Before the Weber cooker smoker, I had a horizontal smoker which had a fire chamber on one side. It was pretty good, except one thing – temperature control problem. If you don’t make BBQ too often then it’s OK. Some of my friends (who had a Weber smoker) advised me to buy it, since it’s much more useful and makes the whole BBQ process much easier. It has a lot of room for several birds and ham, so you don’t have to wait much.
The only thing I didn’t like is it’s weight – too heavy to move around your backyard. On the other hand it is much more stable. So, my cooker smoker helps me to make excellent BBQ parties on our weekends with my friends and neighbours. You can add charcoal any time you need, without having it dismantled. Although it’s a little more expensive than some similar smokers it has a lot of pros, so you won’t regret about spending extra money. Of course, it takes some time to control the whole process, since smoking doesn’t happen fast, but in the end you will be more than happy with the result.
When buying it don’t forget to check that all parts fit correctly, so there will be no problems with temperature control. The previous models had weak legs, but they’ve solved the issue. Even if you don’t have much experience it will be no problem with the Weber 2820 mountain cooker smoker to make good and tasty BBQ with this smoker. The users manual, actually, is not that good, but you can find all the info in the net.
It has two different size models, 18.5 inch diameter and 22.5 inch diameter. You can smoke any type of meat using charcoal and wood. There are three sections in the cooker: a charcoal bowl, where you have to place smoke wood and charcoal, section with water pan and two cooking grates, and the last section is domed lid. The cooking section also has access door that can be open downward or completely removed to provide easy access.
The cooking grates are big enough to cook several birds at the same time. They are triple chrome plated for easy cleanup and durability. The meat in the cooking section and a charcoal bowl are divided by the water pan, so there is no direct heating, which is important when smoking meat. The water in the pan also moderates the cooker temperature and, as a result, we have moist cooking conditions.
The smoker provides good temperature control over cooking process, which is very important when making great barbecue. There are no problems to maintain stable temperature for up to ten hours of cooking. There are three vents that help to control the temperature. Since the temperature control is well regulated you don’t have to spend much time over the process.