THE PERFECT SMOKER ??

[pflegetragen]

Great read Gary. I really appreciate all the info from everyone. It will make my experiences easier as I start my new hobby.

Cheers

 

[gary s]

 
Great read Gary. I really appreciate all the info from everyone. It will make my experiences easier as I start my new hobby.

Cheers

Thanks   Yeah don't over think it or get to caught up in a lot of technical stuff just have fun and enjoy. 

Gary

 

[inkjunkie]

Yup, no argument from me. Being new to this hobby I can say that patience is a virtue. Pretty important to understand what you want. Do you want a one machine does almost all? Or are you just going to go low and slow? Impossible to do a pizza in your typical electric smoker...

 

[gary s]

That's why you need several

Gary

 

[inkjunkie]

That's why you need several

Gary

Yup...agreed. We have a mini BGE, an xl BGE, the MES40 and a never used gas burner.
Just picked up 4 55 gallon drums...plans are to use one ad your standard chunk burning UDS, a second will be set up just as a chamber for cold smoking bacon/cheese/butter and anything else we will be cold smoking. The third, well, down the road I want to get a pellet hopper and use it as a pellet grill. The fourth...well anybody got any suggestions?
Going to go back to where I got them and get a few more some day. Might try to build a grill out of them....


Hi, my name is Doug and I have an addiction...

 

[bigred77]

Great post Gary, there's so many different cookers out there and ALL of them will make some really tasty meat.

Personally I started out with an older than I am electric "R2D2", similar to the electric ECB's, that was passed down to me from my father.  I remember eating chicken off that thing when it was taller than I was.

Dad gave it to me in college cause he hadnt used it in years and I was telling him how my roomate and I wanted to have some backyard bbq's.  College roomate and I made some mean meals on that thing

Then one of my other college roomates (three bedroom house) said "thats not real bbq unless you have to tend a fire",  and he brought over an offset Char-broil

Again, we used the crap out of that thing and made some really good food.

Used a friends trailer that his father had built for football tailgating.  It was just a straight piece of 24" pipe, no firebox, just doors on each end and you built a fire wherever you decided would work best.

Lots and lots of great food.

Went in with two friends and built our own small trailer rig with an offset fire box. Learned some lessons about firebox size compared to cooking chamber, but learned how to keep it just right and pulled many a brisket off that thing that came out awesome

Finally build my own personal reverse flow on a trailer, I have now about 8 years ago.  It cooks great, and I feel like I know that thing and how its gunna react down to the size of log I put on the fire.

I've also gone through several gas grills and love my weber one touch gold for charcoal

But I still have that little electric R2D2 and use it on the regular when I want to do something like throw on a dozen chicken leg/thigh quarters and go fishing for 4 hours knowing when I come home the chicken will be perfectly cooked and ready to go

 

[gary s]

Know what you mean I break out the ECB every once in a while

Gary

 

[inkjunkie]

Ben doing some reading about reverse flows. I a new to this hobby most of this stuff is confusing to me. Would like to get a reverse fkow cooker some day. Problem is getting wood to feed it. Nothing but pine this way. Looked at CL a few times just to see if there is anything listed, fell8w has a cord of Maple listed..would hate to get a cooker that I would have a hard time getting fuel for....

 

[gary s]

That is what I was saying in my thread, get what suits your needs, If they change go with something else

Gary

 

[pappa roach1]

Well Said.

I think a lot of folks think they need a Ferarri, before they get the bugs out of driving a Pinto.

Do your research on smokers, BUT spend your first money on a Maverick 732 or 733 and a Very Good hand held digital probe.

Good temperature reading gear should be on the list well ahead of a high dollar pit.  Just My 2 Cents.

Bob

 

[sota d]

Thanks Gary, that was a great read! Much appreciated by all, but especially newer guys like me. All I need is my little MES, my Maverick, my Thermapen, and great advice from this forum and the many wonderful folks on it. Thanks again, David.

 

[gary s]

Thanks Soto D

Gary

 

[lonestarmedic]

Like most I have searched for the holy grail. The perfect smoker, grill, or roaster. I gave up and decided to purchase a few appliances and just have fun. Now, I enjoy cooking and grilling much more. For me, I find that the propane cabinet with wood chunks is the right blend on a smoker. Some work to do, but not the constant adjusting. I love my Charbroil Big Easy Smoker, Roaster, Grill. A pork butt out of that thing will blow you away. And once again, easy to use. It also grills and sears beautifully. As yo can see, I love to cook outdoors, and love to entertain and visit with friends. These type of appliances free up some of my time to let me sit and visit.

For others it is the pure pleasure of the perfect wood and charcoal cook. Kind of a zen thing with the smoker.

And for absolute convenience, nothing beats electric. Great flavor and pretty foolproof. I fully intend to get a Charbroil Electric Big Easy.

My thoughts from the camp chair next to the firepit. Smoker box running behind me :)

J.B.

 

[link]

I saw "The Perfect Smoker" and thought this was going to be about me.

No, really good advice there Gary. Very well done!

 

[Bearcarver]

 
I saw "The Perfect Smoker" and thought this was going to be about me.

No, really good advice there Gary. Very well done!

I thought it was gonna be your picture!!!

Bear

 

[gary s]

I guess it could be 

Gary

 

[inkjunkie]

Perfect Smoker? I vote for the mosquito truck I used to run behind when I was a kid. Might splain a phew tings...

 

[Bearcarver]

Perfect Smoker? I vote for the mosquito truck I used to run behind when I was a kid. Might splain a phew tings...

LOL---We did the same ting, same ting, same ting----Huh? Wut were I saying??

Bear

 

[gary s]

Boy I hadn't thought about that in a long time !

gary

 

[joe black]

As I said last week, this was an incredible read. However, from a novice standpoint, it seems that every experienced smoker is convinced that his equipment is the "perfect" smoker. To be more to the point, when reading from all you guys, it is most confusing to a novice when trying to do his due diligence and select a good smoker to grow with. When funds are limited, and space is a challenge, it's very difficult to surround myself with 4-6 smokers to have the exact one to do every individual type of smoke imaginable.

Again, great read, but hard to digest and also very hard to boil down to the perfect smoker to start with. I just know that when I finally select what is "right" for me, something new will come along and all of the experienced guys will flock to buy one. Thanks to everybody for your opinions, your tips and methods and for your patience with us noobies, especially me. It is very bewildering.