I started to browse the internet for an alternative, passing over the WSMs and ProQs (too expensive, I might not even like this low and slow lark) and the EC Brinkmanns (needs modifying to be anything decent). Round and round in circles I went, weighing up the pros and cons of everything and anything. In the end, I spent £37 on a cheap as chips bullet smoker from Amazon.
Yes. I bought a £37 smoker. [*Sound of experienced BBQers' heads hitting the desks*] Step aside, El Cheapo Brinkmann, and make way for the Mega El Cheapo TecTake! (MECTT)
It's a 37cm smoker from TecTake, a German company - although I highly doubt it was manufactured there. It has a rating of 4.5 stars on Amazon from 21 reviews. Not sure how many of those are die-hard BBQers though. It arrived, delivered from Germany, in three days and I got to work building it over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Instructions are rubbish, but I'm a bloke so it's a sin to read instructions. It went together fine. One of the things that I liked about it, is that it has some of the modifications that are recommended for an ECB such as the vent in the lid and access to the fire pan during a cook. I grabbed some briquettes from the local garden centre that turned out to be Supagrill. I was hoping to get Weber, but that particular place isn't a dealer of their stuff. Anyway, I dumped about half a dozen bricks into my Tesco chimney starter (£6) and then dropped them into the pan with a lump of log (random seasoned log from the garage over the road) for a seasoning burn.
The temp climbed up to 180°C and I got about 90 minutes out of the coals and log, settling around 150°C for most of the time. Opening the top vent could make the difference between the log flaming up or just smouldering. Aftermath:
But we don't just burn logs in these things, do we? Next day was good weather, so on with the bacon weave!
Pork fattie, with homemade tomato and basil sauce, cheese and peppers rolled up in the middle.
About half a chimney of lit coals, and probably a full one unlit in the pan for minion burning, with a couple of logs on for smoke. Probably too much smoke as it turned out. Also rubbed some chicken and tossed that on for the missus. Cooked the fatty for about three hours, which might have been a bit too long as the smoke ring was almost as deep as the thickness of the meat. Half of it had gone before I remembered to take a picture:
(Looks burned, but it was the rub that blackened, the bacon was still nicely cooked).
So far I'm very happy with it. For going as cheap as chips can be there's nothing about it that I can complain over. A longer cook will be interesting, I bought a pork shoulder but ended up doing it in the oven as the weather turned to carp over the weekend. I'll probably need to keep a close eye on temps and fire management, but that's all part of the fun isn't it?
