Tri Tip
Head Chef
Ok I promised Nick I’d post my smoker build. Sorry for the delay been busy. Mine did in fact have that tough Teflon like lining. I burned it out with a weed burner. Had to get the metal to a glow. After that I hit it with a grinder. My teammate tried lighting a fire and no luck. Had it sand blasted and it came out with no work at all. I wouldn’t waste my time with the Weber lid. Most don’t line up and you have to do some major mods. If you want more room build 2.
Exhaust and intake are 1 inch holes (buy a hole driller) they’re $40+ but worth it for clean holes. I drilled 4 around the bottom and 6 on top. Wide open it’ll cook at 450. Two plugs out of the top and one out in the bottom will hold 240-260 with 15 lbs of Stubbs or K for 20+ hours. It will cook high and uneven till fully caked with gunk inside. It will also run uneven without food in it. Before my first cook I coated the inside with Lard and let her rip with lots of Hickory and K for the whole night. Then I cooked lots of chicken pieces wide open to get it all gunked up.
My grill basket is simply a 24x24 (if I remember correctly) piece of expanded metal. Lowes sales it for about $20 and it’s stainless. All hardware is also stainless, $ pricy but why chance it. I heard you would need to get the zinc coated stuff to 750 before it breaks down. I would defiantly go stainless around the charcoal basket. Cut the expanded metal in half and bolt it together with 4 bolts on each side. I used 4, 3” stainless carriage bolts washers and nuts to bolt together two charcoal grates from a 22.5 in kettle. I used two in case I wanted to use lump charcoal. Lastly I purchased a 20x2 inch aluminum pie pan. (internet) to catch grease and ash and it makes clean up much easier. The charcoal grate and basket sit 2.5 inches above the pan. The basket with grate and bolts, sits about 15 inches tall. With a full 15 lb bag of Stubbs my top coal is burning 14-16 inches below my top rack. The top rack is 6 inches from the top. You can see I pounded my lid concave for another inch of clearanc but it's not necessary. The bottom rack is 6 inches below that and I don’t use it much but for grilling chicken. My grill grate is a 22.5 in Weber kettle grate from Lowe’s $15 non hinge kind. I also put 4 inch carriage bolts on a rack so I can get two top racks with 3 in clearance for ribs. I do this for competition cause we cook 4 to 6 racks. Lastly, I frequently rub the outside down with oil when it's hot to prevent rust. What you see in the photos is drippings on the outside not rust. The small hole in the top rim is for my Stoker thermometers. The outer thermomete is just for looks. It will read 40 degrees cooler than the center of the rack (keep that in mind). Any questions just message me. There has been many arguments that the rack needs to be 2 feet above the coal. Hay, my brisket just beat 50 teams for a 7th place call. A 13 lb packer took 10 hrs at 240 foiled at 160. I have two and have cooked on them a bazillion times. They cook better than anything i've ever cooked on. Our team cooks on a total of 4. One for each meat. They also cook chicken like no other. Wide open 10 min per side comes out perfect.
Good luck and most of all have fun!
Mike
Exhaust and intake are 1 inch holes (buy a hole driller) they’re $40+ but worth it for clean holes. I drilled 4 around the bottom and 6 on top. Wide open it’ll cook at 450. Two plugs out of the top and one out in the bottom will hold 240-260 with 15 lbs of Stubbs or K for 20+ hours. It will cook high and uneven till fully caked with gunk inside. It will also run uneven without food in it. Before my first cook I coated the inside with Lard and let her rip with lots of Hickory and K for the whole night. Then I cooked lots of chicken pieces wide open to get it all gunked up.
My grill basket is simply a 24x24 (if I remember correctly) piece of expanded metal. Lowes sales it for about $20 and it’s stainless. All hardware is also stainless, $ pricy but why chance it. I heard you would need to get the zinc coated stuff to 750 before it breaks down. I would defiantly go stainless around the charcoal basket. Cut the expanded metal in half and bolt it together with 4 bolts on each side. I used 4, 3” stainless carriage bolts washers and nuts to bolt together two charcoal grates from a 22.5 in kettle. I used two in case I wanted to use lump charcoal. Lastly I purchased a 20x2 inch aluminum pie pan. (internet) to catch grease and ash and it makes clean up much easier. The charcoal grate and basket sit 2.5 inches above the pan. The basket with grate and bolts, sits about 15 inches tall. With a full 15 lb bag of Stubbs my top coal is burning 14-16 inches below my top rack. The top rack is 6 inches from the top. You can see I pounded my lid concave for another inch of clearanc but it's not necessary. The bottom rack is 6 inches below that and I don’t use it much but for grilling chicken. My grill grate is a 22.5 in Weber kettle grate from Lowe’s $15 non hinge kind. I also put 4 inch carriage bolts on a rack so I can get two top racks with 3 in clearance for ribs. I do this for competition cause we cook 4 to 6 racks. Lastly, I frequently rub the outside down with oil when it's hot to prevent rust. What you see in the photos is drippings on the outside not rust. The small hole in the top rim is for my Stoker thermometers. The outer thermomete is just for looks. It will read 40 degrees cooler than the center of the rack (keep that in mind). Any questions just message me. There has been many arguments that the rack needs to be 2 feet above the coal. Hay, my brisket just beat 50 teams for a 7th place call. A 13 lb packer took 10 hrs at 240 foiled at 160. I have two and have cooked on them a bazillion times. They cook better than anything i've ever cooked on. Our team cooks on a total of 4. One for each meat. They also cook chicken like no other. Wide open 10 min per side comes out perfect.
Good luck and most of all have fun!
Mike
Anyway after the weed burner you’ll still have to hit the residue with a grinder. Don’t forget earplugs and a mask. As far as the exhaust, one open in the bottom and two in the top will hold about 240-260 once fully seasoned and filled with food. You can also use a flat refrigerator magnet wrapped in foil, to slide the hole open and closed. You can also drill a 1/3 and ½ inch hole along with the one inch holes. In the beginning you’ll need less than a one inch hole otherwise it’ll cook at 275-325.
