It's the Memorial Day weekend, my belly's full and my clothes smell of hickory smoke. I've just spent the day slaving over a mound of beef and pork ribs, expertly prepared in my Brinkman Gourmet Charcoal Smoker. My Brinkman is one of a long list of "toys" my wife Jenny has given me since we've been married. I'm so happy with it that I had to share my experiences with everyone.

What's in the box?

The Brinkman Gourmet Smoker arrived in the mail packaged in a single four foot high box. It's relatively light, (20 lbs. perhaps) so don't worry about dropping it on your foot while moving it around or unpacking its numerous contents. Inside you'll find 13 pieces, including the main, barrel-like smoker body, a dome lid, three hardwood handles, two stainless steel racks, (each capable of holding 25 lbs of food), a porcelain-lined water pan, a removable charcoal pan, a base pan, and a very rudimentary external thermometer. Rounding out the package are the obligatory instruction manual and a nice recipe book. A single piece of hickory wood was in the very bottom of the box--a nice touch that I almost missed.

Construction

Assembling my Brinkman Smoker took a little less than an hour. Luckily, I'm a visual learner, and it would be optimal if you were too, since there are no words, (only pictures), to guide you though constructing the smoker. Regardless, I finished the project leaving no unaccounted-for screws, washers, or brackets. The fact that it didn't wobble on a level surface later confirmed my engineering prowess (surprising, since I'm trained to break things!).

Operation

Preparing and operating a charcoal smoker like the Brinkman isn't a "fire and forget" task, as I was quick to learn. The smoking process can take from three to seven hours depending upon the type, weight, and cut of meat you've decided to prepare. Therefore, once you get things going, you'll have to check your work every thirty minutes or so. Trust me; the attention you pay to the process will be directly proportional to the quality of the final product.

I begin with only the base and charcoal pans, charcoal and a smoking wood like hickory or mesquite. Using flavoring woods is so popular today that it's likely you'll find hickory or mesquite chips in grocery stores collocated with rest of the BBQ supplies. The charcoal pan rests inside the base and holds up to 15 pounds of high quality charcoal. Keep in mind that 10-15 pounds of charcoal will burn for five to six hours, so if you don't need to cook for that long use less fuel. Starting a charcoal fire in the smoker is the same as with a grill. Stack the coals in a pyramid, drench with lighter fluid and wait for two minutes. While I waited I soaked a cup or two of wood chips in a bowl of water. I lit the charcoal, and in about 15-20 minutes I was ready to cook. Just before starting, I wrapped a handful of wet chips in some aluminum foil to make a small "packet". After poking a couple of holes in the foil packet to create an outlet for the smoke, I placed it on the bed of coals. Once the coals are spread and ready, the remaining smoker "body" is placed on top of the base pan.

Inside the smoker, the porcelain water pan rests on brackets approximately ten inches up from the base. You can pour anything in the pan you like, from wine to water to beer or a mixture thereof. The fluid will produce moisture inside the smoker as it boils off. A full pan will last about two to three hours. One stainless steel rack rests right on top of the water pan. The second one sits on brackets approximately two inches below the top of the smoker body. I usually pour whatever fluid I'm using directly into the pan as it rests on top of the building fire, quickly emplace the bottom rack, lay out the food and put the top rack and food on just before covering everything with the dome lid.

Heat and smoke will build quickly. The key to smoking meat is keeping the heat low and steady, and this is done by alternatively checking the thermometer embedded into the dome lid and opening and closing the metal access door on the side of the smoker. Closing the door increases smoke, opening it fans the fire and raises the cooking temperature.

The rest of the cooking process focuses on managing heat, and for this I'm glad the makers included a thermometer. Unfortunately, it only has three readings, "Warm", "Ideal" and "Hot". Each zone comprises a third of the circular dial, so there is quite a range involved. I wasn't daunted however. It just takes time and experience to determine what temperature works best and how that's translated to the dial. It's all trial and error--nothing more.

Depending upon the weather conditions and cooking time it may be necessary to add fuel to the smoker. There are two ways and I tried them both. First, you can simply lift the smoker body completely off the base and add more coals. Or, you can very delicately add more coals, one by one, (tongs recommended), through the side access door. Personally, I found that lifting the body completely off and adding coal was the best course of action. Adding briquettes through the side door was too difficult and time consuming.

Aftercare

Cleaning and storing the Brinkman Gourmet Smoker is easy. After letting everything cool, lift out the charcoal pan, dump the ashes, and brush it clean. The steel racks and porcelain water pan clean up easily with hot soapy water. Afterward, you should coat them with a small amount of vegetable oil as a preservative. The inside and outside of the main unit clean easily with a damp cloth. Afterward, the makers recommend you coat the interior smoker body and the inside of the dome lid with vegetable oil to reduce the possibility of rust. But don't apply oil to the charcoal pan! Finally, the Brinkman Gourmet Smoker ships with a heavy duty waterproof cover. I recommend you use it and store the unit away from the elements.

Final Thoughts

I love my Brinkman Smoker! It's attractive and easy to operate once you've got the knack of it. It's perfectly sized for what small amounts I cook, and cleans up rather easily. It's labor-intensive however, so if you aren't willing to pay frequent attention to your cooking you might think twice about this, or any other smoker for that matter. The only real disappointment I have with this product is its poorly detailed thermometer. Even so, I'm unsure whether or not including a better thermometer would make the process easier for me or anyone else.

Bottom line—it all comes down to a labor of love.