Customer Reviews

Char-Broil Double Chef Water Smoker

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Weber Smokey Mountain continues to be the reigning king of steel bullet smokers, and I think that it really had no real competition. You have the Big Green Egg/kamado smokers that offer easier temperature management, but cost upwards of $600. On the opposite end are the big box 40-50 buck Smoke N Grill offerings whose steel bodies are just a hair thicker than heavy duty aluminum foil, and are labor-intensive, featureless wonders that will burn out in a few years.

But true competition has entered the $350 & under market. Closest competitor to the WSM is probably the Excel 20 from Pro Q. However for the money the CharBroil Double Chef is worth a look.

Easy assembly and a very thick gauge of steel (with a high quality finish) makes this a real steal at the current going price of seventy-nine ninety-seven (79.97). But for whatever reason, BargainOutfitters is offering this baby for as little as sixty four ninety-seven (64.97).

On Christmas Eve 2009, I fired it up for the first cook after seasoning the grill as instructed. After loading up charcoal grate with standard Kingsford in a ring formation, I started a chimney of about 25 briquets and sat them in center of the ring (minion method). Took about 20-30 minutes to come up to temperature, but from there the Double Chef held temperature from start time (about 7:30pm) until well after 1am (when I left the Boston Butt roasts on to complete).

I smoked a rack of ribs, a 6 lb Boston butt, and a large chicken (about 4.5 lbs). All this went on just the top rack, so even though this is a 19 inch unit you can fit plenty. And you can probably triple this amount if you use a vertical rib rack. I had mine laying flat.

I have a couple of "cons", but the price and positive overall experience way offsets them. The center section swells out when the smoker reaches cooking temp and the lid sticks. They made this units' top and center section with a solid hand-in-glove fit. Then means no slack and no smoke or air slippage. But once it reaches cooking temperature and the lid sticks there's no easy to break the two loose without causing damage to the finish or bending the handles. I found this out during seasoning, and just let it cool and it came loose easy. Just be sure to NOT put the lid on secure - leave it just a little ajar when cooking - and you'll be fine. I took a pair of pliers, along with a cloth to protect the finish, and put small bends in the top and center section so that I could open and close all the way. Be careful not to damage the finish or you may introduce an area prone to rust later.

The other issue is accessing the water pan when you need to refill. As large as the pan is it does require refilling about every hour if you want to keep a moist cooking chamber. It sits too deep into the cooking chamber to easily fill through the water door using a cup - you'll end up pouring over your charcoal and killing your fire. So after filling from the top once - essentially pouring around the cooking food - I shaped up a channel from some heavy duty aluminum foil, put it through the refill door, tilted it and filled without spilling a single drop. Ya always have to be prepared to be creative. ;)

I have a Chargriller Duo (purchased 5 months ago) and a 22 inch Weber kettle that I've had over ten years - Weber does make a quality product, no doubt - they REALLY charge for them too. But since the Double Chef "doubles" as a more-than-adequate grill, and very close in size to the Weber, the Weber kettle must go. I see years and years of usage from this grill, and will undoubtedly be my primary grill of use. Even over the Chargriller Duo! I can't wait for the second one - that I got for 64.97 - to arrive after the holidays. It will go into storage for use when this one burns out years down the road. I highly recommend this.

UPDATE - 1/9/2010

The charcoal grate has very low walls and doesn't allow a deep stack of charcoals for extended (overnight) cooking. I found a very inexpensive "fix" for that.

A cheap, 12-in diameter, 4 inch deep, $2 aluminum roasting pan - if you cut the bottom out and sit it on top of the cooking grate - can nearly double you charcoal capacity, and cooking time - to nearly 12 hours on a single cook. This is during cold 30-40 degree winter days, so the time may be extended even further during the warmer spring and summer months. And it's reusable so it pays for itself really quickly.

Gives the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker a challenge

Ok, so maybe its not the highly praised Smokey Mountain Cooker...maybe. I ordered this Char-Broil Double Chef Smoker last Sunday and found it on my doorstep Thursday afternoon. Pretty good service. The box was well taped and showed some wear and tear from our friends at UPS but everything inside was in tact. No dents. A few very minor marks on the dome from the bouncing it took over highway travels. Unpacked and put together in less than an hour. The Char-Broil uses the same screw and locking nut for every connection. So assembly was no problem. Attach everything finger tight first then align and tighten down.

This smoker is sturdy. Heavier than my Master Built water smoker by double. I don't know the exact gauge of the steel used but it feels very close to my buddy's Weber. The smoker has two cooking grates. There is a charcoal grate/basket instead of the bowl I have used for decades. This seems to turn out to be an important issue in the unit's performance. The grate sits very near the bottom of the smoker over holes in the smoker body that allow ash to fall into the heavy duty ash catcher that slides on to the smoker body below. The ash catcher has two sliding damper controls that allow for temperature control. There is one rotating circular damper on the dome of the smoker. Together I had very good results obtaining and controlling the temperature I wanted. The cooking grates have built in handles turned up so loading and unloading the grates with the food in place was a snap. The water pan, like every smoker I have used or seen seems close to the charcoal. It actually sat on a chunk of hickory I was using until I did some adjusting. The water pan also makes placing wood chips and charcoal in the unit while you are cooking a bit of a challenge. Like I said every bullet smoker I know of uses this same basic design.

My first use of the item was on a 35 degree day with a good breeze. I had the smoker in a relatively protected area. The charcoal grate allows less charcoal than my old bowl system did but that turns out to be a good thing. The coals stack up two thick. That allows a lot of air movement and a good hot consistent burn. On a cold day I had no trouble keeping the smoker at or above 220. In fact I actually had to use the dampers and slow things down. The smoker has a temp gauge that reads Smoke, BBQ and Too Hot. I used my digital probe to keep an eye on the exact temp and must say am very pleased with this unit's ability to obtain and maintain a temperature that will cook the meat as it should. The lower range of Smoke kicked in at 200 and the upper edge of Smoke was 265 according to my probe. My lesser, thinner smokers using the big charcoal bowl have trouble staying hot enough on a July day in the sun.

I think the charcoal grate the ash catching chamber with air damper, heavier steel and tight fit of this smoker can give the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker a valid run for its money. And at less than half the price. As a value conscious person, I can't be happier after one cooking session.

This is an excellent smoker for the price. I gave it a test run with some turkey drumsticks and a half breast, and the meat came out fantastic. The smoker was very easy to work with, other than the sticking kettle lid issue noted below. Overall I highly recommend this product for its price and performance. Comparable units don't come close to the price: Weber Smokey Mountain: [...], and Pro-Q: [...].

Pros:
price!! (compared to similar units)
easy assembly
heavy gauge metal construction
built-in thermometer (with only three indicators however: "smoke/barbeque/too hot")
nice chrome grates
easy to transport
consistent heat
effective dampening vents
effective removable ash receptacle
good quality powder coat finish

Cons:
lid sticks once the unit heats up (leaving it ajar helps)
bottom door hinges seem flimsy
bottom grate for coals slides around on bottom of smoker
thermometer should have actual temperature indicators along with "smoke/barbeque/too hot" zones.

I just finished the maiden voyage of my new Double Chef smoker. The item on the menu was St. Louis style ribs with my own personal blend rub. I must say that for my first smoked ribs, they are amazing. The Double Chef worked flawlessly in 30 degree weather. The smoker had no trouble keeping temp and when it came time to add charcoal or lift the lid, the temperature bounced back in no time. I would have loved to give this 5 stars, but the cons are slight at best. Something they will most likely improve in future models.

1) The installed thermometer only reads Smoke, BBQ, and Grill. There are no numbers which is a odd to get used to. I used an internal guage and 1/2 way in the "smoke" reading, the temp was 300 degrees. The outside temps were cold today. I'm sure that has a great effect on the actual reading.

2) The charcoal grate just lays in the bottom while touching the sides of the smoker. I would have expected brackets. This could pose a problem later on. The grate may eventually damage the inside and be a rust spot. Time will tell.

Overall, I'm very pleased. I can't wait to grill some steaks and BBQ some chicken.

The smoker is fine but it came with no additional packaging, just the box it was sold in, and as a result it had several broken handles. Not to mention it was supposed to be a present and it just showed up in a huge box with a smoker on it. Lame. Product works well though, not the best in the world but awesome for the price.

Overall I like this little smoker. It is small, but does a good job maintaining temperature and does not use much fuel. The top stick a little when it gets hot and the temp gauge is horrible. I tossed it and replaced it with one thet actually had numerical temps on it. Nice position on the access door as you can add more fuel or water during the cook. Great price and fast shipping. I would recommend this for a patio smoker/bbq pit to anyone who did not need much room to cook, but for a catering size or a large gathering, it just is not big enough. Also please visit my website at[...]:)

I don't understand why this cooker did not sale for Char Broil. I expanded the fire basket and added a thermometer and it really rocks. It held 240 to 260 degrees at the topping cooking grate on a windy 50 degree day for 6 hours with only about a half basket of charcoal. I don't know how long they are going to be available but get one. It was only $69 plus 8 dollars shipping for a cooker with an msrp of $199. You won't be disappointed.

The only bad thing is the stock temp gauge is worthless! $10 new gauge
Some have reported sticky lids so I thinned the paint coating with sandpaper around the mateing surface-no trouble!
this is a heavy steel smoker/grill that is sturdy and very well designed!
rub it, smoke it, eat it!
good rib recipe at slap yo' daddy bbq