Po'Man Grill

[scott091981]

Wow, I have some catching up to do in terms of number of cooks!

The way you have the bottom beautifully foiled lets me know I am not doing a good job- what is your process for getting it so perfectly contoured to the bottom?  I am using the thicker bbq aluminum foil and when I try to press one side flat against the corner the other side moves/lifts up.  I get the bottom covered buts its not uncommon for me to have 1 of the legs, possible 2 outside of the foil when i set the racks in which kinda irks me.  Maybe I just need to be more patient.  I was considering trying to find a pizza pan that would fit the bottom and use that almost like the PBC does the ash catcher.

I too have used the weber starter cubes since day 1 - it really makes for a simple process and having used them regularly I have them in stock and I am familiar with how they work.

Last I found that by clocking the charcoal tray 90* from the actual vents I am able to lower the internal temperature by limiting the amount of charcoal that gets going and bringing in some unheated air.  Nothing scientific but using a temperature probe I think I am able to keep it closer to 310 where as with the holes of the basket aligned with the holes in the can it seems to want to run closer to 375 for me.

I run a very tight lid gap, as in maybe 3/16" and if I need to drop the temperature a bit I close the lid completely and within 15-20 minutes it is usually down.  Using this method I was able to eek out just over 4 hours on a fully loaded charcoal basket although the temps were certainly falling at the end.  I like your idea about using foil to control the air inlets- I may play with this also.

The truly wild thing about this cooker is how accurate the cook times are provided with the cheat sheet.  Everything cooked has been within 15-20 minutes of the suggested timeline which the Mrs loves, I cant tell you the number of times we have had to order pizza because the stubborn brisket or pork butt was not going to be ready in time for dinner on my Weber.  I understand this is not a result of anything wrong with the Weber, but by cooking at a hotter temp this grill seems to push past long stalls and stubborn meat while still providing amazing results.

When I try to get people into smoking they usually share a story about bad results and expensive meat that was tough or dry.  We all know this almost needs to be a passion to truly achieve solid results with consistency.  This po' man really would make a great transition from grilling to smoking as it provides very reliable results at a limited cost.  Sort of a hybrid product between grilling and smoking.

[smokeasaurus]

I have thought of a pizza pan as well, but I sure like just wadding up the foil and not greasing up my knuckles while lifting the pizza pan out.

I can also get the foil up to the edges to help catch more grease.

This really is a special cooker and your testimonial to the cooker is a great asset to this review.

[sparky]

So what I'm reading is that the po man likes to run around 370°?

[smokeasaurus]

So what I'm reading is that the po man likes to run around 370°?

I have not checked internal cooking temperatures. I do believe it starts in the mid 300's.

[smokeasaurus]

I think it is time to do a meatloaf on the PoMan.  Not any kind of meatloaf, Bill Cannons Texas Meat Loaf.



Now I do not like cooking my meatloaf in a pan when it is cooked on a smoker/grill. I want the smoke/heat coverage all sides and top and bottom.

So, I put my meatloaf in the freezer 30 minutes before hitting the pit. This way it won't break up on me when placing it in the cooker

Foiled up some taters to along for the ride


Here it is after 40 minutes just about done


Sauced the top and gave it 15 more minutes


Don't get much better than this


Plated with a tater all buttered up

[sparky]

Meat loaf and tators look great.  The next time you cook on the po man could you put a thermomter on it?.

[smokeasaurus]

Meat loaf and tators look great.  The next time you cook on the po man could you put a thermomter on it?.

I actually did temp it Spark when I did the initial burn in.  With a full coal basket I was at 358 degrees to start.

The great thing about this cooker is that there is nothing to think about. You just set your meat on the grate of hang from a skewer and in a relatively short time you have some of the best grub you have ever sunk your teeth into.

Tell you what, I will reach out to the owners and see if they have taken any temp studies.

[sparky]

Thanks.

[scott091981]

I have thought of a pizza pan as well, but I sure like just wadding up the foil and not greasing up my knuckles while lifting the pizza pan out.

I can also get the foil up to the edges to help catch more grease.

This really is a special cooker and your testimonial to the cooker is a great asset to this review.

Great point about the issues removing the pan - I had not thought of that yet!  Enjoying the review

[Pappymn]

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

You should have been around here for the never ending debate on patent pending Tendarub. That one will try a man's soul.


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[Ka Honu]

... patent pending Tendarub...

Probably our most entertaining discussion ever from my perspective, especially after I found out that the God of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) whispered the secret for cooking pork into the inventor's ear. I'm amazed that I (and a few of the rest of you - you know who you are) are still around after mocking that particular epiphany.

[smokeasaurus]

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

You should have been around here for the never ending debate on patent pending Tendarub. That one will try a man's soul.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

That is so funny. I was actually thinking about TendaRub yesterday. He does not have a web site anymore. The stuff actually worked in a creepy kind of way.

[smokeasaurus]

I was told by PoMan that the cooker does run from 350-325.

Using less charcoal works great for hot dogs and brats and salmon.

Still going to be cooking in the 300's that way but you do not need a full basket to cook the above mentioned items.

Now, the PoMan is not a smoker and it is not a grill. It is more of a charcoal fired cooker.

Yes you can remove the flavor/deflector plate and grill over charcoal so it could be considered a grill if used that way.

It is no way a smoker because it is not designed to cook between 180-225.

If you are looking for a pit for long cooking sessions you will have to look elsewhere. The PoMan was not made for that purpose.

However, the Po Man lets you cook with charcoal 7 days a week if you prefer.

No more waiting for the weekend to use charcoal.

The PoMan lets you enjoy charcoal flavor and the flavor/heat deflector creates a infrared environment. You are getting added flavor from the drippings from the meat hitting the deflector. You are not getting a heavy grease fog flavor which not all care for. You do have charcoal doing a minion method burn so you are getting charcoal flavor like you would if slo cooking with briquettes in a different grill/smoker.

Let tell ya, when the PoMan is up and running you can hear the sizzling going on.

The PoMan was designed to just light the coal. Put in your meat and come back to some of the best tasting grub you ever had.

Just crack your lid and walk away. Just heat and meat.

Extremely basic but the end result is just phenomenal.

[sparky]

Two inlets on the bottom right?. Would the temp come down if you plugged on of the holes with aluminum foil?. I only use one side of the charcoal basket on my PBC so I'm not getting the grease fog which I like.  The po man sounds like a power cooker like the PBC.  Not a grill or a smoker.  I would love to cook on a po man.  Still thinking about a 22 WSM.  Just for pure smoking.

[smokeasaurus]

You could plug one hole. Have not tried that yet.

I have also toyed with the idea of placing my lighter starter over at a corner under the charcoal basket instead of dead center.

I have not done this yet for the review because I am trying to follow the Mfg's instructions but later in the review I might just try this 

The PoMan does not produce a grease fog because of the flavor/heat deflector plate.