The Soon-to-be-Infamous Weber Magnum Cooker
A bbq cooker made from a Weber Kettle grill and an old 55 gallon barrel
I have a traditional woodburning "offset" cooker, but it takes a LOT of fire-tending to cook on it, and it's really too big to be toting around to contests. I built the Magnum for ease of use; after all, I don't want to be sitting up all night stoking the fire! That's what wives, kids, and friends are for. Since I'm a considerate fellow, I wanted them to have as easy a time as possible, while I slept through the wee hours. Really. Somebody has to be rested enough to deal with the stress of turn-in time.
The Magnum is a vertical water smoker. The fire is in the base, with a means to control intake air. A water pan is suspended above the fire, providing moisture and shielding the food from direct heat. The food to be cooked goes on racks above the pan. The concept is the same as used in several commercially produced cookers. But bigger.
This cooker can handle all four meat categories for a KCBS contest: chicken, ribs, pork (Boston) butt, and beef brisket. I usually cook two briskets, two butts, four slabs of spare ribs, and four chicken breasts. There's room on each lower rack for two 12 pound turkeys; an 18 pounder will fit on the top rack. It will hold up to 16 slabs of spare ribs, hung vertically.
Now, so the Weber people won't get mad at me for using their name, I'll add this disclaimer: The Weber-Stevens company has no part in this, except to manufacture the world's greatest charcoal grill, which I used in the construction of the Magnum. You need to run right out and buy one.
My friend Randy has posted complete instructions to build one of these on his website. Click the link, then scroll down to the bottom of Randy's page to find a link to the Magnum. There's lots of pictures, with step by step instructions. If you get stuck, or can't find parts, e-mail me - Randy's posted a link. While you're at Randy's, be sure to check out the whole site; he's got great recipies, tips, and instructions for making jerky, chilpotles, and of course, barbecue.
Here's a couple shots of the latest upgrade: Insulation!
The old barrel under the pretty skin . . . . . . . . . . . . .3, 2, 1, Ignition....Cookoff!