The Smoke EZ uses a fire ring with a water pan on the inside and the coals on the outside. The lower cooking grate is only 10" from the charcoal grate and there is no heat deflector. This effectively puts the meat only 7"-8" from the coals.
I was assured that this would cause no problem, but I decided to do the biscuit test just in case. Here is my review, including assembly, first burn (with the biscuit test), and overall impressions. Please see the Smoke EZ website before reading this or a couple of my statements may not make sense.
My Smoke EZ was a couple of years old but still in the box. The first thing I noticed was the fire ring and smoker body were both out of round. Since I own a WSM, fixing this was no problem. I put the smoker body on my Performer to check the fit and noticed a flat spot.
This also proved not to be a problem since I am an expert with high tech tools.
The finished product looks pretty good on my Performer. A lot of people paint theirs to match but I like the black on gray color scheme.
I set up the fire for a Minion start according to the instructions...
then set the lower vents to about 20% like the instructions say and had a beer.
Thirty minutes later, it was reading 220 on the Performer's dome thermometer. There is a hole in the side of the Smoke EZ just below the upper cooking grate for a thermometer, so I put in a probe to compare temps. I put on the biscuits, put on the top, and had another beer.
I took the biscuits off when they were done and continued to check the temps. After an hour, it was 320 on my probe, 310 on the dome. No more smoker pics because I decided just to drink beer.
The biscuit test showed me what I expected. They cooked fairly evenly...
but bottoms of the biscuits directly over the coals (two on the bottom, one on top) burned.
The two whitest biscuits were on the opposite side of the coals on the lower grate.
My take on the Smoke EZ:
I think I'm going to like this thing. It's fairly well built and has loads of room. Temperatures seem to be fairly even top to bottom except for directly over the coals. It fits the Performer like a glove and there were no smoke leaks on the bottom. There were some around the kettle lid, but that happens on my kettle and WSM too and I don't think it will be a problem.
Temps were higher than I expected. I will close the bottom vents more next time and I'm sure I will be on autopilot in no time.
The biscuit test confirmed my fears about hot spots. I will probably design a high tech solution like, I don't know, foil or a pizza pan. Maybe even get a 22" WSM or Cajun Bandit fire ring and water pan.
As the website says, you can fill the inside of the fire ring and get a really hot fire to sear steaks and have an indirect area to finish them. I've got to try this.
There was one thing I didn't mention: the hanger attachment. You can see it and a description of its intended use on the Smoke EZ website. I probably won't hang anything but I like the idea of inverting it and putting a turkey or a roast in it.
Well, there it is, my review of the Smoke EZ. I plan on cooking a packer brisket on it soon. I'll let you know how it goes in the photo section.
I was assured that this would cause no problem, but I decided to do the biscuit test just in case. Here is my review, including assembly, first burn (with the biscuit test), and overall impressions. Please see the Smoke EZ website before reading this or a couple of my statements may not make sense.
My Smoke EZ was a couple of years old but still in the box. The first thing I noticed was the fire ring and smoker body were both out of round. Since I own a WSM, fixing this was no problem. I put the smoker body on my Performer to check the fit and noticed a flat spot.
This also proved not to be a problem since I am an expert with high tech tools.
The finished product looks pretty good on my Performer. A lot of people paint theirs to match but I like the black on gray color scheme.
I set up the fire for a Minion start according to the instructions...
then set the lower vents to about 20% like the instructions say and had a beer.
Thirty minutes later, it was reading 220 on the Performer's dome thermometer. There is a hole in the side of the Smoke EZ just below the upper cooking grate for a thermometer, so I put in a probe to compare temps. I put on the biscuits, put on the top, and had another beer.
I took the biscuits off when they were done and continued to check the temps. After an hour, it was 320 on my probe, 310 on the dome. No more smoker pics because I decided just to drink beer.
The biscuit test showed me what I expected. They cooked fairly evenly...
but bottoms of the biscuits directly over the coals (two on the bottom, one on top) burned.
The two whitest biscuits were on the opposite side of the coals on the lower grate.
My take on the Smoke EZ:
I think I'm going to like this thing. It's fairly well built and has loads of room. Temperatures seem to be fairly even top to bottom except for directly over the coals. It fits the Performer like a glove and there were no smoke leaks on the bottom. There were some around the kettle lid, but that happens on my kettle and WSM too and I don't think it will be a problem.
Temps were higher than I expected. I will close the bottom vents more next time and I'm sure I will be on autopilot in no time.
The biscuit test confirmed my fears about hot spots. I will probably design a high tech solution like, I don't know, foil or a pizza pan. Maybe even get a 22" WSM or Cajun Bandit fire ring and water pan.
As the website says, you can fill the inside of the fire ring and get a really hot fire to sear steaks and have an indirect area to finish them. I've got to try this.
There was one thing I didn't mention: the hanger attachment. You can see it and a description of its intended use on the Smoke EZ website. I probably won't hang anything but I like the idea of inverting it and putting a turkey or a roast in it.
Well, there it is, my review of the Smoke EZ. I plan on cooking a packer brisket on it soon. I'll let you know how it goes in the photo section.
