First time smoking, chargriller with side box

[lubbockguy1979]

So ive had a hankering for brisket and have purchased a used chargriller with the side firebox. Ive looked and will probably mod this some and build a better smoker at some point but i needed a place to start. Ive got a nice 18lb brisket and some ribs. The question i have is roughly how much fuel should i expect to go thru? Im sure ill have heck getting temps right with this grill and im probably gonna be frustrated with it but end of the day the grill was $40 and the brisket was $39... i expect some aggrivation. Im just not exactly sure how much fuel i will likely burn during this first smoke. Im trying to hopefully avoid running out before im done. At this point wally world has wood chunks and charcoal so im likely going to build a simple expanded metal basket and predominantly use charcoal with some wood to add flavor. Im going to try to keep it simple for the first go round and simply rub the meat with salt and pepper.

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[Slippy]

You can buy a huge stack of smoking wood (post oak , pecan, hickory) for $20 (or at least you should be able to)... That would be enough to last you through 3 or so cooks. Take the big logs and cut them up into 6" long pieces and you should be good to go. To start the fire you can use lump charcoal, get a nice bed of coals going, the add 2-3 pieces of wood... You don't want to use briquets at all... Wood ends up being better tasting and cheaper, so win-win... If this is your first brisket, you might consider cheating a bit. Smoke the brisket for several hours (6-8 hours) with the wood, then wrap it in foil or pink butchers paper, then move into your oven at the same temp you used outside, and go to sleep... In the morning wake up to the glorious smell of brisket all through out the house.... For an 18 pounder, at 250ish I'd plan on about an 18 hour cook, depending on the cow. Good luck!


PS, try to buy seasoned wood from a tree guy, or local Craigslist seller. Don't buy at a big chain store. It will be kiln dried and will burn too fast and too hot....

[spacetrucker]

Greetings and welcome to the forum, do post often and include pictures....
as for how much fuel you will need depends to how tightly sealed your cooking device is? and what temperature you plan to cook at? and whether the weather conditions are windy or calm, as you can see you asked an open ended question with not enough information to give you an accurate answer. Just me being me, I would have 30 or 40 lbs of charcoal, as it does not go bad, the worst thing you will have to do is store it until next time, and wood the same way, store your wood off the ground and your charcoal in a dry place. Good luck and let us know how it goes...

[lubbockguy1979]

So far so good. Working on heat control and some leak issues. Made a make shift tuning plate from another bbq grill grate and im around 195. The wind was up a bit but now its calm around 72 outside got 2 15lb bags of lump coal and some wood chunks. Worst case ill finish in the over if i have to. Enjoying it so far though

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[spacetrucker]

looks like your off to a good start please do post completed pics and tell us how it went?

[Papa Tom]

A cheap improvement you can make to that pit is to extend the flue down to grate level by using a elbow fitting for a gas water heater flue.
When you are able shop for a better cooker too many air flow issues with a Char Griller (or similar) to work out to make it a joy to use. I'm not saying one cannot smoke a good meal on that machine I'm just saying it takes too much effort babysitting and fixing.
UDS units can be made cheaply and work well.
I am old and don't want to expend a lot of effort so I use a pellet cooker after owning many other types including a Old Hickory ( IMHO the best but expensive).
Understand folks cook good Q and win comps with most any cooker some just require more effort.

Meanwhile run what ya got and enjoy some good Q.

[lubbockguy1979]

It was 70 when i started it began to drop outside temp and around 2am it was 34*. It was a struggle to keep the fire above 200* and was a lot of babysitting at hr 6 i wrapped it in foil and pit it in the oven to finish. It was good. Was not the best quality brisket but i enjoyed brisket burritos for lunch and dinner today. Im going to debate on keeping this grill or returning into the used market.

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[limey]

One of the struggles of an offset is maintain a good fire, looks like you did real good considering your first time using it and the weather conditions. Love the bark on your brisket and job well done!

[Papa Tom]

Yep it looks good to me.....

[Copasspupil]

Sometimes we are the worst critic. We want perfection and view all the pitfalls and not the finish product. Like the other here have said...the look is right. It took me many times of failures to get brisket and pork shoulder to get it right. For me, pork shoulder was more difficult but hanging around these people have me confidence and pointers in doing it. Just last week I win my 4th chili cook off with burnt end entry. This site is made up of great people that all love food, fun and hanging around each other sharing knowledge. So don’t sweat the small stuff and learn to conquer the little failures of the Q. As the expression says this too shall pass.

[Swamp Donkeyz BBQ]

Looks like some good eats to me! The bark looks outstanding!

[CaptJack]

[TwoGuysBBQ]

Good looking Brisky, nice color.

[Brisket Nerd]

Good looking brisket.

I've got an offset chargriller myself. With a few mods, you can make it really nice.

Below are a few of the mods I've done:

Smoker Toggle Latch, BBQ pit lid clamp.
https://www.amazon.com/Smoker-Toggle-La ... B00FSEX320

LavaLock 12 GREY High Performance BBQ gasket smoker seal SELF STICK
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F9FE60K/re ... BCb14T721Q

Baffle
https://bbqsmokermods.com/oem-smoker-mo ... t-duo.html