Educate me on stick burner smokers

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

I had a short end platter of spare ribs at the Summit Hickory Pit BBQ in Lee’s Summit, Missouri at the end September.

When I ordered I really had no idea what a short end platter was but they were amazing.

The texture and tenderness was incredible. They weren’t fall off the bone or mushy, but perfect bite and very different than the ribs my 18” WSM puts out.

My Dad said these are smoked with a stick burner smoker.

So educate me on stick burner smokers. I want to know more please.

 

[JJS]

They are a hell of a lot more work than a WSM, you will be feeding it all the time so there is no get it going and go take a nap, on the good end they can turn out a product that in my opinion is far superior and can be worth the extra work.

what is it you would like to know?

 

[boykjo]

I run a stick burner and I have to say some of the best BBQ I tasted came from a charcoal burner. IMO You can put out the same BBQ or even better. You may need to control your heat better with the smaller cook chamber. My stick burner needs little fuel and can maintain temp at 250 with a few small splits of wood. I get about an 1hr to 1.5 hr of maintained heat per split. The key to great BBQ is to have red hot kindling and thin thin blue smoke.

Boykjo

 

[Ringer]

I can only repeat what has been said here. They require a good babysitter and need to be fed hourly but if you are willing to learn proper fire management and invest the time and money, the end product is second to none. It looks better, it tastes better and it is just better in my opinion. I've used all kinds of smokers and my rf custom stick burner puts out the best product.

If you go that route build/buy one that has a good sized firebox and a decent sized exhaust stack. There are the vertical, standard offset, and reverse flow options out there. I chose reverse flow. There are probably many others, I'm just listing the things I have experience with.

To me, the stick burner is worth it but there is alot for one to consider.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

They are a hell of a lot more work than a WSM, you will be feeding it all the time so there is no get it going and go take a nap, on the good end they can turn out a product that in my opinion is far superior and can be worth the extra work.

what is it you would like to know?

what brands are good stick burner smokers? Do you have links to pre-built ones?

I run a stick burner and I have to say some of the best BBQ I tasted came from a charcoal burner. IMO You can put out the same BBQ or even better. You may need to control your heat better with the smaller cook chamber. My stick burner needs little fuel and can maintain temp at 250 with a few small splits of wood. I get about an 1hr to 1.5 hr of maintained heat per split. The key to great BBQ is to have red hot kindling and thin thin blue smoke.

Boykjo

I do pretty good at controlling my heat in my wsm. Just looking at other methods.

I can only repeat what has been said here. They require a good babysitter and need to be fed hourly but if you are willing to learn proper fire management and invest the time and money, the end product is second to none. It looks better, it tastes better and it is just better in my opinion. I've used all kinds of smokers and my rf custom stick burner puts out the best product.

If you go that route build/buy one that has a good sized firebox and a decent sized exhaust stack. There are the vertical, standard offset, and reverse flow options out there. I chose reverse flow. There are probably many others, I'm just listing the things I have experience with.

To me, the stick burner is worth it but there is alot for one to consider.

Thanks. Great info. Can you post a pic of yours and some of the meat it has produced?

 

[Ringer]

Thanks. Great info. Can you post a pic of yours and some of the meat it has produced?

Sure thing

 

[thirdeye]

What area do you live in? Mid grade and high end backyard stick burners are heavy and shipping can get expensive. When looking at cost verses value it's a good idea to look for options within 500 miles of home, then delivery might be reasonable or you could take a trailer and pick it up yourself. Be warned, the pricing has increased lately due to the prices of steel and some builders have a waiting list.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

What area do you live in? Mid grade and high end backyard stick burners are heavy and shipping can get expensive. When looking at cost verses value it's a good idea to look for options within 500 miles of home, then delivery might be reasonable or you could take a trailer and pick it up yourself. Be warned, the pricing has increased lately due to the prices of steel and some builders have a waiting list.

I’m in the Denver area. I definitely don’t need a giant one to feed a neighborhood. It’s usually just me and occasionally a few neighbors or friends.

 

[thirdeye]

I’m in the Denver area. I definitely don’t need a giant one to feed a neighborhood. It’s usually just me and occasionally a few neighbors or friends.

I thought you might be with that nickname. I'm in Wyoming and judge BBQ competitions in the Mountain West states, a lot of folks from northern Colorado are involved. I'll ask around for recommendations. I do know there is a good wood dealer in Franktown.

 

[golfpro2301]

I recently moved to a stick burner and as someone who has competed on well reviewed vertical cabinets and komodos And has closet full of trophies I can say food just tastes better on a stick burner. Especially pork and beef. Chicken I cant really tell

as others have said this is a babysit type of cooker that takes a lot of work. The amount of work is dependent on quality and draft of the cooker. These will likely cost you $3k-$6k depending on size and where you live. Brands that stand out for backyard size are

outlaw
Pitmaker
Shirley
Workhorse
Primitive pits

if you want larger you can go to propane tanks which have a lot of great builders in texas. If you have fabrication skills you can build as good as quality as above for a lot cheaper. This is route I took and my build is in progress

 

[1MoreFord]

I’m in the Denver area. I definitely don’t need a giant one to feed a neighborhood. It’s usually just me and occasionally a few neighbors or friends.

Don't go too small. You can always cook one rack of ribs in a big cooker but you can't cook twenty racks. Also small pits are harder to control than something in the medium sized range. Mine is 20" x 48" and I consider that to be the starting point of easier to control. 24" x 48" would be better and even larger gets easier.

 

[bauchjw]

I Got this recommendation from tx smoker: https://johnsonsmokers.com/

Also, you cant forget Yoder and Lang smokers if you’re talking stick burners.

 

[bertman]

I had a short end platter of spare ribs at the Summit Hickory Pit BBQ in Lee’s Summit, Missouri at the end September.

This post caught my attention because this place is just a short walk from my house. Please tell me you tried the beans, too. Out of all the great BBQ places in the KC area, their beans are some of the best.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

This post caught my attention because this place is just a short walk from my house. Please tell me you tried the beans, too. Out of all the great BBQ places in the KC area, their beans are some of the best.

KC area is my old stomping grounds. I’ve eaten at Summit Hickory Pit many times and had their beans. Good stuff.

The baked beans and slaw at Smokehouse BBQ in Independence are absolutely amazeballs. I could drink their cole slaw by the gallon. Lol.

 

[hardcookin]

I have a Lang smoker, And I would buy another one.
Problem now is prices for new stick burners have gone up and usually have a long build time.
Used smoker prices are crazy!!
Good luck with your search!

 

[chesterinflorida]

The listed ones are all top quality units that will last forever. If you want something to try out and see if you like it, something like a Old Country Pecos would be worth looking for. It won’t last a lifetime, and won’t draft as well as a better unit, but will give you the ability to try your hand at one at a much reduced price. You can see if you like the process, and then a get a better unit down the road. Be forewarned that it will be a harder to maintaina good fire and even temperature on a lower quality pit like the Pecos, so you may run into some struggles that you wouldn’t if you went and bought a better pit from the start. But I have had some good BBQ off these also, and if it means the ability to get one and try, it maybe worth it.

 

[golfpro2301]

As Chester said lower quality pit wont draft as well and will need more babysitting but can still turn out great food. A lot of time people dont want to spend money on properly designed pit and go cheap alternative which requires a lot more work. This gets then out kf offset game and or smoking all together as it can be more of a hassle than a pleasure. Just know that going in if want to go with lower quality pit

you can always spend the $$$ on great pit and if you dont like it can sell it on the forums. The difference in what you get vs what you paid will be around price of a lower quality pit

 

[h8that4u]

I am in Northern Colo. if interested I am thinking of getting rid of this smoker. https://www.texasoriginalpits.com/product/pearsall-16-offset-smoker/

 

[Central PA Cowboy]

Your best bet is to talk to smokin peachey

He actually uses his, so he’s a great resource.

 

[smokin peachey]

Your best bet is to talk to smokin peachey

He actually uses his, so he’s a great resource.

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