I was thinking of buying a BDS smoker. Anybody have one, thoughts, reviews would be appreciated.

A friend of mine has a a little one, and you could smoke rancid possum in one with hickory wood and it would please G. Ramsey. Logan

I've got a "split - barrel" type that the lumberyard sells for grilling,and a Brinkman smoker with the firebox off to the left side.Been runnin' good for 7 or 8 years.It looks like I'll get that many more years out of it.The local Farm and Ranch supply here sells a "Goodwin" brand smoker that's hell for stout-built the way I'd make my own,and that's an ol' welder/shipfitter talkin'.Get a good thermometer that you can read from the shade or the house(AC!) The Brinkman's an easy fit for 4 slabs of beef ribs,or a couple turkeys.I don't know how much buffalo I can fit in it,but I'm planning to find out this summer.cheers:beerchug:

I've had several of the Brinkman upright water smokers. When the last one burned through I bought an offset smoker from BBQs Galore. It's the way to go.

elcoholic-good point! I'd stay away from the lightweight sheetmetal jobs.My lumberyard special "drum" grill isn't holding up like the bigger,heavier offset Brinkman I use. Get 1/8" thick,at least,and stainless steel if you can afford it.I look for heavy built hinges and rack supports.My brinkman doesn't have very hefty hardware,and I won't get another.But it was under 200 bucks.It's still kickin'.The Goodwin is built locally,and in a couple years,I'll check out what they have,and other hefty ones I hear about.No more brand name mass produced stuff for me.

My "drum" is made from a three foot slice of 1/4" thick x 18" diameter billboard pipe. I've been cookin' on it for over 10 years. It's almost seasoned.

Here is is, covered in snow...:smoke:

HellBilly:
If you got some extra copper pennies in a box don't waste your time with that....buy a Pitts and Spitts........:yes::yes:

I love mine......

Here is mine at http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=134833......:tresbon::banana::thm bsp::music::smoke::smoke:

I just ordered an Old Smokey Electric Smoker today. I had been thinking about getting one, and this thread got me to pull the trigger. :)

I finally came to my senses when I calculated all the monies I've spent in my life time on "cheap/inexpesive" smokers/grills and trust me it FAR exceeded the price of the basic Pitts and Spitts model which will last me till I die.......check them out at www.pittsandspitts.com:yes::yes::yes:

Heck I was so impressed with their smoker I had them custom build me a natural gas griller too! :thmbsp::thmbsp::banana:

I finally came to my senses when I calculated all the monies I've spent in my life time on "cheap/inexpesive" smokers/grills and trust me it FAR exceeded the price of the basic Pitts and Spitts model which will last me till I die.......check them out at



You have to start somewhere. :)

I figured the Old Smokey is a good way to try out smoking. http://www.oldsmokey.com/0220ES.html

Stuart:
I understand. I too had one of those, used it once and gave it away. Then I bought an old smokey. It took me 24 hours to smoke a small piece of meat and you have to baby sit these units while they lose heat or overheat with a slight breeze and so forth.....I don't have all that time on my hands. When under the gun with family members pacing back and forth asking WHEN is the meat ready????? That's when I turned to the professionals. What a relief it was. Smoking time is cut in half, yet yields tender meat that falls off the bone. My second choice was a Kamado. Google "kamado" and check those unique smokers out but again they are limited with space. I needed a unit that smokes 50 lbs minimum. Better to have a Cadillac than a Ford Pinto......:smoke::smoke::smoke::smoke:

"As I say.....if your gonna be a bear, why not a got damn fooking grizzley?"......

Stuart:
I understand. I too had one of those, used it once and gave it away. Then I bought an old smokey. It took me 24 hours to smoke a small piece of meat and you have to baby sit these units while they lose heat or overheat with a slight breeze and so forth.....

So far I've done brisket, pork shoulder, ribs, and some veggies and bratwurst.

Each time it tasted fantastic, and was moist and tender. It took about 25 minutes per pound.

The pork shoulder basically fell apart into pulled pork as I was taking it out of the smoker. I used this sauce and it was fantastic: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Eastern-North-Carolina-BBQ-Sauce/Detail.aspx

I used the recipe from Old Smokey for the brisket. http://www.oldsmokey.com/0401ES_recipes/0402beef.html I brushed it once with Piedmont No 5 sauce from Old Carolina when I put it in the smoker. It didn't need anything else when it was done. That was some good brisket. :)

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7841/p5260007rz8.jpg

It's a Char-Broil, but heavier than their old style. When Char-Broil bought New Braunfels Smokers and Oklahoma Joe's, they appropriated some of their product into the Char-Broil line.

Does a great job on ribs, briskets, turkey, and chicken. It's a true smoker, so don't be in a hurry, but the results are well worth it.

I have one of the original Brinkman double barrel smokers. Back when they made them from the really heavy guage steel. Not the cheap light stuff they are using now...

It's kind of a love hate relatioship...

I love the heavyness of it, and I love it as a smoker.. but as a griller, it suck unless you leave the doors open, then it gets too hot though...

It doesn't heat even as a griller. Too much air in one end, and not enough it the other.

I also didn't like the way it will suck air from between the two barrels where they are bolted together. Made it even harder to regulate the temps...

For smoking though, it works fantastic. I've pulled some really great ribs and turkeys off of it.. and it's the best thing I've ever used for making deer jerkey..

My next smoker/grill will be self built using either 35 or 55 gallon barrels.