Cooker choices

A

Arthur D

Knows what a fatty is.
Joined
May 7, 2009
Location
Eunice, LA
Which bbq cooker to purchase?

It seems that there are a lot of good products on the market. I had no idea how many choices there were in cookers/gadgets and I did not expect the process to be so exciting. I’m just a country boy in Louisiana who has been using my Dad’s home welded grill/smoker for years. Now that I have a family of my own and Pop is not giving in to my begging for his smoker, the time has come for me to plunk down my cash.

I have a gasser now for quick stuff. I’m married to a modern gal, which means I do the cooking for a family of six. I enjoy it. Sometimes I cook for church on their big fixed smoker-grill, but my volume will be at home for family under 25. I’ve got plenty of room.

Klose. Backwoods. Spicewine. Cookshack FEC-100 BGE JR Enterprises 32-48

Which direction to go? I’ve run a stick burner with my Dad, so I understand what tending a fire is like. The FE cookshack unit is dreamy, but dats allota coin. Possible, but not probable. My original budget was 1k. The local weld shop confirmed my suspicion that I could drive to Houston and pick up a Klose for the same price of having something put together.

What would you gents purchase if starting over?
 
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If your budget is $1000, and your 3 1/2 hours to Houston, go get a Klose or a Gator Pits. Backwoods are great, too. FEC-100 is nice, but pricey.


I always suggest a BGE, but you need more room for the "family under 25". You would need at least 2 eggs.
 
If you like the experience of building and tending a fire that produces great BBQ and want a cooker that will outlast you, the answer is a Klose offset.

Just an opinion, please let us know which way you go.
 
Arthur D said:
Which bbq cooker to purchase?


What would you gents purchase if starting over?
Click to expand...

I spent $1300.+ on a very nice stick burner 18 months ago.
I was perfectly content with it till I built my first UDS.
It is now for sale at a huge loss to me.

I personally wouldn't piss away the money unless you need a large Smoker for
Comps and such.

Weiser
 
After a lot of reading here a guy can't help but be impressed with the many Big green Egg posts. And they are winning comps also right?

Before I assumed the bge was for yuppie granola eaters. I'm new, cut me some slack. I'm eyeballing a XL seriously.

I'm still fascinated w/ cabinet cookers like backwoods, superior, and spice. Backwoods, which is close to me has an 8 week wait, which is no good for summer plans.
 
The best advice I can give is that you're gonna need to figure out what type of smoker will make you most happy and ensure you use it often.

All smokers you've noted are good and all can do well in comps.. assuming you know how to maximize their performance with your cooking skill. (Some are better than others in regards to ease of transport).. but if just for home use.. thats not a factor.

As far as the XL... it's what I have now.. As seen in my tag, I've had others.. All are good to great cookers each with their own advantages and disadvantages.. None are perfect.. just need to find the one that fits your current and future needs best.
 
A used Backwoods (party or fatboy) would be nice if you can find one. A new BWS is over budget, but you might be able to find a used one in that price range.

With a BWS you can still tend the fire all night if you want to (but you don't have to). Besides that, LACK of sleep and inconsistent cooking temperature is over rated.
 
Decisions, decisions

YOU will need to figure out what you want and how you want to get there. ALL the different brands of different types of cookers can ultimately produce great BBQ with practice and attention from the owner.

The bullet, barrel and drum versions of vertical water smokers can range in price from $35 to $400 and can offer different cooking configurations and capacity for a reasonable price, with moderate tending of fire and water (if used).

The stick burning offset smokers are also available in a range from $200 on up (no limit with what the builders will provide). These are traditionally designed to be low-n-slow cooking machines with temperature ranges that may be prohibitive to some cooking beyond smoking. Plus they can be very high maintenance with fire tending and varying temperature zones depending upon the specific cooker.

The insulated cabinets and ceramics can be the most versitile and stable to operate with minimal operator input. Many different brands of both with some entry level models starting at around $500. The one negative for this class is to get some capacity you will require multiple units and/or an investment above the stated budget for an appropriate model.

YMMV
 
If I was only gonna have one, I suspect it would be a Klose or JR Enterprises. The only problem with either one is ease of portability. Both can be made to be a trailer model in time, but not now with the budget you quoted.

Any advice other than that is pure speculation on my part. Good luck!
 
I would consider a "Good One" smoker. They are some of the best on the market today because they are well made, and offer some of the most finite temperature control you will find. Instead of putting the fire box off to the side, they position it in front or behind...that tends to even out the temp across the cooking area...something that is difficult with offset smokers. Also, from what I have seen, they are really taking hold on the competition circuit too. Here is the website. www.thegood-one.com

Other than that, and especially if you really prefer the offset sytle, I would agree with everyone else here that you cannot go wrong with a Klose. High quality, well engineered, and awesome customer service.
 
Arthur D said:
After a lot of reading here a guy can't help but be impressed with the many Big green Egg posts. And they are winning comps also right?

Before I assumed the bge was for yuppie granola eaters. I'm new, cut me some slack. I'm eyeballing a XL seriously.

I'm still fascinated w/ cabinet cookers like backwoods, superior, and spice. Backwoods, which is close to me has an 8 week wait, which is no good for summer plans.
Click to expand...

Eggs are great. You wont be disappointed with an Egg. I have a Bandera, a Weber Kettle and a small Egg. As soon as I get a large Egg I'll have a perfect backyard set. (IMHO)

If you are looking to do comps or cater, then you need a larger smoker. Backwoods are super comp machines. Spiceboxes are great overall for comps and catering. I like the Klose and Lang smokers for that eye appeal when catering. They have that black iron old school BBQ smoker look. But they are stick burners and you have to tend the fire. Nothing wrong with that. My Bandera is a stick burner and I love it - wouldn't trade it for the world.

Moral of the story: There is no one perfect smoker. You need several. Thats why you see so many smokers in people's sig lines.

Happy hunting.
 
If you can extend your budget i would consider looking @ a Tucket Cooker. It's a little expensive but the tucker is the most versitle cooker I've seen yet. It's small enough to cook for my family of 3 but large enough to cook for 300 if I wanted to. Check it out @ "Tucker Cooker. com". I love mine.:grin:
 
Maybe I'm just partial to the 'Mistress' but I think for a little more money you could get a Lang 48" patio cooker.

Because of the reverse flow, there really are no hot spots (I've managed to keep my 60" to within 1* across the cooking area)...

As you can see by the cookers listed below, there are any number of cookers that would work just fine. For me, each one has it's own use... The Lang, competitions & large cooks, the BGE, my personal cooker for when it's just a couple of us, the UDS is my general smoker at 'Brisketwood', and, well, 'Little Bubba' (SNP Pro) is being retired after almost 20 years...

Figure out what and how much you are going to be cooking and go from there...
 
Save your cash and build a UDS. Or two. Or three!

Easy to build. Easy to cook on. No constannt fire tending (read: You get to sleep.) And you will have lots of cash left over for meat!
 
Bigmista said:
Save your cash and build a UDS. Or two. Or three!

Easy to build. Easy to cook on. No constannt fire tending (read: You get to sleep.) And you will have lots of cash left over for meat!
Click to expand...
With a family of 6 he should have some one old enough to take on as an apprentice....:mrgreen:
 
You mentioned an FEC-100 in your first post, but not for under a grand.

If you are looking at a pellet cooker, the Traeger Texas 075 would fit the bill and your budget.

UDS are also great too.

Pete
 
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