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Started By
Message
Help Choosing a Smoker
Posted on 4/12/21 at 7:10 am
Posted on 4/12/21 at 7:10 am
Looking for some recommendations for my first smoker. Being a beginner, ease of use is obviously important, but I also don't want to limit myself by my choice. Is the Smokey Mountain a good pick? Any others you guys would recommend?
11
Posted on 4/12/21 at 7:21 am to h0bnail
If there’s little to no experience smoking or managing the fire/coals I’d be tempted to tell you to start off with one of the Masterbuilt or the new Char-griller gravity fed charcoal smokers/grills. Budget, experience, it all plays into recommendations.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 7:25 am to h0bnail
I started off with a $25 brinkman POS. I still have it somewhere, all the paint is burned off from some misguided attempts to use it early on. It still works pretty well.
Smoking is like a lot of other skills. You can have some dope equipment but you have to be good, too.
Smoking is like a lot of other skills. You can have some dope equipment but you have to be good, too.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 7:28 am to h0bnail
I have only used a few smokers over the years but the Weber Smokey Mountain is about as foolproof as a smoker can be. I bought mine in 2008 and have cooked on it hundreds of times. After 13 years, it sill looks and feels new. Once you get fuel burning, it is almost impossible to get the smoker too hot or too cool. It stays right in the 250-275F range for long periods of time. Add a remote temp probe and you are set. The food it produces is second to none (see Harry Soo). It isn’t perfect, like any product, but if you are a first-timer looking for consistently good results from a well-built, well supported, modestly priced smoker, the WSM is hard to beat.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 7:31 am to Grillades
See if you can find a masterbuilt gravity series on clearance on brickseek.com. I got a 560 for $150 a few weeks ago. It would be a killer deal for a first smoker if you can find something similar. Home Depot has been putting them on clearance lately too.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 7:39 am to h0bnail
quote:
first smoker
Oklahoma Joe Bronco. Really easy to use. Versatile.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 7:53 am to h0bnail
I've got 2, one is a bullet type upright with the coal/wood chip pan on the bottom, a pan for liquid to keep the moisture up an then 2 racks, one on top of the other. It works fine but can be a bit of a PITA if using both racks since you actually have to remove the top rack to access the one below it. My least favorite and I only use it for smoking single product like a turkey, big pork butt or beef brisket.
I built a smoker that I can either hot smoke or cold smoke depending on what I'm cooking and it is large enough to hold lots of product.
If I were to buy one, it would be a fairly large heavy duty offset smoker, not one of those thin metal ones that rust out and have issues in a couple years. That is my next outdoor cooking purchase.
I built a smoker that I can either hot smoke or cold smoke depending on what I'm cooking and it is large enough to hold lots of product.
If I were to buy one, it would be a fairly large heavy duty offset smoker, not one of those thin metal ones that rust out and have issues in a couple years. That is my next outdoor cooking purchase.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 7:54 am to Saskwatch
quote:
Oklahoma Joe Bronco. Really easy to use. Versatile.
Any issue with the lack of access to the charcoal during cook?
Posted on 4/12/21 at 7:58 am to h0bnail
Are you just looking to smoke meat (regardless of main fuel type) or looking to smoke meat over a wood fueled fire? If the latter, there is no substitute for a well designed and built offset smoker. Expensive up front cost, but the food is worth it and it will continue to cook food for a few generations after your gone.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 8:00 am to h0bnail
quote:
Is the Smokey Mountain a good pick?
Yes.
They also have thousands of videos on YouTube. The WSM has been around for 40 years.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 8:01 am to gonecoastal
quote:
Are you just looking to smoke meat (regardless of main fuel type) or looking to smoke meat over a wood fueled fire?
Would prefer charcoal/wood fueled over electric/gas.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 8:48 am to h0bnail
Really can't go wrong with a WSM or bullet type smoker. Use that for a couple of years, then you'll get the itch for an offset.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 8:57 am to Grillades
quote:
Weber Smokey Mountain is about as foolproof as a smoker can be.
I love my WSM, but there is a bit of a learning curve to it. Amount of unlit coals, amount of lit coals, when to close off the vents, how weather effects it, and on and on. Once you get the fee for it though, it is great and produces great results. I can keep my cooking grate temp steady at around 250 for 6-7 hours without fooling with much.
This post was edited on 4/12/21 at 8:58 am
Posted on 4/12/21 at 8:58 am to h0bnail
quote:
Any issue with the lack of access to the charcoal during cook?
Full basket will last long enough to cook anything. Highly recommend for ease of use and versatility for a beginner.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 9:01 am to h0bnail
Big Green Egg
I also have a gas smoker and an electric smoker but I much prefer my Egg.
I also have a gas smoker and an electric smoker but I much prefer my Egg.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 9:03 am to h0bnail
quote:
Any issue with the lack of access to the charcoal during cook?
Nope. If I know I'm doing a really long cook then I take the extra few minutes to stack the briquettes neatly to pack in as many as I can.
I want to get a bag of the B&B char logs and try those as they burn cleaner and longer than the briquettes.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 9:44 am to h0bnail
One thing to add if you're looking at the Smoky Mountain is the two smaller versions may not hold a full brisket and some racks of ribs. I have the largest one, and I've smoked a couple of racks of ribs that barely fit, and one huge brisket I bought barely fit on it. I'm not big on separating the flat and the point, nor in trimming ribs by cutting the rack in half.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 10:25 am to The Spleen
quote:
One thing to add if you're looking at the Smoky Mountain is the two smaller versions may not hold a full brisket and some racks of ribs.
I'm a pulled pork fiend. So, main focus will be butts. I will definitely consider though.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 11:00 am to h0bnail
It makes great butts, though most smokers do. Butts are pretty hard to mess up.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 12:35 pm to The Spleen
I started off with a 22.5 WSM. I highly recommend the WSM as a great starter smoker. Ease of USE for beginners is its main selling point.
I started off with my 22.5 WSM and a DiGI Q controller and I have never looked back.
I started off with my 22.5 WSM and a DiGI Q controller and I have never looked back.
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