SmittyJonz
somebody shut me the fark up.
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2013
- Location
- Burleson Tx
WSM are Good too........
New to Q
- Thread starter Swordfish 7195
- Start date
Rusty Kettle
Babbling Farker
Weber kettles rock I have six and I got a traeger pellet grill and a charbroil barrel grill avoid charbroil mostly good for wings and high heat cooking but the metal is thin mine was a gift. I would start with 22" kettle as it can do most anything I smoked a 22 lb turkey for thanksgiving nothing left after dinner.
bbqgeekess
Babbling Farker
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2013
- Location
- Oklahoma
I'd say buy a WSM off craigslist for $30-125 as a first smoker (they are available often). It is as affordable as a UDS, you won't have to build it, its finish won't rust, it'll already be seasoned and had enough cooks on it to get of the internal reflectivity. It should work like a charm right after getting it home.
For UDS style cook just remove the water pan. For a PBC style cook, just remove the water pan and get the add on item for hanging meat from hooks. (or build one with bent and welded rebar)
The WSM stands in the happy middle ground of what you are asking for. One one side you have the ultimate, set it and forget it: the pellet smoker (but it is weaker on the smoke flavor). On the other side you have the offset smoker which requires the most amount of work, tending a fire, but produces some of the finest tasting smoke. The WSM stands in the middle of these two being pretty much set it and forget it (with some minor tweaks during the cook here and there) and produces a more flavorful and stronger smoke flavor than the pellet smoker. You'll learn a lot more about BBQ and fires using the WSM, versus the pellet smoker, and it won't cost you hardly anythign compared to either the offset or the pellet smoker. It's often good to start with less expensive items, especially one such as the WSM, which is an awesome cooker that has won national championships.
For UDS style cook just remove the water pan. For a PBC style cook, just remove the water pan and get the add on item for hanging meat from hooks. (or build one with bent and welded rebar)
The WSM stands in the happy middle ground of what you are asking for. One one side you have the ultimate, set it and forget it: the pellet smoker (but it is weaker on the smoke flavor). On the other side you have the offset smoker which requires the most amount of work, tending a fire, but produces some of the finest tasting smoke. The WSM stands in the middle of these two being pretty much set it and forget it (with some minor tweaks during the cook here and there) and produces a more flavorful and stronger smoke flavor than the pellet smoker. You'll learn a lot more about BBQ and fires using the WSM, versus the pellet smoker, and it won't cost you hardly anythign compared to either the offset or the pellet smoker. It's often good to start with less expensive items, especially one such as the WSM, which is an awesome cooker that has won national championships.
bbqgeekess
Babbling Farker
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2013
- Location
- Oklahoma
Do you immaculately stack uniformly shaped chunks of fuel each cook in a ring? I couldn't handle that--I love me lump and it seems really time consuming! I say $30-125 WSM from craigslist. Dump that fuel in, blast the center with harbor freight flame thrower for about 20 seconds then go baby go! Within 15 minutes you're cookin' :smile:
Wolverine
is one Smokin' Farker
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2012
- Location
- Clarksto...
In our area you have a better chance of finding Bigfoot on craigslist than a used WSM.
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2014
- Location
- Detroit...
Wsm is a great entry level smoker that will get used. I'll be buying an offset this summer, the weber will still have its place. Smaller cooks and when I'm too busy to tend a constant fire.
Listen to this man! Get an Ugly Drum Smoker. Less than $200 and cooks like a champ, is forgiving, and you don't have to be a fire management expert to cook some great BBQ. This is how I started last summer. Now that I've come to love cooking Q I'm graduating to a reverse flow unit (from Shirley Fabrication).
I started off with the weber 22" kettle. Dollar for dollar I think they are one of the best grills out. You can smoke and grill on it. After about a year with that, I moved to the egg, then another egg, and now I have an awesome Shirley Fab smoker. They all have their place and I still use the weber from time to time. I even throw a log into it from every now and then for marshmallows and hot dogs on sticks with the youngen. Kind of like a city campfire.
