If you are a barbecue enthusiast, you have probably used wood chips in the past to season fish or meat on your barbecue grill and have used marinades along with wood chips to produce many different and amazing flavors using fairly basic types of meat or fish.
If you’ve done this, you’ve probably developed a taste for barbecue smoked food, so why not expand your barbecue smoking skills by purchasing a dedicated smoker grill to complement your conventional barbecue grill.
But while you may agree that you have room for an additional grill, you may not be happy with the added expense of purchasing it. (Maybe you’re already planning and budgeting to replace your current barbecue grill.) But do not worry. A very inexpensive smoker grill can be added to your garden kitchen equipment without financial hassle. The Brinkmann Gourmet Smoker Grill is currently available for sale on the web at a cost of between $ 50 and $ 100 (depending on the model you choose).
You might think that such a grill is not going to be very good. You couldn’t be more wrong. Not only is the Brinkmann Smoker Grill widely regarded as good value for money (by many different Amazon customers), it will also allow you to produce a wide variety of different BBQ smoke grills that will surprise you with their authentic smokehouse flavor. .
In this article, I will introduce you to the Gourmet Brinkmann Smoker and give you examples of how easy it is to use. At the end of my article I will also give you some tips on where to buy one at a good price.
How does a smoker work?
The main idea behind a smoker grill is that food is cooked with water (steam) and not smoke directly with the heat of the charcoal (or gas burner). The fantastic flavor of the food produced in a smoker is obtained by using different types of wood chips or pieces mixed with or as a substitute for the charcoal.
Due to the operation of a smoker grill, cooking takes place at a temperature close to the boiling point of water (212 ° F), which is a much lower temperature than on a conventional grill. This constant temperature makes cooking times quite predictable, but it is important to remember that on very hot or cold days, the ambient air temperature can lower or raise the cooking temperature of an outdoor smoker. These temperature variations must be watched because they can have a significant effect on cooking times.
The Brinkmann charcoal smoker
As I mentioned earlier, the Brinkman Gourmet Charcoal Smoker has a tremendous reputation. It is made of stainless steel, but it is quite small (17 “x 17” x35 “) and light (about 30 pounds). It can cook up to 50 pounds of food on two cooking grates mounted one on top of the other inside. from the main smoke box.
The Brinkmann Gourmet smoker is made up of three parts
- Base tray for charcoal
- Smoker box containing the water bowl and cooking grates
- Smoker box lid
The charcoal-based pan can hold enough charcoal for 4-5 hours of cooking, but if more is needed, it can be replenished through the side door of the smoker box.
The smoker box is located directly above the charcoal pan. The water bowl is located towards the bottom of this box and can hold enough water for 4 to 5 hours of cooking. The two racks are located in the box above this bowl. The smoker box has a side door through which more charcoal and water can be added during cooking, and two insulated handles so it can be safely removed when hot.
The lid has a temperature indicator and an insulated handle, but the lid should not normally be removed during cooking.
Using the Brinkmann smoker
As mentioned, Brinkmann Smoker is very easy to use. These are the main steps involved in cooking a typical meal:
- Remove lid and box from smoker.
- Add charcoal to the base pan.
- Insert the water container into the smoker box and fill with water.
- Insert the upper and lower cooking grates into the smoker box stacked with the food you want to cook.
- Light the charcoal in the pan and when it is very burning (white ash on the surface) place the smoker box on top.
During cooking, replenish the charcoal and water until cooking is complete. You don’t need to keep an eye on your smoker grill, just check back every now and then.
A typical recipe for Brinkmann
Here’s a simple smoked pork tenderloin recipe that works well in the Brinkmann smoker. It will produce the most delicious pork, ideal for cold sandwiches:
– Use 1 ½ to 2 pounds of pork tenderloin (enough for 2 to 4 people)
– Prepare a marinade with ingredients such as:
- Apricot nectar – one cup
- Apple cider or apricot brandy – half a cup
- Soy sauce (two tablespoons), vinegar (two teaspoons), hoisin sauce (one teaspoon)
- Minced garlic (one clove)
- Brown sugar (one tablespoon)
- Allspice (1/2 teaspoon), ground ginger (1/4 teaspoon)
- Whole cloves (one tablespoon)
– Combine these ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves, then cool the mixture and use it as a marinade.
– Pierce the meat with a fork in several places. Place in the marinade on a suitable plate or in a sturdy plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight.
– Remove the meat from the marinade and place it on the cooking rack of the smoker box and pour the rest of the marinade into the water container of the smoker box.
For cooking use 5 lbs. of charcoal, 3 quarts of hot water, 2 wooden sticks (cherry, walnut, etc.) and smoke for 2 ½ – 3 ½ hours.
Smoker Grill Cook Times
Unsurprisingly, a major consequence of the lower cooking temperature on a smoker grill is that cooking can take a long time (often many hours, as in the recipe above), especially if you are cooking large portions of meat. For this reason, smoking BBQ requires more patience and planning ahead than is necessary with a conventional family grill.
Should you buy one?
If you are considering buying a smoker grill like Brinkmann Charcoal Smoker Grill, I highly recommend reading Amazon customer reviews. You will find that most of your customers were impressed with the quality of the results they got from the Brinkman grill. It is considered a good entry level smoker that is very easy to use and will make a great companion to your existing barbecue grill.
So yeah, if you’re a fan of barbecue smoking, you should consider buying a smoker grill like the Brinkmann.