[Bob in St. Louis]

1) It's really a Dutch Oven.....
2) you burn thru a lot of charcoal.......

I was thinking the same thing. The source of heat never makes contact with the food, just like a Dutch oven. So any flavor gained would be from rubs, sauces, marinades, brines, or liquids in the drip pan. The placement of wood chips inside the "cooker", could make or break a meal though. In my opinion, I'd say the chips need to be clean and very dry. In fact, to help things along, I might even preheat the wood chips that go inside.

Here's my two cents worth:
If you soak your chips, you now have wood in room temperature water. The amount of time it will take the fire to heat the chips to the point of "smoke", will be a considerable amount of time. That by the time the wood is hot enough to smolder/smoke, it's had to first dry out, then heat up, then slowly raise to the point it starts to combust. By that time, you've steamed your food in wet wood fragrance. Not a pleasant aroma. Even worse if the wood has bark on it, or has been around long enough that it's begun to get mold on it. I've reached in a bag of wood chips and found some to be moldy. Not good.
Alton Brown has a wonderful tutorial on why using wet wood is bad.

I might even go as far as to buy a bag of fruit wood or "flavored" pellets....(apple, pecan, hickory, cherry, etc..et....)
Or just go to your local lumber yard and buy a piece of lumber (not treated) and use a chop saw to cut it up.

The advantage of the (external) heat source not having contact with the food, is you can use the cheapest charcoal you can find. Basically anything that burns would be fine since it's not "touching" the food.

Ohhh....I could go on about this for hours....but chores are calling.
Bob

[PeteG]

Thanks for the tips. Picked one up and will do a brisket this weekend with it.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Advice for anybody smoking meat:
There's a fellow named "Aaron Franklin" that has some BBQ videos called "BBQ with Franklin". They are MOST helpful if you're new to smoking.
There's one specifically on smoking a brisket, I highly recommend it.

The best piece of advice is that your thermometer is your worst enemy when it comes to smoking large hunks of meat like pork butts, and briskets.

Hopefully that got you thinking. 
Bob

[yamaha626]

Bob, you're correct...mostly. The Orion is a very versatile little gadget but I have my best luck when I use a water pan on the bottom surrounded by wood chips to smolder. Also, very little exhaust since it is sealed...like a dutch over should be. It cooks with a very pronounced vertical bias...closer to the base coal ring is hot and higher up the inside chamber is cooler. You're really just cooking by time but I like to use an infrared thermometer to kinda get a feel for what my cooking temps are.
I can't tell you if there is any difference if you soak the wood chips ahead or not. You see, unlike a grill or a smoker, it's not easy to see what's happening inside an Orion...the lid is a pain in the ass to take off and then fit back on when you have hot coals burning on the upper charcoal bin.

Anyway, they're pretty cheap, quite versatile, don't take up any space and add another bbq tool to your arsenal.

Advice for anybody smoking meat:
There's a fellow named "Aaron Franklin" that has some BBQ videos called "BBQ with Franklin". They are MOST helpful if you're new to smoking.
There's one specifically on smoking a brisket, I highly recommend it.

The best piece of advice is that your thermometer is your worst enemy when it comes to smoking large hunks of meat like pork butts, and briskets.

Hopefully that got you thinking. 
Bob

Those videos are awesome...even if you're not new to smoking. He keeps everything simple...

[PeteG]

I might even go as far as to buy a bag of fruit wood or "flavored" pellets....(apple, pecan, hickory, cherry, etc..et....)

Great idea Bob, I only use big chips of hickory with my regular smoker so got a bag of hickory pellets and they will go in dry, not a lot of room around the drip pan for wood chips so using pellets will help with space.

Bought a 7lb brisket and will marinate it tonight, into the Orion tomorrow.

[Bob in St. Louis]

add another bbq tool to your arsenal.

Those videos are awesome...even if you're not new to smoking. He keeps everything simple...

Adding another tool to my BBQ arsenal is what it's all about.
It's like buying more music, or another amp...just, cheaper. 
But making good food in ways I've never had, and sharing it with my family and friends makes me happy.
Just like music makes me happy, only that my family enjoys the food I cook. The music....not so much. 

Currently I'm using a WSM 22.5 and love it. Well, except for the cleaning aspect. That's pretty bad, although I've been finding ways to prevent messes before they happen.
As much as I enjoy "the smoke", I do dread cleaning up afterwards. I'm thinking the Orion might be quite a bit easier to clean than what I've got.
I've been looking for something smaller and easier when I'm in the mood for "a quicky", and like you said, this is just another tool in the arsenal.

Great idea Bob, I only use big chips of hickory with my regular smoker so got a bag of hickory pellets and they will go in dry, not a lot of room around the drip pan for wood chips so using pellets will help with space.

Bought a 7lb brisket and will marinate it tonight, into the Orion tomorrow.

Thanks Pete, glad I could help! 
I've seen a few websites where they sell bags of various "pelletized woods". It's fun to try new flavors.
Is the brisket you bought just "the point", or is it "the flat"? For that weight, it's not a "full packer".
I've never done a full packer, only the hacked up off the shelf things the grocery store puts on the shelf.
One of these days, I'll work up the balls to try a full packer.

Do you have a special marinade?

Good stuff guys. Good stuff.
Bob

[TrungT]

Thanks for the tips Bob   
Franklin BBQ, long line waiting last time I stop by there. (Amazing Brisket) 

[Bob in St. Louis]

You've been to his place!?!?!?! 

[TrungT]

Yes, love the way the brisket tasted, just salt, pepper and smoke.
In Austin, just off the I35, E 11St.
Don't go there at lunch hour.   

[PeteG]

Do you have a special marinade?

The brisket is a thick flat cut. My marinade is a little Andria’s sauce over night pat dry then a dry rub (salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, brown sugar).
Bob, if you’re ever around O’Fallon, IL check out  Andria’s restaurant.

http://www.andrias.com/

[TrungT]

Pete
Will keep an eye on your post, I should have the Orion on Tuesday. 

[SlushPuppy]

Yes, love the way the brisket tasted, just salt, pepper and smoke.
In Austin, just off the I35, E 11St.
Don't go there at lunch hour.   

I've been there twice since moving to Texas. That place was crammed both times!

[marvda1]

bought one of these,  http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_650565_-1__?N=578824977&Ntt=brazos&Ntk=All
using it now loin back ribs

[PeteG]

Well I finished my first time cooking with the Orion, let me say first cooking a brisket has always been an difficult meat for me to cook don’t know if it’s the high altitude or not.

I took out one of the nut and bolts for the rib hanger so I could put a temp cable through the cooker to the meat. After 3 hours it was done, it was very fast. I normally cook brisket with my regular smoker (180-200@8-10hrs) and the Orion only took 3hrs.  How did it taste, no better or worse than low & slow it was the same really no difference except a little less smoke taste with the Orion (my wife likes less smoke).

I do believe ribs and poultry will be better with the “O” but won’t know for sure until I cook them.

[Charles Xavier]

Looks good.

 I dove in and bought this today to get my feet wet. If I use it enough this summer I'll invest in the WSM next year.

[TrungT]

Pete, Thanks for posting. 

[Bob in St. Louis]

Interesting. Very cool Pete. I never would have imagined a Brisket could cook that quick.

Charles. I'm not sure what smoker is in the picture, but it's not a WSM.
Here's the 18" and 22.5" WSM:

[Charles Xavier]

Interesting. Very cool Pete. I never would have imagined a Brisket could cook that quick.

Charles. I'm not sure what smoker is in the picture, but it's not a WSM.
Here's the 18" and 22.5" WSM:

Master Forge from Lowes

[bearman2]

Yesterday I smoked a whole turkey for the first time. The turkey was 12lbs and I smoked it with apple chips in my Smokin-it #2. It took around 13 hours and was excellent considering that it was my first whole turkey. Next in line is a butt which I will probably do with hickory.  Sorry no pictures of the turkey but my wife was hungry. 

[borism]

I don't know if my Grill Dome would qualify as a "true smoker" but the smoked ribs tasted great yesterday.





What I like is that it also is great for grilling from burgers to steaks and whole chickens (though this is with indirect heat).