Cooker/Smoker Recommendation Please

My advice is to buy the biggest smoker you can afford. I am partial to my Lang, and still think that he has the best bang for the buck. Mine is 8 years old, and still runs and looks like new.

Good luck!

I too bought an Assassin. mine is the #28 and I love it.

A Spicewine .....Turns out a great product and unbelievable build quality.... A solid cooker..

All i did was add another intake to the bottom of the door. One of the 2 intakes they have is USELESS!!! The top one acts like an exhaust not an intake. I did this because like the guy says on the video said 18 square in exhaust is WAY to small. There was a thread a month or so ago about these cookers. Everyone else hacked off their exhaust and put a 5 sq inch exhaust closest to the fire box (I'm guessing the builder seen that post because now he got rid of the useless exhaust on the end of the smoker and got a bigger exhaust closer to the fire box) That exhaust the farthest away is pointless on a reverse flow!! Like I said the other intake I installed fixed it mostly but I have the small exhaust. Now the thing cooks like a champ! So if you get the new one you shouldn't have a problem that I can see.

SC_Dave said:

I don't know which cooker you're talking about. ????

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This is the thread where the problem was discussed.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157905

+1 for the Pitmaker Safe.

I would go with the TS120 from Meadow Creek in that price range....hell of a cooker for the price with high quality material from ground up.

+2 for the Pimaker Safe. I got mine before the ball valve option and had a hell of a time with it, but after I retrofitted a 3/4" ball valve intake I have absolutely loved my Pitmaker. I cooked a 14 lbs. brisket yesterday at 305 in about 7 hours. I used hardly any charcoal and the temp stuck at 305 the entire day. There are some other really good smokers out their at that price point, but I would definitely buy another Pitmaker if I had it all to do over.

pbarber said:

I too bought an Assassin. mine is the #28 and I love it.

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How many racks of ribs or briskets can you put on it? and do you have to lose a cooking rack to use the water pan?

Originally Posted by caseydog
This question comes up all the time on the forum. From my experience on the forum, asking the brethren what cooker to buy is like asking what car to buy on a car forum. There are so many good ones out there.

I would pick one, or maybe a couple out, and ask the brethren their experiences with those units. Find out the pros and cons of of those particular units.

Check out the suggestions on here, narrow your options, then run those options by the brethren. IMO, you will get more usable information.

CD

IamMadMan said:

I agree with Casey Dog here, everyone loves the smokers they have and they all feel their smoker is best, mainly because it suits their needs well. People are individuals and needs change from person to person like anything else.

My suggestion to you is to figure out what you need, not what you think you want.

Start by deciding what you wish to use for fuel, do you want a stick burner that may require a lot of attention, or a well insulated charcoal cooker that can burn all night on an eight pound load of lump charcoal. Consider and calculate your fuel costs then move on to other needs.

After that you can decide size, adjustable shelving, vertical or horizontal, reverse flow, and so on....

The last thing I want to do is try to persuade you to purchase something just because I like my unit. Here is the reasoning on how and why I chose my smoker that I recently purchased... How I chose my smoker Maybe some of this selection process can help you find your needs?

Also added was to the fact was that it was a $1000.00 cheaper than another unit of similar design I was considering.

These can be purchased on a cart or with castors.

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I completely agree with CaseyDog and IamMadMan....think of what you want to accomplish and then begin sorting through the different smokers/cookers available. The process may take a couple months to figure out...hell it's taken me 2 years. I wanted a Cadillac Cooker, then a Meadow Creek or Lang (leaned towards MC), then Pitmaker, then CC again, then Backwoods...and now I'm really liking Assassin.

It's going to be a long process. First thing to decide is ... stick burner (then within that category a RF or standard offset) or coal burner (vertical/cabinet style). All produce great BBQ, but it also will depend on your ability to monitor and be "tied to your cooker" while cooking.

One thing to think about, if the largest crowd you intend on cooking for is 25, then you may not need a big unit. Use your budget to buy a couple different cookers...a small RF, a small vertical and/or a charcoal kettle, but get them all from reputable builders/companies. Maybe throw in a Guru or Stoker, good digital thermometer, and a good set of insulated food gloves. Then put them all on the utility trailer.

If there's money or desire absolutely burning a hole...build a UDS (or spend a little more and go for a 22.5" WSM) and start practicing your fire managaement, rub combinations and meat cooking. It's a cheap way to get started and gives you time to make a sound decision.

Enjoy!!!

If you end up leaning towards an RF offset, another to look at when you're looking at Lang (www.pigroast.com) would be Bubba Grills (www.bubbagrills.net).

Someone mentioned that every episode of BBQ Pitmasters has been won by a stick burner this year... Don't know if it's true, but another iron for this fire!

nmayeux said:

Someone mentioned that every episode of BBQ Pitmasters has been won by a stick burner this year... Don't know if it's true, but another iron for this fire!

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Not true. Rub from Swamp Boys cooked on his Yoder Smokers Kingman Comp Cart and his Yoder Smokers YS1320 pellet. The YS1320 has the bright green cart, but wasn't shown all that much during the episode.

As to what smoker to get? The Yoder Santa Fe is just above your price range ($3,395), and it could easily cook for smaller catering gigs. There are a ton of good smokers out there though, and I'm sure you'll find something you love that fits your needs!

I am currently down to the Assassin 28 and the Pitmaker Vault. I have had a really hard time with this decision but have been leaning one way. Will let you know what I decide on as I plan to finalize this week and move forward with the design. For you I'd say the Assassin or the pitmaker safe.

joshcary said:

Not true. Rub from Swamp Boys cooked on his Yoder Smokers Kingman Comp Cart and his Yoder Smokers YS1320 pellet. The YS1320 has the bright green cart, but wasn't shown all that much during the episode.

As to what smoker to get? The Yoder Santa Fe is just above your price range ($3,395), and it could easily cook for smaller catering gigs. There are a ton of good smokers out there though, and I'm sure you'll find something you love that fits your needs!

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I spent a year researching which smoker to buy. Initially I wanted a whichita. After reading all the posts on here regarding lang, I went back and forth between the lang and yoder whichita.

I couldn't afford the yoder kingman (and would only need that size one time per year for a neighborhood pig roast), loved the thought of the durango, but didn't really fit with my backyard. So I went with the loaded whichita and could not be happier.

This think is built like a friggin tank and once up to temp, it is as easy to control temps as your kitchen oven. Wood is cheaper than charcoal...and the taste is second to none in my opinion.

A good friend of mine recently got an egg...not my cup of tea...but I guess that's the point of this thread....what do you want?

JohnnyP said:

I don't know how these cook but i like the layout. It was made by HBT Welding in Section Al.

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Heh I've been eyeing these up as well...haven't found many comments/reviews at all.

Before you buy a cabinet style make sure you check out Spicewine Ironworks. I don't own one...yet, but I have the (mis)fortune of driving past their shop everyday on the way work. They build some great units and it's just a matter of time before one is on my back patio. By the way, I've cooked for close to 40 people on 2 Weber Smokey Mountain cookers. They're about $300 each or you can get the 22.5 inch for about $400. That cooker is really big enough for 25 people. Like someone esle said, add a Guru or a Stoker (what I use) and you're set.

Look into Tuscaloosa Q's pits. Custom and very well built! I own one and love it! Very heavy duty!