Backwoods Smoker Chubby Review
This smallest model will fit nicely in any back yard, but don’t be surprised to see them popping up at BBQ competitions as well. Outside dimensions are 32″ tall including the stack, 22.5″ deep, and 22″ wide. The cooking chamber is 13″ high, 17″ deep, and 16″ wide. There are 4 removable racks 16.5″ x 15.5″ separated by 3″ and it comes with two extra shelf sliders for more flexible arrangement of your meats. Capacity is approximately 12 slabs of baby back ribs, 8 slabs of St. Louis cut ribs, 4 slabs of spare ribs, 2 to 3 large briskets, or 4 to 6 Boston butts. Options include 2 additional racks, 2 extra shelf sliders, thermostat controller, stainless steel doors, heat diverter plate above the charcoal, cover, permanent stand, tie down handles, and casters.
Backwoods recently introduced a lower cost Chubby 3400 made in China that sells for $800 with free shipping. A few differences on the 3400 compared to the traditional Chubby are:
Product Information:
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Model:Chubby
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Item Price :1,030.00
*Price Subject To Change -
Made in USA:yes
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Review Method:Cooked On It
We have hands-on experience testing this product. We have also gathered info from the manufacturer, owners and other reliable sources. -
Primary Function:Smoker
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Fuel:Charcoal
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Primary Capacity:Large (about 50 burgers) : 1023 square inches
Manufacturer:
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Backwoods Smoker
Backwoods makes a range of more than a dozen sizes of impressive, front-loaded charcoal or wood-fueled cabinet smokers in Louisiana. They can even custom build if one of their standards won’t work for your needs.
The small units are superb for home cooks, the medium size units are very popular on the competition scene and are favored by many top teams, and the large ones are used by caterers, whole hog cookers, and in restaurants. Mike McGowan and his team have been building these fine smokers since 1987.
There is a lower door for the fuel, and above the charcoal below the bottom shelf in the food chamber there is a large capacity stainless steel water pan that puts significant humidity into the atmosphere and keeps food moist. This moisture is both good and bad in that it takes longer to build a good hard bark.
They are built with three walls: The space between the outside wall and center wall is filled with insulation so the heat stays within the unit. They perform superbly even in freezing weather, We have tested that thoroughly in rough, Chicago winter weather with the G2 Party model they shipped us to try. There is an air gap between the center wall and the inner wall through which smoke and heat travel from the firebox in the lower compartment past the water pan up to the top of the cooking chamber. Smoke and heat enter the cooking chamber at the top of the side walls and heat also radiates through the inner walls. The chimney opening is at the bottom of the back wall so smoke and heat work their way down past the food from the top, exit the cooking chamber at the bottom, and then go back up the chimney. Because the duct from the firebox opens at the top, the top shelf runs a bit hotter than lower shelves.
Materials, welds, and bends are high quality. There are stainless steel protectors on the top corners, the door latches and gaskets close tight with a satisfying kerthunk. Shelves are heavy 304 stainless steel. Not surprising, these babies are heavy.
They come with high-quality Tel-Tru dial thermometers built into the doors. We have benchmarked them and found them to be surprisingly accurate, although we still recommend relying on a digital thermometer.
Backwoods Smokers have many many admirers, Meathead is among them.
Published On: 3/6/2013
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