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Louisiana Grills Country Smokers CS-450 Pellet Smoker Review

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Louisiana Grills CS 450 smoker

The CS-450 is one of Louisiana Grill’s smaller smokers. The controller toggles between set temp and meat probe temp. Set it and forget it, the thermostat will maintain cooking temperature just like your indoor kitchen stove. As a safety feature the meat probe can be set for your desired target temp. When internal meat temp rises within 10โฐ of the target, the controller automatically drops the smoker down to 170โฐ to avoid overcooking. So if you’re cooking at 225โฐ and looking for an internal meat temp of 200โฐ, when the meat hits 190โฐ the controller switches to the holding temp of 170โฐ.

Shiny metal enclosure with an arched metal surface inside. The left side of this surface has several slits running from front to back.

The Arched Flavor Guard (above) is unique to LGs. Unlike flat diffuser/drip plates found under the grates of most pellet smokers, the Flavor Guard with sliding broiler plate is a 14 gauge curved metal sheet that conforms loosely to the shape of the hood, cresting in the middle of the cook surface and dropping off in the front and back of the cook box. LG feels this design presents a larger surface for meat drippings to sizzle and enhance BBQ flavor. The Flavor Guard has a section over the fire pot which can slide out of the way to expose large, slotted openings that allow meats to sear over open flame. This feature, previously optional, is now standard for all Louisiana CS smokers. Some other pellet manufacturers have their own versions of this “sear zone”. They kinda-sorta work, but fire pots are small and don’t crank enough intense radiant heat over a large enough area to do serious searing. They will, however heat up griddles, cast iron pans, or cast aluminum GrillGrates for conductive searing. You can do a nice reverse sear using the flat side of a GrillGrate on this system.

Instead of a chimney, Louisiana Grills uses a row of holes at the back located several inches above the cook surface. The Grease bucket hooks underneath the smoker rather than off to the side like most other brands. Options include a cold smoking box, hopper extension, upper cooking rack and shelves that attach to the front or side. All Louisiana Grills have porcelain coated steel grates.

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Product Information:

  • Model:
    CS450 Pellet Smoker
  • Item Price :
    899.00
    *Price Subject To Change
  • Where to buy (buying from this supplier supports this website):
  • Made in USA:
    no
  • Review Method:
    Looked Closely At It
    We have seen this product up close and we have also gathered info from the manufacturer, owners, and other reliable sources.
  • Primary Function:
    Smoker
  • Fuel:
    Wood Pellets
  • Main Burners:
    1
  • Primary Capacity:
    Mid-Size (about 24 burgers) : 497 square inches

Manufacturer:

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9/21/2024

Published On: 1/22/2013

  • Max Good, AmazingRibs.com’s Full-Time Grill Tester - Max Good is AmazingRibs.com's Vice President of Product Reviews & Keeper of the Flame and is the world's only full-time reviewer of outdoor cooking equipment including smokers, grills, pizza ovens, griddles, and more.

 

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