the lower edge of the photo, where you see cooking grate, but not tin foil. There is one just opposite, but not seen on this image.



          Click image for larger version

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          Here are a couple of Boston Butts with an Asian marinade, halfway through the cooking process.


          Click image for larger version

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          Home made Canadian bacon....

          Click image for larger version

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          Bacon!!!

          I have pulled off some amazing cooks with this little machine. We tried Malcolm Reed’s burnt ends using this smoker with some cherrywood pellets from CampChef, and they still rank as one of the best thing we have ever eaten period.

          Best of luck with your research. Last but not least, mine came with a side gas grill; however, I haven’t used it and can’t really say if it’s good or not.

          Cheers,
          Ricardo

          Attached Files

          Comment


          • tinman
            tinman commented
            Editing a comment
            Thanks Ricardo. I had a problem where I was smoking meat candy which was extra fatty. Somehow the grease caught fire and there was literally fire pouring out of the campchef into the drip bucket. Obviously ruined the meat and took 4 hours to clean. I’ve been wondering how the grease caught on fire but after reading your post, I may have extended the meat into the gaps you describe.

          • Schwyy
            Schwyy commented
            Editing a comment
            Ricardo, thank you for such a thoughtful post. This absolutely helped in making my decision!

          #6
          This was my first post, So glad I joined. thanks each and every one of you for your thoughts!

          Comment


            #7
            Went with the Woodwind Wifi 24. Feels like it hit the mark with everything. I live near Boston, so now I need to look into welding blankets!!!!

            Comment


              #8
              One thing I've heard over and over on pellet oriented forums is that welding blankets can start shedding over time. I personally don't know how likely that is, but the contents are not something I'd want anywhere near my food (usually fiberglass). The actual CampChef cover isn't that unreasonably expensive, like $85 on Amazon and gives you easy access to the grill without moving a blanket and putting it back.

              Comment


              • Schwyy
                Schwyy commented
                Editing a comment
                Threw it on my order, Thanks for the advice Glitchy!

              • glitchy
                glitchy commented
                Editing a comment
                Schwyy I hope it works well for you. I've used Traegers and GMGs insulation blankets and been very happy with them and how convenient they are.

              #9
              I don’t have nor use a blanket with my Woodwind, Perhaps it’s necessary or recommend in northern latitudes; however, in Florida, I don’t see the need for it.

              Comment


              • glitchy
                glitchy commented
                Editing a comment
                Yeah, in Florida it would probably be a waste. Cooking when it’s below freezing is where it pays for itself.

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