The Weber Smokey Mountain handled a pork belly and some ribs yesterday. It smokes well, maintains temperature, and is easy to adjust. However, it is a giant PITA to load more fuel through that little door, the fuel space being largely obscured by the water pan.
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Jeez, I’ve made like 10 before. They really work. All you need is some cinder blocks and a hammer. Youtube videos everywhere on making one. You really can’t screw it up. I don’t think I’ve ever paid for one. Just found old blocks. I just like it because you use sticks and twigs you find laying around. I forage for wood as a way of life, so this is right up my alley. All the leftovers from making wood for my furnace fuel the rocket. You get the smells of the kitchen outside, then, and people come when they smell the magic. Make bacon on one once. Someone’ll turn up.
It’d be perfect for you in the desert. I can always find mesquite and other junk by mom mom’s in phoenix I could use. Saguaro skeletons or whatever.
Yes… I have a large mesquite tree in my yard that needs trimming a couple times a year. I save all of the wood for burning in my Hibachi grill or my fireplace (during the winter, not that we have much of a winter here).
Yes… I’ll check out a few of the cinder block Rocket stoves.
I have seen a few and the presenters weld steel together for rocket stoves. Welding is one of those skills I just couldn’t pick up, so I stayed away from it.
some thoughts:
- responding to your earlier post, if the wsm thermometer is not working properly, you really should have something to measure pit temp. This can be as simple as a long stemmed turkey thermometer or you could go for an electronic temp probe or an atc.
- There’s something called a “hot squat”, where you squat down and carefully remove the midsection of the WSM (the top section is balanced on the midsection), put it down, add fuel and then place the midsection back on the bottom section. I wouldnt recommend this with water in the water pan (many of us use sand or run with nothing in the (folled) water pan.
best,
- My favorite tool for the wsm was a BBQ guru automatic temp controller. It controlled the temp perfectly, notified me when the meat reached target temp or if the pit temp fluctuated.
- My favorite grilling tool was a rotisserie. Made fantastic chicken, duck, prime rib, well worth the price.
- I’d be remiss in not mentioning BBQ cookbooks by mike mills, chris lilly, aaron franklin and steve raichlen.
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If you’re a good welder there are plans you can find to make a perfect rocket stove. Portable, too. My daughter has a metal one she takes camping all the time. Just make sure it’s one solid piece and not foldable if you make one out of steel. The folding stuff goes to hell pretty quickly after heat is applied. Loose joints. Try the cinder blocks first. Take you 10-20 minutes. Next time you’re out junkin, look for a burner top from an old stove, like the individual burner top, and that really helps with a rocket stove. Gives that little separation that allows the hot air up and out.
I just take scraps from my woodpile; but I can find fuel for that thing almost anywhere. That’s what makes it great. Costs a dollar to make and nothing to fuel. Efficient as hell. First time I built one my neighbors thought I was losing it, until they saw it work. “What the hell is that?” "Gonna be breakfast when I’m done here. " Plate of bacon n eggs from a CI skillet, or a pressure cooker full of beans, it’ll cook anything. I want to try a deep fryer on it.
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Yes… Thanks… I watched some “youtube” videos on cinder block rocket stoves. So, I do think that will be the way I will go. I’ll definitely make one once it gets a little cooler. And Yes, I’ll start looking for a grate!!
As for welding… NOPE. I can braze, but not weld. There is an old saying. “A grinder and some paint makes me the welder I ain’t” Well I can’t even say that.
I usually have water in the pan. So the hot squat is out. My built in thermometer is, so far, pretty accurate. I did say it was worthless because sooner or later they seem to go kaput.
pretty easy to replace the thermometer if it loses accuracy. Once I got the hang of my wsm, I stopped using water. there’s a lot of debate about whether a moist cooking chamber results in better bbq, all I can say is that I did well in competitions without water.
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Me neither. Too lazy to weld one up, My daughter made one though. Sadly my daughter puts me to shame in the welding booth. Hers fits right in her car trunk, and it heats up in a hurry. Not many places on earth you couldn’t find fuel. I told my mom (Sun City) I could make her one right outside her patio door. I get her a big toaster oven for her patio (lanai, She hates cooking inside when it gets hot out, because it makes the house hotter, so the toaster oven sits out there and she can bake outside. Rocket stove would finish the job and allow her a cook top out there. She may be 86, but she can start a fire with the best. Nothing to burn down there. But she has enough yard waste to build a successful fire.
I know that, if I take a drive, or even a hike, I can find her nice sized mesquite to use. The beauty of the rocket is that you can feed it relatively long pieces of wood as it cooks.
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My son in law makes brisket that is extremely good. He gives it the long smoke starting in the afternoon and going overnight and then holds it until dinner in sous vide, giving the bark a few minutes back on grill.
So, how long would you say the cut is under heat?
Well, if you assume 12-14 hours on the smoker, starting around five, it’s done at five to seven the next morning. It would be in the sous vide (with a little beef tallow from six to eight until an hour before eating, usually around one or five. The hour is used to reheat the bark over dry heat and rest the brisket. So four to eight hours plus or minus a bit. I have never had better, and I say this having frequented Franklin, Valentina’s, Snow’s, Opie’s, Cooper’s, La BBQ, everything in Taylor, Luling, and Lockhart, and much more. His sides are on par with Valentina’s, but my all-time favorite side is the butter beans at Opie’s.
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