BBQ Smokers

Klose mobile offset

Our first introduction to the world of Smokers, acquired from Parrothead Smokers. We burn primarily oak with a lump charcoal base at night. This is a wonderful running pit with each end running left to right within 5 degrees of each other. Top to bottom 50 degrees variation gives us the flexibility with three shelves for three temps on the same grill. It has a 160,000 btu propane wood starter in the insulated firebox and 160,000 btu fish fryer in the front which is usually used to start our charcoal chimneys. The big box holds a fast eddy FE 100 giving us the ability to add a fourth temp setting to our contest cooks. I know this pit inside out and love the huge amount of space it offers to move around product.

Stumps GF 223

This gravity fed charcoal smoker is super insulated and requires minimal lump to keep going. A charcoal chimney full of hot coals is dropped down the charcoal chute and then unlighted lump is added until full. As the lump burns over the bottom grate it drops hot ash onto lumps of wood to provide the smoke. It came with a ball-valve air inlet which I found personally to be too difficult to obtain a steady temp. Many do however. My problems were solved with a bbq guru which I bought personally from my neighbor at the american royal in 2005 ..."Shotgun Fred." This allows this stumps to maintain a sweetspot of 228 degrees, from which it can easily hold for 12 or more hours. This cooker can rarely be prone to charcoal bridges in the charcoal chute, although others report no problems with this. I found the best way to prevent bridges is to break up the lump into smaller pieces and never fill the chute more than half full. I also bought a 4 x 6 inch squared off chimney brush which fits the chute and gets rid of any buildup dust which can become the beginning edge of a bridge. New gravity smokers from Stump have charcoal chutes that taper from top to bottom making bridges finally obsolete.

Fast Eddy Fe's

Some of our favorite smokers. They produce a gentle smoke which doesn't oversmoke the meat. The new IQ is also very accurate compared to the old style controllers. Customer support is also first rate and immediate.

Ole Hickory CTO

Was one of our favorite smokers. Larger capacity than the FE's made it ideal for feeding large crowds. Great to practice on in winter with propane backup. Customer support is excellent - talk to Kevin at Ole Hickory.

This pit went to Jeff Devillers of Shiggin and Grinnin who beat us by 0.6 points in Marshall this year for the Grand!

Homemade 55 gallon vertical barrel smokers

Made by my brother in law Aaron in Alaska, these performed effortlessly, powered by bbq guru controllers. They maintained temps ranging from 225 to 450 without difficulty or flareups. Very easy to set up and use. See link on how to make.

Geer offset

Jamie Geer is not only one of the nicest guys in the world and he also makes one of the best pits in the world. When he started making them in full production, we knew we had to have one! Its unique design produces beautiful bark and it holds temps like a dream. Air draw and temps are controlled at the stack and not at the firebox door, like the klose. With one and half shelves vs. three full size shelves of the klose we do miss the extra space, but the product produced is uniquely of its own and simply the best we have every smoked.

Stumps Classics and Stretch

We will be competing this year with two stumps classics on our used Parrothead stumps trailer and our red Jambo above which we will tow in tandem. We have a bright orange Stumps Stretch at home for practice burns and recipe development. The new stumps have a tapered charcoal chute which widens at the bottom making charcoal bridges obsolete. They also have a newly designed grease collection floor which make clean up a breeze. Our stumps work great with BBQ Guru's for instant and accurate temperature control.

... a Covington Family and Friends' adventure