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.
Sneak Peek: NEW Smoker Review- Hunsaker Vortex Barrel Smoker
You first! Here we'll post news, gear reviews, videos, and recipes that will end up on the free site BEFORE it gets published there! To see all our NEW Recipes & Gear Reviews, visit the Sneak Preview channel here: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...ew-for-members
Hunsaker makes Upright Barrel Smokers for competition teams. Clever and useful features such as big competition-grade wheels, a floating lid hinge, wind resistant air intake and the unique Vortex Charcoal Basket differentiate Hunsaker from other brands. We tested and reviewed the Hunsaker Vortex Smoker and award it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
******************************************** Grills/Smokers/Fryers Big Green Egg (Large) X3
Blackstone 36" Outdoor Griddle 4-Burner
Burch Barrel V-1 Karubeque C-60 Kamado Joe Jr. (Black) Lodge L410 Hibachi Pit Barrel Cooker Pit Barrel Cooker 2.0
Pit Barrel PBX
R&V Works FF2-R-ST 4-Gallon Fryer *******************************************. Thermometers
FireBoard (Base Package)
Thermoworks ThermaPen (Red)
Thermoworks MK4 (Orange)
********************************* Accessories Big Green Egg Plate Setter
Benzomatic TS800 High Temp Torch X 2 Bayou Classic 44 qt Stainless Stock Pot
Bayou Classic 35K BTU Burner Eggspander Kit X2 Finex Cat Iron Line FireBoard Drive Lots and Lots of Griswold Cast Iron Grill Grates Joule Water Circulator
KBQ Fire Grate Kick Ash Basket (KAB) X4 Lots of Lodge Cast Iron Husky 6 Drawer BBQ Equipment Cabinet Large Vortex Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum Marquette Castings No. 13 (First Run) Smithey No. 12 Smokeware Chimney Cap X 3 Stargazer No.10, 12 ******************************** Fuel FOGO Priemium Lump Charcoal Kingsford Blue and White B&B Charcoal Apple, Cherry & Oak Log splits for the C-60 ************************************************* Cutlery Buck 119 Special
Cuda 7' Fillet Knife Dexter 12" Brisket Sword Global Shun Wusthof ********** Next Major Purchase Lone Star Grillz 24 X 48 Offset
Ah, I missed that part. I wonder how it cooks with the meat off to the side. I like to hang ribs and what not near the center of the charcoal basket, but maybe it doesn't matter with the air flow in the drum. Max Good
Very interesting, can't wait to hear some further comments on cooks. My only reluctance is the fan itself, any time you have a moving part inside a cooker, things can get kind of wonky once grease and smoke start to build up on the parts. I guess a good occasional cleaning would take care of things.
I'm trying to remember, but wasn't there a recent cooker that employed a similar fan design???
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Grilla Grills Pellet Pizza Oven
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Anova sous vide circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
Nice review ... but ... I have a hard time buying the "vortex" idea. Air isn't going to magically start rotating just because the stationary diffuser plate (which is what it really is) looks like some sort of impeller blade. For the most part, it's just going to rise vertically in the barrel. That said, the radially slotted plate probably does help to reduce the likelihood of hot spots forming in the barrel ... but a "vortex", I'm thinking not so much.
There is a cooker on the market, and I'm racking my brain to think of it, that has a free wheeling propeller that spins when convected air rises from the fire. When I saw this I thought of that cooker, now if my brain will only begin to function and remember
It is possible to induce a vortex with a stationary "plate" with the right deflection. It's kind of a holy grail as a potential cooling system. That said. I don't know about this cooker really doing such a thing. I have a feeling maintaining a vortex would take more airflow than you would actually have or want. I'm technically under an NDA but here's a link to a patent. Image 6 shows one type of vortex inducing deflection plate. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20170301375A1/en
Why not? „ Air is forced upwards from the center air intake (controlled by the foot operated air intake lever) into the hot charcoal. The hot air is then forced through the vortex plate at the correct angles causing the air inside the smoker to spin. The spinning air helps maintain a consistent temperature throughout the smoker. The vortex plate also acts as a heat deflector which helps reduce burned meat.“ No rocket science there.
I have a bias, but at $800 I would buy a Kamado. For me that would eliminate the learning curve. of course, MCS is always stoked with the thought "I would like to try cooking on that." Could you lone me one for a couple of weeks? Max has a great job! He gets to try his hand on different cookers without needing to buy them.
Not really sure about the spending: I see many people spend tons on extras for the WSM and heard the PBC is not that durable. And, well with Kamados you certainly don‘t get that reactivity with the temp......
Last edited by chenrici; November 9, 2019, 01:41 AM.
Hunsaker Vortex Drum, Weber 2-Burner Spirit Gas Grill and 22" Weber Kettle with SNS on the way.
When time permits, I will also brew some beer and ride bicycles
This is what I cook on most weekends. I used to own a cheap offset smoker that finally rusted out after 15 years. I went with the barrel smoker since it was basically set and forget. Yes I visit it periodically and adjust the airflow but I usually can keep it within 10 degrees plus or minus without hovering over it. After feeding the beast for may years, I can now cook meat and do other things without worrying about putting more fuel in the fire box. Max Good stated that he had problems lighting the fire. I had questions on how to run the thing before I bought it and looked at the UDS sites,as well as the Pit Barrel Cooker recommendation on this site, to figure out if it was really what I wanted. I agree that Hunsaker does not give you much to work with as far as how these things work. I came away with lighting the fire by filling the basket about half full of charcoal and making a pit in the center. I start about 2 dozen briquettes in my starter and, when ashed over, dump them in the center, add about 4 chunks of wood, put the vortex plate on it and place the whole thing in the smoker. With that, it runs all day, I have never had to add more fuel. I have cooked both low & slow and hot & fast
The barrel is supposed to be stainless steel. I figure that if my steel smoker, exposed to the weather, lasted 15 years, I should get considerably more life out of this one. Of course, at $800, I'm hedging my bets and covering the thing which I never did with my offset.
Overall, I have really enjoyed it. So much so that I run it nearly every weekend I am home. Unlike my cheap offset, which had me preparing wood every hour, I just check it and tweak it on occasion which allows me to do other things around the house.
I find it fascinating the 22.5" WSM received a silver medal because of the difficulty in maintaining temps under 275, while an $800 barrel that is difficult to control temps and is for expert competition teams receives a gold medal. Max Good which of the two aforementioned products is the most difficult to operate? The 22.5" WSM or the Hunsaker Vortex Barrel Smoker? Thank you.
1) Vortex Fire Basket
2) High Temp Powder coating
3) Floating Lid Hinge
4) Dolly type wheels and castor
5) Bottom intake
As options
6) Hybrid Rack
7) Rib Hanger
8) Thermometer Holder
All from one Hand
And yes, all your cookers need your learning process, certainly true for the WSM
Last edited by chenrici; November 9, 2019, 02:15 AM.
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ"
Cookbooks to check out - Raichlen's "Brisket Chronicles" and anything by Adam Perry Lang.
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
Craigar I just noticed that you are in Papillion .... I consulted with Werner Enterprises for several years. Nice area (except when there's a blizzard)
The thing about the WSM 22.5" is that it just takes a bit of tuning on the charcoal set up and you can run 225-250 pretty darn consistently. The key is that Weber's charcoal instructions are gauranteed to create a ridiculously large, hot fire. Once you start following the method used by Harry Soo, maintaining temps is easy.
I do find it funny that the Weber website tells you that the WSM 22.5 will feed 6-8 people.
ecowper We have been in Papio for about 20 years now and have watched the population double in that time. People in Omaha have caught on to us. Werner, they just keep on trucking.
One of these years I will cut my losses with the Smoke E-Z for the 26.75" kettle and buy a WSM 22.5, since that is what I have had my eye on since they first came out.
Feed 6-8 people? How big are these people? Or for how long will it feed 6-8 people on one cook? A week? Wow, that's crazy.
BriggsBBQ that's what I thought too. All in all it isn't too bad. I use it more like a PBC than a WSM. I have experienced some smoke leakage issues and plan to try and seal up the gaps between the lid and body. I hang half chickens in it and it cooks them like a champ. I'm not going to totally toss in the towel until I have exhausted all options on getting a handle on temps under 300°. I have bought a gasket, now I am going to wait until it warms up to install it.
I watched Aaron Franklin’s MasterClass on fires. It’s interesting because he mentions a license plate or anything to deflect the airflow down in and offset creating a swirl of airflow. This keeps steady heat at the grate of an offset with large exhaust at the gate level. I’m thinking a offset fire would have a hotter fire and more airflow. But maybe that doesn’t matter.
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