Po'Man Grill

[ShanH]

I cooked next to the guy the Po' Man himself at a bbq competition in Alabama several years ago. I was cooking on my pull-behind offset stick burner and he had several Po' Mans cooking away. Really solid dude. There were about 15 teams in the backyard division that year and out of all of the teams, the Po'Man always had a crowd of people around because they're so interesting. Everybody loved everything that he pulled off of those cookers that day and I was so impressed that I bought one a couple days after that competition. I also bought my dad and my father in law one. Smoke is right, it doesn't get any easier than cooking on a Po'Man. My dad is not very good with grills and was intimidated, to say the least, about trying to smoke ribs, boston butts, or anything really. But he nows sends me pictures of different cooks every so often thanks to the Po'Man. My father in law is the exact opposite and even owned a bbq restaurant at one point in time, and he loves this little cooker. Cant say enough good things about these cookers and the Po'Man.

Thank you so much for adding to the review. Wes and Emily over at PoMan have got themselves something special going on, that's for sure.

How do you like the review? Have I been spot on?

Absolutely! I’ve enjoyed getting to see how other folks are using this little grill. The fact that it’s so easy to use and the flavor that comes from this thing is insane. Looking forward to seeing more cooks from you.

[sliding_billy]

This whole post makes me want to do a trash can turkey, but they frown on such things in the 'burbs.  I miss the country.

[smokeasaurus]

The Po Man made a little road trip yesterday to feed around 30 hungry Wisconsinites.

We went to Two Rivers around 8 miles north of our town. Two Rivers is actually 7 miles into Lake Michigan so you really get the coastal/beach weather.

We set the PoMan out back by the charcoal grill (we also grilled up burgers and brats) for two reasons:

bunch of kids and dogs running around and  we didn't want anyone "accidently" thinking it was for trash   



We grabbed some pavers and set PoMan in its final resting place for the day


Had two split chickens that were soaked in a Mexican marinade for two days and some poke back ribs that we mustarded and rubbed on site


Got em all in for a two hour ride


After two hours we removed the ribs and sauced em and foiled em and back in the Po Man they went


We removed the chickens 15 minutes later and carved em up and brought em out to the crowd out front
(the lab ran interference for me  )


The chicken was so Purdy the owner of the house where we was at insisted on a picture first before the grubbing commenced


Ribs were up after the chicken was served (I should have gave them an extra 15 minutes but the natives were restless.......and hungry!!  )


Now I want to mention we had a good rain the first hour of the cook and the PoMan just cooked right through it.

I can not tell you how many people commented on the food,  "Best ribs and chickens I have ever had" I heard quite a few times.

I had some wadded up HD foil that I place into the two bottom vent holes and the PoMan shuts down and cools off quickly.

When I carried it out back through the crowd to get to my car we had a nice little round of applause 

The PoMan went on the road and delivered Championship BBQ to a very curious crowd 

[sparky]

I'm liking this little trash can.  It sounds like fun to cook on.  With my Weber mastertouch and PBC I can't see getting one.  I can do anything with those two grills.  It looks fun.  And the price is cheap.

[smokeasaurus]

I'm liking this little trash can.  It sounds like fun to cook on.  With my Weber mastertouch and PBC I can't see getting one.  I can do anything with those two grills.  It looks fun.  And the price is cheap.

you are correct Spark, however you get a flavor profile very different from your cookers:  it is more of an infrared cooker with charcoal involved.

Not a overly smokey profile.

Fun? Oh yeah, we use it darn near daily

[Pappymn]

Really enjoying this thread. Great job smoke


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Smokin3d]

This thread has been so good that I just ordered the Po' Man.
Thanks Smoke.

[sparky]

I'm liking this little trash can.  It sounds like fun to cook on.  With my Weber mastertouch and PBC I can't see getting one.  I can do anything with those two grills.  It looks fun.  And the price is cheap.

you are correct Spark, however you get a flavor profile very different from your cookers:  it is more of an infrared cooker with charcoal involved.

Not a overly smokey profile.

Fun? Oh yeah, we use it darn near daily

Bbq and cooking outside is suppose to be fun and enjoyable.  Anyone can cook on anything but the po man just looks like a lot of fun.  One question?. Since there is nothing between the charcoal basket and the bottom of the po man how long will the bottom last?

[smokeasaurus]

Good question Sparky. It will take quite a while to have the bottom burn out (if it ever does)

The reason is that lining the bottom with HD foil keeps most of the grease and ash from sitting on the bottom.

Occasionally some grease gets under the foil and a paper towel takes care of that.

Another thing I do is I wadded up some HD foil to stick in the bottom air vents to quicly shut the PoMan.

What this does is not only saves the charcoal for another cook, but you hardly have any ash to dump out.

So, I hardly ever now get ash on the bottom of my can and I can reuse the foil up to three times after giving it a little shake.

After I clean the Po Man today for tonights cook (it never gets a day off), I will show you some pictures of the bottom of the barrel.

[smokeasaurus]

This thread has been so good that I just ordered the Po' Man.
Thanks Smoke.

Smart, very smart!!  You are gonna love it.

[scott091981]

I have been watching this post and kicking around the idea - I have a Weber set up for indirect with the smokinator but this just appealed to me.  Primary reason was the capacity.  Sadly not much online in the way of reviews and information compared to more poplar models like the PBC.  When this kicked off I ordered mine and it has been pretty amazing!

Everything said here is true, its a different kind of smoking- more of a hybrid grill/smoke.  I did a small brisket Thursday which was done in 4.25 hours and was amazing.  So tender and with a good smoke flavor.

I have tuned in daily, sometimes multiple times a day, looking for updates and this review has not disappointed!  Thank you for taking one of the lesser known options and providing some feedback about it!  I have greatly enjoyed mine and also look for any reason to use it, including a small chicken last night with roasted corn on the cobb.  So far I have been able to provide really consistent results on a short period of time.  I greatly enjoy the option now of being able to do ribs or a chicken during the week and not always having to wait for the weekend due to time to "smoke" something on the pit.

Keep up the great review!  I joined the forum because of this!

[rwalters]

I have been watching this post and kicking around the idea - I have a Weber set up for indirect with the smokinator but this just appealed to me.  Primary reason was the capacity.  Sadly not much online in the way of reviews and information compared to more poplar models like the PBC.  When this kicked off I ordered mine and it has been pretty amazing!

Everything said here is true, its a different kind of smoking- more of a hybrid grill/smoke.  I did a small brisket Thursday which was done in 4.25 hours and was amazing.  So tender and with a good smoke flavor.

I have tuned in daily, sometimes multiple times a day, looking for updates and this review has not disappointed!  Thank you for taking one of the lesser known options and providing some feedback about it!  I have greatly enjoyed mine and also look for any reason to use it, including a small chicken last night with roasted corn on the cobb.  So far I have been able to provide really consistent results on a short period of time.  I greatly enjoy the option now of being able to do ribs or a chicken during the week and not always having to wait for the weekend due to time to "smoke" something on the pit.

Keep up the great review!  I joined the forum because of this!

Welcome to LTBBQ and congrats on your new Po’ Man

[scott091981]

Thank you!  I have been lurking a bit and this seems like a great group.  As it should be - interested in supporting people with similar interest vs fighting over lump charcoal vs kingsford blue bag.  With all the great food photos here I think I have already gained 20 lb!  No regrets

[rwalters]

Thank you!  I have been lurking a bit and this seems like a great group.  As it should be - interested in supporting people with similar interest vs fighting over lump charcoal vs kingsford blue bag.  With all the great food photos here I think I have already gained 20 lb!  No regrets

LOL!

[smokeasaurus]

Sparky asked the question about durability. Well I am only a month into ownership and have used the PoMan darn near every day. Like anything, if it is taken care of it will last longer than if it is not.

Foiling the bottom of the can catches all the ash and most of the extra drippings. If cleaned regularly and not letting ash and grease sit in the bottom, this cooker should last a long time.

Here is what the bottom of the PoMan looks like after 30-40 cooks:


With all this talk about durability and cleaning, lets talk about cleaning. How long does it take? Is it hard?

I would say cleaning takes maybe 5 minutes and it is a piece of cake. I also will throw in a couple of tricks and tips I am using.

Here we go step by step:

First off The Smokes back aint what it used to be so I set the PoMan on a patio bench to raise it off the ground a bit. I also set it in my Texas firepit

After removing the cooking rack assembly remove your flavor/heat deflector and change the foil



Now remove your charcoal basket and dump it out:   Note: notice how the briquettes did not burn down to ash? I wadded up some HD foil and stuff the air vents when I am done cooking to get the charcoal out. Less ash and you can use the coals for a cook that does not require new briquettes.
In fact you can see the foil still wedged into the two air vent holes


Now Before dumping and rolling up your ash covered foil liner, remove the alcohol starter tray so it does not end up in the trash.

Here comes another little trick: I am using Weber starter cubes instead. So much easier, just set it on the bottom in the center on the coal, light it and you are on your way. Besides, I got shaky hands and it is hard to lower the alcohol tray full into the can without spilling, and if I try to fill the cup on the bottom I make a mess


so clean up is super easy. I also wear cheap disposable gloves when cleaning the PoMan.

I think all vertical style cookers do not let you get away with multiple cooks without cleaning. The PoMan really needs to be cleaned before every cook.

Heck, 5 minutes tops and you are on your way aint a bad deal.