Can't make decision, need help!!

[Paul B]

I am the recent owner of a Char-Griller offset. Very happy with it especially based on price/performance/difficulty point. But, I think I would do an UDS next time. Look at the UDS forum, there are some beautiful units. There is a picture of a stainless steel one to die for!
I'm just sayin..

You don't mean this one do you??????

Just sayin..........

Paul B
SS UDS

 

[Crazy Harry]

What's your budget?

Inexpensive - Build a UDS. Great inexpensive smoker with impressive performance. Then use your kettle for grilling.

Moderate - WSM. Great prebuilt smoker, easy to use, no metal working necessary. Use you kettle for grilling.

More expensive. Big Green Egg. Great smoker, grill and clay oven. Looks good and is the most versatile of the bunch.

Expensive. FE1000 or MAK pellet grill. Easy to use, no charcoal to mess with. Can smoke or grill just by setting the temp.

Of course, the price levels are relative. As RTD says, "the BGE costs more than it should, but is worth more than it costs"!

What Ron said

 

[BRBBQ]

I might have a CTO for sale, it can run on Nat gas, propane, charcoal and lump

 

[big brother smoke]

Get a couple of eggs and a nice nest for them; it will keep the wifey happy and you get to cook.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I wouldn't mind spending around $2,000 for the perfect contraption. I don't worry about the mess of charcoal or wood vs pellets, unless pellets give you just as much flavor quality as charcoal or wood. Quality, versatility, and appearance is more important than cost.

P.S. The wife just instructed me to build a larger deck or throw away my other grills and cookers.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Where do you light the fuse? Or does command central just push a button after a countdown from 10? :-D

You don't mean this one do you??????

Just sayin..........

Paul B
SS UDS

 

[Carl Spackler]

I've smoked on a BGE but not an XL BGE with a guru. I had either cut rib racks in half or wrap in a circle which I hated to do. Can you lay a full rack on an XL?

 

[smooookin]

You might wanna look at the 22in WSM.

 

[MilitantSquatter]

I've smoked on a BGE but not an XL BGE with a guru. I had either cut rib racks in half or wrap in a circle which I hated to do. Can you lay a full rack on an XL?

Yes... I've fit five racks laying flat.. Can cook more with rib racks or with a second tier grate on top.

Second pic is not mine, but you can see more racks can be fit...

 

[toadhunter911]

Look at this for a built in option...

http://www.traegergrills.com/index.cfm

 

[Carl Spackler]

Since you've owned an offset Pitts and Spitts, a spicewine and a BGE, what do you see as the differences?...why did you get rid of one or the other?

Thanks,

Yes... I've fit five racks laying flat.. Can cook more with rib racks or with a second tier grate on top.

Second pic is not mine, but you can see more racks can be fit...

 

[BBQchef33]

Since getting my XL-BGE, I haven't fired up the kettle at all. If your looking for a grill style versatile cooker that can do it all.. from ribs to steaks to pizza, to cakes and casseroles, its the egg. Unless of course you want the stickburner...Then we open a different book. klose and Spicewines.


you will NOT be disappointed with the egg.. and it looks like lawn art. You may even move it into the house.

 

[MilitantSquatter]

Since you've owned an offset Pitts and Spitts, a spicewine and a BGE, what do you see as the differences?...why did you get rid of one or the other?

Thanks,

They are all great but they are all different (fuel requirements, capacity, versatility etc)..

On a personal level, I started on the Pitts and Spitts for several years... then got some WSM's for competitions as the P&S was not easy to transport. Sold the P&S and moved to a beautiful Spicewine for comps for two years. Stopped competing so I decided to sell the Spicebox to pay for the BGE's as I wanted a more versatile cookers for smoking, grilling and pizza making for home useage. Recently sold one of the medium BGE's, but still have another medium and also the XL. I plan to keep the BGE's as they are a lot of fun but also am going back to my stickburner roots as I'm buying Parrothead's custom Klose BYC.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Would you say the quality of your cooked product is equal on everything you've used?

They are all great but they are all different (fuel requirements, capacity, versatility etc)..

On a personal level, I started on the Pitts and Spitts for several years... then got some WSM's for competitions as the P&S was not easy to transport. Sold the P&S and moved to a beautiful Spicewine for comps for two years. Stopped competing so I decided to sell the Spicebox to pay for the BGE's as I wanted a more versatile cookers for smoking, grilling and pizza making for home useage. Recently sold one of the medium BGE's, but still have another medium and also the XL. I plan to keep the BGE's as they are a lot of fun but also am going back to my stickburner roots as I'm buying Parrothead's custom Klose BYC.

 

[Carl Spackler]

That's the thing...I might want a stickburner. I definitely have to have the wood flavor...I don't know the ability to use chunks in a BGE...I don't know the taste difference between pellet cooker and a stickburner. From a looks point of view I sure wouldn't mind a Klose BYG.

Since getting my XL-BGE, I haven't fired up the kettle at all. If your looking for a grill style versatile cooker that can do it all.. from ribs to steaks to pizza, to cakes and casseroles, its the egg. Unless of course you want the stickburner...Then we open a different book. klose and Spicewines.


you will NOT be disappointed with the egg.. and it looks like lawn art. You may even move it into the house.

 

[MilitantSquatter]

Would you say the quality of your cooked product is equal on everything you've used?

All were close but but still different.

Best smoke flavor any my preferred unit was clearly on the stickburner. That's from the mostly wood log fuel source. But with a stickburner, you need to be there to feed it.

The Spicewine puts out a great product consistently (as did the WSM's for a fraction of the cost.) For those who use prefer to use water in the water pans, extra moisture could be produced but I was not a fan of the steam effect so chose to cook waterless. Smoke presence was always good but generally not as prominent as the stickburner. I used Kingsford in these units, but was never a huge fan of the smell of the unburned coals being lit with a minion method or maze type burn. If I had them again, I'd use natural lump instead of K even if the burn times decreased a bit or created a bit more variance in temp stability.

The BGE's seem to put out the lighest smoke flavor with chunks or chips but cooks very consistently for very long periods of time with good moisture.

 

[tmarksinc]

This is what you need, cooks slow, in the middle, sears, and looks the best!

 

[Carl Spackler]

Is there any diffence between a Spicewine type smoker and a gravity fed smoker like Stump's other that you couldn't grill a steak on a stump's but you could have a longer smoke time?

All were close but but still different.

Best smoke flavor any my preferred unit was clearly on the stickburner. That's from the mostly wood log fuel source. But with a stickburner, you need to be there to feed it.

The Spicewine puts out a great product consistently (as did the WSM's for a fraction of the cost.) For those who use prefer to use water in the water pans, extra moisture could be produced but I was not a fan of the steam effect so chose to cook waterless. Smoke presence was always good but generally not as prominent as the stickburner. I used Kingsford in these units, but was never a huge fan of the smell of the unburned coals being lit with a minion method or maze type burn. If I had them again, I'd use natural lump instead of K even if the burn times decreased a bit or created a bit more variance in temp stability.

The BGE's seem to put out the lighest smoke flavor with chunks or chips but cooks very consistently for very long periods of time with good moisture.

 

[Carl Spackler]

That's a nice setup.

 

[MilitantSquatter]

Is there any diffence between a Spicewine type smoker and a gravity fed smoker like Stump's other that you couldn't grill a steak on a stump's but you could have a longer smoke time?

I've only seen the Stumps in action, never cooked on one so I can't compare the two. We've got a number of Stumps owners, here so maybe they can comment on it's performance.

Specific to the Spicewine, with a good charcoal maze basket, I once had it running for nearly 24 hrs at a comp at an avg temp of 250. Even without any basket or maze etc.. you can get 4+ hours unattended on a full charcoal chimney. That's damn good.