New guy ready to buy my first smoker

[old vet]

I love smoked meat, fish and fowl and it's time I started smoking my own.
I am looking at a couple recommended newby smokers.
The Weber Smokey Mountain 18 inch and the Weber Pit Barrel Cooker
The barrel looks easy to use and will hold larger chunks of meat on the hooks.
Now I'm looking for your recommendations.

 

[weedeater]

Don’t own either of those smokers so I am no help with that. What I can do is welcome you to SMF. You have come to a happy place!

Weedeater

 

[kruizer]

Welcome to SMF from Minnesota. Take a look at the Weber Kettle.

 

[old vet]

Don’t own either of those smokers so I am no help with that. What I can do is welcome you to SMF. You have come to a happy place!

Weedeater

Thanks for the welcome.

 

[jfleming9232]

Welcome aboard from South Alabama!

 

[SunnyDC]

Also a newbie with a brand new offset I haven't even "broke" yet! Welcome. This is a fantabulous place.

Sunny

 

[Will Smoke]

Pit boss pellet grill... word is born

 

[old vet]

Welcome aboard from South Alabama!

Thank you jfleming9232.

 

[old vet]

Also a newbie with a brand new offset I haven't even "broke" yet! Welcome. This is a fantabulous place.

Sunny

Thank you too SunnyDC

 

[old vet]

Pit boss pellet grill... word is born

I looked at the pellet smokers and was wondering how good of a smoke they gave the meat and how long the pellets last.

 

[gmc2003]

First and foremost let me welcome you to the forum. Glad you joined up. Onto your questions. First, I don't recall Weber making a pit barrel cooker(I may be wrong). However, I really like my WSM - as it's very user friendly and there aren't any electrics that can go south during a smoke. They will last for what seems like a lifetime, and the customer service is top-notch(if you ever need them). There are also plenty of WSM users here that will help answer any questions you may have. For the money I think Weber gives you the best bang for your buck.

Chris

 

[phatbac]

WSM is a great smoker and so is the pit barrel but I like the WSM for flexibility because you can cold smoke on it and turn out great tasting food!

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[HalfSmoked]

Welcome to SMF you are seeing the benefits of this great group already with the help being offered to you.

Warren

 

[Will Smoke]

40lbs. will get you 40+ hours low and slow easily, its the high temps that eat them up, but your usually not cooking over thirty minutes at high temps

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I personally prefer my electric, but that is because it's alot easier on my back when I don't need to bend over alot. Also means I hit a few buttons and the overnight portion takes care of it self :)

 

[noboundaries]

Old Vet, welcome to SMF. Glad you're here and looking for input on which smoker to buy.

Best flavor? Stick burner, and both horizontal/vertical offsets.Takes a lot of baby sitting. A reverse flows helps with the time commitment.

Ease of use and no baby sitting? Electric and pellet smokers, but less flavor and electronics can fail.

Best combo of ease of use and wood flavor? Barrel (least expensive) and cabinet smokers. The cabs are pricey, but most efficient. The barrels (Pit Barrel, UDS, and WSMs) each have their pros and cons, but provide great flavor and nothing can fail other than the pit master. I smoked two butts in my 22.5" WSM overnight last night and slept like a baby. I do have a temp controller on it, but use it as a backup only. It cruised all night at 224F chamber temp. The con? You'll never smoke a whole pig in a WSM, unless it is a small suckling.

Every smoker has a learning curve and no one technique works best. Finding your best way of doing things is all the fun.

Decide how much time you want to spend babysitting the smoker, what flavor you want and how much you want to spend, then get it! Happy smoking.

 

[old vet]

First and foremost let me welcome you to the forum. Glad you joined up. Onto your questions. First, I don't recall Weber making a pit barrel cooker(I may be wrong). However, I really like my WSM - as it's very user friendly and there aren't any electrics that can go south during a smoke. They will last for what seems like a lifetime, and the customer service is top-notch(if you ever need them). There are also plenty of WSM users here that will help answer any questions you may have. For the money I think Weber gives you the best bang for your buck.

Chris

Thanks for the welcome. You're correct. Weber does not make it. It's just Pit Barrel Cooker. The WSM does look pretty good too.

 

[old vet]

WSM is a great smoker and so is the pit barrel but I like the WSM for flexibility because you can cold smoke on it and turn out great tasting food!

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

Thanks Aaron.

I personally prefer my electric, but that is because it's alot easier on my back when I don't need to bend over alot. Also means I hit a few buttons and the overnight portion takes care of it self :)

Thanks Tom. I do like the ease of use of the cabinet smokers. In your opinion, could an electric cabinet be used inside a screened in porch?

 

[old vet]

Old Vet, welcome to SMF. Glad you're here and looking for input on which smoker to buy.

Best flavor? Stick burner, and both horizontal/vertical offsets.Takes a lot of baby sitting. A reverse flows helps with the time commitment.

Ease of use and no baby sitting? Electric and pellet smokers, but less flavor and electronics can fail.

Best combo of ease of use and wood flavor? Barrel (least expensive) and cabinet smokers. The cabs are pricey, but most efficient. The barrels (Pit Barrel, UDS, and WSMs) each have their pros and cons, but provide great flavor and nothing can fail other than the pit master. I smoked two butts in my 22.5" WSM overnight last night and slept like a baby. I do have a temp controller on it, but use it as a backup only. It cruised all night at 224F chamber temp. The con? You'll never smoke a whole pig in a WSM, unless it is a small suckling.

Every smoker has a learning curve and no one technique works best. Finding your best way of doing things is all the fun.

Decide how much time you want to spend babysitting the smoker, what flavor you want and how much you want to spend, then get it! Happy smoking.

Thanks for the welcome. The less babysitting the better and big flavor would be ideal, but I will probably feel different once I get started.

 

[old vet]

Welcome to SMF you are seeing the benefits of this great group already with the help being offered to you.

Warren

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, I am getting a lot of good info.