RMW001, thanks for the input. I first saw the Caja a couple years ago on TV and it seemed to do a great job cooking a whole hog other than the fact that it never seemed to get any kind of smoke or grill flavor to the meat. Basically it looked like a giant oven, which I guess it is. I’ve cooked plenty of hogs on straight propane cookers where you never add wood for smoke, but I guess you get some smoke from all the fat dripping down on the burners.
I was wondering the same about the Orion though, do you ever add wood chips anywhere, or does it ever get smoke inside that chamber? Or is it pretty much completely sealed off?
Honestly I have lately been considering an electric smoker. Right now I have a barrel style charcoal smoker with a side firebox, as well as a smoker box for my Weber Propane grill for when I’m feeling lazy. But I’m thinking about the electric smoker for even more ease and consistent temperature througout a long smoking process.
HobcawMan, I have used a small heavy guage steel smoker box in the Caja - you put the wood chips in the box and they smolder - w/limited success- don’t think it got hot enough to smoke much. A smoker box may work in an Orion - from the photos it appears the Orion would get hotter on the inside that the Caja. You may remember from the television show the Caja is a plywood with the inside wrapped in thin stainless steel -it amazes me the thing doesn’t burn up.
hobcaw; i put a couple of small golf ball size mesquite chips (or your choice) inside of the orion. it instructs you in the manual. it gives the ribs a pretty good smokey taste. you can determine how much you want to use.
Home Made Smoke Boxes: Use some big (32oz) tin cans with holes drilled around the bottom, put in wood chips and some saw dust (oak), cover in foil and poke some hole in the top… use 1, 2 or 3… generate as much smoke as you need, reload if need be but the smoke during the 1st hour is the best.