C
charliec333
Guest
I would like to know which smoker a beginner should get and the best place to buy it in Northern California (Mother Lode).
Charlie
Charlie
charliec333 said:
Charlie,
I am no expert, but have Que'd on a good range of smokers.
The Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) is, by far, the ultimate "first smoker" in my opinion.
And, it will stay with you even as you buy bigger ones later on.
Easy, predictable, and produces a quality product.
I use my WSM all the time and my Dera is getting jealous
$249 on Amazon. Normally no shipping or tax.
Price just spiked up from $199 or so, but still heck of a deal for a quality smoker that is almost "goof-proof".
JMHO
Get over to Cattle Call and say "HI".
We don't bite, most of the time anyway
TIM
Tim is right (of course! :-D ). The WSM is easy to learn and produces great food. It will hold a coupl eof good sized briskets, 8 or more slabs of ribs (either rolling them or using rib backs, and I have seen guys cooking as many as 6 pork butts. Its also almost hands-off for long overnight cooks.
If you don't like buying online, do you have an Ace Hardware nearby? A lot of Ace stores carry the WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker) or can get one for you. You can also check on eBay.
If you don't like buying online, do you have an Ace Hardware nearby? A lot of Ace stores carry the WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker) or can get one for you. You can also check on eBay.
hes a discussion that may help.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13408
it evaluates the WSM and the veticals like the bandera and smoke king, but really appllies to the technique you prefer.... An offset stick burner, or a set and forget rig. There are other questions that can help us answer you better.
1 - whats your budget?
2- Do u want to just cook and feed the family, or make a hobby out of it?
3 - what is the capacity your looking for.. Just feedin a small family, or frequent parties with alot of guests?? 10+? 20+? etc....
4 - Do you have something allready? Gasser?, Kettle, hibachi?
Bottom line.. are you just looking to eat.. or have fun cookin?
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13408
it evaluates the WSM and the veticals like the bandera and smoke king, but really appllies to the technique you prefer.... An offset stick burner, or a set and forget rig. There are other questions that can help us answer you better.
1 - whats your budget?
2- Do u want to just cook and feed the family, or make a hobby out of it?
3 - what is the capacity your looking for.. Just feedin a small family, or frequent parties with alot of guests?? 10+? 20+? etc....
4 - Do you have something allready? Gasser?, Kettle, hibachi?
Bottom line.. are you just looking to eat.. or have fun cookin?
VitaminQ
is Blowin Smoke!
BBQchef33 said:
Since when are the two mutually exclusive? :-D
wel.. im just going to that fine line where ya either stick it in a cooker and leave it alone, or ya get to chop wood, play with fire, get dirty, smell like smoke and love every minute of it. :wink:
Kevin
Quintessential Chatty Farker
Nope, not mutualy exclusive, just different approach.
Just my opinion here for what it's worth. I enjoy the "caveman cooks with fire" part more than the eatin. Please don't misunderstand me, my results are great, and get better everytime I cook thanks to the brethren. I just like the time outside by myself "reflecting". That's why I chose the cookers I did. SKD and Chargriller. Both versatile enough to grill or Q, stick burner or charcoal, but each has it's own characteristics, and I have my preferences for what I want to do that day. I'll move up to heavy metal pretty soon, or maybe a spicewine. But the ones I have do what I want for now.
That's one side of the coin. As others have said, if your goal is to get good Q without the hassles of babysitting a fire, then the WSM, or if budget permits, Spicewine, pellet cooker, biscuit cooker. They'll all work fine. The spicewine does have a touch of class. (Do I get discount on a sticker Jay?)LOL.
Just my opinion here for what it's worth. I enjoy the "caveman cooks with fire" part more than the eatin. Please don't misunderstand me, my results are great, and get better everytime I cook thanks to the brethren. I just like the time outside by myself "reflecting". That's why I chose the cookers I did. SKD and Chargriller. Both versatile enough to grill or Q, stick burner or charcoal, but each has it's own characteristics, and I have my preferences for what I want to do that day. I'll move up to heavy metal pretty soon, or maybe a spicewine. But the ones I have do what I want for now.
That's one side of the coin. As others have said, if your goal is to get good Q without the hassles of babysitting a fire, then the WSM, or if budget permits, Spicewine, pellet cooker, biscuit cooker. They'll all work fine. The spicewine does have a touch of class. (Do I get discount on a sticker Jay?)LOL.
I don't think you have given us enough information to recommend a smoker. We need to know how much money you have to spend, what food you plan to smoke, would you rather use wood or charcoal and if you would be willing to tend the fire for a long time.
K
kcquer
Guest
I didn't start with a set and forget cooker, I really wish I had. The best argument I can make for a beginner to start with a WSM is that it takes fire management out of the equation (for the most part). If you're not fiddle farting around with trying to learn firecraft, you can actually do some cooking. My firecraft is quite good (IMSomewhatHO), I feel like I could cook on about any type of offset and get 'er done. But it wasn't until I got the FE, and began spending my firetending time, actually working on my cooking, that I began to get a lot better Q hitting the table.
For a beginner, cooking, instead of firetending, would be a real boost. Learn firecraft later on when the cooking becomes second nature.
For a beginner, cooking, instead of firetending, would be a real boost. Learn firecraft later on when the cooking becomes second nature.
Bigdog
somebody shut me the fark up.
While I don't disagree with anything my learned brothers just said, I want to suggest something a bit different. If you are on a tight budget, you might want to start with the ECB or the El Cheapo Brinkman. I started on it and quickly learned to love the low and slow way to cook. They are only about $30 and a great first smoker. I still have mine, although I haven't used it in years. Last time way 2 years ago for a small smoking at a campground. Very portable.
Yakfishingfool
Babbling Farker
If the idea is a toss it in the smoker and ignore it, then why smoke? 3/4 of the fun is sittig out there and lplaying with fire, and wood, and driving the neighbors nuts with "what's he doing know?"
Yakfishingfool said:
Actually, the question was:
"I would like to know which smoker a beginner should get and the best place to buy it in Northern California (Mother Lode)."
From that, the goals become "learn to smoke BBQ meat" and "learn to manage a fire".
New folks can do those in any order they prefer, or at the same time!
The "fun" will develop as they learn to cook the meat and to manage a fire, in no particular order.
Both at once is a handful--been there, done that!
The goal is to make it as pleaurable and productive as possible for a new person to smoking.
TIM
qman
Babbling Farker
The_Kapn said:Actually, the question was:
"I would like to know which smoker a beginner should get and the best place to buy it in Northern California (Mother Lode)."
From that, the goals become "learn to smoke BBQ meat" and "learn to manage a fire".
New folks can do those in any order they prefer, or at the same time!
The "fun" will develop as they learn to cook the meat and to manage a fire, in no particular order.
Both at once is a handful--been there, done that!
The goal is to make it as pleaurable and productive as possible for a new person to smoking.
TIM
KAPN, you are truely a man of discernment and wisdom. Based on what Charlie asked, with no further information, you nailed it. Buy a WMS and learn to cook great Q on it, then move on. Fire Management? for a newbie, even the WMS, which some of us consider to be a "set it and forget it" tool, is something to be learned.
Hoorenga
is one Smokin' Farker
Although many here can attest, that I didn't start this way, I would highly recommend buying a WSM. I still have never owned one but I think it would have gotten me through a lot of the rough spots a lot easier. But nooooooo...I had to buy a whole string of inferior smokers ending up with a fairly decent heavy steel model Brinkman. I think the WSM will get you where you want to go a lot faster and easier. By the time you have the basics down you should have a pretty good idea of what you want. Not everyone wants the same thing in a smoker.
CarbonToe
is Blowin Smoke!
BBQchef33 said:
Wow that thread brought back memories!! :razz:
I started off by smoking in a Weber Kettle and felt a need to take my cooking up to the next level. As you can see by the above thread I was going to buy a Brinkmann but the guys advised a WSM. Since buying it I've never thought what if.... The WSM has never failed me, I've cooked on her at least every other week and have smoked everything from Brisket to cheese and I've still so much to learn (and taste!)
I don't think that you've provided enough information for the Brethren to advise you:
1) What BBQ experience do you have?
2) Budget?
3) How often are you going to cook?
4) Do you want to 'play' or 'fire, load and forget'?
Yakfishingfool said:
While I agree with you on this (especially the "What's he doing now" factor :-D ), for a beginner, too many variables can cause frustration. Going through a few cooks just trying to figure out fire management, and not having anything worth eating come out of it can be enough to drive anyone crazy (yeah, I know that this is an extreme scenario, but ya never know...).
Kevin said:
You are on Santa's "Good Boy List" :wink:
ggeilman
is Blowin Smoke!
Hey I still am pretty much a beginner! I found the Bandera a good entry level smoker for me. Gives me a chance to learn a little bit about playing with it all before I invest several $1000 on a good smoker.
Jeff_in_KC
somebody shut me the fark up.
I'll chime in here and say if I had to do it over again, knowing what I know now, I'd buy the WSM first. I bought the BSKD first and learned on it. While I don't think I ever pulled bad Q off that smoker, it was tough to keep good pit temps to start AND I recall going through nearly three bags of charcoal and quite a bit of wood in my first two cooks. The difference in price you pay for various smokers might even out with all the charcoal you'd possibly go through while learning.
Another thing to think about (and I don't recall it being discussed above - if so, my apologies), with the WSM, you don't need to do any mods to make it work great. It's a really good product right out of the box, one more thing to help the beginner concentrate on cooking great Q.
Another thing to think about (and I don't recall it being discussed above - if so, my apologies), with the WSM, you don't need to do any mods to make it work great. It's a really good product right out of the box, one more thing to help the beginner concentrate on cooking great Q.
K
kcquer
Guest
Except adding the Brinkmann waterpan.
