I’m a charcoal guy. While I’ve used gas grills and gas smokers in the past and been completely impressed with the ease, taste and inexpensive fuel, I prefer to do my own outdoor cooking over charcoal. So when the people at All Seasons Homestead Helpers agreed to team with GRIT and give away one of their Brinkmann Smoke’N Grill charcoal smoker/grill combination, I was excited for our readers. You can enter this GRIT Gear contest for free at our GRIT Gear Sweepstakes webpage.
There really is nothing like firing up a charcoal grill or smoker, filling the air (or neighborhood, if you’re in town) with the aromatic, familiar smell of burning charcoal. Even more wonderful is throwing on a pork shoulder, or a similar cut, and slow-cooking it for several hours while you go about your Saturday.
And it doubles as a nice little charcoal grill. Before I got a Smoke’N Grill, my only charcoal grill was a little Weber Smoky Joe, which does great and is super efficient when I’m just cooking for me and my fiancé. But when I want to have the pals over to listen to a ballgame, cook a little food and shoot the breeze, I need something bigger. This product really does provide a good option for both charcoal grilling and smoking.
One of the first things you notice is that the lid does not fit completely tight on the frame of the smoker – there’s a small gap between the lid and frame of the grill. That’s all part of the design, though, as the smoker/grill depends on the bottom-up draft of air to heat the water pan and provide the flavorful smoke that slow-cooks the meat. The heat indicator is also super nice to have, as all you need to do is check the indicator from time to time. Just be sure the needle is in the “Ideal” range and add some charcoal or soaked wood chips if the temperature is dropping (I suggest apple wood chips). A couple of times smoking and you’ll know exactly how many briquettes you need to throw on the fire in order to bump the temperature back up.
And there are two chrome-plated steel grills for 50 pounds of cooking capacity, which is plenty for me at this point.
Retailing at $170, this charcoal smoker/grill combo is perfect for those of us who enjoy cooking over charcoal, be it grilling or smoking your meat.
I’ll never forget the taste of the first cut of meat I prepared on mine; about 6 hours smoking a 4-pound Mulefoot pork picnic shoulder from one of Hank Will’s pigs. I’ve never tasted better pork.
Thanks to All Seasons Homestead Helpers for both their dedication to supplying Rural America with a variety of products to help around the farmstead – from canning equipment to kitchen composters to meat processors – and to the readers of GRIT with this fantastic giveaway.
Caleb Reganand his wife, Gwen, live in rural Douglas County, Kansas, where they enjoy hunting, fishing, and raising and growing as much of their own food as they can. Caleb can’t imagine a better scenario than getting to work on a rural lifestyle magazine as a profession, and then living that same lifestyle right in the heartland of America. Connect with him on Google+.
