The hardest part of cooking with charcoal is getting the cooking chamber to the right temperature and keeping it there. The pit master’s art is a balancing act, carefully regulating airflow and feeding fuel to keep the temp from see-sawing up and down. Nathan Moore, a mechanical engineer, has designed a unique fuel feed system that allows even novice BBQ smokers to hit and easily maintain smoking temps over a long duration.
Startup is easy and you don’t have to get your hands dirty. Just drop a few pieces of coal down the coal chute and light them with newspaper crumpled in the ash pan. When your starter coal is hot fill the chute to the desired level with coal and wood then sit back and relax. As the fuel is consumed the ash drops through the grate at the bottom of the combustion chamber and more fuel drops in from above. Tremore Breeze claims a full chute of coal will burn up to 9 hours at 225 degrees.
Controlling the air, and therefore the temperature, is easy too. There is a single sliding damper, or “temperature control handle” right under the fire. The system is designed to draw air from the bottom, through the burning coals. The heat and smoke travel to the left and up into the cooking chamber, then circulate and exit at the bottom left of the chamber. There are three cooking grates included and optional grates may be purchased for a total of nine grates max. Each grate measures 420 square inches and can fit three St. Louis cut racks of ribs.
The Breeze stands 62.5″ high, 54.25″ wide, and 22.25″ deep, weighing in at 500 pounds. Still, it is very mobile, having wide solid rubber tires in back and smaller, tough casters in front. It’s made with top quality 304 stainless steel and the combustion chamber and inner surfaces are carbon steel.
The chamber sides and top are three inches thick with rock wool inside so it should cook well even in cold weather. The door is two inches thick, with rock wool insulation, a silicone seal, and a nice self-latching handle.
Cleanup is made easy by the shape of the floor of the cooker. It slopes down to an oil can. The oil can is easily accessible from the left panel of the chamber, with the handle sticking out but not in the way. It makes draining anytime a matter of pulling the can out, dumping it, then sliding it back in place.
We had the opportunity to watch the Tremore Breeze in action, slow cooking chicken and ribs with a combo of charcoal and apple wood. Digital thermometer probes were threaded through the space just above the drip cup. TB’s heavy insulation and effective design appeared to hold the temperature steady throughout the cook box. This was confirmed when the door was opened for the grand unveiling. Everything was cooked beautifully and evenly. The ribs were tender and toothsome, and the apple wood smoke flavor had infused throughout, rich and mellow. The chicken was the same: juicy and flavorful without a hint of sharpness or bitterness. All with a rich mahogany finish.
One interesting by product of the design is, according to Moore, if you put wood chunks at the top of the chute and then seal it with the stainless lid, they’ll convert to hardwood lump charcoal while releasing delicious smoke flavor as they slowly move downward to the fire.
Special thanks to Scott Murphy for providing material for this review.
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