Seeking Advice on Which Smoker to Get - Newby

[smithat]

I love my Weber WSM, and I don't agree with the babysitting comments. I have a bluetooth thermometer that temps the meat and smoker temps. Once its stabilized it will hold a temp for a very long time. If you use the "Minion Method" to light the coals you can be very successful with long low and slow smokes. I've done several overnight smokes with it. Thermometer has hi/low alarms, so even if I needed to mess with the temp it would wake me up.

I think it just takes a little honing and figuring out the ins and outs, like anything else. It's charcoal, it holds temps, and I would say it requires minimal babysitting for not having any temp controller...

Check out this site: http://virtualweberbullet.com
Its geared towards WSMs but its a great resource for smoking...

I do use the minion method, and I'm probably thinking back to my original 18" the 22.5" I've had a lot better luck with it holding temp. That might also be a result from switching to the nature's own charcoal too. Who knows. I'll also hold up my hand and admit I'm one of those guys who's a bit too detail oriented and I don't like a lot of variation in my temps (read, I'm anal about this **** )

In short, love my WSMs and I love my geeky hobbies of built temp controllers

 

[pockets121]

Weber Smokey mountain (WSM) all the way. I have one and it was the best money ever spent. Grab an inkbird wireless temp monitor for it and you'e off to the races. The learning curve isn't that steep.

The unit has been around since God was a child, as such there are a lot of resources available. Most recipes on Amazing Ribs have wsm specifics as well.

 

[BrewsterJr]

My first smoker was built from an old refrigerator back in the 1980's when smoking anything was a major commitment of time and used to involve a lot of alcohol. But after the wife and kids came along both free time and alcohol have fallen a few rungs down the ladder of priorities. So I've been using a Bradley Electric smoker for about 15 yrs. I can't imagine going back to tending to a smoker for hours on end.

 

[Schlenkerla]

My first smoker was built from an old refrigerator back in the 1980's when smoking anything was a major commitment of time and used to involve a lot of alcohol. But after the wife and kids came along both free time and alcohol have fallen a few rungs down the ladder of priorities. So I've been using a Bradley Electric smoker for about 15 yrs. I can't imagine going back to tending to a smoker for hours on end.

Some people just want a legitimate excuse to sit with a beer and watch the temp gauge as the smoke rolls out of the smoker.

Have to have the tunes jammin' too.

Send the wife shopping....

The kids are pacified with their tablets playing Minecraft....

 

[BrewsterJr]

Some people just want a legitimate excuse to sit with a beer and watch the temp gauge as the smoke rolls out of the smoker.

Have to have the tunes jammin' too.

Send the wife shopping....

The kids are pacified with their tablets playing Minecraft....

For sure, my Webber gives me options ;-)

 

[BrewsterJr]

For sure, my Webber gives me options ;-)

Sorry I meant to say Bradley lol

 

[GoeHaarden]

For sure, my Webber gives me options ;-)

Wishful thinking...

 

[S-Met]

Some people just want a legitimate excuse to sit with a beer and watch the temp gauge as the smoke rolls out of the smoker.

Have to have the tunes jammin' too.

Send the wife shopping....

The kids are pacified with their tablets playing Minecraft....

Maybe for now, but time may full circle on you. Imagine teachig your kids the art of the smoke once they get a bit older. The father-son times that can be spent with the bonding of a brew&smoke day.

 

[AzOr]

With a pellet smoker you can still use the excuse of babysitting the meat.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Maybe for now, but time may full circle on you. Imagine teachig your kids the art of the smoke once they get a bit older. The father-son times that can be spent with the bonding of a brew&smoke day.

Little OT.

Yeah, at their age it's not primary interest. I get them involved in making foods they like, but the attention span is short. Limited to easy crock pot pasta and chili.

Not to mention my wife doesn't like food centric entertainment. She's always watching her weight, doesn't like thinking about food. She is like her mother, hates cooking and is a reheater. Prepackaged foods is all they buy. Whereas I only buy raw meats, vegges, fruit and etc.

I do it because I like it, love to obsess over the cooking process. I will say some degree, alone time is good. There's only so much reality TV I can watch without going insane.

I have two residences 3 hours apart. Basically for work. I brew and smoke at the work place. Where the other is all family time.

 

[cabron99]

Once you try a good pellet grill/smoker, you'll never go back.

 

[Jestr]

2

B xa

 

[kl Roosevelt brewer]

A Bradley biscuit smoker

 

[ButcherBoy]

I have to second the earlier comments about the Pit Barrel Cooker, I finally bought one last year to be able to cook more than one rack of ribs. For those times my Webber kettle just wasn't big enough. I can get 8 full racks in the PBC if I ever need to... I'm very happy with the results I get, very little fussing with it. Light it and cook.

 

[FatCat Brewing]

Try looking at the Orion Cooker. No baby sitting. Just come back in the set amount of time. I have one and it is the simplest smoker I have ever used. I get consistent results.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I'm guess the OP might be inundated with various opinions at moment.

Maybe @Jiffster might have better direction by submitting a poll.

 

[harry_the_face]

Just a suggestion on those that want to smoke in cold weather: go to Harbor Freight and by a welding blanket and some metal clips. Fold the welding blanket so that it will wrap around your smoke all the way leaving the intake and exhaust clear. I have smoked in 15 deg F. weather and had trouble keep the temp low enough.

 

[brewbama]

I recommend the Weber Smokey Mountain cooker. I smoke everything from high heat (350*), PBC style hangin, to Low n Slow Bacon/Sausage (125*F).

 

[Jiffster]

Wow, so much good info. Just commenting on a few below but taking it all into consideration

I currently have a Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone pellet smoker and Can not say enough good things about it. You get a lot of bang for your $$$. I've had it for just over 2 years and use it at least a couple times a month and it works as good today as the day I bought it.
Easy to operate, easy to clean and puts out some mighty tasty "Q"
I started out with one of the old bullet electric water smokers, then upgraded to the masterbuilt electric and finally discovered the GMG Smokers. For set it and forget it smoking a pellet can not be beat IMO

I have a Green Mountain Grill, Daniel Boone model. It’s a pellet smoker and I friggin love it. I bought it a few years ago for about 370. At the time they were selling for 550. I got the old model that did not have Bluetooth.
It truly is set and forget. I used to have a propane cabinet style smoker and it was decent but you really have to babysit it for hours to maintain a steady temp.

With little ones at the house, the pellet smoker rules. There is no way I could dedicate a half day to smoking meat anymore.

I can put a brisket in at midnight and wrap it at 6 or 7 am.
A few hours later, pull it from grill and let it rest. By lunchtime, we are feasting on brisket.
If you shop around, you can get the 20lb bags of pellets for 10 bucks. Most meats will only take so many hours of absorbing smoke, so sometimes I will wrap pork butts or brisket and finish in oven to save pellets.

I was eating at a bbq joint once and we were talking about smokers. The owner overheard us and said, “get a pellet smoker. So much easier”. He was using a huge barrel smoker.

These Green Mountain's look very nice. So is the WiFi model a must have for not having to babysit a lot?

I got the Pit Barrel Cooker a couple of years ago. I think it was $299 when I bought it. I looked at the Weber Smokey Mountain as well but I’ve been very happy with the PBC. It’s extremely idiot proof. You basically set a damper based on your altitude then you really never worry about temperature control again. I’ve yet to have a bad result with it.

If you are looking for a BBQ pit style smoker, I can highly recommend the Pit Barrel Cooker. Had mine two years now and it makes great BBQ with very little fussing during cooking.

The Pit Barrel Cooker is not a cold smoker though. It's not for making smoked cheese, fish, jerky or things like that.

I have to second the earlier comments about the Pit Barrel Cooker, I finally bought one last year to be able to cook more than one rack of ribs. For those times my Webber kettle just wasn't big enough. I can get 8 full racks in the PBC if I ever need to... I'm very happy with the results I get, very little fussing with it. Light it and cook.

These look very interesting and the price sure is right! You're using one of these on a wood deck too, correct?

We have brick pavers now but may be going to a Trex deck.

Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker here. Get yourself the propane sear box attachment with it and you'll never want anything else. Has some great features built in, it really is set and forget. You can thank me later.

I bought a Bradley 4 rack electric smoker from Amazon a few years ago. It works well and you do not have to babysit it. This is my first smoker and I see no reason for me to get anything else. It uses the pressed wood pucks and auto feeds a new puck every 20 minutes. I like that I can unplug the heating element and still get good smoke for chesses and vegies. Bradley also makes a 6 rack if you want a larger one. The 4 rack suites us just fine. I can load it up with brined salmon and have plenty for days. It will hold a couple racks of ribs or a brisket just fine. Check it out.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FJZ150/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Interesting. what about when the weather is bad?

Try looking at the Orion Cooker. No baby sitting. Just come back in the set amount of time. I have one and it is the simplest smoker I have ever used. I get consistent results.

So this thing cooks faster than a typical smoker huh?

Low price for sure.

I'm guess the OP might be inundated with various opinions at moment.

Maybe @Jiffster might have better direction by submitting a poll.

Inundated yes.... but great info!
Seriously appreciate it!

 

[Jiffster]

Seriously (as in items in the cart waiting for credit card) considering the Pit Barrel Cooker. Great price, portable, coal, low/no babysitting, great reviews.....

Update as of 2:45 PM: I just ordered a Pit Barrel Cooker!

 

[TimmyWit]

Seriously (as in items in the cart waiting for credit card) considering the Pit Barrel Cooker. Great price, portable, coal, low/no babysitting, great reviews.....

Update as of 2:45 PM: I just ordered a Pit Barrel Cooker!

Good choice! A friend of mine has one of those and it puts out some awesome meat!

You opened up another can of worms with that Trex deck. A little but be careful with that especially if your deck has a southern exposure. Attached is the picture of our 10 year old Trex deck that was supposed to last forever. It's terribly faded, stained & warped. It's even separating in parts from all the expansion and contraction over the seasons. Apparently sawdust and recycled milk cartons aren't the perfect material for a forever-deck. According to the fine print with Trex, this is considered normal wear and tear so it's not covered under warranty.

I'm in the same boat myself as we're looking to replace this one. Some of the all-plastic products like Zuri look like the warranty might be more inclusive and also longer (25 years I think). Aluminum looks like it might be the real deal maintenance free stuff. But, it's not a very popular residential choice so it's hard to find a contractor to install it and you'll pay up front.

In the end, we may just end up going with cedar since the up-front cost is reasonable and you know what you're getting out of it. We are going to hear out a few more contractors though. They all claim to install the best product on the market that will last forever and be absolutely maintenance free.

 

[sillbeer]

The Bradley has no issues in the colder weather here in Utah. If needed I just bump the temp up a hair but it has never struggled to maintain temp.

 

[NJNewb]

Wow, so much good info. Just commenting on a few below but taking it all into consideration






These Green Mountain's look very nice. So is the WiFi model a must have for not having to babysit a lot?







These look very interesting and the price sure is right! You're using one of these on a wood deck too, correct?

We have brick pavers now but may be going to a Trex deck.





Interesting. what about when the weather is bad?




So this thing cooks faster than a typical smoker huh?

Low price for sure.



Inundated yes.... but great info!
Seriously appreciate it!

I have my Pit Barrel on my patio rather than my deck, but really just because the deck is old wood and starting to warp so it’s not the most stable platform. The cooker sits on a metal base so it’s a couple inches off the ground, I haven’t checked how hot the base gets because I have it sitting on concrete but I doubt it would get hot enough to damage a deck. You’ll be fine on pavers, I’d just check how hot the base gets before putting it on a new deck.

 

[Jiffster]

Good choice! A friend of mine has one of those and it puts out some awesome meat!

You opened up another can of worms with that Trex deck. A little but be careful with that especially if your deck has a southern exposure. Attached is the picture of our 10 year old Trex deck that was supposed to last forever. It's terribly faded, stained & warped. It's even separating in parts from all the expansion and contraction over the seasons. Apparently sawdust and recycled milk cartons aren't the perfect material for a forever-deck. According to the fine print with Trex, this is considered normal wear and tear so it's not covered under warranty.

I'm in the same boat myself as we're looking to replace this one. Some of the all-plastic products like Zuri look like the warranty might be more inclusive and also longer (25 years I think). Aluminum looks like it might be the real deal maintenance free stuff. But, it's not a very popular residential choice so it's hard to find a contractor to install it and you'll pay up front.

In the end, we may just end up going with cedar since the up-front cost is reasonable and you know what you're getting out of it. We are going to hear out a few more contractors though. They all claim to install the best product on the market that will last forever and be absolutely maintenance free.

Appreciate the heads-up. I wonder if there are different levels/types of Trex. I've seen some that have lasted a long time. Ours would be a northern exposure.

 

[bendog15]

Weber Smokey Mountain. I bought the smaller one, I think it’s a 14 inch and never looked back. I don’t know how other users operate it, but mine is very much a set-and-forget model. I’ve smoked ribs, chicken, and tons of brisket on it. Always comes out amazing. Highly recommended.

 

[Jiffster]

Thanks to all the help from you fine folks, I’m smokin’ on the beautiful Memorial Day!

 

[sillbeer]

Right on! I started the Bradley off this morning with a dozen hard boiled eggs. I have 3 pounds of salmon in there now. Beautiful weather here in Utah. Looks like nice weather where you're at too.

 

[Lax coach]

Are you looking for smoking only? Kamado grills are great for grilling and smoking

Indeed. Since getting my Big Joe, I sold both of my cabinet smokers, and demoted the gas grill to hotdog duty. It's just so much easier to hold a consistent temperature and smoke rate.

Added a Flame Boss temperature controller just over a year ago; with a full load of lump and some wood I can maintain a perfect 225F for 24 straight hours when doing a whole shoulder, without doing anything at all, and monitor the progress from anywhere.

 

[rockbottom61]

Awe smoked food, nothing better.

I have 2 smokers; one I built called an ugly drum smoker, it uses hardwood charcoal. Cooks a lot of meat if needed.
The other is Masterbuilt Electric. Never wanted this unit until I started looking at cold smoking. With an A-Maze-N-Smoker http://www.amazenproducts.com/ you can cold smoke because you are using the unit to make heat just to hold smoke and your product. I have smoked cheese and it is great. Have to keep the temperature below 90 degrees F for cheese.

 

[universalfrost]

Good choice! A friend of mine has one of those and it puts out some awesome meat!

You opened up another can of worms with that Trex deck. A little but be careful with that especially if your deck has a southern exposure. Attached is the picture of our 10 year old Trex deck that was supposed to last forever. It's terribly faded, stained & warped. It's even separating in parts from all the expansion and contraction over the seasons. Apparently sawdust and recycled milk cartons aren't the perfect material for a forever-deck. According to the fine print with Trex, this is considered normal wear and tear so it's not covered under warranty.

I'm in the same boat myself as we're looking to replace this one. Some of the all-plastic products like Zuri look like the warranty might be more inclusive and also longer (25 years I think). Aluminum looks like it might be the real deal maintenance free stuff. But, it's not a very popular residential choice so it's hard to find a contractor to install it and you'll pay up front.

In the end, we may just end up going with cedar since the up-front cost is reasonable and you know what you're getting out of it. We are going to hear out a few more contractors though. They all claim to install the best product on the market that will last forever and be absolutely maintenance free.

View attachment 571399

thanks for the heads up on the deck... i was seriously looking at the composite stuff, but now i dont know if its worth it.. my wood deck has held up better than that over the past decade with the only complaint being the need to strip and restain and seal every other year. (hence the reason i wanted to replace it...)