re: Help me overcome my fear of wood smokers

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He asked for easy. Why keep stoking with charcoal when you can have the heated cast iron do virtually the same thing? Having the Dutch oven cracked open with lid on top creates an environment that never catches fire completely because there is not enough air for it to catch. You end up with a nice piece of lump coal or if continue to burn it, it will reduce to ash in the pot. It smokes and maintains and even temp throughout the day.

Yeah it's unconventional but it works. I use this method all the time and kick out awesome food. Y'all go ahead and downvote away though lol

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I’ve built several large standup smokers that utilize the exact same principal, and will put the meat that comes out of them up against anyone’s. Guys on here rave about pellet grills that heat pellets via electric elements, and then want to look down on a propane system that heats actual wood. ??

Yep

I agree and it's a sound method that works.

I'll say this. I've smoked more brisket at the age of 16 in one day than most have on this board. I'd smoke 10 per day at a time when I worked as a smoker/cutter at Luther's Barbeque.

I learned alot in that year and a half and would gladly challenge these fools downvoting.

Yall don't know as much as y'all think. I won't even get into how much chicken, ribs, and shoulders I did.

We used only wood, no gas. It was wood burned on top of hot coals that had to be kept constantly stoked.

OP this is long read but I would buy a pellet grill to fulfill your needs because they are so simple to operate. They are easy as a gas grill. If you want a quality pellet grill on a budget the ZGrill 7002E is awesome. They manufactured Traeger grills for decades before they went out on their own in 2017. Traeger has many grills for all budgets. I’ve known dozens of people that owned Traegers over the years from their budget grills to their more expensive higher end type offerings and I can tell you this you pay extra for that Traeger name. They all seem to like their Traegers. But the Z Grill 7002E is widely considered one of the best budget pellet grills available that does not sacrifice on quality. I helped a friend put his together and it was sturdy and well built. He purchased his direct from Z Grills and it came with a rain cover, thermal insulated blanket cover to keep the temperature variance down on cold windy days, and 75 pounds of pellets for $590. $434 with just the rain cover. It had a stainless steel lid which was nice nor did he have to pay shipping or taxes. Cooking dimensions are 19.2 x 26 inches. Smoking & warming rack dimensions are 6.9 x 27.5 inches. Total rack surface area is 700 square inches and it has a 20 pound hopper. My buddy smoked a 17 pound brisket in it with room to spare. Is it my dad’s Rec Tec 700 or my brother’s Camp Chef with the cool sear box? No. But for someone on a budget I don’t see how there is a finer pellet smoker grill. I’m telling you it was well built, heavy duty, without a few of the bells and whistles that honestly you can do without. I’m going to buy one for the camp. My research showed a few people in 2018 had complaints about temperature control variance with their 700 model. However, they addressed the heat variance issues in the 7002 models and fixed that occasional temperature variance. The way I see it Z Grill has 30 years of experience building pellet grills, are a new name to the public, thus they are buying some business to get their name out there. In my opinion that Z Grill should sell for more money. It also comes with a 3 year warranty. I bet I read 25 different websites on 2020 pellet grill reviews and 90% of the time Z Grill wins the Best Budget pellet grill category because you get a lot of bang for your buck.

With your post and not providing a price range, I would recommend an electric smoker. It does good enough for what you're looking for and is easy. It's basically an oven with wood chips.
Would I buy one? Nope, I prefer hardwood smoking.

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The more I think about this your idea is pretty ingenious. I like the pellet grill because it’s just so easy. But your suggestion is easy too. I’ve gotten to the point though I just can’t eat heavy smoked food. I carry that smoke taste around in my mouth now for days. I’m going to try your method though on a stick burner that has a side box.

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Try using less raw wood if the heavy smoke stuff is too much. You can ‘smoke’ meat with just hardwood lump coals and the smoke taste will be neutralized a bit. Some cuts of meat need heavy smoke for bark though. Beef ribs, brisket, pork butt—All examples of things that will suck without heavy smoke.

When I cook a large steak or rack of lamb, I warm it on an offset where I have a coal box inside the firebox to create a dense critical mass, use a single small chunk of wood on top. When it is to searing temp, I will move the coal box over to my kettle and sear it.

I had a wood smoker a long time and once I bought my Pit Boss Pellet Grill it will be REALLY hard for me to go back to a regular wood smoker.

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I've never owned a smoker, but have often thought about buying one and using it.

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Do it. Those who cook on the smoker get joy from it and most of us enjoy the process of preparing the meat, preparing the fire, and watching it develop into the finished product. We are always tweaking something - the rub, the marinade, the brine, the charcoal/pellets, the cooking temperature, the wrap, the meat temperature, etc... It's fun.

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What is not appealing is the thought of spending my entire day checking the fire every 30 minutes to see if I need to add wood, or take other steps to control the temp.

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Sounds like a pellet grill is tailor made for you. Once the meat goes on, your free to move about the country. You can buy one for less than $500.

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Some cuts of meat need heavy smoke for bark though. Beef ribs, brisket, pork butt—All examples of things that will suck without heavy smoke.

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100% agree. And I agree with the other posters that commented on my issue with overly smoked tasting meat. What I’ve learned to do is try and get a good bark on those cuts of meat then dial back the smoke by wrapping in butchers paper. It’s tricky because you bust your butt to get that wonderful bark but to balance it out where it’s not overly smokey and just right. That’s the fun of smoking meat I suppose is experimenting with techniques and advice from others trying to produce a better finished product than your last cook.

I don’t know right off hand, and im not home to check it. It’s about 2 years old, so it may be slightly different now.

I believe it’s a 30” cabinet. Has a stainless door with window. It has digital controls on top and you can plug a temp probe into it.

The chip tray is at the bottom center and can be removed and refillled without opening the door.

OP
Get a Weber Smokey Mountain and a temperature control unit/blower.