Anyone have the New Braunfels "El Dorado". I think this is a new one to the line. Very heavy guage steel, horizontal grill, with fire chamber below and a tilted baffle all along the bottom of the grill. Looks great. Any experience out there. Or any tips on how to find a new smoker's hotspots/coldspots? This does not have a chimney, rather slots on the side of lid and side of grill. here's the description http://www.nbsmoker.com/Smokers/smokers.htm
Heypartner, Your hotspots will be directly over the fire. The cool spots will be closer to the slots on the side of the smoker. The baffles are to keep the grease droppings off the fire. This will keep you from having a grease fire, they are not fun, I once charred 120lbs. of beef and 10 chickens all at once. I have never seen this pit that you are talking about,except for the picture, I am just trying to make a guess at how it will work. The best way to figure out a new pit is get your favorite beverage and favorite cut of meat and give it a go. Happy bar-b-qing. If you are at the cook-off this weekend give me a shout at space 139, I will be the chief cook for the Gonzales County Cookers. ------------------ GO STROS
bigdaddy!! thx for the tips and reminder about the cook-off. who wants to go? Do you think this New Braunfels design (with the firebox underneath) will be more prone to heat problems than a side-chamber design like the Bandera (see link above). I haven't bought it, yet. It is the heaviest guage steel I've find for that price $229.
Heypartner, This all depends on what you are going to be cooking. If you are going to be doing alot of smoking like turkey for instance then the Bandera is your choice. If you want to smoke meat and grill meat then the El Dorado is your choice. I woul go with the El Dorado if it were me. Ilike to grill ribs,chicken, sausage etc. But I like to smoke my brisket and other big cuts of meat. Plus with the Bandera I think that It would be hard to get alot of heat to your smoke box. As far as the El Dorado having a heat problem You will have to learn to work the pit to control your heat. ------------------ GO STROS
I have the Bandera, and I'm pretty fond of it. The picture suggests that the fire box is just that--a fire box, but it's designed to be the grill portion of the cooker. It's not as small as it looks. I can have a layer of coals in the bottom and still have room to stand up four chickens on four beer cans; in fact, I use the grill/fire box for about 85% of the cooking I do with it. One of the processes I've adapted with cooking with this thing works great for chops, london broils, chicken breasts and the like. I char them rather quickly on each side on the grill/fire box, and then I move them to the smoker to finish up while I'm charring more. (I'm notorious for cooking mass quantities). I still miss the trailer rig I had while I was in college, but this thing does great for me. Still, the El Dorado looks cool too. Damn near any of them will cook well; you just have to play around and figure them out. Heypartner....you were looking for a grill last spring. It's time to **** or get off the pot. ------------------ stop posting my damn signature
Since we are discussing this on the Internet...you'd could probably say Meat Freak Geek Alert!! No lack of respect to bigdaddy and the Gonzales County Cookers, intended.
yep!! I've been saving for a Klose, and just now got the OK from the boss of the house. Then I saw the El Dorado, today for $229. That's pretty heavy! Man, I really like your char-then-smoke assembly line. That gives me some ideas. I'm buying this week. I think I should pass on the Klose's for now. It might come down to a toss of the coin. That El Dorado just seemed more solid, while the Bandera on display didn't seem to seal along the smoke box door as well as it should for a brand new bbq. I was worried that over-time the door might not seal well enough to draw smoke. Do you have any problems with the door sealing?
The cooking that we do at the cook-offs is a lot of fun(beer). We may be Meat Freaks but when it is time to eat more than Freaks show up(Jeff excluded). I agree with Pole, either one of the cookers looks like they would work. Good that someone that has one of them could share their experience. Like Pole said it's time to get off the pot. ------------------ GO STROS
I have no problem with escaping smoke in my door. I understand how you would want thicker steel, but it certainly costs more. Have you seen Brinkmann's new lineup? http://www.thebrinkmanncorp.com They are certainly more expensive than the New Braunfels, but I think they are slightly less than a similar size Klose. They use quarter inch thick steel, so they aren't lightweights by any means. I worried about the thinner steel on mine too, but I devised a decent way to keep mine in shape. Always remember to clean yours when you get done. Grease is fine....it will protect the steel, but ash is bad. It traps and holds water. You've heard of "burn through?" There really isn't such a thing....unless you're burning something more efficient than wood. Usually what happens to a grill is "rust through," and wet ash will make them rust faster than anything. I spray mine out with a high pressure nozzle on my garden hose, and then I let it dry for a few hours. I've got one of those "misto" oil spray pumps that I keep filled with old cooking oil. After the pit is dry, I go around and spray any part of it that no longer has any paint (basically, the fire box). Rust really isn't a problem, and I live in a Bay house....my grill stands about 20 feet away from salt water. ------------------ stop posting my damn signature
Damn, I missed a BBQ thread! HP, Pole is right, the time for talk is OVER! Y'all know I have the clasic New Braunsfel's Hondo. I think it is the perfect size for myself and my family. Like I have said over and over, it's not (always) the grill, but the operator. My briskets speak for themselves (which is not to say that they are so undercooked that they moo ) One thing I noticed about the El Dorado is the amount of cooking space. It lists "496 sq. in. of BBQ space and able to increase to 1,984 sq. in. with optional grills"...How much does the optional grills cost? The Hondo starts with 700 sq. inches. Food for thought. ------------------ Behad Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS Asking the question: What is more dangerous, an AK-47 or a scooter?
yeah...I was ready to buy the Hondo last time I posted. But Pole showed me the Klose's, and I decided to save up for a winter. Just has I was ready to buy, I see a new pit. The time is definitely over now. I was going to order a Klose until I saw that new pit ... the El Dorado. I'm going with that.
My Dad has the Hondo, and since I just bought a new house, he's giving it to me so he can buy a gas grill. I love using the thing. The smoking area is huge, and I like how it has a seperate grilling area. It fits a huge brisket or a couple of turkeys or 6-8 large salmon filets very easily, and it is very easy to clean. New Braunfels Smoker Company makes the best smokers, no doubt about it. ------------------ "Blues is a Healer" --John Lee Hooker
Unsolicited testimony! I have an idea....How about the 1st annual CC.Net cookoff?! We'll gather somewhere and cook briskets overnight and have CC.Net members judge them in the morning. Of course, liquid refreshments may need to be imbibed. ------------------ Behad Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS Asking the question: What is more dangerous, an AK-47 or a scooter?
I'm there. In fact, if you allow it, I'm there anytime you do a brisket. How about the bigdaddies cook off? Anyone want to go? [This message has been edited by heypartner (edited February 06, 2001).]
