Just a quick smoker question....

Whitewookie said:

Actually I’ve been BBQing for years. All the standard steaks, burgers, wings, etc. Have done good short (4-8 hour) smokes on the kettle lots of times.
I’ve done ribs and butts, chicken, tenders loins, etc. Even a couple good sized prime rib roasts.

Looking to get into some longer cooks, but checking out options.

VR,
Harold


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If you really like the results you are getting from the kettle go WSM, if not then maybe a PG would be your best choice.

I've got Weber kettles, 18.5WSM, and Rec Tec Pellet. Pellet does ok for smoke flavor but nothing near the Weber. The WSM alone without a fan and controller can run unattended overnight once you dial it in at the beginning of the cook. I'd go for the WSM. If you decide to go pellet then give Rec Tec a very serious look. Good product and better support.

My first dedicated smoker was the WSM and I cooked a lot of good food on it including one overnight cook. It was pretty stable once you got the vents set.

I then bought a used PBC on CL and never used any of my three WSM's again and sold them all last year. I prefer the PBC over the WSM but that is just me. I don't have a pellet grill so I can't comment there other than to say that all of my friends that have them, love them so I guess they can't be too bad.

I have a Pit Boss, it makes very good Q. I just smoked a couple o butts for my wife's office. They were delicious. I like mine for smoking anything. Pork chops, pork steaks, ribs, pastrami, fatties, chicken, meatloaf, stuffed burgers, meatballs, potato skins, bacon wrapped tator tots, jalapenos, pizza, all kinds of vegies and other things. Since you have a Weber, you can sear with it. That is not where my Pitboss shines, but the newer ones have a searing area. I would say you will be very happy with a pellet grill.

Also, since you are already familiar, with charcoal, a UDS is an entry level to professional way to go and I enjoy that even more than the pellets. WSM would also be a great option but I don't have one

I have a WSM, a pellet cooker (Camp Chef DLX), and a Performer. The pellet cooker fills a niche between the two and is great for its convenience. However, if I had to get rid of one it would be the pellet grill, and I really like the pellet grill for what it offers. The simple truth is that the WSM is a much better "smoker" than an entry level pellet smoker. If what you want is a true smoker, get the WSM and a dual probe wireless therm. (run your wires down through the holes in the lid) you will not be disappointed. I say get the WSM for smoking, use the kettle for grilling, and look to add the pellet grill in the future.

A pellet grill is the easiest most convenient way to cook and you can cook anything on it you would cook in a oven, smoker or grill. we have cooked bread, pie, cake, pizza, casseroles, lasagna and a lot more. We hardly ever use our oven anymore. We have a lot of cookers but will never be without a pellet grill! You can do a lot with the kettle that the WSM will do. Just my .02

I own a both a pellet grill (Traeger Pro 22) and a WSM 22" as well as a BGE and numerous kettles and love cooking on all of them. On my comp team we use Humphrey cabinet smokers and a custom stick burner. Here's my thoughts:

- WSM will meet your needs for set and forget. It will dial in at 250 and stay there for 10-12 hours. It's got huge capacity, but can be a pain to manage the 2 shelves with a lot of meat on them. Also, the water pan creates a mess and a lot of people don't like it. You will also want to do a few mods to the smoker so count on some extra money for that. I recently purchased the Hunsaker Vortex plate that sits on top of the charcoal ring and I no longer need to use the water pan. This mod makes it cook more like a UDS, but with the advantages of the WSM like door access and 2 shelves. Overall, the WSM is an excellent smoker.

- Pellet grills are great! They are easy to use and are truly set and forget like an indoor oven. The food on mine comes out consistently really good every time. However, as others have stated, there is significantly less smoke flavor but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There is some work involved in cleaning, but it's not much more than using a shop vac to clean out ash, and using foil to cover the drip tray. Unlike charcoal smokers, there is a potential for flameouts in a pellet grill and tunneling in your hopper during long cooks. However, this has been very rare for me.

I love both my Traeger and WSM, so my recommendation is to get both!

my .02 never had a pellet smoker or wsm. i have had a lot of experience with pit barrel over the last year it almost feels like cheating compared to my first stick burner (old counrty pecos which is now my wife planter) but have had really good success with it. i have also had an akorn and akorn jr which required a bit more attention then the pbc and a smoking stone (extra $) to do long cooks. my preference was stick burner but for what you are saying u want I would do pbc uds or try the wsm as it can't be too different. I have eaten off electric smokers as said not flavor I'm used to they were good but never made me say wow! Cabinet would be a good option but they get pricey.

After cooking on a UDS for the last several years I bought a GMG Daniel Boone just before Thanksgiving. It made decent food. The nice thing about it was how easy it was to startup and get to the desired temp.

One thing I found was that cleanup seemed a lot more involved though. Seems like I was vacuuming it out and scrubbing the racks and heat deflector to get the burnt fat drippings off far more than i wanted to.

I sold mine because it just wasn't the taste I was looking for.

If I were to choose today between a pellet grill or a WSM I would definitely go with a WSM.




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I am biased: I have a Weber kettle and the 22 WSM. Previous smokers were a COS (which I just didn't know how to use) and an El Cheapo Brinkmann (what a horrible piece of equipment).

I LOVE the WSM. It requires very little tending and turns out great bbq. A great value, looking at the price point.

Just not sold on pellet grills/smokers, but have never owned one.

Agreed with above comments about the WSM. If budget is a concern, you can build a UDS for less than half the cost of a large WSM. I use both, but the WSM is my go to.

Joshw said:

The WSM is going to give you pretty much the same flavor as your kettle, operates pretty much the same too. Basically just more room.

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Joshw said:

My suggestion would be, if you have a buddy with a grill, similar to what you are looking at, tell him you will buy the meat, and beer, if you can be pitmaster for the day. Try it out, and see what you think.

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I think this is the best suggestion. Give it a shot and see what you think, before you spend the money.

Definitely the 22.

Definitely the 22. What's $100 over a 15 year period?

For a frame of reference, I used my WSM 22 to feed 75 people at one sitting last summer. Cooked two whole packer briskets (one on each shelf), then put them in a cooler to rest. Then cranked out 16 racks of spares (8 on each shelf using racks). By the time the spares were done (about 5 hours) the briskets had sufficiently rested and all food was served at the same time. Still kinda blows me away today I put out that much Q with only a single WSM.

Not that I feed that many very often, but it's nice to know I can if the need arises.

Definitely the 22 and not just for large volume cooks. The 18 is too small for a single large brisket and other long cuts.

22” for sure. Will fit just about anything you would ever want to cook. Look around on Craigslist or whatever you have in your area. I found an almost brand new 22 for $120. Great deal for a great smoker.