re: Dawgrant Memorial Day Cookout Thread ™

K9, this is the modern version of what I bought in 2008ish.

LINK


This model is upgraded from mine on a few things, mine had cedar handles which weather quickly and the screws work themselves loose. This one has the wire handles, an upgrade in my opinion.

You have to put it together yourself, which is kind of a pain in the arse because the instructions are very shitty. Once you've got it completely assembled, go back through and re-tighten every screw and nut. Put it together where you want it to be, it's very heavy. If that place is on a deck, make sure you lay down something so random washers and nuts don't fall between the cracks. I lost a couple...


Maintenance is basically to regularly re-tighten screws because they constantly work themselves loose over time, heat, etc. Also, you'll find you don't really ever use the smoke box a whole lot because in order to keep the cooking chamber around 250, the smoke box has to be around 1000, and the coating will begin to peel off.

The smoke box is great for cold-smoking though, things like salmon or home made pastrami, or cheese. Things you want to smoke without actually cooking. Also it's a decent place to prep coals when the ones in your cooking chamber are starting to go out. I also enjoy using it as it's own little mini-grill for hot dogs and such while something like a butt is humming along in the main chamber.

The built-in el cheapo thermometer is actually amazingly "accurate"... when the needle is right between the english and spanish translation of "ideal", both of which say "ideal", I've independently verified that's exactly 220.

Shitload of cooking area, doubles as a smoker or a big arse grill, you can have a dozen chicken thighs, two racks of ribs, and an 8 pounds butt on there at once.

It isn't as nice and won't last as long as the more expensive varieties, but I've got 6 or 7 years on mine and I've already got my $180 worth, and it's still probably got another year or two left in it.

The little pan that attaches to the bottom grates that hold the coal ash, it's about to completely disintegrate, which is one of the complaints I've seen in the reviews. I'm pretty sure I can easily replace it with some cheap sheet metal and tin snips.


That's my sage advice.





ETA- it does have to be "seasoned" so pick up some crisco on the way home from the store, and wear clothes you don't mind smelling like popcorn forever. Buy the orignial artery clogging crisco, not the newer healthier shite.




ETA2- It might still be in better condition now if I had ever done a damn thing to take care of it. I've never even covered it from the weather, I think I've cleaned it maybe once. If you take care of yours, it will likely last longer than mine.