Need help buying a smoker....

[djoseph74]

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?

[rwalters]

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?

[gtr]

How large of a group are you talking about?

[rwalters]

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

[HankB]

Originally Posted by djoseph74

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?

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!

[Johnny_Crunch]

22" WSM is probably your best bet.

[djoseph74]

Howdy,

I'd like to be able to cook for 10 or so. And a smoker is what I'm after.

[caseydog]

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

[djoseph74]

More info... I was looking at something like the brinkman trailmaster and Oklahoma joes.

[caseydog]

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

[J'ville Grill]

Originally Posted by djoseph74

More info... I was looking at something like the brinkman trailmaster and Oklahoma joes.

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.


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[Captain P.J.]

Originally Posted by 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

[/PHP]

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]

How many slabs of ribs could I get on that wsm?

[HankB]

Originally Posted by djoseph74

How many slabs of ribs could I get on that wsm?

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.)

[djoseph74]

I didn't realize it could take 3 grates. Is that with a mod?