Off-Set Smokers vs. Egg Shaped Smokers

[azmark]

I'm ready to dump the gas grill and need some pointers. My wife went looking for one for Christmas but was not very impressed much by the knowledge or lack of, from the sales folks at Sears. She was looking at the off-set smoker by Charbroil and Weber Smokey Mountain and didn't get answers of more than "well they are both smokers."

Does anyone have a recommendation or descriptions of the two styles and or maybe point me toward another?

 

[Jim]

Man_ o_ man what a topic.

The big questions are, how much and what do you want to BBQ?

How fussy do you want to be with it (time wise)

Do you want to make one?

If not, what can you spend?

 

[Storer50]

I am a huge fan of the Weber. Check out http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/

 

[gixxer]

I had a smoker with the firebox in the side and one thing I did notice is the closer to the firebox you got the higher the temp was so there was potential for uneven cooking if you have food covering the grate from end to end. I did surgery to it and stood it up mounting the firebox straight inline. It was easier to maintin an eventemp cause it's all directly over the fire, but then you have to hang ribs. My next smoker will be a vertical smoker (not an egg I feel you do not get enough surface area for the cost although the ceramic holds even heat like no tomorrow I am sure). Hell, I might go to the dark side and get a Bradley. I dunno. Half the fun is tending the fire all day drinking the whole time...

 

[azmark]

Man_ o_ man what a topic.

The big questions are, how much and what do you want to BBQ?

How fussy do you want to be with it (time wise)

Do you want to make one?

If not, what can you spend?

I BBQ almost daily. Quick meals during the week and enjoy prepping and planning meals for the family on the weekends.

How fussy? Well, I don't have the time to chop my own wood but I don't mind tending to my grill.

Budget.........$200-$300.

 

[azmark]

I am a huge fan of the Weber. Check out http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/

I just found that site a few hours ago

 

[simon1]

Man_ o_ man what a topic.

Jim has that right. You'll probably get as many opinions on what's best as there are types of smokers.

I've never used one, but the Weber Smoky Mountain is supposed to be an excellent vertical smoker. The intake dampers on the charcoal end should make heat control very easy and consistent.

I have a Char Griller Smokin' Pro offset, just because I like offsets, and this one has cast iron cooking grates: http://chargriller.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=34

Ordered it through Wally World's website and they delivered it to the local store for under $200. The steel is kinda thin, and it's not real airtight. I had to do some mods. to it, noted in this thread (if you haven't already seen it): http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=181575

The flashing over the firebox opening and extending the chimney down lower helps to even out the heat (and avoid the hot spots like gixxer is talking about), and it also helps draw the smoke down lower so it will flow up around the meat better. Adding a gasket to the lid opening seals it better for easier and more consistent temperature control.

If you make any type of modification to any cooking unit, make sure to only use aluminum or stainless steel parts. Anything galvanized, such as flashing, bolts, expanded metal grates, etc. will put off arsenic fumes when it heats up...could kill ya.

The Big Green Egg is supposed to be great, but expensive. I guess not real expensive when you go to looking at the high-end steel offset smokers though. It's just more than I wanted to pay for a smoker.

 

[Jim]

Mark we may be in "What BBQ means" confusion right now.

Do you want to cook steaks, burgers, fish, ect for a weekday meal?

Do you want to make low and slow BBQ for pulled pork, brisket, ribs?


Its Ok to say both, just need to sort out whats most important to you.

 

[azmark]

Mark we may be in "What BBQ means" confusion right now.

Do you want to cook steaks, burgers, fish, ect for a weekday meal?

Do you want to make low and slow BBQ for pulled pork, brisket, ribs?


Its Ok to say both, just need to sort out whats most important to you.

Ah, got it.........both

Well I want to be able to do both if possible. I still plan on keeping my Weber charcoal grill and giving away my gas grill.

The most I bbq is ribs, steaks, and chicken during the week. But I would like to be able to learn how to make low and slow meals, likely it won't be every week and would be a meal for 4-6. Oh and I want to be able to make pizza

 

[Jim]

If you already have a weber Charcoal grill then thats going to cover most of what you want to do.

The problem with the grills is space and heat control. You need to be pretty attentive on a long cook.

Add a pizza stone to your weber and you are all set for pizza.

A bullet would be the next step up to a smoker/BBQ and would enable you to do longer cooks without as much fussing.

No real "right" answer.

 

[azmark]

If you already have a weber Charcoal grill then thats going to cover most of what you want to do.

The problem with the grills is space and heat control. You need to be pretty attentive on a long cook.

Add a pizza stone to your weber and you are all set for pizza.

A bullet would be the next step up to a smoker/BBQ and would enable you to do longer cooks without as much fussing.

No real "right" answer.

Thanks Jim

You mean it's not like answering "whats the best soap?"

 

[petr]

I went from gas to weber bullet to bge and now considering a Backwoods insulated box smoker. It turns out the more I cook the more people come over ... !

In that price range I would use a weber bullet for a while, or find a deal on a medium or small BGE. I know guys go on and on about that that Egg thing, but it seriously kicks ***.

 

[pyrrhusmj]

While not an egg owner, Primo Owner, I can say....... NOTHING beats a Ceramic for versatility For the price you get a smoker, a grill, an oven,

Michael

 

[nole1]

While not an egg owner, Primo Owner, I can say....... NOTHING beats a Ceramic for versatility For the price you get a smoker, a grill, an oven.

+1. SWMBO got me a Primo XL a few months back and I couldn't be happier. Ton's of real estate to cook lots of food with lots of versatility. Very easy to control temperature by using the 2 dampers. I would highly recommend.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

I think the WSM is probably the most versatile cooker the backyard smoker can buy at a reasonable price. They can do long overnight smokes or you can take out the water pan and get a hot enogh fire to do steaks, burger and pizzas direct. I've done eight 7-8 lb butts on the 22.5 WSM at one time, which is a lot of pulled pork. Right now I've got two hams and two fatties going on it with pecan wood and it sure smells great!

 

[The Nid Hog]

Sounds like I have the same kind of setup as Mike (simon1). I got it on sale at Lowes, so it wasn't at all expensive. I also enjoyed making all the little modifications to it to make it run more efficiently. So far, I've had good luck with it for long smokes, but it also grills quite nicely.

 

[Greg1911]

I LOVE my Weber Smokey Mountain. I have 4 (maybe more) charcoal grills + the WSM.

The beauty of the ceramic cookers is they can do everything my fleet of grills/smoker can do but that would be like owning only 1 razor.

 

[PatagoniaDave]

+1 Big Green Egg

 

[eightysixCJ]

The WSM is great cooker right out of the box. The lesser expensive offsets will need some modifications to get them to run more efficiently although they will turn out fine product. Heat retention/insulation will affect how fussy/how much attention they need. The thinner guage offset cookers are more sensitive to wind and low air temps. The better quality offsets are made with heavier steel, 1/4" thick. The thicker steel helps hold heat and maintain steady temps during the cook and so the temp in the cooker does not drop dramatically everytime you open the door to mop of if your fire/charcoal cools.

The typical plusses for the offsets are that you have a larger cooking area, easier access for mopping and removing/adding meat during the cook, and (depending on the model of upright) easier access to the firebox. Cabinet style smokers offer the same access and are usually insulated.

In any case, make sure you have easy access to add fuel (hot charcoal/wood) during the cook. having another BBQ grill running for a source of hot coals helps keep steady temps during longer cooks.

You'll find that most of the higher priced/better designed cookers are designed to keep temps steady longer and require less attention in the firebox.

Tom

 

[Hair apparent]

In the price range you are looking at, I would go with a WSM. Easy to use right out of the box. As many have said, lower priced offsets usually need some modifications done to them to make them easier to work with. The WSM is pretty much set it and forget it. You'll hover around the first few cooks, but once you figure out you can get 12 + hours of slow cooking goodness on a single load of charcoal, you'll be doing overnight cooks.

Yes, a BGE can do the same with less charcoal, but at 3 times the price.