re: What kind of smoker to buy?

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For the $$ it's hard to beat a Weber smokey mountain

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You may be right on value, however I love my Yoder and would not trade it for anything.
Ease of an electric and actual wood smoke is hard to beat, and the thing is built like a damn tank.

You know...it just really depends on what you are looking for. There is a lot of good advice on this thread, and it just depends on your personal preference.

I've done the stick burners through the years. Worked great. My best tasting, no doubt, have been from stick burners. But it does require some work tending it.

The electric smokers are very simple. Mixed with an amaze-n pellet tray, you can cut it on and forget about it for hours. But the flavor isn't even remotely close to what you'll get out of stick. Nor is the bark. Nor is the experience, for me. I've got one I'll only use for chicken wings and the like.

Propane is kind of where I've settled. I've got a large smoke box 5x5 by 8' tall that can do several hogs at a time or a whole shitload of pork, etc. it's got a burner in the bottom with a thick plate over it that can get a log or two of oak or pecan at a time and put out some pretty good meat with not quite as much work as a stick burner. But that one is only fired up for special occasions or when I'm cooking for a group. My normal smoker is a propane masterbuilt sportsman elite or something like that. The big one with the window on the door. Anyway, I can add wood as needed through access door at the bottom without having to open the box. It smokes plenty enough and gives me a good smoke ring on my meat. It is my most "comfortable" smoker, and puts out plenty good meat. But that's just what works for me now. 15 years ago, I would have hated it. I loved throwing logs on a fire and tending a pit.

Admittedly, I have zero experience with a pellet smoker.

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Admittedly, I have zero experience with a pellet smoker.

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They are on par with ceramics like BGE and such.

Blind taste tests I have seen online and taken part in seem to always rank these two types out about the same.

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22" Weber Smokey Mountain smoker

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I will probably pick up one of these again just for brisket, electric just doesn't do the job here at all to my liking. I built a heatermeter for my SI #3 which were originally designed by the guys over at TVWBB for the Smokey Mountain.

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You don't have to spend that much on an offset. You can find offsets for pretty dang cheap that will do the job just fine.

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for a good one you do... there is only 1 or 2 sub-$1000 offsets i would consider and they still need some modding to get 'em working right

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for a good one you do... there is only 1 or 2 sub-$1000 offsets i would consider and they still need some modding to get 'em working right

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That's nice for you, but that doesn't mean there isn't a ton of people using sub $1000 offsets pretty damn effectively, with and without mods.

whatever you say... recommending a cheap offset to someone is the quickest way to turn them off to bbq

a quality offset should be made of thick steel and sealed well.... neither of which will be found on a $350 home depot offset

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So is telling someone not to get electric/propane/pellet, lots of people very happy with their time vs taste curve going with something much easier.

Then there is lots of high dollar offsets sitting around doing nothing too because the person wasn't really that interested in it once they actually started doing it.

I prefer to recommend something cheap to start out with, if you enjoy the shite out of it, yeah make a large investment in a good one.

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which is why i recommended a WSM. electric/propane is button pushing, not smoking. i didnt say anything about pellets

I started out on one of those small, vertical propane models, I have since move on to an off-set stick burner. The stick burner is definitely more work, but the quality of the results is not even close. I personally enjoy the process of managing my temps and getting to know your pit. Its really about how serious you want to be about it.

If you want the best go to LINK /