in need of a new smoker

[Brent860]

hey guys, hopeing you can start me looking in the right direction here. I had a masterbuilt electric smoker that recently died( had to throw out an 8 lb brisket!) but now I'm locking for a new smoker and I would like to go charchol. I really like the new Kamado Joe but its just super expensive! is there a charcole grill/ smoker that I could make great smoked meats on and also use as a taditional charchol grill when I have the time and dont want to use my big propane grill? thank you in advance!

 

[bregent]

Have you considered a WSM, or one of the Masterbuilt Gravity Series smokers?

 

[mike243]

Weber 22" or 26" kettle, very versatile imo

 

[BigW.]

^above or a Weber Kettle should work real nice....

 

[chef jimmyj]

Yep, the Masterbuilt Gravity Feed looks amazing and the review are outstanding...JJ

 

[kruizer]

Take a look at the Oklahoma Joe Bronco. Great smoker.

 

[yankee2bbq]

Weber Kettle. You can’t go wrong. Plenty of threads on this.

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

Yep, the Masterbuilt Gravity Feed looks amazing and the review are outstanding...JJ

Not all reviews have stayed great. Amazingribs retracted their platinum review due to a build quality issue

 

[Brent860]

Have you considered a WSM, or one of the Masterbuilt Gravity Series smokers?

I was looking at the smokey mountain, it just like you had to do a lot of modifying to make it work as a grill, please correct me if I'm wrong

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

I would also suggest you look into the Pit Barrel Cooker. Very popular unit and easy to use.

 

[Brent860]

Weber Kettle. You can’t go wrong. Plenty of threads on this.

I did conciser this, just didn't know how well they worked to smoke? They are a great unit specially for the price

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

Weber kettle. It can sear, do low and slow, and everything in between.

 

[Brent860]

Weber kettle. It can sear, do low and slow, and everything in between.

I'm really liking this idea, how much smoke flavor can you get from it?, Would it me comparable to a dedicated smoker if I where to do a long smoke like a brisket?

 

[chef jimmyj]

It happens. I got 8 good years out of my 2011 MES 40. Back then the reviews were great. 4 years later, complaints of coil wires burning up, started coming in. To read the newest reviews, the 20070311 is a POS. But it was one of the best built and most reliable Masterbuilt Smokers ever made...JJ

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

It happens. I got 8 good years out of my 2011 MES 40. Back then the reviews were great. 4 years later, complaints of coil wires burning up, started coming in. To read the newest reviews, the 20070311 is a POS. But it was one of the best built and most reliable Masterbuilt Smokers ever made...JJ

To be fair the user reviews seem great. The issue that Amazingribs took issue with was a metal plate that burns through near the insulation. Masterbuilt released a statement saying that this was on purpose and the metal was only put there to protect the firebrick during shipping. People that have experienced this have said that the insulation behind the plate does not resemble any form of brick.

For me $500 is a little too steep for something with questionable build quality. I take reviews from Amazingribs with a grain of salt as well. However, I am keeping an eye out and if I find one of these rascals on sale I will be snatching it up.

 

[Fueling Around]

I'm really liking this idea, how much smoke flavor can you get from it?, (Weber kettle) Would it me comparable to a dedicated smoker if I where to do a long smoke like a brisket?

To me charcoal has a flavor that is wood fired, but not a distinct smoke flavor that I get from stick burning or from using a pellet smoke tube.
I love my Weber kettle. I use it many times a week as a charcoal grill.
I cut a grate in half so I can offset cook and smoke. I use a snake for lower temps. I do use a pellet tube to give more smoke flavor.
Never tried a brisket, but ran many pork ribs.

Got lazy this year. Purchased a MB pellet pooper. I still use a pellet tube to add flavor on a smoke. Pellet poopers are pretty stingy on smoke flavor in my opinion

 

[D.W.]

Maybe I missed it, but what's the budget? Cheap can be very expensive if you love to cook and are looking for the long haul.

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

I'm really liking this idea, how much smoke flavor can you get from it?, Would it me comparable to a dedicated smoker if I where to do a long smoke like a brisket?

My neighbor does low and slow with a Weber kettle, and I use a WSM. I honestly can't tell a difference in smoke flavor. My understanding is that a stickburner (offset) is the King of smoke flavor, but at a cost. They require some babysitting, and finding splits of the wood you want could be difficult depending on where you live. My favorite "Q" came from an offset, but I sure do like running to my local Lowe's, Home Depot, or Walmart and grabbing a bag of charcoal, some smoke wood of my preference, and smoking some food.

Dave

 

[forktender]

I would also suggest you look into the Pit Barrel Cooker. Very popular unit and easy to use.

You can build a UDS for less than 1/4 the price of those with just a few hand tools and a drill motor.
I don't understand why people buy those things at the price they charge for them....crazy!!!

 

[gmc2003]

My vote is for the Weber 26" kettle. You can smoke on it as well as grill. It's basically my go to for smoking anything that takes under 6hrs. Although I wouldn't hesitate using it for longer smokes. It's just that I also have the WSM and it's just to damn easy doing longer smokes like brisket and butts on the WSM.

Another nice thing about kettle grilling/smoking is that you can use them straight out of the box or you can add things like the Vortex or Slow-n-Sear to make life even easier.
Chris