Hey newbie here (both to the forum and grilling).

[sushil8cin]

Hey everyone, what's up? I'm a cook by hobby and plan on getting a smoker. Which kind should be good for an abolute beginner? Any tips for the newbies?

 

[one eyed jack]

Welcome aboard from NC.

My first smoker was a Weber WSM. (Charcoal smoker) I don't recall having any real difficulty in figuring it out. I read a lot of posts about how to go about cooking with it and started out with chicken and cheaper cuts till I got the hang of it.

 

[culpepersmoke]

Welcome. You can learn a lot from the good folks here. There are a ton of different options for smokers today, from very cheap to incredibly expensive. Each has their place. If you ask me, I’d probably say start with a pellet smoker for it’s ease in fire management so you can focus on rubs, brines etc. keep in mine your first smoker will most likely NOT be your last

 

[GrumpyGriller]

Welcome to the forum - it's quite useful. My first (and so far only) are the Traeger Timberline 1300's - pellet grills. Easy enough to manage, and with smoke tubes etc., I get plenty of smoke when needed. It's not the same as an offset, but I am not entering any competitions :).

Good luck!

 

[JLeonard]

A basic Weber Kettle is the cheapest.....Tons of youtube videos on how to smoke with it. It is a versatile cooking machine. Lots of goodies you can buy for it and a great way to learn fire management.
Jim

 

[negolien]

hey bud,

Welcome.. As for grills to help you we need a few details.

Price range
Can u manage a fire or u need a gravity feed or pellet?
Space available
Preference of charcoal, pellet, electric, propane or stick burner?

I am biased but the masterbuilt gravity feed and the char griller gravity feed would be my advice with the little advice given.

 

[schlotz]

Welcome to SMF! It's going to come down to how much time you are willing to devote in learning how to maintain a proper heat source along with the individual aspects for each protein to be smoked. Agree with culpepersmoke , I'd start with a pellet smoker and concentrate on all the other variables first.

 

[Newglide]

Welcome from NC. I would have to agree with JLeonard you can't beat a kettle. You can grill and smoke on it and tons more. Great starter grill. I have one and wouldn't ever not have one.

 

[O'Basque]

Kettle works great as a starter but if you want an actual smoker I'd buy a WSM. Super easy to figure out and will serve you well for years

 

[tallbm]

Hey everyone, what's up? I'm a cook by hobby and plan on getting a smoker. Which kind should be good for an abolute beginner? Any tips for the newbies?

Hi there and welcome!

Like the other guys are saying, it all depends.

If starting out I would suggest an easier to deal with smoker like an electric smoker (uses electric heating element), or a pellet smoker (electric motor/auger feeds and burns wood pellets).

The easier the smoker is to deal with the more you can learn what smoking is (heat, smoke, and food to cook) and have success.
Then from there you can decide if you want to go the route of using charcoal or wood smokers and get one of those. With those smokers there is a lot of care in maintaining heating/fire, feeding more wood, and sitting up with it quite a bit during the smoking process.

I chose an electric smoker because I love smoked food but I cannot devote the time to sit with the smoker.
I have my electric smoker to the point where I set everything up and then come back to check on the meat only with my temperature alarms tell me to check and see if the meat is ready. I do briskets and pork butts all the time and I do them overnight while I sleep. Makes life easy and tasty :)

 

[one eyed jack]

A basic Weber Kettle is the cheapest.....Tons of youtube videos on how to smoke with it. It is a versatile cooking machine. Lots of goodies you can buy for it and a great way to learn fire management.
Jim

Jim is absolutely correct as to how versatile the kettle is, both as a grill, oven, and smoker.

I mentioned the WSM because it was my first dedicated smoker but I had grilled, cooked and smoked on Weber kettles for 20+ years before I bought the WSM.

 

[bauchjw]

Welcome from Virginia! They all have you covered.

 

[bigfurmn]

Welcome from Minnesota. I started out with an electric I still have, Masterbuilt. Then added a Pit Boss pellet grill. I don’t have the time for a stick burner but wish I did. (Kid/kids, just saying.)

 

[pineywoods]

Welcome to SMF glad you joined us. You'll find lots of good info here and even better people. If you can't find the info your looking for just ask and somebody (or 10) will be happy to help.
As for the best smoker to start out with that really depends on what you are comfortable with and what you want to do.
Some people want as easy as possible some want the absolute best smoke flavor at all costs. A pellet smoker is pretty much set it and forget it where as a wood fired pit gives the best smoke flavor but requires the most tending to. Then there's propane and also charcoal so a lot of it is what you expect and will feel the most comfortable with. They will all turn out good food.