Peoria MMIF vs MMOF

You are in Texas and you want a Peoria? Have you seen both up close? Most PCC users I have seen use a lump base with splits or chunks for the smoke and run a guru.

What is your intended usage? Backyard for a few friends, comp use. cooking for 100 people?

I was looking at them and would buy the mmif if I was going to buy one. Decided I didn't need the trailer option and opted for a humphreys pit for less than half of a mmif. Good product though.

I've seen both in person and don't REALLY know for sure, but I'd assume that doing real wood in the MMIF woudn't work as well, since to get the fire hot enough for good smoke, I'd think it would really ramp up the temp in the cook chamber.


Again....not speaking from any experience.

I've looked into both versions of the Meat Monster and they're dang fine cookers for sure.

Don't forget to look at lonestar grillz as your looking at smokers. Most of what you mentioned are great smokers as well. Which style are you looking for, trailer pit style , backyard?

I have the MMIF which I picked up a year ago. Both are awesome pits. Both are fully insulated and are built like a tank. You lose approx 12" of cooking grate with the MMIF which is the size of the internal firebox. You only lose the space on long cooks as you have the extension on the firebox. For grilling or shorter cooks (chicken, ribs) you would still have the full surface to cook on.
I have 2 levels (grates) to cook on or hold temp on. It has 2 stacks so you can cook on the top level at 225-250 and hold meat on the bottom level at 170. This is done by adjusting the stacks. That's what sold me on it as we cater at times.
I use a guru on my MMIF and it will hold temp like a rock for 15-20 hrs with a full chute of fuel. I use briqs and wood when I cook. No reason why you could not use only wood if you wanted. Like any offset, once you get the temp dialed in and your vents set it will hold great using wood in the MMOF. The firebox is insulated as well in the MMOF.
With the MMIF you fill the box from the top. I have all the room I need with the MMIF. So the 12" you lose with the firebox extension is minimal. I could grill 80 steaks on the top grate alone as I bought the charcoal grill pan. The MMIF will hold alot of food. It's the best built smoker I have had. Bill took us for a tour of the shop when we picked it up as well and he is a great guy. Great smoker and great company. I will have my MMIF for a long long time.

If you want any other info on it send me a PM and I would be glad to answer.

Welcome to the forum from north Florida. You are right to try an make sure your choice will actually cook what you want, both volume and quantity (quality will be up to you). Might I suggest you visit a few local comps and take a look at the cookers before jumping in. Looks like you are near the Dallas metro area, I bet in 2-3 weekends you would get to see a pretty good variety of the cookers you mentioned, talk with folks that use them and maybe even sample some Q. I know you said you were interested in backyard cooking (not comps) but visiting a BBQ contest or two will let you see a pretty good concentration of cookers at one place - and they are fun.

We cook commercially (weekend warrior Food Truck-ish) on a MMOF. Love it. Built like a tank, and super efficient. TRS has you covered on the MMIF details. That model came out about a year or so after my partner picked up our MM.

Bill is a helluva nice guy, and a very successful Dentist to boot!

We burn GFS bagged RO lump, and use some hickory chunks for extra smoke flavor.

I think there is a big comp. going on in Bedford this weekend, you may want to shot over to it and look around and talk to some cooks about their cookers.

Every PCC I have seen in action was running a charcoal base with wood for smoke and running a guru.

As others have said, go to a few contests and see them in action.

I cook on a Peoria in competitions with my teammate on Brew-B-Q. He owns the MMOF and I must say it's one of the most versatile cookers I have ever cooked on. I own a Backwoods EP, FEC 100, Memphis Advantage, UDS, and a Cookshack Smokette, and you will not catch me speaking ill of any of those...they are great. But when my teammate and I teamed up, I borrowed the smoker in spring for 2 months to learn the ins and outs of it I was dumbfounded at how awesome it was. You can cook on 3-4 different levels and ranges from 160 degrees to maybe 500 degrees in the firebox. We cook with lump and chunks and it puts the greatest smoke ring I have ever seen on a brisket without over-smoking it. We run a guru with 25 cfm fan on it and it never moves a degree from the time the smoker is up to temp to the moment we shut it down. If the meat is cooking faster than expected, you can move it from right to left or down. In the lower portion of the cooker, you can keep it at 160 and basically hold the meat once it's done cooking. You can put a rack over the coals in the fire box and sear up some steaks.
I have talked with a few people about the MMIF and there only concerns were that because it's so efficient in burning charcoal, it becomes stale in the cooking environment and you don't get a good smoke flavor. I have never cooked on one, but this is what I've been told. Quau, who helped design the MMOF pretty much will endorse the MMOF only. Would I recommend it, hands down that answer is yes.

I'm the other partner in "No Swine Left Behind". Like everyone else says, they are built "second to none". The craftsmanship is as good as it gets.

Regarding "wood only", I would suspect you could do it, but you'd have to keep a really small fire --- so you might be tending more often. Could interfere with your refreshments intake ;-)

Hal4UK said:

I'm the other partner in "No Swine Left Behind". Like everyone else says, they are built "second to none". The craftsmanship is as good as it gets.

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I'd put a Jambo up against anything out there.

Are you guys cooking this weekend or next? I'd like to swing out sometime and try your food. By Henson Robinson?

gregmhtd said:

I did come across some great reviews on the Pitmaker safe/vault. Looks impressive and completely opposite of the direction I was looking. At less than half the cost of the MM and 300 miles for pick up has peaked my interest.
Dan any thoughts on insulated verticals compared to the MM?
With either pit, I'll have to learn the lumps and chunks way.

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Unfortunately I can't speak for a Pitmaker. When I was researching smokers, I looked heavily into them and read some conflicting reviews that scared me off. Are they the most bad-a** looking verticle cooker? Yes. But I personally felt the Backwoods had more of a reputation that I was looking for. 2K was not something I wanted to gamble with in that I might like it. I borrowed a Backwoods from a friend for a weekend to verify it was the correct purchase and loved it. My Backwoods is a stellar cooker. Extremely efficient and reliable. It cooks at 1 temperature though...with a 10 degree variance from top to bottom. Get the extra runners and racks and you can easily get food for 30 people. You need to determine how to move a pitmaker if you chose to go that route. No matter what, it's a large investment and see if you could see your purchase up close. If you could borrow one or even find someone that does and ask to hang out for the day so they can show you...but make sure to bring beer as a thank you gift. :razz:

I used to live near Peoria and have seen several of their cookers in use. Very well made. However, if I had money like that to spend on a smoker, I'd buy a Spicewine. Brethren made and awesome. FWIW

I just looked up the MMOF and the starting price is $8200? That's a wad of cash for a backyard cooker. If you really want an offset stickburner on a trailer, I'd look at the Jambo Baby J or call R&O smokers and see what they can make that is equivalent. Jambo is in Burleson I think and R&O is in Granbury. Both are closer to you than any of the other options.

OR

Check out the trailer smoker MUSCRAT just built. It looks very similar to a Jambo and Muscrat said he would like to build some more and sell them. He could make you whatever you wanted I'm sure and he's in Abilene.