I bought mine online and picked it up at the local store. My store did tell me they would honor the online price. Better hurry as when I bought mine they showed out of stock except in any stores that might have them in stock. Saturday when I first checked on one three stores close to me had them in stock. Last evening when I bought mine my local store was the only one close to me that had one. Good luck.
Trail Embers Triple Function Smoker (WSM knockoff) $199
- Thread starter JS-TX
- Start date
ericandcandi
Knows what a fatty is.
I was told the stores are not going to carry many cookers anymore. If they still have them in stock they will honor the price.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Still $199.99 in my area...
Whisky
is one Smokin' Farker
My store had them on clearance for $120. I looked at it, but passed. Didnt have a need for another smoker.
homesmoke
Full Fledged Farker
Top notch.
Well did it taste as good as it looks?
Sealed up the Trail Embers Smoker
Today I received the hi temp gasket I ordered from Amazon.
[ame]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TAJW0QE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/ame]
( Fireblack HALF inch 1/2 x 1/8 Black Hi Temp BBQ smoker Gasket Self Stick15 ft High Heat) The 15 ft roll was enough to seal both doors and the lid with about 1 foot left over. I did have to slightly reshape the curve of the doors to better follow the curve of the shell but it was fairly easy. Tomorrow if timing works out I will do a burn to cure the paint and season it. Sunday I plan of smoking some spares and a tube of sausage to try it out. I have had good luck cooking ribs on my Weber Performer but this will be a first for me using a smoker. I welcome any tips or help form the group.
Thanks
Today I received the hi temp gasket I ordered from Amazon.
[ame]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TAJW0QE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/ame]
( Fireblack HALF inch 1/2 x 1/8 Black Hi Temp BBQ smoker Gasket Self Stick15 ft High Heat) The 15 ft roll was enough to seal both doors and the lid with about 1 foot left over. I did have to slightly reshape the curve of the doors to better follow the curve of the shell but it was fairly easy. Tomorrow if timing works out I will do a burn to cure the paint and season it. Sunday I plan of smoking some spares and a tube of sausage to try it out. I have had good luck cooking ribs on my Weber Performer but this will be a first for me using a smoker. I welcome any tips or help form the group.
Thanks
WareZdaBeef
is Blowin Smoke!
Your going to probably get some leaks where the steel is welded to the rim. I had to buy a tube of food safe rutland 500F clear silcone and seal the seams where they didn't weld. For $99 what do ya expect, and really can't complain. The thing runs like a champ once sealed.
I seen where you had the leak on yours but mine appears to be sealed up. I did order the Food grade hi temp silicone when I bought the gasket and If I see any leaks when I fire it up to cure it I will seal it up. I think for $99.99 it is a steal when a Weber is almost $400.00 and a PBC is $300.00. I can use the money I saved to buy some Pork and Beef and also a PartyQ or similar controller If I feel the need.
WareZdaBeef
is Blowin Smoke!
I am just giving you a heads up because I had to spend an hour and a whole roll of paper towels to clean the smoke off the area where i had to apply the Silicone.
Thanks, I will remove the lid and look it over real well before I fire it up. I can always burn it in on Saturday if I have to seal it up.
RacrX
Full Fledged Farker
Just picked a barely used one up on CL - impressed with the construction for the price pint and it's a lot bigger than I expected. Just installed the gasket material today. This is going to be my go-to charcoal burner for a while, can't wait to fire it up!
Well thanks to the heads up from WareZdaBeef. When I removed the lid from my smoker I seen that the top seam had some gaps. I used the Lavalock hi temp silicone and sealed up both the top and bottom where the rim meets the sides.
Yesterday I seasoned the smoker and it reached 250 Deg in a very short time. When I checked it after two hours it had only varied about 5 deg. I then opened the bottom draft and it climbed to 350. In all it burned about 6 hrs on about 10 lbs of KBB.
Today I will try it out on two racks of spares that weigh about 5.5 lbs each along with a tube of rope sausage I have. The ribs were rubbed down last night with a rub we really like from the Best Ribs Ever: A Barbecue Bible Cookbook: by Steven Raichlen. I am planning on 3 hrs @ 225-250 than wrapping them in foil with apple butter, maple syrup, some melted butter, honey, and a little brown sugar and maybe some hot sauce in one of them for another 1-2 hrs. Finally unwrap and grill to set the sauce I will be using. I have apple wood for the smoke. When I start I will get some pictures and also show the finished result. I have smoked ribs in my Weber kettle using this method a number of times and they have been some of the best ribs I have ever eaten. I just hope these turn out as well. Wish me luck on my first smoke with the new smoker.
Yesterday I seasoned the smoker and it reached 250 Deg in a very short time. When I checked it after two hours it had only varied about 5 deg. I then opened the bottom draft and it climbed to 350. In all it burned about 6 hrs on about 10 lbs of KBB.
Today I will try it out on two racks of spares that weigh about 5.5 lbs each along with a tube of rope sausage I have. The ribs were rubbed down last night with a rub we really like from the Best Ribs Ever: A Barbecue Bible Cookbook: by Steven Raichlen. I am planning on 3 hrs @ 225-250 than wrapping them in foil with apple butter, maple syrup, some melted butter, honey, and a little brown sugar and maybe some hot sauce in one of them for another 1-2 hrs. Finally unwrap and grill to set the sauce I will be using. I have apple wood for the smoke. When I start I will get some pictures and also show the finished result. I have smoked ribs in my Weber kettle using this method a number of times and they have been some of the best ribs I have ever eaten. I just hope these turn out as well. Wish me luck on my first smoke with the new smoker.
WareZdaBeef
is Blowin Smoke!
I drilled some extra 1 inch holes in the charcoal pan for better air flow. It doesn't hurt over shooting at all but in hindsight with the snake method, the opening in the center of the charcoal pan is pobably enough. I suppose if you wanted to just load the entire pan with 18lbs the extra holes will help.
Before I loaded the charcoal today I cut some spacers for the grate from some tubing I had 1-1/2 in tall to allow more airflow under the charcoal grate. I will probably build taller grate/fire basket from expanded metal down the road. Already looking at auto temp control options. Right now I am leaning towards the QMaster Senior controller. I probably should get some more cooks under my belt before I pull the trigger. Later, gotta check my temp I am shooting for 250 deg.
Done my first cook
We just finished supper. My first cook was a success. The ribs tasted fantastic. I smoked them @ 250 deg for three hours then wrapped in foil using some apple sauce, a little honey, maple syrup and some of my rub left them steam for two hours and they were fall off the bone tender. The family loved them. I learned quite o lot doing this cook. First off since I sealed up all of the leaks I had to crack open the bottom door slightly to maintain temp @ 250. I will try drilling some more holes in the ash pan to see if this helps. I am sure a temp controller with a fan would solve the issue but I want to learn how to cook on it first. I was surprised how much charcoal is left. I ran it for a total of six hours and loaded the pan about level when I started. The tube of sausage I smoked at the same time come out just perfect I pulled it at three hours. I will also try a cook with out using the water pan. Here are some pictures.
One hour in, I basted with apple juice.
Thermometer was within 1 deg of my digital.
After 3 hrs of smoke before I foil foil wrapped. I think lack of bark is due to using the water pan. My family does not like a lot of bark but I would have liked to seen some. The meat had a good smoke ring but did not have a strong smokey taste.
Removing from foil wrap, I think I will try 1 hr foil wrap instead of 2 next time I smoke ribs. They were a little too tender for my liking, the family like them tender but I like them a little chewy.
cut and plated, they have a nice smoke ring.
I welcome any comments or hints for next time.
We just finished supper. My first cook was a success. The ribs tasted fantastic. I smoked them @ 250 deg for three hours then wrapped in foil using some apple sauce, a little honey, maple syrup and some of my rub left them steam for two hours and they were fall off the bone tender. The family loved them. I learned quite o lot doing this cook. First off since I sealed up all of the leaks I had to crack open the bottom door slightly to maintain temp @ 250. I will try drilling some more holes in the ash pan to see if this helps. I am sure a temp controller with a fan would solve the issue but I want to learn how to cook on it first. I was surprised how much charcoal is left. I ran it for a total of six hours and loaded the pan about level when I started. The tube of sausage I smoked at the same time come out just perfect I pulled it at three hours. I will also try a cook with out using the water pan. Here are some pictures.
One hour in, I basted with apple juice.
Thermometer was within 1 deg of my digital.
After 3 hrs of smoke before I foil foil wrapped. I think lack of bark is due to using the water pan. My family does not like a lot of bark but I would have liked to seen some. The meat had a good smoke ring but did not have a strong smokey taste.
Removing from foil wrap, I think I will try 1 hr foil wrap instead of 2 next time I smoke ribs. They were a little too tender for my liking, the family like them tender but I like them a little chewy.
cut and plated, they have a nice smoke ring.
I welcome any comments or hints for next time.
Attachments
SmittyJonz
somebody shut me the fark up.
I don't see any wood chunks in the charcoal pan pic.......
ericandcandi
Knows what a fatty is.
Great looking pull-back! Glad to see your liking the smoker. I have done many 12-18 hour cooks on my Trail Embers with a fan controller and let me tell ya that its virtually "set it and forget it". And just think, I was a week away from pulling the trigger on a big Yoder pellet rig, that's 2000 dollars I can spend somewhere else.
I don't see any wood chunks in the charcoal pan pic.......
I mixed the wood chunks in with the charcoal. I used a total of 5 chunks 4 apple and 1 hickory. I think I will add more wood next smoke as the meat was only slightly smokey tasting, but then I like more smoke taste than my wife. She thought they were great.
Sounds like you are happy with your PartyQ. When cooking without a temp controller do you feel that the Trail Embers needs more air inlet area? I had to slightly open the bottom door to maintain 250f. I am sure that a blower would overcome that. Guess I sealed it up to good. The day I seasoned it there was a breeze and I had to close the inlet down about 2/3 to maintain 250. yesterday I placed it out of the wind and it seemed to need more air.
This will be a learning experience for me but I think for the price it is a great cooker. In the past I was able to get great ribs from my Brinkman electric, it just took some time to learn. The first effort on the Trail Embers were much better. It is hard to beat $99.99 for a smoker of this size and with all of its features. If needed I can spend some of the money I saved on a temp controller etc.
Thanks for the comments.
dadsr4
somebody shut me the fark up.
It's still on sale, for anyone interested. $99.99
ericandcandi
Knows what a fatty is.
Boy did you ever seal that sucker up good! With that all I can say is a temp controller fan would be perfect for your setup.The few cooks I did with mine that was prior to the Party Q I ended up waking every couple of hours to adjust the air flow. Thats when I decided to purchase the party q. I sleep like a baby for as many hours as I want. It controls the temp almost perfect with very tight temp tolerances.
