Finally got that Side Fire Box for my grill....

[AllenOK]

After two years, I finally got around to buying the SFB for my Char Griller grill. Tomorrow, I'm planning on firing that baby up and seeing what she can do. I've got 10# of leg-and-thigh quarters that I'm going to bring tonight, dry off and dry rub tomorrow, then smoke tomorrow afternoon. I can't wait.

 

[TATTRAT]

So Allen, what flight do I need to catch to be in time for dinner


Have fun, great accessory! Like man jewelry!

 

[kitchenelf]

You lucky duck! I'm probably one of the few females who requests a smoker for a Christmas present!!!!!!!!

Let us know how they turn out and EXACTLY what you did

I am a believer in brining in apple juice (among other things) and smoking that turkey at Thanksgiving - it was awesome!

 

[AllenOK]

My target service time is 7 pm Central.

I did think about flavoring my brine, but I was just thinking about adding some brown sugar, or just the dry rub that I always put on meat for smoking. I didn't think about apple juice with enough salt added for a brine; I may have to try that.

I "should" be able to fit a couple small turkeys into the smoking chamber, as long as I take out the warming rack. I may have to improvise a way to lower the grates, though, or, just get a rotisserie attachment, skewer some larger turkeys on that, and smoke them on the rotisserie. I could do a large Tom that way. I'll have to look in the documentation for my grill about how much the rotisserie costs.

I've got to go and get some apple juice and a spray mister, though. At least now I don't have to open the smoking chamber to refuel the fire.

 

[Jeekinz]

Don't forget the beer!

I love the SFB on mine. Tell us how you made out.

BTW, It's a little bit of a PITA removing the plate from the side of the grill. If you bend it a little, use pliers to straighten it out.

 

[candelbc]

I love my Chargriller, and now, I bet you will too...

A smoked, brined turkey? Count me IN....

It's definitely that time of the year again.. (In Wisconsin at least)..

 

[AllenOK]

Don't forget the beer!

I love the SFB on mine. Tell us how you made out.

BTW, It's a little bit of a PITA removing the plate from the side of the grill. If you bend it a little, use pliers to straighten it out.

Corona Extra w/ lime in the fridge as I type.

I used my drill with the 1/4" bit and drilled out the holes for the bolts to attach the SFB to the cooking chamber. Once I got that done, I started whacking the plate with my rubber mallet (heavy sucker, couple pounds at least). It popped out with maybe 10 whacks (scientific term). Once I got it started, it was easy, just follow where the next "weld" was.

I actually got it mounted, by myself (I've heard on this board to have a helper, and the manual mentioned that as well), in about 30 - 45 minutes.

Learning fire-control with this was interesting. I figured I would have to use more fuel, since I'm heating a bigger volume, part of which is separated from the fire chamber. However, it took me an hour to really figure out just how much fuel I'd need. But, I've been holding at an average 200 degrees F for the past couple of hours now. I'm going to go out and feed the fire in a little bit.

Now, I just need to find a cheap, preferably free, source of pecan wood.

 

[Renee Attili]

You lucky duck! I'm probably one of the few females who requests a smoker for a Christmas present!!!!!!!!

Let us know how they turn out and EXACTLY what you did

I am a believer in brining in apple juice (among other things) and smoking that turkey at Thanksgiving - it was awesome!

I not only requested but recieved my Big green Egg this past X-Mas
So you are not the only one lol

 

[AllenOK]

Ok, and the results are:

I may have had the chicken in for to long. I smoked them for 5 hours. At the four hour point, they actually looked perfect, but I ran them for one more hour just to be sure. At five hours, the legs were starting to pull off the thighs. The skin was pretty much black, but I wasn't going to eat the skin anyway. I didn't have a "pink ring", but the meat was pretty much pink althrougout. It had a GREAT flavor, and pulled off the bone easily.

I was hoping to have enough to make some chicken enchiladas with the leftovers, but, the kids didn't really leave me with enough. I might try to make a few enchiladas anyway, to see how it comes out.

 

[kitchenelf]

5 hours doesn't seem too long to me. I like to cook them until the leg wiggles loosely. My skin is usually VERY dark brown. If yours was black you may have just kept the temp a bit too high. What did you cook them at? This chicken also makes some awesome chicken salad. Enchiladas? I make these white chicken enchiladas and smoked chicken would be great! Thanks for THAT idea!!!!!

 

[AllenOK]

The temp never got over 225 degrees F. Most of the time was right around 200 degrees F. I just typed up the recipe for the enchiladas. I'll go and post it on the Ethnic board.

 

[Jeekinz]

Congrats!!! One other tip I came across was with the basting liquid. I prefer to use a spray bottle rather than a mop because the mop tends to wipe off the rub. I usually use a brown sugar/cider vinegar mix in one of these Misto . Every now and then during the smoking time I'll just pour some of my beer over the meats .

 

[Crash]

The temp never got over 225 degrees F. Most of the time was right around 200 degrees F. I just typed up the recipe for the enchiladas. I'll go and post it on the Ethnic board.

Glad to hear your first experience was a good one.

I bought the same smoker last week. I'd like to know what technique you used for the fire.
Thanks

 

[AllenOK]

I use a cheap mister from Wally-World, filled with apple juice, to baste with. I have a mop, but don't use it, for the same reason; I don't want to mop off the dry rub.

The first two years with my grill I did the offset smoking method. I would remove the two grates on the right-hand side, and build a small fire there. I'd put a drip pan underneath the left-hand grates, and place the meats on those grates. Once the fire was going good, I'd put a chunk or two of soaked hickory on top, shut the lid, and let it do it's thing. I'd keep an eye on the temperature until it hits about 200 - 225 degrees F, then adjust the intake so that it doesn't get to much air.

Now that I'm using the SFB, I lay drip pans under all the grates, and build my fire in the SFB.

For the offset method, I'd start with about half a charcoal starter full of charcoal, then go to wood after that. I was using native Red Oak up in Michigan at the time. Usually, two pieces of wood, and a chunk or two of Hickory. For the SFB, I'm going to have to start with a full charcoal starter full of charcoal, then put a lot of wood over that. I'm not sure how much, as I was using some branches of local oak that was only a couple inches in diameter.