I am 100 percent buy American if at all possible. I did a lot of research on this new cooker
and it is the exact model that the manufacturer sells for about $300 more. The original one
does not come with a heat deflector or stainless doors. These are extra costs. So, without
further rambling on my part. I present my new Backwoods Chubby 3400. It is basically the
Chubby model from Backwoods that has been sent to China to produce for the backyard cooker
crowd.
I picked this up from Amazon with free shipping for $799.00. Backwoods online offers the
same Chubby 3400 for the same price with free shipping. They also sell the original Chubby
for $1030. But it isn’t free shipping and some of the standard parts that are on the Chubby
3400 are extras.
Here it is unboxed. It has 4 heavy duty racks, a large water pan, heat deflector and they charcoal tray is very unique with the
underneath tray catching the ash.
All set up on my new stainless-steel mixer stand. I picked this up from Webrestaurant on line.
The stainless piece you see hanging from the water pan is to keep any food from dropping down
onto the top of the charcoal drawer. It did not come standard with the Chubby 3400. I purchased
it from the Backwoods website.
I loaded it with charcoal, a couple chunks of hickory and a full water pan. I am going to burn it in and see where it sits
temperature wise and for how long. What I understand and read about the Backwoods line of smokers that they are very
fuel efficient. As I write this the smoker has been going for 2 hours. It is locked itself in at 235 degrees. I normally cook at
235 to 250 so I am pleased. I could adjust the vents more to raise the temp but I am going to leave it as it is tonight. I did
purchase the BBQ Guru Cyber Q Cloud and will be using it tomorrow on my first cook. I will be doing a 9-pound pork butt.
Here are the specs on the Chubby 3400 from the Backwoods website. They are exactly the same as the more expensive Chubby.
The Chubby weighs in at a hefty 130 lbs.
Dimensions:
Outside dimensions:
• 20″ deep plus 2 ½″ for the thermometer and door latches
• 29″ tall plus 2″ for the stack
• 20″ wide
Cooking Chamber dimensions:
• 17″ deep
• 13″ tall cooking chamber
• 16″ wide
Racks:
• Four, 3″ apart
• 16 ½” deep
• 15 ½” wide
• 1/8″ Nickel plated round bar
Standard Features:
• All stainless steel inside
• Heat diverter
• Removable stainless steel water pan
• Black doors with slam latches
• 1 extra slider for rack height adjustment
• Pre-drilled Caster bolt hole pattern on bottom of the 3 inch feet
• 1/8″ nickel plated racks
• Cooking degrees: (approx.) 180 to 300
• Amount of charcoal: (approx.) 6 to 10 lb.
• Cooking time: (approx.) 6 to 10 hours
{Depending on the temperature used for cooking}
• Meat: (approx.)
8 slabs of baby back ribs
2 to 3 brisket
• 2 to 4 Boston butts
The only thing I see that I would correct if I didn’t have the Cyber Q is to replace the door thermometer. It is not a Tel Tru like their other
smokers. There is a 5-degree difference between what my Smoke thermometer is reading and what the door thermometer reads. Not a
big deal since I always monitor grate temperature.
