# Need your help with a Brinkmann Gourmet Smoker



## Guest (Jan 28, 2005)

Sorry FATZ..No ECB users here! Well, maybe 1.  But nobody likes them damned things 'cause they're so hard to cook good Q with.


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## Captain Morgan (Jan 28, 2005)

Can't say for sure because I'm not real familiar with that unit, but I started with a Brinkman smoker.  Fill the water pan about half full and get it up to temp.  For a butt you may (and probably will) have to add water down the line.  Monitor that....the temp will spike quickly when the pan gets dry.

Brinksman aren't bad.  They are a little tough to use for beginners, but since you know how to monitor temps, you should be ok.  The biggest drawback is that the temp control is not nearly as functional as Webers.

Now since you've got the pan to keep the direct heat off the butt, you probably won't burn anything.  May want to flip it towards the end.  

Either grate will be fine.  Temps may be a little warmer on the top grate.
I don't know if you're a foiler, but this will help near the end to keep it from burning.  Since it's a butt (the most forgiving meat to smoke), I'm sure it will be fine.


Keep us posted!


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## Larry D. (Jan 28, 2005)

Sorry I didn't get in here sooner... I cooked on a Brinkmann Gourmet for about 4 years, pre- WSM.  My advice (maybe too late) : fill the water pan with hot water (I usually used one kettle full of boiling water, and a second one full of hot tap water) - no need to burn charcoal just to heat the water.  Keep an eye on the fire - especially if you use briquettes.  Ashes tend to build up and cut down on the air flow, causing the temperature to drop.   You'll no doubt need to refill the water pan about halfway through the cook.  I also generally would have to lift off the body, stir the coals to get rid of the accumulated ash, and add more (unlit) charcoal at about the 6 hour mark.  I modified my Gourmet with an adjustable damper over the air intake to let me control temperatures, and a grate inside the charcoal pan so ashes would fall through and not smother the coals, and it would hold a steady 225-250 for up to 6 hours.

If the temperature drops and you have to add more charcoal, you can get it up to temp quicker by putting a small stick or something similar between the charcoal pan and the center section, to give some added air until everything is lit.


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## Greg Rempe (Jan 29, 2005)

ROCK ON FATZ!!  

Closet bullet smoker!!


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## Finney (Jan 29, 2005)

Fatz, if you start to use your ECB again... Let Larry give you some more tips.  He is the KING of the ECB! :smt029

That is Larry D, not Larry W.
Larry W. isn't even the _'Master of his own Domain'_.


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## LarryWolfe (Jan 30, 2005)

Actually I started off on a Charbroil H2O smoker and 99% of the time had great results.  The trick to those is since they don't have dampers to adjust the airflow, you need to drill about 10 holes in the bottom of the charcoal pan and add a decent thermometer.  For the money they are a pretty good smoker, nothing compared to the WSM of course.


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## Guest (Jan 30, 2005)

Big Al said:
			
		

> [quote="Larry Wolfe":2adatw09] nothing compared to the WSM of course.




Well geez Larry is there ANYTHING that compares to the WSM in that size range??  :suns: 


Big Al[/quote:2adatw09]
ROFL!! Don't get him started Al...


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## LarryWolfe (Jan 30, 2005)

Bill Hays said:
			
		

> [quote="Big Al":k2irnl83][quote="Larry Wolfe":k2irnl83] nothing compared to the WSM of course.




Well geez Larry is there ANYTHING that compares to the WSM in that size range??  :suns: 


Big Al[/quote:k2irnl83]
ROFL!! Don't get him started Al... [/quote:k2irnl83]

Guess I am getting a bad rep around here.  I'll accept the subtle hints.


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## Woodman1 (Jan 30, 2005)

I hadda drill those holes in my Brinkmann Smoke-n-Grill charcoal pan. Seems they used to come with them, but some idiot burned his house down smokin on his deck! DUHHHHHH. It helped to get the temp into the "Ideal" range. I have no idea what that means, that's just how their stupid ass gage is calibrated!!!


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## Larry D. (Jan 30, 2005)

One of the advantages of the Gourmet over the even cheaper ECB is the Gourmet's 2-piece charcoal pan.  The inner pan has a series of slots and holes for air flow, and the outer pan has just one central hole - which is not lined up with any of the holes in the inner pan, so you won't get a hot coal falling out onto the deck.  If you fabricate an adjustable damper over that one air intake, you can get decent control of the cooking temperature.

But eventually you'll get tired of working to make it "almost as good as a WSM" and buy the real thing.   :smt045


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## Woodman1 (Jan 30, 2005)

Or, A Klose! :twisted:


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