OT: smoker

[AngryScientist]

Hello forum.

My old smoker is dying a fast death of rust. it was a cheap one, and i have enjoyed it tremendously, but it's time to move on, and my wife has been bugging me about what i might want for father's day, and a new smoker seems like a great dad present.

what are the forum favorites for home smoker models?

i'm interested in a real charcoal smoker, not some Di2 hydraulic fru-fru city-boy unit

[p nut]

Weber Kettle + Slow n sear.

Just smoked some ribs yesterday. Today, I’m grilling some chicken. Can’t beat the set up for cost and versatility.

[Ozz]

I've got an old Brinkmann Cimarron smoker:

• 1/4 inch Thick Steel
• weighs about 250 lbs.
• 16” x 16” Fire Box
• 16” x 30” Cooking Chamber

Came with a 75 year warranty....could be refinished as it is sitting outside uncovered....indestructible. Not made anymore....seem to be sought after for refinishing.

Very similar to this: https://www.yodersmokers.com/backyard/the-cheyenne

Dampers on firebox and chimney allow pretty good head control....I use some heat shields on firebox end to help even out the heat in the smoking chamber.

Lots of ribs and salmon have gone thru it over the past 20+ years.

If you want to go down a rabbit hole....start looking at building your own smoker, pizza oven, Argentine grill.....been drawing up my plans for past couple years.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by Ozz

I've got an old Brinkmann Cimarron smoker:

• 1/4 inch Thick Steel
• weighs about 150 lbs.
• 16” x 16” Fire Box
• 16” x 30” Cooking Chamber

Came with a 75 year warranty....could be refinished as it is sitting outside uncovered....indestructible. Not made anymore....seem to be sought after for refinishing.

Dampers on firebox and chimney allow pretty good head control....I use some heat shields on firebox end to help even out the heat in the smoking chamber.

Lots of ribs and salmon have gone thru it over the past 20+ years.

If you want to go down a rabbit hole....start looking at building your own smoker, pizza oven, Argentine grill.....been drawing up my plans for past couple years.

that is a bomber idea really. we use our backyard pizza grill regularly too.

[Bruce K]

Traeger pellet smoker is what my wife gave me. So far I have had great success with it as s novice.

A buddy just got a RecTec and loves it. American made.

I might have gone that route if I had known about them.

BK

[Matt92037]

I went from a Weber Smokey Mountain to a pellet smoker (Yoder). Zero regrets and has made things so much easier.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by Bruce K

Traeger pellet smoker is what my wife gave me. So far I have had great success with it as s novice.

A buddy just got a RecTec and loves it. American made.

I might have gone that route if I had known about them.

BK

i've seen these pellet burners - where does one get pellets? are they easy to come by?

[zmudshark]

Originally Posted by p nut

Weber Kettle + Slow n sear.

Just smoked some ribs yesterday. Today, I’m grilling some chicken. Can’t beat the set up for cost and versatility.

Add the KettlePizza, and you have it all at a budget price.

[fmradio516]

i recently learned about the weber kettle + slow n sear combo. It seems like a great thing since you an do regular grilling on it too.. Not sure how it'd be able to handle a full size packer brisket though..

Not sure about the pellet smokers. Ive heard(i think here) that if its too humid or something along the lines of that, it wont work. Someone will chime in with the real facts.

good luck! Im going to be doing the same when I move in august. I dont think my old rust rinky dink offset smoker would survive the truck drive over one state..

[gomango]

Originally Posted by zmudshark

Add the KettlePizza, and you have it all at a budget price.

Z, you must have posted this somewhere.

I usually listen to you and take your recommendations.

I have the same set up at our cabin and it works like a champ.

[pooneej]

I was always curious about these: https://biggreenegg.com/
Price though detracted me a bit lol.

[Tickdoc]

Hasty bake. Nothing else like it.

Traeger and pellets are great if you want to smoke only....but if you want to grill and smoke?

[morrisericd]

I just went through this. We have a nice gas grill and a wood fired pizza oven. I ended up with the big green egg. I've only had it two weeks, but it's really excellent. Lots of information out there, but my advice is to not worry about it being not as set it and forget it as the Traeger's. Once you get it up to temp, it will hold 250 (or whatever) for a long time. No fuss. Get a wireless bluetooth thermometer and go have a beer. My 15 year old is in love with it. We've smoked ribs and chicken, cooked steaks. Cedar plank salmon tomorrow. It's very, very versatile.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by zmudshark

Add the KettlePizza, and you have it all at a budget price.

Bingo. Although I haven’t bought the pizza attachment yet. We just grill the pizza right on the grill for now. Lump charcoal, get it scorching hot. Roll out dough. Grill one side for one minute, add toppings, olive oil, mozz cheese, back on for another couple min. Done.

Originally Posted by fmradio516

i recently learned about the weber kettle + slow n sear combo. It seems like a great thing since you an do regular grilling on it too.. Not sure how it'd be able to handle a full size packer brisket though..

Not sure about the pellet smokers. Ive heard(i think here) that if its too humid or something along the lines of that, it wont work. Someone will chime in with the real facts.

good luck! Im going to be doing the same when I move in august. I dont think my old rust rinky dink offset smoker would survive the truck drive over one state..

I’ve done a full packer brisket but had to trim a bit off the flat. Not much. Eventually, I’ll get a 26” kettle and XL Slow n sear. Although I love the table on the Performer which the 26 doesn’t come with.

[CNY rider]

Originally Posted by morrisericd

I just went through this. We have a nice gas grill and a wood fired pizza oven. I ended up with the big green egg. I've only had it two weeks, but it's really excellent. Lots of information out there, but my advice is to not worry about it being not as set it and forget it as the Traeger's. Once you get it up to temp, it will hold 250 (or whatever) for a long time. No fuss. Get a wireless bluetooth thermometer and go have a beer. My 15 year old is in love with it. We've smoked ribs and chicken, cooked steaks. Cedar plank salmon tomorrow. It's very, very versatile.

I have the Komodo Joe.
Also have the Weber bullet smoker.
The Weber is a quality product, no doubt.
But the ceramic cooker is incredible.
There's a bit of a learning curve but I'm at the point now where I can fire it in the evening, put a huge slab o'pig on at about 930 pm, go to bed, wake up in the morning, do a little adjusting and have a beautiful shoulder ready to eat by 3pm, with the temp in the cooker running 225F-250F the entire time.