Jumbuck 3 In 1 Barrel Charcoal Smoker

Affordable 1st smoker BBQ – Xmas present and my first smoker bbq. By no means am I an experienced smoker bbq guy, but hold my own on the traditional Aussie bbq. Have cooked ribs, brisket, and a rump roast on this so far. Haven’t used it for grilling, because I don’t reckon it gets hot enough. The slow cooked stuff have been all day cooks (8-10 hours) with me checking on it about half way through, then regularly in the final 2 hours to get the meat temp right (meat thermometer almost essential). Wood chips easy to do; I just put them in the water reserve at first, then later scooped them out into the coals. Definitely adds flavour to the meat.

It’s easy to assemble (screwdriver and small adjustable wrench). Easy to clean as it breaks down into 3 sections: Lid, middle, bottom. I wiped them down after each cook with a bbq wipe.

Overall, Pretty happy with it and the missus likes the end result so likely will justify a better smoker for next Chrissy. I recommend it to any bloke who’s keen to try low and slow cooking with minimal outlay.

Expense to setup for for what I have was $127. All from Bunnings. Bbq smoker : $70 Charcoal starter gun: $25 Heat beads 10kg: $20 lasted for 3 cooks. (They’re reusable, but burn out) Wood chips 1kg: $12 (I’ve used about 100g per cook)

Pros: Affordable. Read: cheap. Small- doesn’t take up much space and is portable. Would be good for camping. Has 2 trays to cook on. One half way up the barrel above the water tray, so you could do 2 different meats at once. Big enough for 2kg of ribs on one tray and a 3kg brisket on the other.

Cons: Doesn’t hold the heat very well. Most recipes say temp at 250f is ideal for a “low and slow” cook, but couldn’t get this to hold above 200f. Using heat beads (apparently best for low and slow).

If you get one I recommend spending another $25 on an Ortizo charcoal starter. This thing is essential for reheating when you add more charcoal beads because it’s quite fiddly to get to the charcoal pit as it’s under the water tray (which will have water in it and is really hot so hard to move). Stick the charcoal starter in the Door at the bottom and fire it up much easier. Firelighters also smell like a Jetstar turbine and would be an ongoing expense.