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Need help buying a smoker....

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djoseph74

Knows what a fatty is.
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Hi,

I posted yesterday about a smoke hollow smoker. I just can't seem to justify paying $600 for a grill I've never used and no one has ever heard of. I have a $600 budget and want something nice and big enough to cook for a large group. Can I get some recommendations?
 
Are you looking for a grill or a smoker? You reference both in your post. Maybe a unit that does both?? Either way... how many people do you wanna be able to cook for at one time? And what type of foods do you tend to cook?
 
How large of a group are you talking about?
 
I see in your signature that you already have a 22.5 Weber Kettle... what about one more Kettle... the 26.75" big boy. Between the 2, you could pretty much cook for a small army... and you probably already have the kettle down pat :grin:
 
djoseph74 said:
Hi,

I posted yesterday about a smoke hollow smoker. I just can't seem to justify paying $600 for a grill I've never used and no one has ever heard of. I have a $600 budget and want something nice and big enough to cook for a large group. Can I get some recommendations?
Click to expand...

How large a group and what do you want to cook? I can fit two 8-9 lb butts on one rack of my 18.5 Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) and could probably do double that (eight butts) on a 22.5. That's a lot of pulled pork! If brisket, I could fit less. On my 18.5 I can fit two racks of spares per rack and can fit a third rack. Same with back ribs. Either require some trimming to fit though.

For $600 you could get two 18.5 WSMs or one 22.5 WSM (new price) and the 22.5 would leave you with money left over for accessories like remote reading thermometers, charcoal chimneys and a decent apron. It's hard to go wrong with a WSM.

Edit: If kettle... There are two listings for Ranch kettles in the Chicago area on CL right now in that price range. (One for two kettles.) Talk about feeding a small army!
 
If you like your 22.5 OTG, you would probably like a WSM, available in 18.5 and 22.5 sizes, and well within your budget. You have a good grill, just add a smoker.

It would help us to know what you want to cook, and what you consider a "large group."

CD
 
More info... I was looking at something like the brinkman trailmaster and Oklahoma joes.
 
Oklahoma Joe's is Brinkmann Brand these days, as is the New Braunfels brand. If your budget is 600 bucks, I think you can do better than anything Brinkmann makes. Just my two-cents.

CD
 
djoseph74 said:
More info... I was looking at something like the brinkman trailmaster and Oklahoma joes.
Click to expand...

If you're wanting a stick burner keep in mind you'll probably have to make some mods to it. And you will have to tend to it more than say a WSM or a UDS.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
HankB;2315727 I can fit two 8-9 lb butts on one rack of my 18.5 Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) and could probably do double that (eight butts) on a 22.5. [PHP said:
[/PHP]
Click to expand...

You can fit 8 (a case) pork butts on a 22.5" wsm. I've done it a few times... and I'll tell you it's messy!! I love my wsm's and would recommend one for everyone!
 
djoseph74 said:
How many slabs of ribs could I get on that wsm?
Click to expand...

2012-07-27_12-31-14_39.jpg


That's two racks of back ribs on one grate on my 18.5 WSM. It comes form the factory with two grates and a third is easily added to fit a total of 6 racks of back ribs. I think you can easily feed 10 on that.

Spare ribs take a little more space but I can fit six trimmed racks of those on as well. (I wind up firing my mini-WSM to handle the trimmings when I do six racks of spare ribs.)
 
Last edited:
Ok. Me and my wife are sold on the WSM. Last question. Can you cook with just wood on these?
 
I would use briquette or lump charcoal with wood chunks for flavoring. If you buy the 18.5" you would almost have enough left over to buy a guru, then you can really set it and forget it.
 
djoseph74 said:
I didn't realize it could take 3 grates. Is that with a mod?
Click to expand...
Yes. I drilled quarter inch holes through the shell and internal supports midway between the bottom and top grate supports. I put 1/4" x 1/2" bolts in those and they support a standard 18" grate (same as the top grate or the grate from an 18.5 kettle.) It's a tight fit in the smoker and takes a little maneuvering to get in place but aside from that it works fine. Other options include supports from the bottom grate or hanging from the top grate but I'm happy with short bolts through the shell.
 
NickyG said:
I would use briquette or lump charcoal with wood chunks for flavoring. If you buy the 18.5" you would almost have enough left over to buy a guru, then you can really set it and forget it.
Click to expand...

Funny story. I was looking all over for what the cyberq wifi basically is. Gave up before I discovered it. I'm a web developer, so I decided to buy an arduino board, probe, and wifi board for it. Sorry if I'm talking too techie. Basically this will let me build one :)

Hank B - sounds easy enough.

EVERYONE - I ordered a 22.5" WSM a few minutes ago! It'll be here on Saturday! I'll be sure to post picture of my first smoke! Thank you very much for all your help! I am very excited for this!

-Dan
 
Good choice I'm sure you'll be quite happy with it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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