meleahk's Full Review: Brinkmann Sportsman Charcoal Double-Grill Smoker a...
All year long I take various surveys and save up my points to cash out for Christmas gifts for different people in my family. This year was not different and I was able to get lots of great things. One of those things was for my husband, the love of my life, whom works hard to take care of our home and us all. He deserves a great gift every once in a while I think.
This year I was able to get him something that he can use for the entire family. As we have gotten older we have found that a gift that can be used for the family is always best. So many uses can come from these types of gifts and so many smiles. Since my husband likes to grill that is the way I went this year. We already have a nice grill that he will continue to use, but we did not have a smoker grill and that is something we both have wanted to a long while. Since they can cost a lot we have not be able to get one. And as luck would have it, when our local Wal Mart has the smokers on clearance, we seem to always miss out on that bargain. Well, not this time!
The Product
The Brinkmann Sportsman Charcoal Double-Grill Smoker and Grill 815-3060-C was the item I was able to get with some of my points from surveys. It is a really nice smoker grill too! It is green in color but you can also find them in black. The unit does not have any wheels, which is okay but wheels would have been better.
Our The Brinkmann Sportsman Charcoal Double-Grill Smoker has several pieces. The lid, which has a wooden and metal handle and is cool to the touch and also has a temperature gage on the front so you can check how hot you unit is. Warm, ideal and hot are the choices. This is very helpful because if to hot, you can remove the lid and let the coals cool down.
The next piece is the actual cooking piece. Here you can grill (or smoke) your various meats. The top rack is great for those burgers, chops, steaks and chicken.
Underneath the bottom rack is the water pan. You add water here to when you want to smoke meats. You will find a very handy side door that allows you to add water easy enough. We do not use the water part unless we are smoking meat. The steam helps the meats to cook. We also had wood chips like hickory to the bottom unit or fire pit. You can use any type of wood chips you want depending on your choice of flavor. You can soak the wood chips for about ˝ hour to an hour and this will help them to burn better and smoke your food better. Some people actually put their wood chips in the water pan. You can empty the water pan simply by turning it to one side.
The bottom piece or fire pan is where the charcoal goes and will give an even cooking if you place the charcoal correctly. We usually get the charcoal started and then spread out for a move even cooking. Although some put tin foil in the bottom I do not. What is the use to protect it? Protect it from what? You are cooking with it so there is nothing to protect. Since tin foil will tear easily, no need to think that using it will help in cleaning up. Have you ever tried lifting tin foil with charcoal on it? Breaks all to pieces. I think you are better off just to pick the fire pit up after it has cooled downed and just empty it and be done with it. However, using tin foil on the rack is highly recommended! Much easier clean up.
The fire pit part also has 3 legs on it, which helps the unit to stand evenly on any surface. Even dirt!
Company Info
You can go to the website at:
www.brinkmann.com
I also suggest that you fill out your warranty card and actually mail it in and actually read the booklet that comes with it. This will help you to understand how to put the unit together and use it. Did I mention some assembly required? Well, there is. Easy for me to do with a screwdriver and crescent wrench, (which are good tools to have on hand!) Just ask my husband! I had no trouble what so ever putting the thing together! He did it all.
There is also a nice recipe book that came with our Brinkmann Sportsman Charcoal Double-Grill Smoker and I must say that is handy.
How I Feel
Over all we are most happy with our Brinkmann Sportsman Charcoal Double-Grill Smoker. It is easy to use and clean up. However, not having wheels on it, does make it a little difficult to move around. You have to either pick up the entire unit or pick up the individual pieces to store away until next use. It is really just a matter of getting use to having no wheels. Some people actually have a place where they would leave their unit all the time and one day perhaps I will also.
The lids makes the unit I think because it is a nice round shape that fits snuggly over the cooking part. The cooking parts have nice wooden and metal handles on each side and this makes it easy to lift and move around. The fire pit part is nice as well because it is porcelain-coated steel and has slots in it so the charcoal will fall down into the very bottom as it burns away and this allows the still hot charcoal to keep burning evenly for a better cook. The water pan is also porcelain-coated steel and both pieces will last a long time and stand harsh weather. However, we bought a cover for ours and will store it in the shed to help it last even longer. Same with our normal grill.
We have used ours a lot here lately and I suppose that is because it is new. However, my husband loves to grill and so I think now he will love to smoke meat just as much.
I suggest using a timer as we do when smoking any meat. The smoke that this things lets off can be hazardous to your health. It gets really hot. Once you learn how to use it you will be able to walk away and let the unit do the cooking. No need to try and tell it how to cook for it already knows.
Free Shipping! Authorized Brinkmann Dealer. LOWEST Price on the Web...Shipping is FREE ! BEST PRICE on the Web! FREE Shipping! FAST FedEx Service! QUE...More at Barbecue Grill Guide
Hinged door provides easy access to water/charcoal. Converts to waist high barbecue grill. Wooden handles stay cool. Holding up to 50lbs of food on it...More at Mercantila
Double grill charcoal smoker amp grill with heat indicator and front hinged door Two chrome-plated steel grills for 50 lb cooking capacity Wooden hand...More at HomeClick
Free Shipping! Authorized Brinkmann Dealer. LOWEST Price on the Web...Shipping is FREE ! BEST PRICE on the Web! FREE Shipping! FAST FedEx Service! QUE...More at The Brown Box
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.