Upgrade to electric or purchase a meat smoker?

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Smoker or electric system upgrade

  • Smoker

  • Electric Updgrade


Results are only viewable after voting.

Xpertskir

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Both of these are likely to happen, but which one would you do first?

I currently do not have a smoker

I currently have a simple AG set up that I am able to use to make beer that I am very happy with. My main desires are wanting to move inside, and lift less.

What say you HBT? If you have a specific smoker recco let me know.
 
I like brewing outside so I'd say SMOKER. My Weber Smoker Mountain smoker is an outstanding piece of equipment. Costs more than an UDS, but Ive gotten some good stuff off it. :tank:
 
I like brewing outside so I'd say SMOKER. My Weber Smoker Mountain smoker is an outstanding piece of equipment. Costs more than an UDS, but Ive gotten some good stuff off it. :tank:

I have been using a UDS for about 4 years now and have had great results, in fact I built a second one to have on hand for big BBQ sessions like 4th of July and wrenching parties when building cages and axles.
 
I'd go smoker if your brewing setup works for the time being. I just smoked a couple chickens yesterday and having some leftovers for lunch.
 
I like brewing outside so I'd say SMOKER. My Weber Smoker Mountain smoker is an outstanding piece of equipment. Costs more than an UDS, but Ive gotten some good stuff off it. :tank:

This. Love my WSM. There's even a community dedicated to it! www.virtualweberbullet.com

How you supposed to make good beer if you're not well fed with top notch smoked pork?
 
I dunno why I'm asking here anyways....SWMBO will make the call. It should be interesting she loves beer AND pork.

Im leaning towards the smoker with the intention of being electric and indoors by next winter.

My friend is dead set on me getting a Big Green Egg but any product that is most expensive in its class is rarely the best. At least that is what I have learned in other purchases.

I'll likely not go with a UDS as my main concerns for my smoker purchase are temperature regulation/control and cooking maintenence intervals. Can anyone speak to the above reccomended smokers in reference to those points?
 
here's the thing... If you are going electric to make your life easier... this comes down to how much, and how ofter are you going to use the smoker.

I've had a Traeger grill for about 10 years now. they are a little spendy, but it was worth the money as I use it often. People will tell you to build a smoker, but if you are going to look at ways to automate and improve that to make your life easier, why not skip that step and go with a great solution from the get go.

I like pellet smokers best, and my Traeger has done a fine job, but if I had to buy again, I would get a MAK, Green Mountain, or better yet a Memphis Grills smoker/cooker...

The most important part for me about a smoker is that it has to be easy enough to use that my wife can at least grill/smoke something on it without having to adjust from indoor cooking practices.

These options aren't cheap, but the easier it is to use/clean, the more often you will use it...

Also, Frogmats are your friend.
 
I have been using a UDS for about 4 years now and have had great results, in fact I built a second one to have on hand for big BBQ sessions like 4th of July and wrenching parties when building cages and axles.

The guys I know that have UDS love them. I'm a little curious and may build one some day :D

This. Love my WSM. There's even a community dedicated to it! www.virtualweberbullet.com

How you supposed to make good beer if you're not well fed with top notch smoked pork?

I like to have good beer when I'm smoking. It's a very balanced relationship, I'd say. :fro:
 
I dunno why I'm asking here anyways....SWMBO will make the call. It should be interesting she loves beer AND pork.

Im leaning towards the smoker with the intention of being electric and indoors by next winter.

My friend is dead set on me getting a Big Green Egg but any product that is most expensive in its class is rarely the best. At least that is what I have learned in other purchases.

I'll likely not go with a UDS as my main concerns for my smoker purchase are temperature regulation/control and cooking maintenence intervals. Can anyone speak to the above reccomended smokers in reference to those points?

i've never used a BGE, mainly because of the cost to get one. The only reason I'd agree with your buddy is if you want to "grill" at higher temps. Pizzas, steaks, etc.

My Weber Smokey Mountain is easy to use. Start fire, get to temp, put meat on, and eat it later. :rockin:

IMO, it is pretty easy to operate. Keeps/holds temp well. Especially if you use the briquettes, you can set the vents/intakes, and not have to mess with them very often. I know a LOT of guys that buy the cheaper Brinkman types, hate them, and never use them.
 
I dunno why I'm asking here anyways....SWMBO will make the call. It should be interesting she loves beer AND pork.

Im leaning towards the smoker with the intention of being electric and indoors by next winter.

My friend is dead set on me getting a Big Green Egg but any product that is most expensive in its class is rarely the best. At least that is what I have learned in other purchases.

I'll likely not go with a UDS as my main concerns for my smoker purchase are temperature regulation/control and cooking maintenence intervals. Can anyone speak to the above reccomended smokers in reference to those points?

I have a BGE and love the thing. Also, you can spend much more on a smoker than what an Egg costs. Get something that holds heat well.

Rick
 
i've never used a BGE, mainly because of the cost to get one. The only reason I'd agree with your buddy is if you want to "grill" at higher temps. Pizzas, steaks, etc.

My Weber Smokey Mountain is easy to use. Start fire, get to temp, put meat on, and eat it later. :rockin:

IMO, it is pretty easy to operate. Keeps/holds temp well. Especially if you use the briquettes, you can set the vents/intakes, and not have to mess with them very often. I know a LOT of guys that buy the cheaper Brinkman types, hate them, and never use them.

Yep, smoke, grill, bake. It does an awesome job on pizzas!
 
i've never used a BGE, mainly because of the cost to get one. The only reason I'd agree with your buddy is if you want to "grill" at higher temps. Pizzas, steaks, etc.

My Weber Smokey Mountain is easy to use. Start fire, get to temp, put meat on, and eat it later. :rockin:

IMO, it is pretty easy to operate. Keeps/holds temp well. Especially if you use the briquettes, you can set the vents/intakes, and not have to mess with them very often. I know a LOT of guys that buy the cheaper Brinkman types, hate them, and never use them.

This. I'm a sold WSM fan as well. Mine holds 225 perfectly, and I've done a 10.5 hr smoke before with no change of charcoal (using the Minion Method). The 18.5" model (the smaller one) can hold an entire slab of spare ribs from Costco (the ones that come in like 9lb 3-rack pks for $25) just barely all the way across. It's pretty good about wood as well. Just use chunks instead of chips and they'll last quite a while (just needs occasional stirring).

Honestly, if you cook on a pretty big scale, I'd go with the 22.5" model. If not, don't waste your money (and charcoal) on the large one. The WSM is expensive but worth it in my opinion. And it's of course charcoal so if that's not your thing, look elsewhere.



As far as Brinkmann and cheaper ones -- dont bother. I bought my father a charcoal Brinkmann smoker and we've had to modify the hell out of it (drilled more holes, replaced the charcoal basket with one that has air holes so it can actually breathe, added racks, etc). It also wastes a lot of wood, as wood chunks are too big for it so it needs chips.
 
I have a BGE and love the thing. Also, you can spend much more on a smoker than what an Egg costs. Get something that holds heat well.

Rick



Oh, I know you can spend WAY more than the BGE, but in that class of smoker it seems to be tops.
 
My vote is smoker first. Im using a Char-Griller with side box, fairly cheap and effective. I can grill over direct heat, set up indirect heat in the main box, or go low and slow with the side box. I wish it held heat a little better but I still use it all year.
 
I dunno why I'm asking here anyways....SWMBO will make the call. It should be interesting she loves beer AND pork.

Im leaning towards the smoker with the intention of being electric and indoors by next winter.

My friend is dead set on me getting a Big Green Egg but any product that is most expensive in its class is rarely the best. At least that is what I have learned in other purchases.

I'll likely not go with a UDS as my main concerns for my smoker purchase are temperature regulation/control and cooking maintenence intervals. Can anyone speak to the above reccomended smokers in reference to those points?

As far as smokers go, it depends on what you want to do. Big Green Eggs are awesome all purpose cookers. If you're not planning on smoking 700 things at once, this guy built a version of Alton Brown's flower pot smoker for around 100 bucks

LINK

You can buy a chargriller smoker with firebox for around 180. You never knwo what can happen.
 
I used charcoal/wood smoker for 12 years and always liked the food. Must say though, got tired of keeping that heat consistent for 10 hours sometimes. I recently bought and electric smoker and LOVE it. Set it and forget it, just come back from time to time to add wood chips.
 
I have the all stainless Masterbuilt one that Sam's or Costco was carrying a few years back. It's basically a propane fired water smoker...not super high end but it works great and holds the temps well. It kind of looks like a gym locker. The firebox is big enough to use chunks but also works well with chips. Last year a bought a cold smoke generator so I also smoke grain for smoked beers in there and occasionally cheese.

BTW, my first smoker was a Brinkman which worked ok if the weather was perfect. If there was any wind and/or it was cold outside, it couldn't hold a constant temperature. So I'd pass on the Brinkman for sure.
 
bscott1011 said:
My vote is smoker first. Im using a Char-Griller with side box, fairly cheap and effective. I can grill over direct heat, set up indirect heat in the main box, or go low and slow with the side box. I wish it held heat a little better but I still use it all year.

Have you sealed the lid? I used fiberglass fireplace rope.
 
I used charcoal/wood smoker for 12 years and always liked the food. Must say though, got tired of keeping that heat consistent for 10 hours sometimes. I recently bought and electric smoker and LOVE it. Set it and forget it, just come back from time to time to add wood chips.


Do you personally notice a taste difference between the electric and charcoal/wood?

I am an avid cook and know my way around meat and at first starting my research I thought electric was a no brainer due to ease and concistency in maintaining temps. There certainly does seems to be a lot of info stating that its harder(or impossible) to achieve the same taste with electric.

I'm starting to think its the same argument as aluminum vs stainless BK's.
No real difference but plenty of old school hold outs that maintain stainless is better. Disclaimer..I have a stainless BK.
 
jflongo said:
I used charcoal/wood smoker for 12 years and always liked the food. Must say though, got tired of keeping that heat consistent for 10 hours sometimes. I recently bought and electric smoker and LOVE it. Set it and forget it, just come back from time to time to add wood chips.

You need to check out the Minion Method. I use it on my WSM and it works wonders. Only thing you gotta do is stir the charcoal and add wood chunks occasionally (and water once). I did a brisket for ~11 hrs and never added charcoal. Stayed at 225 the entire time.
 
I have not tried the fireplace rope yet but will check into it. No problems holding my temps during warm months but have trouble in the winter. The metal is pretty thin. I'm hoping to get an insulated cabinet style smoker next year for cool weather months.
 
I have a GOSM propane smoker. They can be had for under $200. I went with a propane smoker because it requires very little attention, and it works well.
 
I love to brew. BUT you can already make great beer. a meat smoker will change your life, it changed mine. Then make a Rauchbier to go with your meat :)
 
You need to check out the Minion Method. I use it on my WSM and it works wonders. Only thing you gotta do is stir the charcoal and add wood chunks occasionally (and water once). I did a brisket for ~11 hrs and never added charcoal. Stayed at 225 the entire time.

Yes I have used that method. It did work well. But it's so much easier smoking something in my garage now, with the door cracked open a bit.
 
Do you personally notice a taste difference between the electric and charcoal/wood?

I am an avid cook and know my way around meat and at first starting my research I thought electric was a no brainer due to ease and concistency in maintaining temps. There certainly does seems to be a lot of info stating that its harder(or impossible) to achieve the same taste with electric.

I'm starting to think its the same argument as aluminum vs stainless BK's.
No real difference but plenty of old school hold outs that maintain stainless is better. Disclaimer..I have a stainless BK.

I really don't noticed a difference in taste, since the electric still uses wood chips. The taste I don't like is from propane, personally.
 
Yes I have used that method. It did work well. But it's so much easier smoking something in my garage now, with the door cracked open a bit.

I can't argue with that. When I get settled down a bit more, I plan to get a pellet model (ie. Traeger, etc).
 
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