Need Advice

[hondamandan]

I am very interested in buying my first smoker, and would like to get a good one. I would like to keep it around $1000.00. I think I prefer wood for my fuel, but am open to suggestions. Thanks! I love the site! I will be cooking for family and the occasional party for about 30-35 people. What is the difference between the conventional off-set and the reverse flow? I have been looking at the Horizon smokers, Any comments?

 

[olewarthog]

It's a little over your budget, but Lang makes some great quality stickburners.

http://www.pigroast.com/48pages/model48p.htm

 

[Dutch]

First off, hop on over to Roll Call and tell us more about you so we can give you a proper SMF welcome~

Nnow that we know how much you want to spend and what you want to fire it up with, we still need some more info to help you out-

1-Are you looking for something small for personal use or do you plan on getting into catering and/or comps (towable)?

2-How large of a group are yo planning on cooking for? Just the household or do you have lots of large family gatherings?

3-Conventional off-set or reverse-flow

Fill us in on the details and we'll be glad to confuse you even more . . . I mean help you out!!

 

[erain]

wow, a grand on a first smoker is alot of money... but they are out there. i dont know that i would reccomend spending that much on a first smoker, maybe spend a couple a hundred first and see how you like it. may save you some money if you dont take to the hobby. could get a chargriller with a sfb or a bandera and have the wood expierience. but if you opt to spend more money ck out horizon smokers, i know smokebuzz has one and i seen it in action. there are others also like backwoods, google it up and you will find a bunch. also watch craigs list for used stuff. good luck and post pics a what you buy!!!

 

[jdt]

if you are in the southwest check out this guy, about 1/3 the price inch for inch of other companies

http://www.bellfab.com/

 

[mballi3011]

Save a little more money and:
Get the Lang smoker

 

[hondamandan]

Thanks for your help! What is the difference between the off-set and the reverse flow set up? Thanks!

 

[pineywoods]

Check out this thread for differences its kinda long but eventually you'll see its worth the read

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=54542

 

[wingman]

With good recipes and meat you can cook great tasing meats low and slow on most anything. I'm fairly new to thsi forum but have been smoking meats for over 30 years. Everything from little chief's (heat temp is limited), charcoal bullets, propane bullets, barrel type and as of late a Treager Texas Pellet grills.

http://www.traegerindustries.com/

It comes down to how much free time do you have and do you want to spend $1,000. As I stated I have cooked on allot of different type. All produced tasy food. Some require allot mre attention then others. Allot! Some require hardly any at all. After years of doing this I was really skeptical about buying a Traeger Pellet grill. Never thought of cooking with pellets. I decided I would try it after all I tride most other types. I have had mine a couple weeks now and I am totaly pleased. This thing is amazing! I can put a couple pork butts in the thing and take off for a few hours and when I get abck the temp is where it should be and the food is as it should be. No messing with it. Fill the hopper, turn the lnob and it just starts working for you and can run unattended for approx. 14 hours or better. I have gone 12 with some pellets left over.

The food it has been producing is the best I have cooked. It adds the wood pellets as needed a few at a time so it keeps a constant thin light blue smoke going. The others types that burn wood chunks or chips will burn up the wood and you add some more and as it get going you can get an initial white smoke. Too much of this can leave food a bit bitter.

Once you get things figured out though you can avoid most of this. You will learn to cook good on them all. You just need to figure out how much fooling around with the thing you want to do. If I didn't go Treager and pellets I was looking at a Yoder stick burner.

What ever you choose you will no doubt post great looking Qview picks once you get things dialed in.

 

[smokebuzz]

Can't go wrong with a Horizon, never looked back or had a reget after buying 1.

 

[rickw]

X2

 

[meateater]

$1000.00, help I've fallen and I can't get up!

That will get you a bunch of smoking goodness!