Type of SMokers to buy

[SteelersPride]

I have a green Egg now........here are my complaints

Im not an experienced smoker
It takes a TON of charcoal to fill the thing up, its expensive
I struggle to maintain temperature
I struggle to get it hot enough
I also rarely smoke enough at one time to fill the whole darn thing.........so lots of waste with the charcoal

Would an electric be better? Seems like you can get some smaller ones.....and then they are almost set it and forget it because the electric maintains your temp right? Any thoughts......i know you guys use frequently

 

[Mr. Tacoma]

I've had the best luck with gas myself.

Charcoal smokers are too hard to maintain a steady temperature for hours and hours. I used an electric once but I didn't care for it. It had really wild temperature swings.

Gas is the way to go IMHO.

 

[Limidi]

I have one as well, it just sits in the garage. I use my Louisiana Grill darn near daily. Love it, couldn't imagine smoking or bbq'n with out it. Very easy to use, like so easy my wife can use it!

 

[fknhippie]

I have an Oklahoma Joe, and it does take a lot of work to maintain temp and it holds 6 racks of ribs...and there's only two of us.

It would be nice to get something that I can turn on and walk away for a few hours, but on the other hand, part of BBQing is working the smoker.

 

[SteelersPride]

i dont mind "working" the smoker, but sitting there for hours on end, and spending 50 bucks on charcoal each time is ludicrous...............

 

[fknhippie]

i dont mind "working" the smoker, but sitting there for hours on end, and spending 50 bucks on charcoal each time is ludicrous...............

I usually do yard work while manning the smoker..two birds with one stone.

I only use charcoal in the beginning to start the fire, then I use wood to stoke the fire after that. Don't know if that's what I'm supposed to do, but it works.

 

[SteelersPride]

yeah, the oklahoma joe is just to big for me

 

[bamabear82]

i dont mind "working" the smoker, but sitting there for hours on end, and spending 50 bucks on charcoal each time is ludicrous...............

I have a Weber Smoky Mtn. and really like it. I can smoke a butt for 13+ hours on less than $10 in charcoal (10 lbs or so). Once it settles in at 250 it's there til you decide to change it. I had a Brinkman Smoke & Grill before and it was ALOT harder to keep the temp right. The first time I did an overnight smoke on the Weber was right after Christmas and it got down to 30 or so degrees and that damn thing stayed at 250 from about 2 am til 3 pm the next afternoon when I took it off. I usually add a little more charcoal and water at about the 10 hour mark (depending on wind en sech). I've had some good food off electric and propane too, I just like the sport of it and playing with fire is always fun.

 

[SteelersPride]

hmmm hmmm hmmm

i dont wanna spend a ton

 

[bamabear82]

hmmm hmmm hmmm

i dont wanna spend a ton

I got my Weber at Lowes for like $300 but I know they have electric and propane ones for less than that though. Walmart usually has this 2 for deal on charcoal, I can do a long smoke and still have enough left to cook on the grill a couple times out of it...

Kingsford Charcoal Briquets, 2 Pack of 13.90-Pound Bags: BBQ Essentials : Walmart.com

 

[The Gringo]

I have a green Egg now........here are my complaints

Im not an experienced smoker
It takes a TON of charcoal to fill the thing up, its expensive
I struggle to maintain temperature
I struggle to get it hot enough
I also rarely smoke enough at one time to fill the whole darn thing.........so lots of waste with the charcoal

Would an electric be better? Seems like you can get some smaller ones.....and then they are almost set it and forget it because the electric maintains your temp right? Any thoughts......i know you guys use frequently

I have a Masterbuilt and have had good luck. Get the new big one.

 

[The Gringo]

The Cajun smokers are good. I have a buddy who has the double door one and he likes it. I like it because you can get a big brisket in it.

 

[HizzleRocker]

There are 2 good options:

1) A Hasty Bake. Lookem up. Terrific.

2) A Weber. But make sure you get the one with a) a smoker box in it, and b) a sear station burner.


You'll have to spend for both of these, but they are worth their weight in gold. I have the Weber as listed in #2. I can put wood chips in the smoker box; turn only the smoker burner on on the right side of the grill; put the meat on the far left side of the grill and smoke it for a while; then turn the sear station burner on and char the meat. Works great.

 

[SteelersPride]

good suggestions guys thanks

 

[outofyourmind]

You want to set and forget.
You don't want to spend money on the fuel it needs to do it right.
You don't want to spend much money on a new smoker.


My recommendation is to find a good BBQ place and get a to go order.

 

[SteelersPride]

You want to set and forget.
You don't want to spend money on the fuel it needs to do it right.
You don't want to spend much money on a new smoker.


My recommendation is to find a good BBQ place and get a to go order.

Did you read or just skim before making snark remarks? Just curious?

Yeah i dont wanna spend a ton on the fuel since i dump 40lbs of charcoal into smoke a few things, i dont smoke in bulk it goes to waste....sorry for that.....so a smaller smoker that requires less fuel would be much more ideal and less wasteful.......pardon me

Set it and forget it would be nice, i already said i dont mind working the smoker, did you read??? Problem is i have to stay there constantly because the temperature will not regulate......so yeah the whole day is gone.....

Also if im not buying a large smoker, then yeah i dont wanna spend a ton of cash.......think theres some valid points there.........but i guess not......

 

[mrwallace2ku]

2cents...

Smokey MT Webber Smoker will "burn" all you and yours can handle for 15-20 years.

All for about $250 for the best one...NONE better in my OP...owned-n-operated one for 10+ years now...NO complaints from ANY guests either.

GL2U in your search for "smoked glory".

 

[SteelersPride]

thanks sir

 

[WizardHawk]

I've had a few charcoal smokers (hate gas). I too had mixed results, especially since the weather up here is all over the place and it can have quite an impact on temps.

Recently picked up this little guy and just can't say enough good things about it. Would never return to a smokey mt/brinkman style again and at under $300 it wasn't a big risk to try it.

Pit Barrel Cooker

True set it and forget it with charcoal and hanging your meat instead of putting it on racks does some wonderful stuff to the end product. It's not that big for a barrel smoker, but I can easily put 6 full racks of ribs on it at once. I'll be throwing 3 racks on it this weekend.

You just set it up exactly as directed, hang your meat, and come back to check the meat temp (or do your favorite bend/bone movement test for ribs) until it's done. No fuss over cooking temp.

 

[bamabear82]

I've had a few charcoal smokers (hate gas). I too had mixed results, especially since the weather up here is all over the place and it can have quite an impact on temps.

Recently picked up this little guy and just can't say enough good things about it. Would never return to a smokey mt/brinkman style again and at under $300 it wasn't a big risk to try it.

Pit Barrel Cooker

True set it and forget it with charcoal and hanging your meat instead of putting it on racks does some wonderful stuff to the end product. It's not that big for a barrel smoker, but I can easily put 6 full racks of ribs on it at once. I'll be throwing 3 racks on it this weekend.

You just set it up exactly as directed, hang your meat, and come back to check the meat temp (or do your favorite bend/bone movement test for ribs) until it's done. No fuss over cooking temp.

I would never return to using a Brinkman myself either, they're a pretty big pain in the ass. They look similar, but the Weber is a whole other animal compared to the Brinkman. Although, the weather here is pretty decent for smoking year round so that probably helps.