Cpt Carnivor

Cheers mate, I will check it out.

I think you will need half the neighbourhood around if you used the baskets, they can hold a huge amount, even the 18 inch ones..! I think I know what you mean, looking for an excuse to use them myself but I need to get better at charcoal management as I struggle to keep it going longer than an hour and a half.

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Thanks mate - I have the heatbeads due to be delivered today/tomorrow so will start from scratch again 🙂

Cheers Sluggy - I will check that out

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Sluggy! Excellent, detailed advice. Thank you very much mate. I especially like the contraption you have used to stop the snake from touching itself as it were. I saw an old cooling rack in the back of the cupboard that I will sneak out, that will be sacrificed for the greater good (as long as the Mrs doesn't see...). Have never been successful with the snake method in the past in my webber kettle, substandard charcoal & improper airflow, I think was the likely culprit. I think I know what you mean when describing the Minion method, so will keep that in mind for the longer cooks but will get the smaller more manageable ones under my belt first. Wow - 15 hours is incredible....not to mention the 9 hours with the snake on 3/4 of a bag. Very impressive & I am really hoping I can achieve that too as I don't fancy having to faff around too much with having to take the thing apart a third of the way through just to re light it...etc, but I know you have to be patient & dedicate the time to get it right....which is part of the fun. Interesting point about the heatsink idea. I am looking into investing in a decent circular stainless steel disk - say 20mm thick....I may think again when I see the price....but think it could be worth it....or some thick quarry tiles in the water pan covered by foil. Any sub threads you can point to or your own ideas on that would be welcome, as well as any sheet metal suppliers you know of that could custom cut it...etc. Got some heatbeads on order, thanks for the alternatives. Will try get some ribs on tomorrow afternoon depending on my jay job work load ( I work from home with my garden office right next to my BBQ area!). Off to Cornwall for hols on Saturday PM for a week but have a few days at home on hols when I come back so will have chance to have a decent play.. Will eventually get some pics of my endeavours to share. Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience with me.

👍 cheers mate

Thanks Justin! Yeah - absolutely. Fuel choice is also key as my briquettes just wouldn't burn properly so will try some heatbeads on the weekend.

Hi everyone, Not really done any long cooks on a proper charcoal smoker before. Recently got a 22" Razzo . Have always used Grillove 'Restaurant grade' lumpwood for normal grilling on my old Webber kettle. I figured that for my first cook (after I gave it a first really hot blast the day before to clear out any oils or residue from manufacturing), I would need briquettes to burn longer. I could only find the 'Big K' brand at the Supermarket - it was that or the no name brand junk. So I fired up a half chimney of lumpwood and then put about 4kg worth on top of the lit lumpwood, which was in the centre of the firebasket. Had all the bottom vents open along with the top vent. Got up to 120c very quickly. I should add that I didn't have any water in the pan. I then dialled back the bottom vents to a 3rd open. I had an inkbird probe at the top rack and temp came down to 95c. It sat there for about an hour and a half and then it started dying down. Opened the vents to full - waited about 15 minutes - temp dropped even further. Opened up the fire basket door and saw that only 20% of the briquettes were partially combusted & the rest untouched. Stoked them a bit - left the door open for 20 mins - briquettes caught a bit, temp got up, turned vents down just a touch. Temp held at about 95c for another hour or so....then the same story ....rinse & repeat a couple more times. Eventually - I lifted the top sections off and dumped in a chimney of lit lumpwood and it limped along like this, with a bit more faffing about, putting in a couple of wood chunks, trying to complete my cook ( a briskett - yes I know - far too ambitious for a first real cook!). Briskett turned out ok in the end. Just ok. Smoke ring, nice flavour and all but not the most tender. I did see mention by Wade saying that a single fire basket can / should last up to 8 hours? How does one achieve this? I have ordered some Heatbeads, which is what the Aussie manufacturers recommend for the Razzo, but was wondering what the best briquettes are and best methods for getting it all started and maintained ?

Hello Walt - I just joined today. Was curious if you went for the 22" Razzo? I took delivery of mine a few days ago. The thing is a monster - also got it from Ebay at the price you mentioned. Am VERY impressed with the quality. Reminds me of my old Webber kettle when I got it new 15 years ago, very heavy guage enameled steel & nice thick solid stainless baskets. I just need to get a few more cooks under my belt to get the thing dialled in properly. Will be doing some ribs this weekend 🙂

Hi everyone, I have been subjecting meat to fire since I was a very small boy. My Grampa, Dad, Uncle & older brother used to take me hunting, fishing & camping in the wild African bush over 45 years ago. Have had many, many 'traditional' Southern African BBQ's or Braais - with nothing more than a bit of old metal fencing propped up on rocks over white hot african hardwood, cooking Eland & Impala steaks....the stuff of dreams. Nothing beats wood, fire, smoke & meat! ....well I guess add a few cold beers to that as well. Have always tried to combine these when cooking, but not always practical. Moved to the UK with my family 20 years ago & although have always BBQ'd & tried to introduce smokey goodness to my meats, it's only fairly recently that I have bought a cheap & nasty electric cabinet smoker, which has actually produced many a succulent pork shoulder, ribs, chicken & also experimented loads with an old Webber kettle bbq & a smoke box in my new 4 burner Char Broil gas BBQ. So now I have been able to splash out on a decent 'bullet smoker' - had my eye on those offset smokers you see on American BBQ shows, but for a decent one, it would cost a fair bit & of course space is a premium. So I figured that a bullet was more efficient anyway - since the heat rises vertically - so got myself a 22" Fornetto Razzo, which I believe is supposed to be an improved copy of a ProQ (which I nearly bought instead of). Absolutely not sorry when my Razzo arrived last weekend, the thing is a beast - heavy gauge enameled body and very thick, chunky stainless steel baskets. Have done an ok brisket on it - need to learn temp control on it having been used to the cheap electric smoker. One thing I have realised though is that I had underestimated the quantity of fuel required to keep the beast satisfied....as well as messing about with the water pan...etc! So I am really looking to find some help from other users on my new journey into charcoal smoking & of course - try & contribute where I can.