New smoker quest, paralyzed with analysis

[G8trwood]

Looking for a new smoker to get better flavor than my pellet grills, Traeger. I had a large offset in the past, but gave it to family as I somehow got old and didn’t enjoy staying up all night anymore (okay I couldn’t stay up all night if I had to). I have been chasing that smoke profile on my pellets, but somehow it is always lacking. I also have an electric, because, well, bacon…. If I could teach my do to drop a stick in the hopper every 45 that would be perfect, but alas, he cannot stay up all not either.

Not wanting to spend big money as my usage has slowed. Any opinions on the lower priced gravity units as far as flavor and durability? Looking at capacity to do a brisket and a couple butts or a bunch of wings. We tend to bulk cook then eat off and freeze that vs nightly cooks.

Appreciate any thoughts

Edited to add, I have read every thread possible

Wood

 

[Mike Twangzer]

Scott .... scroll down the page to where you see "enhanced by google" ... type in gravity fed and search ... sorry not much more help ... but others will be .. good luck

 

[IamMadMan]

I too was bit by the old age bug, not finding any fun in tending fires overnight.


I struggled with a two year search for my smoker, it wasn't until I separated my wants from my basic needs that I settled on a unit.



I went with an insulated vertical smoker; while my personal cooks have grown smaller, I do cook for crowds at my VFW and American Legion. The good news is that although the smoker is larger than I need for a personal cook, it doesn't use any extra fuel if I have it fully loaded.


I use lump charcoal mixed with wood chunks and I have a good level of smoke flavoring for my personal liking. An eight pound of lump will neatly fill the charcoal tray and burn for almost 12- 14 hours. Not that i needed it, I purchased a BBQ Guru Digi-Q II for fan control. Perfect cooks every time.


I also recently purchased a Thernoworks Signals 4, again not that i needed it, but at age 70, going up and down the steps to read a temperature can be troublesome. I hate inaccurate thermometers, so "Signals" fits the bill for me and it gives me another gadget to play with (LOL).


I'd suggest you make a list of your needs in a smoke and a separate list of your wants, yes they are separate issues. Find your need first and if it includes some of your want, it's a bonus.


Keep in mind that what works and fills the needs of another may not be what would work for you. If that were the case, we'd only need one type of smoker for everybody. But that's far from factual.


Take your time and do your homework, only you have to be happy with your choice.

 

[K-Train]

I have a couple Cottongin drums that I love. You can find cheaper versions like the pitbarrel. No matter how you go don't think you can beat a drum.

 

[glitchy]

Only asking because I don't know your history, but have you tried any CookinPellets or Lumberjack pellets specifically? These two brands are part of a rare set that offers pellets that are 100% species wood. If you haven't, you should pick up a bag of one of these two company's 100% hickory and try. LJ is probably a little stronger flavor since they use bark in theirs, but that also leaves a lot more ash behind in the bottom of the pellet grill as a result.

Have you run your Traeger at lower temps for at least the first few hours of the cook (like 200-225)? I've had a few Traegers and will say the older models had a better smoke profile than the newer ones too. However, if you set it to your stick burner temps of 250-275 and just roll the whole cook, the profile is going to be much weaker than if you put really cold meat on a 200 degree pellet grill for 2-4 hours then bump up the temps.

My experience has been all the 'Traeger' style grills have similar smoke profiles and that some of the pellet grills with different designs (like MAK and Weber) do give a much stronger smoke profile, still not like a stick burner, but very noticeable from the Tragers, CampChefs, etc. I have had.

If you've tried those things, I will say my Weber Summit Charcoal really isn't much more work to run than my pellet grill, I just need to give it an extra 30-45 minutes to get to temp. I have run it several times overnight with my Fireboard/Pit Viper maintaining and monitoring temps. I'm not sure on capacity though, I've never tried to cook more than a packer or a couple butts at one time in it. There are numerous options for a riser shelf from Weber and all the other Kamado cookers on the market. With a vortex, the WSCG is a wing cooking beast.

If you only want to smoke and never grill on it, maybe a vertical charcoal would be a better choice though.

 

[G8trwood]

Thanks for all the input and updating some info,
I have tried about every pellet on the market, including those, smoke tubes etc. on the Pellet grill. I have an old small one that was given to me and a newer one. I agree that the old one provides much better smoke than the newish one. I would typically run on the low smoke setting for several hours. I think the temp swings are good for pellets vs the tighter computer controls. I think they do a good job for a lighter profile. My wife thinks the smoke is perfect….
I have never been a fan of drums, but I think it is just the stick fire vs charcoal thing. I think that is what has me looking at gravity as you can still get burning of chunks vs a smolder. One of My previous offset was a big homemade vertical (5 22x40 shelves) with a side firebox, so the vertical style is familiar to me, but not a must have.

 

[sudsandswine]

IMO....you can chase that dragon all over the place but you won't get the stick burner taste without using a stick burner. There is no substitute for burning whole logs, I've tried. However, there are cookers that I've found an acceptable trade off of convenience over flavor though...but stick burner flavor without stick burner work is the like the holy grail lol.

 

[G8trwood]

IMO....you can chase that dragon all over the place but you won't get the stick burner taste without using a stick burner. There is no substitute for burning whole logs, I've tried. However, there are cookers that I've found an acceptable trade off of convenience over flavor though...but stick burner flavor without stick burner work is the like the holy grail lol.

That is my take and just wondering if the gravity gets me closer to the golden ring.

 

[long haired hippie]

Stick with the off-set & buy a hammock. Smoking is my relaxation...not a chore. And yes, I'm old...turn 65 in about 6 weeks.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

A drum might be the best choice as depending on how you run it you can get more or less smoke. If you allow the fat drippings to drop into the fire you'll get a more pronounced smoke flavor, but if you have a grease catch you'll get a lighter smoke flavor. Since you've described yourself as "too old" you might want to take a look at something like a Gateway Drum smoker.

Or, if you're wanting to be really wild, perhaps a 22" Weber Smokey Mountain with some adjustments. I've seen people use these and cook for the first couple of hours using small logs (think Red Bull can size), and then once they have enough smoke they'll put in some charcoal and transition to "set it and forget it" with a fan system (or just adjusting the vents every so often).

Link to Gateway Drums :
https://www.gatewaydrumsmokers.com/collections/55-gallon-smokers

Video on WSM for using logs :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elcqORHL5rU&ab_channel=HarrySoo

Either of those smokers would get you pretty darned close to an offset flavor without having to tend a fire all night long. Alternatively you can just cook "hot and fast." I've cooked butts, ribs, briskets, beef ribs, etc at 350F and usually they take about 4-5 hours. This style of "power cooking" works well and produces a great bark with a lovely smoke flavor.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[smokeisgood]

I sold my offset, one of what I consider one of the best in a Pitmaker Sniper, and went with a SouthernQ Limo Jr. My first cook was a huge disappointment, with little smoke flavor on the pork. I've got it dialed in now though, and it is almost as good as what came off my Pitmaker. It's good enough the trade-off of not having to babysit it is worth it.

 

[IamMadMan]

I know I posted earlier, but I couldn't find the old thread that i used to reason my selection for myself.


Here is a link of my personal reasoning in selecting a smoker.
https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2471312&postcount=1

11 years later I'm just as happy as the day it was delivered. I just ordered stainless steel racks today to replace some of my expanded metal shelves.


Remember what works for one person may not work for another.

 

[GatorBeerGeek]

Just stopped in to say I approve of the username. I wish I was still in Florida. Good luck on your search for a new smoker.

 

[SmittyJonz]

https://www.academy.com/p/old-country-bbq-pits-insulated-gravity-fed-charcoal-smoker

 

[oldgfbbq]

I had similar issues moving from offset to commercial smoker. In the end, we cooked longer at lower temp. Such as 190 for 9-12 hours depending on how many lbs were being cooked.

 

[Hoss]

You do not have to stay up all night unless you are cooking a whole hog.Start really,really early in the morning with a stick burner,smoke all day and maybe a little in the night but not long.Put whatever you smoke in a foil boat and pop into an inside oven set at it’s lowest setting for as long as you want.Keep it 12-15 hours, it will only get better.The ONLY way you will get stick burner taste is with a stick burner.This method works great for briskets or butts.Good luck.

 

[G8trwood]

You do not have to stay up all night unless you are cooking a whole hog.Start really,really early in the morning with a stick burner,smoke all day and maybe a little in the night but not long.Put whatever you smoke in a foil boat and pop into an inside oven set at it’s lowest setting for as long as you want.Keep it 12-15 hours, it will only get better.The ONLY way you will get stick burner taste is with a stick burner.This method works great for briskets or butts.Good luck.

Funny just talking to my nephew (who likes to do whole hogs on a block pit) he said he does briskets now with a 6-8 hour smoke and then overnight in the sous vide. Swears it is his best brisket ever. That’s a lot of new gadgets but who knows.

 

[Hinds15]

The newer gravity units put out a great product. Having owned both I'd say the char griller 980 is built a bit more durable in the spots that really matter but not by a huge margin. 2 smokers I'll recommend is char griller akorn and 22 wsm with a air temp controller (not necessarily needed). Both can be dead nuts consistent when dialed in at the beginning. Especially after running a stick burner I'm fine as long as the temp is between 250 300.

 

[Mikhail]

Funny just talking to my nephew (who likes to do whole hogs on a block pit) he said he does briskets now with a 6-8 hour smoke and then overnight in the sous vide. Swears it is his best brisket ever. That’s a lot of new gadgets but who knows.

Interesting. What temp does he sous vide at? I suppose it's just another low and slow, although you'd need a big tub and bag.

 

[G8trwood]

Interesting. What temp does he sous vide at? I suppose it's just another low and slow, although you'd need a big tub and bag.

He said smokes until 160 and then 2 gallon ziplock at 165 with sous vide setup in a cooler. I told him to call me and I will drive up. I didn’t ask if he separated the point. have soup but no sous.

Will get more details. I don’t know if he warms it more prior to service or if the collagen breaks down with extended time at 165.