I've decided my 24" smoke vault needs a friend and what better friend than a charcoal smoker? I've pretty much narrowed it down to the Weber Smokey Mountain (18" or 22") or the Mastertouch and am looking for some advise from anyone who has (or has had) both.
A little background on my needs/wants:
- I will pretty much exclusively be using it for smoking. I already have a Weber Spirit gas grill that I love and still intend to use it for grilling burgers, steaks, quick sears on things, etc. If I were to get the Mastertouch, I'm sure I would grill on it occasionally, but that's not a huge factor for me.
- I mostly like to smoke baby back ribs, chicken, pork tenderloin, pork butt and tri tip with the occasional brisket packer or turkey (Thanksgiving) mixed in there when we have the company to eat it. I'm usually not smoking for a lot of people at once, so I don't need a ton of capacity, just enough room for the larger hunks of meat like a packer brisket or 2-3 racks of baby backs.
- My main attraction to the Mastertouch is the price. If people who have one are happy with its ability to be used as smoker, it very well might be the one for me.
- I know the smokey mountain is the obvious answer for smoking, but another key factor for me is the budget. For $200 in savings from the 22" smokey mountain, I'd love to be able to do the same things with the Mastertouch.
My main questions:
Using the charcoal baskets off to one side in the mastertouch for indirect smoking, is there enough room on the grate for 2 racks of baby back ribs (with or without a rib rack) or a packer brisket?
Similar to the first question, but in regards to the 18" smokey mountain, is there enough room to lay 2 baby back ribs down on each grate (without a rack)? How about a brisket?
I will be new to using charcoal and understand that there will be a bit of a learning curve for dialing in temps, but will there be any significant difference between the 2 types of smokers?
Thanks for any advice in advance!
A little background on my needs/wants:
- I will pretty much exclusively be using it for smoking. I already have a Weber Spirit gas grill that I love and still intend to use it for grilling burgers, steaks, quick sears on things, etc. If I were to get the Mastertouch, I'm sure I would grill on it occasionally, but that's not a huge factor for me.
- I mostly like to smoke baby back ribs, chicken, pork tenderloin, pork butt and tri tip with the occasional brisket packer or turkey (Thanksgiving) mixed in there when we have the company to eat it. I'm usually not smoking for a lot of people at once, so I don't need a ton of capacity, just enough room for the larger hunks of meat like a packer brisket or 2-3 racks of baby backs.
- My main attraction to the Mastertouch is the price. If people who have one are happy with its ability to be used as smoker, it very well might be the one for me.
- I know the smokey mountain is the obvious answer for smoking, but another key factor for me is the budget. For $200 in savings from the 22" smokey mountain, I'd love to be able to do the same things with the Mastertouch.
My main questions:
Using the charcoal baskets off to one side in the mastertouch for indirect smoking, is there enough room on the grate for 2 racks of baby back ribs (with or without a rib rack) or a packer brisket?
Similar to the first question, but in regards to the 18" smokey mountain, is there enough room to lay 2 baby back ribs down on each grate (without a rack)? How about a brisket?
I will be new to using charcoal and understand that there will be a bit of a learning curve for dialing in temps, but will there be any significant difference between the 2 types of smokers?
Thanks for any advice in advance!