Smokers

[charliec333]

I would like to know which smoker a beginner should get and the best place to buy it in Northern California (Mother Lode).


Charlie

[The_Kapn]

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,
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 http://bbq-brethren.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_evil.gif

$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 http://bbq-brethren.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif

TIM

[Ron_L]

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.

[BBQchef33]

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?

[VitaminQ]

Bottom line.. are you just looking to eat.. or have fun cookin?

Since when are the two mutually exclusive? :-D

[BBQchef33]

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]

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.

[Sawdustguy]

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.

[kcquer]

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.

[Bigdog]

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]

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?"

[The_Kapn]

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?"

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! http://bbq-brethren.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_evil.gif

The goal is to make it as pleaurable and productive as possible for a new person to smoking.

TIM

[qman]

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! http://bbq-brethren.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_evil.gif

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]

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]

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.


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'?

[Ron_L]

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?"

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...).

[spicewine]

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.


You are on Santa's "Good Boy List" :wink:

[ggeilman]

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]

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.

[kcquer]

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,



Except adding the Brinkmann waterpan.

[brdbbq]

Except adding the Brinkmann waterpan.

Ditto $6 Bass Pro

[rookiedad]

the wsm rocks for a beginner! its portable(you can take it apart and travel with it), its versatile(you can grill on it), its expandable(you can add another chamber to it to increase its capacity). it holds temp for ten plus hours on one load of charcoal using the minion method. it is used in many competitions, and designed for a charcoal fire so if space or wood availability are an issue its also great. you only need chunks that are redily available and small(and it doesn't use that many of those either, while still achieving great results)!
phil

[Jeff_in_KC]

Except adding the Brinkmann waterpan.

Oops! Yep, that's true. I do use the Brinkman water pan if I'm doing brisket or butt in thew WSM... boils dry or you have to keep adding otherwise. BTW... line the water pan with heavy duty foil... clean up is unbelievably easy that way!

[racer_81]

Sand never boils dry.....

:twisted:

[LDOJYD]

Ah, Racer and his sand thang!! As said below, my first was a Brinkman from Home Depot. Used it for about six months then gote the New Braunfel Black Diamond offset smoker.....Used that for hell I guess six years wher I learned to manage the fire, smoke etc (including the Hot Spot) as I did not belong to the brethren and never realized "mods" out there. Now Ihave the Bandara which I broke in New Years day slightly but reall got er ging this past Sunday. One Butt, 8 Slabs of Ribs and 6 Chicken Jalepino sausages. Smoked for roughly 12 hours (butt only the rest obviously came off way ealrier). Turned out really good and hey, The water bowl did NOT boil dry....Not even close....

[racer_81]

...because you had sand in it...???

[Jeff_in_KC]

Sand never boils dry.....

:twisted:

But it still gets a bunch of grease dripping onto the pan and burning to a crisp.

[Ron_L]

There are plenty of mods that you can do to a WSM, but most of them are just for convenience. The Brinkman water pan is a must for overnight cooks if you are using water. Also, I really like the BBQ Guru eyelets that let temp probes pass through. (www.thebbqguru.com (http://www.thebbqguru.com)). I also plan on adding handles to the middle section and adding a gutter hanging bracket to hang my nutemp transmitters on. I'm also going to buy a second charcoal grate and wire the original grate, the second grate at a 90 degree angle, and the charcoal ring together. The two grates are good for using lump so the smaller pieces don't fall through, and wiring the whole thing together makes clean up a lot faster.

the good news is, however, you don't need to do anything to it if you don't want to.

[ZILLA]

I really think you ought to buy a very expensive pit. Look, you only go around once so you might as well go for broke. Get your dream pit NOW, why wait? I would recomend the Klose BYC in 24" pipe "If you can actually convince Dave Klose that you don't want a 20" pit" or the Gator Pit BYCC in 24" pipe with an upright of course? It's only a few thousand dollars. You would spend that going to Disney World!:lol:

[CarbonToe]

Except adding the Brinkmann waterpan.

I'm yet to mod mine, I was going to put a termometer in it and a bigger pan but I've found that sticking in a wireless remote thermomter probe into the top vent sorts out the gauge issue and I've never run the pan down, It takes longer than 6 hours to dry it out and by then I've popped more wood on and topped it up with warm water - Tip - A Wine bottle makes a good 'jug'!!!

I can't sleep when I'm cooking - The excitements far too much!!!!! :tongue:

[stan]

I started with a brinkman. Used it for almost 3 years before I got my bandera. The brinkman was a good one to start with, but I was not part of the forum back then. If I had it to do all over again with this advise the wsm I believe is what I would have done. My 2 cents.