Hey everyone. It has been quite a while since I’ve joined you all on the charcoal side, but seeing as how I’ve missed it so much and I’ve got a lot of time on my hands these days, I’m coming back.
I know this question gets asked all the time, but I genuinely don’t know where to begin. I’ve got a budget of~$600 (anything in the ballpark is fine) but that doesn’t necessarily mean I NEED to spend $600 on a smoker. Leftover money could be used for probes and covers and such, surely.
I used to smoke with a WSM, and I really enjoyed the flavor, but man I had to babysit that thing. Seemed like I was adjusting dampers every 30 minutes. I’m looking for something a bit more “heavy duty,” and that also seconds as a good grill. The Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco UDS looks like everything I would want, except there’s no water pan and no way to feed it more fuel without first removing the food. Also, I hear they are owned hy Char-Broil, which I have had terrible experiences with in the past, both in quality control and customer service. That’s a turnoff for me.
I’ve also been looking at the Masterbuilt 560, which has me concerned that the smoke production isn’t quite what I’d get from an UDS or bullet-style.
So.... thoughts?
I know this question gets asked all the time, but I genuinely don’t know where to begin. I’ve got a budget of~$600 (anything in the ballpark is fine) but that doesn’t necessarily mean I NEED to spend $600 on a smoker. Leftover money could be used for probes and covers and such, surely.
I used to smoke with a WSM, and I really enjoyed the flavor, but man I had to babysit that thing. Seemed like I was adjusting dampers every 30 minutes. I’m looking for something a bit more “heavy duty,” and that also seconds as a good grill. The Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco UDS looks like everything I would want, except there’s no water pan and no way to feed it more fuel without first removing the food. Also, I hear they are owned hy Char-Broil, which I have had terrible experiences with in the past, both in quality control and customer service. That’s a turnoff for me.
I’ve also been looking at the Masterbuilt 560, which has me concerned that the smoke production isn’t quite what I’d get from an UDS or bullet-style.
So.... thoughts?