Recommend a Smoker!

[masraum]

If you're going to be stuck with a smoker, get one that's young and hot and has daddy issues.

[berettafan]

Yoder 480 pellet. Built like a brick ****house and puts out fantastic food. Can even run upwards of 400 or so for hot cooks. Heavy, heavy steel construction.


edit- I own/have owned other smokers including egg, weber smokey mountain and a table top Green Mountain pellet.


edit II- cooking pellets are not the same as heating pellets so no synergies to be had there.

[VINMAN]

I got my Old Country Brazo's offset from Bucee's for about $400 cheaper than anywhere else. Extremely happy with it.

[cabmandone]

Weber Smokey Mountain. I have an 18" and a 22" just because I like to have the right size for the job. And together I have around $200 in them because I bought them on marketplace.

[berettafan]

The WSM definitely has that charcoal flavor you really don't get from other cookers including the eggs. For the money a very, very good setup.

[Shuie]

This will change your BBQ life. I would buy one of these again 10x over vs. any ceramic, pellet or conventional smoker.

https://www.smokintex.com/

[stealthn]

What’s your budget and what do you want to cook?

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by masraum

If you're going to be stuck with a smoker, get one that's young and hot and has daddy issues.

LOL .... depends upon one's budget ....

Twin $moker$

[Shaun @ Tru6]

you want to ask this guy. And watch a lot of his videos.

[KFC911]

The meat doesn't care ...

The Smoker You Drink ... The Player You Get

If it will go 225 for 14 hrs ...

The rest is moot

I keed .... but ain't no smokers in the BBQ joints I visit .... and a WSM always worked for me.

The meat ... nor I ... we don't care ....mmmm

NO GAS

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by stealthn

What’s your budget and what do you want to cook?

Under $2k, and everything?

Originally Posted by KC911

LOL .... depends upon one's budget ....

Twin $moker$

Definitely can’t afford that!

[greglepore]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

you want to ask this guy. And watch a lot of his videos.

Yeah, that's a good channel.
If I ever burn out my cheap dynaglo I'll get a "real" smoker...but for now, less is more.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I'm by no means an expert but wanted an upgrade from our old, too small Traeger that we got "free" in 2018 with our Hot Tub.

I specifically wanted something that could be an all in one to save deck space. Pellet grill type.

So far so good. It takes a while to settle into the temp, but once there, is rock solid. Did a ham for Xmas dinner. Has two temp probes that work well with the app.

RecTeq Backyard Beast. Right at $1,000.

https://www.recteq.com/products/backyard-beast-1000?variant=43936804241565&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=RT_Google_SmartShopping_Grills_Middle _High&utm_term=&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4L67BhDUARIsADWrl7E5AS5UDs2tt_3fn2Na mT6Qg87SA0kyR-ihZjmbIdYqBzfCSNiudmoaAkahEALw_wcB

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by Shuie

This will change your BBQ life. I would buy one of these again 10x over vs. any ceramic, pellet or conventional smoker.

https://www.smokintex.com/

That's pretty cool. When I was in Atlanta I went to fellow Pelican KevinTodd's restaurant "The Pig And The Pearl". Great food and he showed us his smoker and if I remember it seemed similar although on a larger, commercial basis.

I think smoking is more technique and seasoning. The less you stress and fuss, the better.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by KC911

The meat doesn't care ...

The Smoker You Drink ... The Player You Get

If it will go 225 for 14 hrs ...

The rest is moot

That has worked out for me. I have a cheap electric smoker because I like to EAT smoked food, not spend hours doing the smoking. My son-on-law ruined a turkey in his Traeger a couple of years ago. Everything I've ever cooked in my electric has come out perfect.

[berettafan]

I would agree a cabinet electric smoker would be the easiest to get consistency.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Shuie

This will change your BBQ life. I would buy one of these again 10x over vs. any ceramic, pellet or conventional smoker.

https://www.smokintex.com/

This one is new to me and definitely interesting. My wife will probably be the primary user and I think she’s underestimating the work associated with a charcoal or wood smoker.

[Skillet83]

For grilling, nothing better than a Weber. For smoking, stay away from the box store units. Pit Boss, Traeger, etc... A very nice mid grade smoker would be RecTeq, great variety of sizes and options. Used the 590 for 5 years. Upgrading from mid-range, look at Yoder & Pitt & Spitts. I use the Pitt & Spitts Maverick 850 for smoking only. It is a beast, over built. Can do a brisket and pork shoulder at the same time.

One last thought, pellets make a lot of difference. Some can ruin your cook. I have been using BBQ Delight Pellets for years now. No fillers, the real deal. Can purchase on Amazon. Bad pellets can ruin your efforts.

When smoking, it is all about prep and temps. Low and slow, cannot rush it. I smoke pork shoulders, briskets, turkeys, etc... Would love a discussion how people cook, temps and prep.

[Rob Channell]

I bought a Smokin-It 3D ( https://www.smokin-it.com/Smoker-p/smkmdl3d-gen2.htm ) a few years ago after joining some church buddies to help with a large smoke. At the time I knew absolutely NOTHING about smoking meat. They used the big offset box smokers for a large crowd. I enjoyed helping and learning but did not want the complexity or the time involvement of a large smoker. If I had gotten one I probably would not have used it that much.

My criteria was I wanted it to be as foolproof and Ron Popeil worthy as possible ("Set it and forget it."). I also wanted to be able to use whatever smoking wood I could get and not be forced to use proprietary pellets. I looked at Cook$hack and Smokin Tex but settled on the Smokin-It when they popped up with a sale (From my link above looks like they have free shipping again until the end of December).

I picked the 3D because it was:
- a digital controller that controls temps within a couple degrees,
- programmable with multiple stages of cooking at varying temps based on either time or food temps (ie, Cook my Boston Butt at 225 until internal temp is 195, then drop temp to 150 to hold)
- The smallest model with 15x22 shelf instead of 15x15 shelf. I don't have to hang ribs, can lay them flat 2 per shelf.
- Uses chunks of smoking wood the size of alphabet blocks instead of pellets. I like the smokilicous woods and use mostly cherry and hickory so far.

Have gotten a lot of use out of it over the last few years. I use it at least once a month. started with Boston Butts, chicken, and ribs but branched out into Briskets and this year smoked my first Turkey. If you don't want the commitment of staying up all night to watch a smoke, I really like the electric smokers as an option. I know it is not the purist way, but I would rather spend my free time doing other things and have the food cooking itself in the background.

Smokin-it website also has a forum with some pretty good advice for beginners. Stick with some of the more popular recipes and you won't go wrong.

Just my opinion....worth what you paid for it and not a penny more. Good luck and let us know what you try.

[cstreit]

Do you want to fuss over it all day drinking beer? …or set and forget?

Is your budget $500 or $2500?