I have had a number of smokers. The most recent and my goto smoker is a recteq 700. I love the convenience, and do not miss babysitting and feeding a fire at all hours of the night. Having said all that, I cannot get the smoke flavor I crave out of a pellet grill. I have had excellent results with a WSM in the past. Also a few failures that had me belching up smoke rings all day. I like a subtle smoke flavor, not overpowering. The pellet grill gives me a smoke ring on the meat, but not much smoke flavor. I am wondering if a gravity fed smoker might be for me? I do not have any friends or know anyone that has one so I cannot taste the results. I am looking for more smoke flavor than a pellet grill yet not overpowering. All with set and forget convenience. Will a gravity fed smoker deliver on that?
Shopping gravity fed smokers
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First, howdy and welcome to the forum from New Mexico.
I know nothing about gravity fed smokers, but a lot of members use the AMAZN smoke tubes and trays to add smoke.
I know nothing about gravity fed smokers, but a lot of members use the AMAZN smoke tubes and trays to add smoke.
I get good clean wood smoke with the two GF's I've owned.
As far as set and forget, that's sort've iffy. They're not like a stick burner but they do need some attention, for a variety of reasons, and it differs with what you buy.
I had a Masterbuilt 560. And it was not as convenient as just lighting a fire and setting the temp. Maybe I did overkill, but I emptied the hopper before every cook. I found that wood chunks in the hopper burned up no matter what height they were placed in the hopper. They turned into charcoal. So I would reload the hopper before every cook.
That can be avoided by putting wood chunks in the ash bin. But then you're tending to it at least every 30 minutes.
And with the MB, I would not leave it unattended. I did not trust the grease management. The Masterbuilt Gravity Feed facebook groups are filled with pics of big grease fires, especially from big fatty meats like pork butts.
My current GF is an Assassin and I put wood chunks in the ash bin only. I use a Thermoworks Signals and Billows as an ATC .
As far temps, both were steady. I could set and forget temps. Here's a chart of a rib cook on the Assassin a couple weeks ago. Set temp was 275 with probe on the middle grate. The yellow line is a probe on the upper grate that ran a bit cooler.
It held rock steady and recovered quickly.
As far as set and forget, that's sort've iffy. They're not like a stick burner but they do need some attention, for a variety of reasons, and it differs with what you buy.
I had a Masterbuilt 560. And it was not as convenient as just lighting a fire and setting the temp. Maybe I did overkill, but I emptied the hopper before every cook. I found that wood chunks in the hopper burned up no matter what height they were placed in the hopper. They turned into charcoal. So I would reload the hopper before every cook.
That can be avoided by putting wood chunks in the ash bin. But then you're tending to it at least every 30 minutes.
And with the MB, I would not leave it unattended. I did not trust the grease management. The Masterbuilt Gravity Feed facebook groups are filled with pics of big grease fires, especially from big fatty meats like pork butts.
My current GF is an Assassin and I put wood chunks in the ash bin only. I use a Thermoworks Signals and Billows as an ATC .
As far temps, both were steady. I could set and forget temps. Here's a chart of a rib cook on the Assassin a couple weeks ago. Set temp was 275 with probe on the middle grate. The yellow line is a probe on the upper grate that ran a bit cooler.
It held rock steady and recovered quickly.
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howdy from SE Florida.
I got the Masterbuilt 560 on dirt cheap clearance from Home depot. After a few cooks thought 'd never need another smoker to add to my collection. The enablers here got me to swing to WSM, and I love completely customizable smoke profiles. I still use my MB560 for bigger cooks than the SWM an handle. Opinions vary of things like longevity of th MB's, but I'd say the thumbs up are more than thrumbs down. They have bigger thsn mine, and they aren't cheap (affordable) but pretty close to set it nd forget it once th fire is going.
I am eye-balling a Southern-Q Limo Jr. Not a cheap purchase for me. The freight is giving me heartburn, but I want something with good build quality that will last me a long time. I just wish I could get a taste of the smoke profile before pulling the trigger.
I ordered the Limo Jr. Now just waiting for it to arrive. When I first started BBQing 30 over years ago I had BBQs made with thiner gauge steel and they just didn't last too long. There are some mods to beef up the firebox on the masterbuilts, but I just decided to treat myself. It should ship in a week or so. I will post some pics when I get it.
Buy once, cry once. I made that big step with my Assassin 17. I got tired of waiting for someone to build something in-between the MB and the quality GF's.
The Old Country GF came close to that but had too many flaws and they were hard to buy. If an Academy had one in stock here in OKC , the build quality would be bad.
And like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sing, the waiting is the hardest part .
I'd like to provide a desenting voice, because I've been in the exact same boat as you. I have a pellet grill and I also was tired of not getting a rich complex smoky taste.
My natural inclination was I NEED A GRAVITY FEED! Why? Because I thought that's the only cooker out there that is "set it and forget it" and it had to produce a better taste over the pellet grill.
I started researching the Masterbuilts and the Old Country GF.
Then my friend made me some ribs on his Weber Smokey Mountain. And oh my gosh, I know that I had to have whatever cooker he had. A few weeks later I found a mint 18.5" WSM for $150. The rest is hisory.
My thoughts:
1) The masterbuilts are too expensive for what they are--this is not a hot take at all. They are a cheap, but adequetely built smoker. For $600-1000 you are throwing money away for what you get. They don't go for sale for $300 like everyone says. The price of steel has gone up A LOT in the past few years, and they're a minimal $600 smoker (for the smallest one, which is too small IMO).
2) Like Odie said, the Old Country is $1200+, and the quality is to be desired.
3) And this is where the WSM comes in. You can buy them used for cheap, and they are built to last, unlike the masterbuilt. Hell, I saw a 22" on craigslist for $50 a few weeks ago, but I didn't want another smoker.
4) A WSM is surprisngly just about near set it and forget it. Once you dial in your vents, the temp stays steady for 8+ hours. I wish I had known this even before buying my pellet grill. I've loaded it up with more wood chunks than recommended, and haven't noticed any bitter or bad tastes.
5) The smoke flavor of a pellet grill is about a 3/10. A WSM produces an honest 6-7/10, which is pretty much going to be right where those overly expensive masterbuilts are going to do, and those require electricity and are more complex than necessary, and they are built less well. You can hand a WSM down to your kid, but you're not going to be able to do that with the masterbuilt.
6) Vertical electronic charcoal smokers are still new. They are far from "tried and true", and there's really only 2 companies that make them, and they're pretty much on their first and second revision still. The WSM has been around for eternity and it's a legendary smoker.
My natural inclination was I NEED A GRAVITY FEED! Why? Because I thought that's the only cooker out there that is "set it and forget it" and it had to produce a better taste over the pellet grill.
I started researching the Masterbuilts and the Old Country GF.
Then my friend made me some ribs on his Weber Smokey Mountain. And oh my gosh, I know that I had to have whatever cooker he had. A few weeks later I found a mint 18.5" WSM for $150. The rest is hisory.
My thoughts:
1) The masterbuilts are too expensive for what they are--this is not a hot take at all. They are a cheap, but adequetely built smoker. For $600-1000 you are throwing money away for what you get. They don't go for sale for $300 like everyone says. The price of steel has gone up A LOT in the past few years, and they're a minimal $600 smoker (for the smallest one, which is too small IMO).
2) Like Odie said, the Old Country is $1200+, and the quality is to be desired.
3) And this is where the WSM comes in. You can buy them used for cheap, and they are built to last, unlike the masterbuilt. Hell, I saw a 22" on craigslist for $50 a few weeks ago, but I didn't want another smoker.
4) A WSM is surprisngly just about near set it and forget it. Once you dial in your vents, the temp stays steady for 8+ hours. I wish I had known this even before buying my pellet grill. I've loaded it up with more wood chunks than recommended, and haven't noticed any bitter or bad tastes.
5) The smoke flavor of a pellet grill is about a 3/10. A WSM produces an honest 6-7/10, which is pretty much going to be right where those overly expensive masterbuilts are going to do, and those require electricity and are more complex than necessary, and they are built less well. You can hand a WSM down to your kid, but you're not going to be able to do that with the masterbuilt.
6) Vertical electronic charcoal smokers are still new. They are far from "tried and true", and there's really only 2 companies that make them, and they're pretty much on their first and second revision still. The WSM has been around for eternity and it's a legendary smoker.
Everybody's taste is different. But I don't like the smoke from a WSM unless I'm cooking high heat.
Its white billowy smoke from smoldering chunks.
I bought my first WSM in 2002 and when I tasted my first stickburner cook several years ago, it was a revelation in smoke flavor.
And a GF is the closest thing I've found to a stickburner. The smoke is thin blue from my Assassin and the MB560 I owned.
Now, if a WSM and charcoal/smoldering white smoke is what you like, more power to ya. I'm not gonna argue about it. But you do you, and I'll do what I do.
Its white billowy smoke from smoldering chunks.
I bought my first WSM in 2002 and when I tasted my first stickburner cook several years ago, it was a revelation in smoke flavor.
And a GF is the closest thing I've found to a stickburner. The smoke is thin blue from my Assassin and the MB560 I owned.
Now, if a WSM and charcoal/smoldering white smoke is what you like, more power to ya. I'm not gonna argue about it. But you do you, and I'll do what I do.
I have a Stump's Baby GF smoker and I love it. Works great in the winter and does great cold smokes as well. I made my own PID controller for my smoker which is pretty much set and forget. Just have to make sure the charcoal feed stays going. Pics of my outdoor kitchen.
JC
JC
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I have a Stump's Baby GF smoker and I love it. Works great in the winter and does great cold smokes as well. I made my own PID controller for my smoker which is pretty much set and forget. Just have to make sure the charcoal feed stays going. Pics of my outdoor kitchen.
JC
I looked closely at Stumps pits but the Assassin was a little less money.
My Assassin is so well insulated, I don't even think about the outside temperature.
Right you are. The Stump's Smoker has a hefty price tag on it. It is a solid, well built unit. I am certain this smoker will end up being willed to someone.
JC
I've eaten and enjoyed a lot of smoldering chunk/charcoal barbecue. Till I found something I liked better. Its all personal subjective taste.
You can watch Steven Raichlen's " Primal Grill " series from 2009 on Crackle. Almost everything he did was charcoal/chunk. He even soaked his wood chunks to make them smolder even longer. He ran an offset with charcoal/chunk.
And nobody ever accused Raichlen of making bad barbecue .
https://www.crackle.com/details/7a8a6b9c-ac2b-4b7d-a6f5-2595004c7c31/primal-grill
You can watch Steven Raichlen's " Primal Grill " series from 2009 on Crackle. Almost everything he did was charcoal/chunk. He even soaked his wood chunks to make them smolder even longer. He ran an offset with charcoal/chunk.
And nobody ever accused Raichlen of making bad barbecue .
https://www.crackle.com/details/7a8a6b9c-ac2b-4b7d-a6f5-2595004c7c31/primal-grill
I would disagree. There is a "right way" to use a WSM and a wrong way of course as well. Sticking wood chunks on the top would be a "wrong way". Not letting the smoke clear up before placing meat on would be a "wrong way." I never experienced billowing white smoke from a WSM, or any bad tastes. WSMs are used on the competition circuits, so I would imagine if they didn't taste good they would have been rejected. <harry soo has entered the chat>
Also, TBS is a bit overstated. When Mad Scientist explained this, it pretty much was revelation to me. TBS on an offset 100% of the time is going to be roughly in the same ballpark in smoke flavor on an WSM as far as strength. Yes, the WSM will impart some charcoal charactoristics, but an offset that's ran TBS will be pretty lightish on smoke flavor and won't turn out robust, texas-style taste that I'm used to.
You really want to be after "smoke level 2" to really see what your offset is capable of, which is not white smoke, but more of a pillowy blue smoke--atleast 50% of the time using the right wood. The idea that offsets should be ran TBS 100% of the time is an incorrect suggestion (not that you directly suggested it, but want to put it out there that it causes a lot of grief for people learning to use an offset and comparing smoke flavor). Run it how you like, but TBS is not the only "correct" smoke level.
I will still recommend a $150 WSM over a $800 Masterbuilt 10/10 times for anyone that asks. IMO, a WSM produces much better smoke flavor than a pellet grill, hands down, so my reply was in response to the OP. He asked for more smoke flavor and the same-ish level of convience as his pellet grill, an the WSM is a perfect answer. Just noticed this thread is old. :)
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wow, I got me a YouTube expert teaching me about barbecue.
Hey bud, you do you, I'll do what I do.
Hey bud, you do you, I'll do what I do.
Curious, why join a forum if your response is always going to be "you do you, and I'll do what I do" when opinions/advice are being asked for? Your opinion doesn't override mine as I was answering from experience to the OP. Maybe you should go back and re-read what the OP asked about. The OP deserves to hear about the options he asked for.
Also, no need to be condenscending, especially slamming incredible resources that are available. Mad Scientist and Harry Soo are a little more than a "youtube experts."
Also, no need to be condenscending, especially slamming incredible resources that are available. Mad Scientist and Harry Soo are a little more than a "youtube experts."
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