BBQ Pit Question

Discussion in 'Horn Depot' started by SAChick, May 14, 2009.

  1. SAChick

    SAChick 500+ Posts

    Getting my "baby daddy" a pit for his birthday. I want to get him one of those 55 gallon drum/cast iron ones. Found someone to get it made. And in true Valley fashion I can have his last name put on it. (we're from the valley) Is 250 a good price? I have no clue if that's reasonable or if they are overcharging me. It's going to be charcoal, he refuses to use a gas grill.
     
  2. immtex

    immtex 100+ Posts

    Kinda of hard to tell you if its a good price without more specifics. $250 is good if:

    It's made from a heavy gage steel

    It holds heat but has a good draw through the chimney

    It has a fire box attached

    The smoke stack is mounted off the back/side of the smoking chamber not the top ( top mounting allows too much heat to escape.
     
  3. NCAAFBALLROX

    NCAAFBALLROX 1,000+ Posts

    Actually, what was described in the last post is essentially a $ 400.00 or more smoker.

    Important, though, is whether it's 'tuned' right & the temperatures you read on the gauge are accurate.

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
     
  4. rhorn27

    rhorn27 250+ Posts

    seriously, this discussion begins and ends with a Big Green Egg. there is not a better smoker.

    The only smoker
     
  5. _e.

    _e. 25+ Posts

    There are many smokers better than that, for less money also. In fact, that is not really a smoker, but a multipurpose cooker that can also smoke. I'm not knocking it, just saying that the BGE is not the last word in smokers by a long way.
     
  6. Ignatius

    Ignatius 1,000+ Posts

    Maybe not, but the BGE ******* rocks...
     
  7. Craigcito

    Craigcito 250+ Posts

    The Big Green Egg is the Mazda Miata of smokers. A man trying to defend the use of either one deserves no respect.
     
  8. NCAAFBALLROX

    NCAAFBALLROX 1,000+ Posts

    BGE = $ 800.00 on eBay + S&H.

    Nice? Yes.

    Smoker? Welllllll.... sorta.

    Complaints: # 1 is surface area for ability to cook lots of stuff or @ least a pair of briskets.

    I do NOT have one & have not even seen one in action, so I am only reporting 3rd hand knowledge.

    For that kinda loot, though, my present smoker needs would lean me away from a BGE & towards a Lyfe Tyme or maybe even a slightly craptacular used trailer rig that needed a little bit of work on it.

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
     
  9. NickDanger

    NickDanger 2,500+ Posts

    BGE, blah, blah, blah. Whatever you like. To actually try to answer the question posed, it should be pointed out that if it truly uses a 55 gallon drum, that price is probably way too high. You can cook just fine on one made out of a 55 gallon drum, but it's only going to last a few years most probably. They are very thin and often rust out pretty quick if left out or and/or left uncleaned (ashes, that is).

    Cast iron is a completely different material. I've never once seen a grill made out of cast iron. Grates? Sure, I used cast iron grates in the smoker/cooker I just finished making myself, but cast iron is just that - cast. They don't make anything other that bathtubs, skilllets, dutch ovens, etc. out of cast iron to my knowledge and I going to bet heavily against you being sold one for your baby daddy down in the valley.

    One other thing to take into consideration with BBQ pits that are made out of 55 gallon drums, etc. Those drums may have been used to store all kinds of nasty **** type of chemicals. Even old propane tanks need time to get the propane odor out.

    I'd venture a guess that most custom cookers are made out of plain old mild steel. Sometimes you can get the vessel for free and sometimes you might end up having to pay for it. If your seller is fairly "commercial", he's probably having to buy his cooking vessels and that will affect the price. I personally wouldn't pay more than about $50-75 for a cooking unit made out of a 55 gallon drum. HEB sells cheap grills for around that price and the cooking experience is probably going to be fairly similar.

    Gotta be fairly careful when falling into the trap of talking about ways to cook cheap cuts of meat on this forum. The "real men" always have something stupid to say about what does and doesn't qualify as being called this or that. I've had some really good meat that was cooked in old garbage cans and really good stuff that came off of a BGE. It all depends and taste is a personal thing. One you get out of the 55 gallon drum market, it is going to be very difficult to gauge what is and is not a good price. It depnds on so much which is left to the personal taste, ability and resources of the cook. Por ejemplo, fit and finish are thought to be really important, practical concerns to many. To try to be helpful, you really need someone objective who can go out and see this proposed grill.
     
  10. SAChick

    SAChick 500+ Posts

    Okay, finally saw it. It's like the size of a water heater, so there is a lot of surface to it compared to what we used to have. There isn't a smoke box. It's not cast iron. Just metal. It probably was a little expensive but it was made by a cousin-in-laws uncle. He's an older man so I didn't mind paying more. He probably needs the money. The hubby is a beginner at cooking meat. Having a better pit should make it easier to properly cook the meat. His cousins came up to deliver the pit and damn can they cook. It takes 'em a couple hours but that's probably better than what we usually do since we usually have it out in 45 minutes.
     
  11. NickDanger

    NickDanger 2,500+ Posts

    Doesn't sound like you got ripped off or anything. If you are going to store it where it gets rained on, make sure it won't get water on the inside and clean out the ashes regularly. Wet ashes aren't very tasty and they will accelerate the rusting process. Ideally, with what you have described so far, you will have a "door" on one end and a half-moon piece of meat on the end of a metal rod so you can pull the ashes out.
     
  12. SAChick

    SAChick 500+ Posts


     
  13. TexasEd

    TexasEd 1,000+ Posts

    Now you get to season it!

    There are a lot of different ways people like to do it but almost everyone agrees you need to rub down the inside with cooking oil. Use vegetable or a blend of olive and vegetable oil to rub on the inside, especially the sides, top and grate.

    Build a fire in it and let it get heated up. Some people do this multiple times before they cook in it the first time.
     
  14. Ignatius

    Ignatius 1,000+ Posts


     
  15. BigWill

    BigWill 2,500+ Posts

    forget the rubbing oil on the inside. buy a can of pam and spray it on.
     

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