Want to buy a BBQ smoker

[MadImmortalMan]

What kind do you use?

They seem to come in three basic types:

Kettle: Standard type like the Weber Smokey Mountain. Cylindrical with the fire at the bottom and the racks above with a water pan between.

Offset: These are like a normal grill shape with a smaller firebox attached to one side.

Cabinet: Big square box. Some of them have electric burners that take wood cartridges.


I'm thinking stick with the standard charcoal thing. Have any of you even used an electric one?

[katmai]

Have kettle for smoking salmon. Never tried electric.

[daveracher]

I have an electric cabinet, its easy to haul around, but not exactly all-weather. I've been using it a couple times a week since we got it.

[Barrister]

New guy, who the fuck are you?

[CountDeMoney]

Have kettle for smoking salmon. Never tried electric.

What kind of kettle?  Who makes it?

[Neil]

New guy, who the fuck are you?

He's been around for a while, lurking.  I remember approving his memebership back in the day.

[Barrister]

New guy, who the fuck are you?

He's been around for a while, lurking.  I remember approving his memebership back in the day.

As a community we have traditions we have to respect.  I'm just doing my part.

[Scipio]

Have kettle for smoking salmon. Never tried electric.

What kind of kettle?  Who makes it?

This type of thing, I think:

http://www.weber.com/explore/grills/smokers-series

I use a standard Weber grill for smoking small cuts, or an offset for big cuts.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

What kind do you use?

They seem to come in three basic types:

Kettle: Standard type like the Weber Smokey Mountain. Cylindrical with the fire at the bottom and the racks above with a water pan between.

Offset: These are like a normal grill shape with a smaller firebox attached to one side.

Cabinet: Big square box. Some of them have electric burners that take wood cartridges.


I'm thinking stick with the standard charcoal thing. Have any of you even used an electric one?

There is a fourth, the kamado-style.  Kamados are similar to the bullets (which you referred to as kettles), but are heavily insulated and can reach very high temperatures (700+ F).  I have the Char Griller version (note that the picture shows Mk. 1, and that Mk. 2 can be had for $300 from Lowes), but the Big Green Egg is the most famous example.

Offsets will likely be fuel hogs that require periodic tending during cooks.  They will also be by far the cheapest smokers per square inch of cook space.  You can get these pretty hot, but it will be exponentially more inefficient.

Bullets are set-and-forget smokers, as long as you stick to the good ones like the WSM.  Main drawbacks are cooking ares and that they can't reliably run above 300 F.  If all you want to do is low-and-slow, there is probably no better cooker.

Cabinets are typically insulated and have similar set-and-forget times to bullets and kamados.  They also typically have cooking space that approaches the offset stick burners.  However, they tend to be really heavy and can also have trouble running hot (though not as much as the bullets).

Kamados are insulated, egg-shaped cookers that can run at a wide temperature range (250 - 700+ F).  These work very well as conventional grills as well as smokers, and at the temps they can reach approach what you get in steakhouse kitchens.  The biggest drawback is cooking space; they have less space than the WSM despite being the same diameter since they only have one cooking grate.  The Eggs are heavy and expensive, but the Char Griller version takes care of that nicely.

Personally, I'm not fond of the offsets and probably will not buy or build another one of those.  I have some interest in building a cabinet, though not enough to do it yet.  I obviously bought the kamado, and would do so again.  That cooker has been excellent for all purposes.  I think, if you ignore boiling water, I have used my kamado more than my kitchen cooktop since I bought it.  I still feel the pull of the bullet, though, and I would buy one of I could justify another $400 outlay on a cooker.

[MadImmortalMan]

At 700 degrees I could put my pizza stone in there and do it right. 


That thing is a third the price of a BGE too. Do you have any trouble keeping the kamado steady at low temp (250)?

Also, how wide is the cooking surface? 18 inches?

[garbon]

New guy, who the fuck are you?

He's been around for a while, lurking.  I remember approving his memebership back in the day.

As a community we have traditions we have to respect.  I'm just doing my part.

What a conservative.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

At 700 degrees I could put my pizza stone in there and do it right. 

That thing is a third the price of a BGE too. Do you have any trouble keeping the kamado steady at low temp (250)?

Also, how wide is the cooking surface? 18 inches?

Its 20 inches, with a 16 inch warming rack as well.

I can easily get it down to 250, but I have seen it run away a couple times for reasons that weren't clear.  I think the spikes were caused by having too much raw wood in it, but I have no evidence yet.

[Razgovory]

New guy, who the fuck are you?

He's been around for a while, lurking.  I remember approving his memebership back in the day.

We have to have our membership approved?

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

We have to have our membership approved?

Yes.  We have been bombarded by spammers.  With the current backlog at 13413 accounts, I think registration is effectively disabled at the moment.

[mongers]

We have to have our membership approved?

Yes.  We have been bombarded by spammers.  With the current backlog at 13413 accounts, I think registration is effectively disabled at the moment.

Yeah, I hadn't realised it was such a large problem until recently; Vm and Neil are doing a sterling job keeping the spammers at bay.