Customer Reviews

Char-Griller 1224 Smokin Pro 830 Square Inch Charcoal Grill with Side Fire Box

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I agree entirely with the two other reviewers. This is a great grill, but I would like to add some additional comments. I have rated this only 4 stars because of some assembly issues (see below) and because it is not quite as good as a dedicated smoker (such as the Brinkmann Vertical Smoker). However, if you want to be able to both smoke and grill, or if you are not sure you want a smoker (like me) then the Char Griller Smokin Pro with Side Fire Box is for you.

Now that I tried Smoking, I am a convert. It does take longer than grilling, but this slow cooking process results in more flavor and more juicy meat. The intensity of the smoke flavor is increased by using more wood and reduced by using more charcoal. For instance, an all-charcoal smoke will result in subtle, but pleasant smoke flavor. I find it very easy to control the temperature of the Smokin Pro grill when smoking - I add more charcoal or adjust the vents only once per hour. Otherwise, it basically runs itself. Cleanup is easy because the firebox has an ash pan. Furthermore, since smoking is done at lower heat, there is no grease spatter in the cooking chamber. I find it helpful to place a pan directly under the meat to catch all the grease.

ASSEMBLY ISSUES: Assuming that you buy both the Smokin Pro grill and the Side Fire Box, do NOT follow the instructions to first assemble the grill, and then add the fire box. The problem is that installation of the fire box requires punching out a knock-out panel on the side of the grill lower half. Unfortunately, the knock-out panel may not be easy to remove, and this step then will require considerable hammering. This step will be very difficult to do if the grill is already assembled!

INSTEAD, as the first step of assembly, take the lower half of the grill firebox and place it on end with the knock-out panel on top, and the other side on hard ground. Firmly wedge a 2x4 piece of wood between the two sides. This will give firm support to the end of the grill with the knock-out panel. It will help to place the support close to the site of the hammering. Now, follow the firebox assembly instructions to punch out the panel with a hammer and a screwdriver. Use of the 2x4 will prevent damage to the side of the grill body due to hammering. After removing the panel, proceed normally with the assembly of the grill, and finally attachment of the fire box as directed in the instructions.

This grill has lots of room to cook. You could easily fit two large turkeys in the spacious interior. Cast iron grates make the cooking more efficient, but you have to take care of them. The fire box gives you the option of cooking with indirect, slow heat. This is the best (and slowest) way to cook ribs and other hunks o' meat. This is a pretty heavy grill, so finding it in your area would save you a bundle on shipping. Overall it is very well made. All I've had to do is touch up the paint with high temp black spray paint.
Using a remote thermometer will give you better results in cooking.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00018RAFO/qid=1120408771/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_ur_2/002-4909942-9391250?v=glance&s=garden&n=507846
You can do some modifications on the grill to make it work better. These are inexpensive and there are numerous postings about modifcations and techniques on the BBQ forums.
http://www.homebbq.com/duportal/forums/msgDetail.asp?msg_id=1009&for_id=8

Got this smoker/grill for father's day, and I love it. It is versatile - you can grill, roast, and BBQ (smoke) equally well with it. Whereas some other smokers will only BBQ. This is the first smoker that I've owned and it is easy to control the temperature. I've made some fantastic BBQ chicken and brisket. I'll be making more.

good value. Large grilling area.

The fire grate has 4 height positions to adjust temperature for direct grilling. It's easy to dump out the ashes.

For roasting, there is plenty of room to put a large drip pan on one side. I've roasted some spectacular chicken this way.

For BBQ (smoking) start a fire in the side-firebox, and add a split log or 5-6 wood chunks an hour. I use a remote thermometer to watch the temperature from inside the house. I thought that was ridiculous at first, but when your BBQ-ing a brisket for 12 hrs, it frees you up to make side dishes in the kitchen, or watch the Gators pound the Seminoles, while your cooking. The temperature is easy to control with the vents and the smokestack cover.

shorcomings: assembly is a chore. thinner gauage metal flakes outer paint sooner than a heavier pit would. Thermometer is not especially reliable, but you'll probably want a remote thermometer if you are going to be BBQ-ing for 12 hrs anyway.

I have 3 Weber kettles (2 22-inch and 1 18 1/2 inch), I also have a Weber gas grill and this grill surpases all of them. It is so versatile, I can use it as a smoker, direct grill, or both at the same time. I have smoked two ten pound briskets at the same time, 30 lbs of rib tips, and a rotiserrie turkey for Thanksgiving. Assembly took one Saturday afternoon, but other than that I haven't had any problems. Buy a can of High Heat Black Enamel for the firebox, because the paint will flake off during long cooking times. A good value at a good price.

I purchased this smoker to replace an old CharBroiler Silver Smoker. My main use of these type of smokers is long duration cooking. I loved the CharBroiler and it's ease of use, I was however sometimes frustrated by it's lack of internal volume in the cooking chamber.
Space plus reviews I saw influenced my decision to try the Char-Griller. The Char-Griller was fairly simple to assemble by myself and I was able to have it ready for a fire in about 90 minutes. I would say the fit and finish were very good for a grill at thice price level. I was pleased with the Cast Iron grates in the smoking chamber.
I have had the opportunity to do several long smokes on the Char-Griller and have the following observations.
The firebox does not have a swingout door. The fuel is placed on a slide out tray with a slightly elevated grate for air circulation. I find this to be a bit troublesome on long duration runs since the ash collects below the grate creating difficulty in maintaining even airflow below the grate. On my CharBroiler I could open the door and use a stick or metal rod to clear the below grate space.
The volume of the smoker requires a decent sized fire in the box and attention to maintain an even smoking temperature. I have found that by using natural hardwood charcoal lumps and large sized wood pieces for fuel it has been easier to establish and maintain an even temperature with a little less frequent attention.
In my opinion this is a good smoker/grill for the price and while I really miss the swing out door on the firebox, I do like the larger volume cooking space.

I received this smoker for my birthday, and have used it every weekend since. I have smoked pork shoulder, ribs, and chicken, and each time they turned out perfectly. It is designed well, especially for the price. It is quite easy to regulate the temperature around 200-230 degrees. It is sturdy, the cast iron grates aren't too heavy, and they can be easily moved around. The grates come in 4 pieces so that you can move one of them to add more charcoal if you are grilling in the main chamber. There is an abundance of room to smoke quite a few lb's of meat.

The only downside that I have noticed so far is that the paint will flake off if/when the fire box gets too hot. This was expected though as it tells you this in the manual. It only comes off in a few small spots, and I will just spray it with a high-temperature paint to restore it.

I would recommend adding a baffle in the main chamber right above the opening from the firebox. I would also insert a piece of metal flashing into the chimney to lengthen the chimney down into the main chamber, so it is almost touching the grates. These two modifications will allow a better heat distribution.

Overall, I would highly recommend this smoker/grill, especially for those who want to get into smoking, but don't want to spend a lot.

You should keep in mind that this is not an expensive grill. It's really pretty darn cheap, so you can't expect a beautiful piece of furniture. So ignore the cosmetic defects. I bought it because other reviews made it sound functional, and that's what I care about. First, regarding the size of the grilling surface: The wire shelf does NOT come with it; it's an accessory for which you pay extra. The actual measurements, done with a measuring stick after assembly are: For the main grill: 19.5"x27"=526.5sq"(3.66sq'), of which only about 337.5sq"(2.34sq') are 100% directly above the coals, but that's still a lot. (As a comparison, a standard Weber 22" grill has about 254sq"(1.77sq') that are 100% directly above the coals.) For the side fire box grill: 14.25"x16.5"=235sq"(1.63sq'), of which about 190sq"(1.32sq') are 100% directly above the coals. We plan to try just the side box for grilling when we're making one meal for just the two of us. (EDIT: We have tried just using the side box for grilling a couple of steaks. It works great for that.)

I'm going to write this review in stages, editing as I go along.

First Stage: Assembly. 3.5 stars.
The manual says you need two people to assemble this grill, but nowhere does it give an instruction that requires two people to carry out. I'm a 65-year-old, retired, pencil-pushing male and I had no trouble building this thing by myself in two hours, from ripping open the box to done. I'd say that a strong woman or a man of average strength would have little trouble with the assembly, from a physical standpoint. One serious tip: Do not try to assemble this thing in the hot sun--the black metal gets finger-burning hot. If you follow the instruction manual carefully, doing things in the order given, you shouldn't have a serious problem--IF you also are mechanically inclined or have good common sense. When you buy this griller-smoker model WITH the side box, there is NO side panel to knock out when attaching the side fire box like that other reviewer had to deal with back in 2006, so follow the directions in order. The difficulty is that the instruction manual usually tells you to use the correct bolt--but sometimes it doesn't. In one place it has you threading a 2-inch spacer onto a 1.5-inch bolt, then putting a nut on the bolt. Can't be done, but that's not a problem because in reality the spacer is shorter than the bolt provided. In another place it eventually becomes clear that the grill has been redesigned since the manual was written and one entire numbered assembly instruction should be ignored. Also, they write as if it doesn't matter which side of each wheel is positioned against the leg, but it does. They tell you to "finger-tighten" the nuts on the bolts until you get it completely assembled, but that's still too tight. You need to put the nuts on "finger-loose" or you'll never get it all together. Then there's the place where the text tells you to position the grill "upright" but what they really mean is "on end." (Fortunately, the picture is correct.) There were no missing parts, in fact there were a few extra nuts and bolts. They say you need only a pair of pliers and a 7/16" nut driver, and that's true, but you might want to replace the pliers with a 7/16" open or closed-end wrench. I also bought the Char-Griller Rotisserie accessory, and that has its own problems with the instruction manual. Mainly: The manual text tells you to put the spit collar on the spit rod, but doesn't say which side facing which way. If you put the collar on the way the manual picture shows, there's nothing to keep the other end of the rotating spit rod from slipping out of the motor housing. It just slides in there, there's no click-fit, so it slides out easily during rotating when you don't want it do. But if you put the collar on the spit rod opposite to the picture, the spit collar's contact with the spit bracket will keep the other end of the spit rod from sliding out of the motor housing. The lid won't close all the way that way, though, until you bend the spit bracket out about a 1/4 inch, which is easy enough to do. Now the spit rod stays rotating inside the motor housing, no slipping out. In the end, patience and good common sense ruled, all of these assembly difficulties were overcome, and these are now all problems of the past.

Second Stage: Seasoning the Grill. 5 stars.
Seasoning according to the directions involves painting all surfaces of the grill interior surfaces with vegetable oil (soy oil) including the grills, grates, ash pans, and inside of the lids. Didn't skip anything. Stoked it up and let it get to about 250 degrees F. I even painted the outside of the grill with the oil as it was heating up, which the manual gives as an option. So, in essence, I oiled up every inch of the metal, inside and out, and let it cook for two hours. The grills seasoned perfectly and the exterior surfaces even look much better. The cosmetic flaws in the paint disappeared with the cooking oil treatment. It was now a beautiful shiny deep black and ready to go.

Third Stage: Direct Grilling. 5 stars.
I butterflied a nearly 5 lb. chicken, marinated it, and put it on the main grill directly over 24 charcoal briquettes and a few pieces of mesquite with the charcoal grate as far down at it would go. I used a Williams-Sonoma remote digital thermometer to monitor the temperature in the thigh meat. When it reached 185 degrees--which took only about a half hour--I took it off. Tender and juicy with a great smokey flavor. Next time I direct-grill a chicken like this, I'll try only 12 charcoal briquettes, and let it cook longer. But I also will be smoking a chicken over indirect heat and will report back on that, too. Other reviewers complained that this thing leaks smoke, but that's not important. (One reviewer--she didn't say what color her hair was--complained that while she was using the grill, the wind blew smoke out of the smoke stack into her face. Guess what the solution to that is. She couldn't.) The lid obviously was never designed to be air tight--I can get all my fingers under the lid at the left end of the barrel when the lid is seated on the bottom. If you open the smoke stack fully, almost all the smoke will pour out of it. If you close off the smoke stack completely, there will be a steady stream of smoke escaping from under the lid. If you think this means your meat isn't getting well smoked, just go over and fling the lid up and then duck because a huge, dense, cloud of smoke will come billowing out at you. That meat is getting drowned in smoke.

Fourth Stage: Indirect Rotisserie Smoking. 5 stars.
I had ordered a second set of forks for the rotisserie, so I was able to smoke two rotisserie chickens at a time. While that was happening, I noticed that I had plenty of room left on the spit for a third chicken, so I ordered a third set of forks. I have since rotisseried three chickens simultaneously over indirect heat (i.e., from coals in the sidebox only)--each chicken marinated differently. However, I noticed that the bird closest to the side box was browning much more quickly, so about half way through I stopped the rotisserie, switched the chickens on the spit, and continued on. They all three came out great in about four hours. Next time I'll try rotissering three chickens over coals directly under them in the main fire box. I shouldn't need to switch the birds on the spit when I do that.

Fifth Stage: Direct grilling, burgers and steaks. 5 stars.
Not much to add here. I put about seven pounds of charcoal briquettes in the main fire box tray, raised the tray as close to the cooking grills as I could get it. (The coals were about two inches away.) I let the grills get good and hot, brushed a little oil on them, and grilled a whole mess of burgers and steaks, with hot dogs around the sides. Everything came out great, very fast, too. Even when my wife and I are alone, we often will grill a few dozen burgers and dogs at once and freeze them. We have charcoal grilled burgers and dogs for months after just heating them up in the microwave.

Sixth Stage: Cleanup. 5 stars.
I don't see how it could be easier. I waited until the grill had cooled then scraped the cooking grills with a wire brush. That took about a minute. The side fire box drawer pulled all the way our for easy dumping of the coals I had used to season the grill. After removing the four main cooking grills, the main charcoal grate lifted right out with the two side handles, and that was just an easy dump, too. On second thought, I think it might be better to scrape the cooking grills with a wire brush while they're still hot. That way you can immediately re-season them with vegetable oil after the wire brush scraping. I'll try that next time. (EDIT: I did try this, and it works well, too.) As far as cleaning up the ashes is concerned, that's very easy, too. Almost all of the ashes in the side fire box will be in the drawer, which slides completely out for dumping. Depending on how heavily you fill the side box with charcoal, there may be some spill-over into the side box itself, outside the drawer. So every few uses you have have to reach in--when it's all cool, of course--and scrape some ash residue out by hand. Pretty much the same applies to ashes in the main fire box, except that there's no drawer. You must remove all four cooking grill sections, then lift out the fire tray and grate. Again, depending on how full you filled it with charcoal, you may have some spill-over ashes that will have to be removed by hand, once they are cool. I found that the easiest way to do this is with a sheet of flexible plastic--one of those thin, flexible plastic cutting "boards" (really more a cutting sheet) works very well, but any thin plastic sheet should work fine, too.

Next stages of this review will include durability, and anything else that occurs to me.

I've owned this griller/smoker for three years now, having purchased it at my local Lowes. Prior to this cooker I used a Weber smoker, which cooked well, but left me one handed by constantly holding the lid in one hand. My Weber is long gone and I have no regrets! This grill is multi-functional -- it has a large cooking surface of cast iron grates [ceramic non stick are also available] which 'season' with use like an old cast iron skillet. One can choose to grill [fast cook at high temps] steaks, brats, hot dogs, burgers, or chicken breasts, or to slow cook 'Texas style.' I use this grill for both purposes. The lid is hinged, and opens without being in the way or in your hand like the Weber. To cook Texas style, the side fire box works well, and this size of cooker does not require a large fire. I start a fire with charcoal in a chimney, and then add whatever wood I am cooking with that day [hickory, oak, apple, Texas pecan, or mesquite]. I've had to learn the art of 'fire management' to avoid scorching my meat, but once learned, this cooker maintains a steady cook box temp. I have had no problems with the thermometer that comes with the cooker, and it always registers correctly and the finished product comes out tender, juicy, and with great smoky barbecue flavor. With this cooker the local barbecue restaurants will have nothing up on you! I've cooked beef brisket, whole chickens, and whole slabs of pork ribs with rave results. Here's a few things I have found useful with this cooker... place aluminum lasagne pans [from the dollar store] under your meat when you slow cook. Fill the pans with some water to add humidity to the cook box -- it keeps your meat from becoming too dry. The fat and drippings will collect in the pans and make clean-up a breeze! The paint on the side cook box will burn off, there's no way to avoid this. The paint on the cook box does not burn off, even with grilling. In the side fire box the fire just gets too hot even for special 'grill paint' so I have left it with a natural rust patina on the outside. It doesn't look pretty, but its better than smelling the chemical smell of scorched paint [which is what happens]. If you are inclined to do so, the inside of the cook box can be cleaned with Easy-Off oven cleaner. The number of times you need to do that depends on how often you cook. The cast iron grills can be washed with hot water and dish detergent, but be careful to not overscrub and remove the 'seasoning.' A good grill wire brush with scraper seem to work better than constant washing of the grills. I cook a grilling fire under the grates to burn off residual debris, and that works just as well as scrubbing for the most part. If you over wash the grill grates with water, being cast iron, they will rust, so it is probably better to minimize that. For the price, you can't go wrong with this Char-Griller. It's a great way to learn the backyard art of the Texas slow cook. Before long your ribs, chicken, and brisket will be the talk of the neighborhood -- either by them tasting your barbecue or mostly by them smelling that wonderful smoky smell streaming from your little smoke stack! Lastly, this cooker is not fueled with gas! This one is for those who want to cook the old fashioned way with a wood fire [or charcoal briquets]. I don't own a gas cooker, and probably never will. Why add smoke flavoring when you can have the real thing? Different wood for cooking is available either locally or from other Internet vendors. One last comment... if you do purchase this and cook with the side fire box 'Texas style' you will need to also purchase a solid pair of welder's style leather gloves to tend the fire with. Without them, you will get singed and blistered. Amazon also sells them -- search barbecue gloves or welder's gloves.

You really can't beat this smoker for the price. Installation was easy with the clear directions. The only challenge was punching out the knock-out holes to mount the side firebox. Nothing a hammer and punch couldn't handle, though. Here's a list of all the things that are great about this smoker:



1. Cast iron grills! A huge plus - cast iron holds and tranfers heat very well. It's the cooking surface of choice and usually a grill / smoker in this price range has cheap steel to cook on.



2. It's a grill / smoker combo! You can put your coals in the smoking chamber and use it as a grill for direct heat cooking (steaks, burgers, chops), or put the coals / wood in the firebox and smoke it low and slow (pork butt, ribs, brisket). Versatility is the key here.



3. Adjustable heat level. If you're grilling, you can move the coal bed closer to or farther from the cooking grates.



4. Slide out ash pan! In the firebox you can slide out the ashpan to clean it when it gets full. No need to open the smoking chamber and let out all your precious heat.



There's so many others I could go on and on. I can't tell you how much I love mine. I have a big fancy stainless steel gas grill, but man, once you start eating meats cooked with wood and charcoal you just can't go back. If you had hundreds more to spend, you could probably find a nicer smoker - big green egg, Komodo, etc. But for the money, this thing rocks.

This smoker grill was delivered in three days via UPS. It weighs 70 lbs in the box so it is no lightweight. We put it together when it arrived and it is 'Cadillac' in every respect. I always wanted to get a smoker after watching a friend cook using one he had. Well, this one is right on the verge of being a professional one that you could use in business and maybe you could..it's that sturdy. Of all the ones we shopped and we shopped and looked at a LOT of smokers..this one is by FAR the most heavy duty. We are extremely pleased to get more than we bargained for and all the descriptions were actually true. I highly recommend it. Extra screws instead of not enough sure made it more comfortable to assemble in case we made an error. It works great and I would get it again...that's the best review one can give. No regrets at all.