Category: I Like It

We have an old gas grill that has been sitting unused in our backyard for a while now. I don’t like to use it because the burners are old and very uneven. But I wanted to bbq again so I decided to buy a new grill, this time an old-style charcoal type. I was pretty much set on getting a Weber 22-inch grill but did a little more research and found out about the Old Smokey 18-inch BBQ. It looks pretty ugly and weird, but people rave about them and since it is a local (as in Texas) company, I decided to give it a go. I went with the medium 18-inch size Old Smokey BBQ and it is pretty much perfect for a small family. I fit six fairly large burgers on there, or rack of small ribs (on half the grill for indirect heat). If you want to cook a larger amount, I’d go for the 22-inch.

I am so happy with this grill! I’ve used it several times now and haven’t had any bbq “fails” yet. The first meal was just some plain cheeseburgers. But man, those were so tasty! For the charcoal I used a combination of plain lump and mesquite lump charcoal, prepared in a standard chimney. This lump charcoal takes a little longer to prepare, about 45 minutes. But it is worth it! Just plan ahead accordingly and you will be rewarded with excellent flavor.

The grill’s design is very simple. It has a lower pan that the charcoal rests on. About 10 inches above that is the grill, which rests on three screws which also hold the three legs. Speaking of legs, the included ones are really short. They do sell long ones, but I don’t mind the short ones. The grill hood is pretty tall which is a good thing if you want to cook a beer-can chicken. There are adjustable vents on the bottom and top of the grill whic are are simply constructed but work well. I’m able to control the temperature easily using these. With one load of charcoal, I was able to keep the grill at around 225°F for six hours of indirect cooking. The baby-back ribs were AMAZING!

So far, I’ve cooked the aforementioned burgers, ribs, shishkebab, sausage, chicken, and corn. And they were all delicious. I fully recommend the Old Smokey. And the icing on the cake is that is was only about $45!