Dear SMF:
I hope you don't mind me picking your brains re: insulated cabinets.
My whole push to upgrade my smoker has been a "fire and forget" cooker so I can sleep or watch the kids. As much as I treasure the fun of tending logs and catching whiffs of smoke, I can't babysit a fire like I did before the kids arrived--it's a stage of life thing. 2 questions:
1) What's your overall sense on the insulated cabinets? Lone Star Grillz claims their large cabinet can hold 40 pounds of briquettes and burn 30+ hours without opening the main chamber or tending a fire! If I understood Chris' video, it looks like the only work during a smoke would be refilling water through their tunneled water port.
2) What would you folks say about the criticism that insulated cabinets don't allow the meat to form a good bark/smoke ring? I'd greatly appreciate hearing from members that have smoked on regular stick burners versus insulated cabinets. Low maintenance sounds great but I won't spend thousands if the food is inferior.
I know the insulated cabinets are hella expensive, but I figure if I'm going for a new cooker, I should avoid duplication and have a rig that truly fills a niche I don't currently have.
COQue
I hope you don't mind me picking your brains re: insulated cabinets.
My whole push to upgrade my smoker has been a "fire and forget" cooker so I can sleep or watch the kids. As much as I treasure the fun of tending logs and catching whiffs of smoke, I can't babysit a fire like I did before the kids arrived--it's a stage of life thing. 2 questions:
1) What's your overall sense on the insulated cabinets? Lone Star Grillz claims their large cabinet can hold 40 pounds of briquettes and burn 30+ hours without opening the main chamber or tending a fire! If I understood Chris' video, it looks like the only work during a smoke would be refilling water through their tunneled water port.
2) What would you folks say about the criticism that insulated cabinets don't allow the meat to form a good bark/smoke ring? I'd greatly appreciate hearing from members that have smoked on regular stick burners versus insulated cabinets. Low maintenance sounds great but I won't spend thousands if the food is inferior.
I know the insulated cabinets are hella expensive, but I figure if I'm going for a new cooker, I should avoid duplication and have a rig that truly fills a niche I don't currently have.
COQue