Turning my bbq into a smoker

[NGEddie]

Hey all, my first post here. I've been bbqing for a while and smoked a little on my previous grill, which was a pretty basic barrel. I've now upgraded to a Brinkmann Professional Dual Zone Grill, which definately looks the part and grilling on it is very satisfying, but my first attempt at smoking was a disaster.

You can see photos of the type of grill here.

I smoked by putting the charcoal on the right side with wood chips wrapped in tin foil on top and a water pan above the heat. Ribs and chicken on the left side. The problem was I couldn't get the tempurature up high enough even for low and slow smoking, which may have been down to a few things:

• There's a long vent hole at the back of the hood that can't be closed. It isn't huge but it runs almost the whole length of the grill.
• There are holes on the left and right side of the hood I think where a rotisery can be attached. Again, can't be closed.
• The hood doesn't have a good seal around the bits that do close, especially at the ends.
• I used an old bag of charcoal briquettes, I'm not sure where I can find any better quality charcoal in my area (Reading)
• The charcoal seemed to burn off very quickly (I replenished after a bit from my chimney starter), I'm wondering if it's a sign that there is too much ventilarion below the coals? There are 12 vent holes below the coals, which again don't close
• It started to rain a little during the cook

What of the above are the biggest factors? You can see the vent hole pictures on the above link, esp pic 8 and 10.
Any advice on how to seal the hood better and how to cover the holes I have?

Ta,
Eddie

[wade]

Hi Eddie. Your brinkman certainly looks the part but looks as if it is mainly designed for grilling and hot roasting. That does not mean that you cannot use it perfectly well for slow cooking too. A couple of challenges that I can see from your photos. Firstly it does have a few holes but these can usually be patched using good thick tinfoil. Secondly there does not appear to be any way to finely regulate the air flow into your charcoal in order to regulate the temerature into the cooking chamber - it looks as if it relies purely on the fixed air holes under the charcoal and also raising and lowering of the charcoal beds. You will need to find a way to control the air flow at the bottom though if you are going to sufficiently regulate your cooking temperature - tinfoil balls stuffed into some of the holes may help. The lid seals can be made tighter using a heat resistant sealing rope - the type designed to seal stove doors.

You have a nice big cooking area so you should cook indirectly (if you did not try that before). Only light the charcoal on one side and you can put a tray of water in the space for the charcoal on the other side to keep the internal moisture high. Place the meat directly over the tray of water and not over the fire. I am sorry if you are already aware of this and I am teaching you to suck eggs.

Finally - and most important... you must use good quality charcoal or briquettes. Use the ones designed for kettle BBQs (Heatbeads or Penbeads) and not the cheaper grilling briquettes. The more expensive ones will burn hotter and longer and more evenly. You can even put on some seasoned oak logs to give you some extra flavour. If the charcoal has got damp at any point in the past and smells even a little musty then my advice is to throw it away.

People on here cook in BBQs of all different shapes and sizes and I do not see why you cannot do perfectly as well using yours.

Good luck and let us know how you get on...

Wade

[NGEddie]

Hi Wade, thanks for all your advice. Tinfoil balls sound like a reasonable way to control air intake, at least while I get used to it. Maybe put a better systm in place at some point in the future. I'll get some sealing rope for the hood joints.

But the bigger oles along the back of the hood and on each side of the hood are still problems. Are small bits of metal the answer? not that I know where to find metal the right size...

[JEC]

Try to get some duct tape, the proper metal version for high temps not the branded version you get I'm DIY stores, I think screwfix sell it. Stick it over the holes, job done

[NGEddie]

I'm guessing we're talking something like this:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... tId_750279
I didn't know it existed,I may actually use it to fix my exhaust too . Can't argue with the price, though shame I can't find it in black.

Unless anyone has any suggestions for a higher quality result? i've spent a lot on the grill and want it to look the part long term.

[wade]

There is always black Hammerite over the tape - that would hide it.

[JEC]

This may be better
http://m.screwfix.com/details.htm?id=44312

Stick it on the inside and spray black from the outside with some stove paint, available in a spray can.

[Steve]

Ssomething that's often used for UDS intakes is fridge magnets, you know the thin flexible kind. You can buy sheets of the magnetic material so you could cut it neatly to size and it's almost black. Might look the part and be easily removable.

Just a thought.

[wade]

Great suggestion Steve. They would work a treat.

[NGEddie]

The magnets are a great idea, I've ordered some. I'll be interested to see how they hold up under temperature, but what's the worst that can happen?

Next to look into charcoal options...