Char-Broil Bullet Charcoal Smoker 16″ – 18202075,Black

Well built, Easy to use, Great price!
The Char-Broil bullet is the first smoker I have purchased and used and I am very pleased with the smoker itself and the cooking results. The Char-Broil arrived very well packed and in excellent condition. To me it has the look and feel of a nicely made product of very good quality. Set-up and use are super simple and you can be up and smoking in a short time. I have already smoked a rack of baby back ribs, bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers and whole chicken. It does take some time to become familiar with the “nuances” of smoking with charcoal but it’s not difficult at all. How much charcoal to use, what kind of smoking wood, cooking temp, air vent adjustment all play a part but it is easy and fun to learn smoking/cooking over a low and slow charcoal fire. As a comparison I will say that I had ordered a well known competitor (cough, wsm, cough) a week earlier and while I never got to cook with it (damaged upon arrival) I can comment on the construction vs. each other. IMHO I think that the Char-Broil has a better finish on the metal. the metal of each unit seemed comparable in thickness/strength but the side access door on the Char-Broil is constructed of thicker metal and has actual hinges. And personally I am happier with the extra 2 inches in diameter of the 16′ Char-Broil cooking surface vs. only a 14″ surface on the other competitor. And best of all the Car-Broil is nearly $100 cheaper than the 14″ competitor. I would easily recommend the Char-Broil 16″ Bullet Smoker.After using this smoker for several months I have a couple of observations. First is that the smoker is holding up very well. I did use the LavaLock 12 Grey High Performance BBQ gasket smoker seal (purchased here on Amazon) to seal the door and the top and bottom of the cooking chamber. This keeps all the smoke in and a clean exterior as well. The smoker still looks like new on the outside and the ceramic coated cooking grates still look in as new condition also. I treat the grates with a cooking spray that contains Canola Oil, Soybean Oil and Palm Oil before every cooking session. After the smoker cools and during cleanup I wipe the grates off with hot water and heavy duty paper towels. All the paint/coatings look great and show no signs of damage or wear. Second and a very minor negative. The bottom air vent control can sometimes be a little sticky to move it from side to side (open or closed). I found that all I need to do is twist the handle a slight amount when I move it and the operator slides with no problem. It appears that the plastic handle on the front vent operator can sometimes get slightly caught on the track and prevent smooth operation. Not enough of an issue to take a star off once I figured it out. Also I have found that I just need to learn the nuances of smoking with charcoal and that simply takes experience. I have used this smoker about 8-10 times now and gotten better each time. The 3-2-1 rib method didn’t work for my Baby Back Ribs. 1-2-1 or 1 hr no foil with just dry rub, 2 hrs wrapped in foil with butter, honey and apple juice inside and 1 hr unwrapped with BBQ sauce gives my best result and that is at 225 degrees. When you wrap your ribs in foil makes a difference. A 24 hr brine soak for my chicken before the smoke session makes a difference. Hard lump charcoal vs briquettes makes a difference. Water or no water in the bottom pan makes a difference. I am new to smoking but enjoying the learning experience. All in, I am very happy and have enjoyed some very tasty food from this smoker. I wish you the same and hope you have a great backyard smoke session. Peace my friends 🙂

Great product and value for beginners.
The good: very easy to assemble, decent construction, easy to clean, space saver, consistent temperature, and great customer service at Char-Broil.This is my first smoker and I’ve smoked 3 pork shoulders and two racks of ribs thus far. All of them turned out fantastic!The not so good: the package was damaged upon arrival. Nothing huge, but the bottom vent adjustment was cracked and subsequently broke off during assembly. I blame the shipper, not the manufacturer.The other small aggravation point was the metal piece that closes the door on the inside broke off after the second smoke. It’s just poorly engineered. I ended up using the chat feature on the Char-Broil website to get help. After the service rep registered my smoker, they sent me another door handle for free. The smoker has a year warranty on all parts.

Make sure you season it prior to first use.
Let’s review this for what it is – a charcoal smoker. It’s big enough to handle some larger cuts of meat – on my first test it did two racks of ribs rather well – but note that it’s also a charcoal smoker, meaning you’ll have to tend it to it more than you might an electric, propane or pellet smoker. My first attempt turned out great, but watch the temperature – I think the smoker runs hotter than the built-in thermometer records. Still, solid construction and a bit cheaper than the Weber equivilent model.

Updating my previous review after working with customer service to replace a defective smoker and now using the replacement smoker for the summer/fall seasons. The first smoker I was sent was defective, the bottom air vent would not open, and Amazon/the seller/Charbroil replaced it with a new smoker very quickly and with little hassle – well done. After using the replacement smoker for a full summer and fall I can say it’s a great little smoker at this price point. It’s easy to assemble, easy to use, can put a decent amount of meat in the smoker, and the combo bottom and top venting system gives a lot of flexibility in controlling the temperature. There is some smoke leakage from the front door and the top lid although that seems common for most bullet type smokers from what I have read online and can probably be solved with some insulation tape which I will try next season.

We have smoked so much pork belly on this thing, that we stopped buying bacon. We also tried smoking roast for beef dip sandwiches. They are so good!