When I bought my first house so many years ago, one of the first things I put in the backyard was a Weber kettle grill. Life was good. The way I grew up, that sort of “outdoor cooking over a fire” just meant grilling. To “BBQ” or to “grill” were interchangeable terms. And if you were smoking something, it typically involved something in rolling papers or a pipe. But you can’t live in Texas and not come to learn that grilling is one thing, BBQ-ing is another, and smoking is yet a third thing.

Some years ago I bought one of those upright bullet smokers. I hated it. I ended up keeping it for a number of years tho because it made for a good storage container to keep my wood chips dry.

I came to realize that most of my uses of the Weber grill were indirect grilling, so I thought why not make the best of what I’ve got and use it for BBQ’ing and smoking? I bought a proper thermometer, drilled a hole in the lid, and now that I could better control and monitor the heat, I actually made out for a good many years using the Weber grill for smoking. The main problem? The grill surface is small as it is, so when you smoke you lose a lot of what little grill space you have so you just can’t do a whole lot. I’d have to smoke smaller briskets or only one rack of ribs. But I pressed on because I couldn’t justify buying something new while the Weber was still kicking.

Well, the Weber is no longer kicking. It finally wore out enough that I cannot control the heat adequately, so it’s time for a replacement.

As I started to shop for a replacement I knew what I wanted to look for: a big, heavy, offset-side-box smoker. I wanted a lot of grill surface area so one could hold a lot of food or just larger food e.g. a whole feral hog hind quarter. It needed to focus on smoking, but some grilling ability would be useful. No need for an upright box as I won’t be doing much stuff that hangs. And I wanted something high quality, because I know if I got something good that it would last me for decades.

Then I saw the prices on these things. Cheapest ones might be $1000-$1500, and of course you could go up from there. Yikes! I just don’t have the ability to drop that kind of money right now.

New Smoker. Click to embiggen.

So I compromised and have a New Braunfels Hondo Smoker. New Braunfels Smokers went out of business I believe about 8 years ago, but Char-Broil bought their IP and still sells under their brand name. It would appear that Char-Broil’s American Gourmet Deluxe Offset Smoker is the same thing. And it cost me only $150.

Yes. It’s cheap Chinese crap. Yes, it’s somewhat thin sheet metal. Yes, it’s got cheap plastic wheels. Yes, I figure the firebox is going to burn out within a few years of heavy use. Yes it doesn’t seal tight enough. Yes I had to buy a couple proper thermometers and install them myself. But you know what? It only cost me $150 (and $20 for the 2 thermometers).

The smoker, lids open. Click to embiggen.

What convinced me to do it? The Internet. I started my general research into new smokers and in that general searching this smoker (or models just like it) kept coming up and getting pretty good reviews. Yes people admit it has limitations, it is what it is, you get what you pay for. But that for that money, it’s actually not too shabby. Furthermore, a guy wrote up an article about a few inexpensive modifications to make that really help the quality. I haven’t made the modifications because it looks like my version of the Hondo is “new and improved”, having a large tray within the body so you could use it as a big charcoal grill, plus there’s a warming rack in the lid. I’m going to try it out as it is and experiment with what I’ve got because the coal tray could work as the heat shield and deflector… don’t know, will need to experiment. And really, experimenting is half the fun.

Close-up of the interior (click to embiggen). Note the inner tray? That's for charcoal to use the thing as a grill. I'm going to play with it as a heat shield (yes, the slant is my intentional first experiment).

The way I see it? It’s training wheels. Yes, I know how to grill. Yes, I know how to BBQ and smoke. But I haven’t used this sort of setup before. So why not buy something inexpensive to help me learn about this specific cooking implement. It will also help me learn what I like and don’t like, what I want and don’t want. That way when I do go to plop down a big chunk of change for a custom smoker (new, or even a used one off craigslist) I can know exactly what I want and don’t want and be able to buy just the thing that will keep me happy for the rest of my life. I’ll feel better buying this way than shelling out a lot of money now for more expensive training wheels.

A few days ago I pulled a beef brisket out of the deep freeze. Last night I applied a dry rub and let her sit in the fridge overnight. This morning, I put her on the smoker for the maiden voyage. Started with charcoal but put a small log of oak for fuel and flavor. I am glad I bought two thermometers because the temperature difference between the left and right sides is significant (again, playing with heat shields will be critical here; someone also suggested putting a few heavy bricks in the bottom to help with heat control), but it leaves about 2/3 of the grill area free for use, so that’s good enough for now. Been slowly adjusting the vents to keep the temperature where I want it. But so far so good. This brisket may not turn out primo, but it’s all part of the learning and fun.

We’ll know in about 8 hours. 🙂

The smoker, maiden brisket inside.