California Custom Smokers

Face it.  Grilling over an open fire is fun.   On the West Coast the Santa Maria BBQ has become a “must have” for many outdoor cookers.  Its’ large cooking surface and height adaptability make it ideal for cooking and searing.  What makes California Custom Smokers’ Santa Maria grills so special?  We understand how they work and listen to you to make every one of them not just a cooking unit, but a piece of art.

 How they work – The Santa Maria grill uses an open fire to provide heat to the food.  With a crank system, you can raise or lower the grate to the optimal height for cooking.  Whether you like front or reverse searing, or both, it is easily accomplished on the Santa Maria grill.

 How are we different - If you look around you will see a myriad of choices on the market that may make the prospect of a custom unit seem needless.  Look at the units carefully.  Most do not have vents and charcoal or wood rests on the bottom of the unit.  This is style is not conducive to achieving that hot fire that optimizes the efficiency of our units.  All of our Santa Maria grills have a raised fire grate as well as two vents to optimize air flow and temperature.  Imagine putting a griddle set-up for fajitas on the top of the grill without these features.  You fire would suddenly get cooler, your smoke would get darker and you would not get the hot, clean cook that you expect from a Santa Maria grill. 

 What we offer – All of our units come standard with wheels for easy maneuverability.  They all come standard with a diamond shaped grate and a wire pulley system.  However, whatever size grill size and style you want, we can make it.  If you want a double height system we can make it.  If you prefer a chain pulley system, we will do it.  If you want an ash catcher underneath the grate to allow for easy clean up after the cook, we can make it.  If you want a small solid strip of metal to go across the top of the grate to measure surface temperature, we can make that as well.  If you want a logo on the unit we do that.  If you want it made to accommodate a small roof, no problem.  If you want the ability to mount a rotisserie, we can do that.  We will work with you to also make sure that grate dimensions are consistent with accessory products on the market today.   Look around the standard BBQ market.  Many people are selling accessories for BBQ’s in an attempt to replicate the Santa Maria cooking method.  Why try to adapt something when you can have the real thing?