Lone star grillz cabinet question

I have a different cabinet than LSG. But pretty much the same idea. I also have an offset.
Once you find how many chunks of wood and what type/types of wood. You Will be able to get very close to the same smoke profile as your offset. Most will never notice any difference.
Takes some time to dial it in. But very doable.

Not quite the same, no. A stick burner will always turn out better IMO.

To what degree, however, is subjective. Ever since I got my LSG IV, I haven't fired up the stick burner once. It turns out really good product and the ease of use is well worth the conversion to me.

It would take a really experienced authority on your specific Q to notice. Personally if I was weighing options before purchase, I would say food quality is not a factor when comparing the insulated vertical vs a stick burner. That's what I would tell myself if I had a chance to talk to my future self pre-purchase...and then I'd tell myself to buy it immediately because it will make BBQ life much better.

On a side note, I would also tell myself to invest in lots of roasting pans or alternate methods so that you can lay your proteins on that vs directly on the grill grates. The pans will keep the smoker cleaner for longer and significantly reduce mess as well as making it super easy to transport the protein in and out of the smoker more easily. This goes for pretty much any smoker I suppose, but just wanted to mention it in case a new smoker break-in is coming soon!

I disagree that a stick burner will “always turn out better”. They put out good q but take a level of skill and are wildly inconsistent as they depend heavily on weather, dryness of wood, skill of the pit master, and other variables. They are capable of being better but I’ll take the consistent product that comes out of my cabinets over possibility of greatness. As noted above, dial in your charcoal (briquettes) to wood ratio (by weight) buy the same wood chunks every time, and you’ll be able to count on the same product every time. Consistency trumps occasional greatness in every facet of life.

If you read the forums a lot, you will find people that are very happy with "Gravity Fed" and IVC smokers compared to their stick burning offset cousins.

If you 'lace' your charcoal with wood, you can come pretty close with little additional effort. Myself, I have fed 'sticks' into a WSM for a few hours cooking hams and such and got a really good 'offset' level of smoke flavor, though the effort to manually feed the WSM was essentially the same as, or a little more than, a traditional stick burning offset. It really depends on how much smoke level you want in your finished product and if you are willing to do the effort and learning required to get that smoke profile on your 'cabinet' of choice.

To me, I tend to think a gravity-fed smoker is the best 'near' stick burning offset with little required maintenance because I can add wood easily in the beginning to smoke my meats and then sleep through the night to finish a brisket with 'laced wood chunks' as one example.

I have a large IVC I've cooked on a wsm and frequently eat of my neighbors old country bbq stick burner I can turn out way better food on my ivc and not to mention way more food on it. It took a few cooks to learn the way the temperature would fluctuate and how to adjust my valve openings but this thanksgiving i was able to push out two briskets 10 racks of ribs, four racks of beef ribs, two pork shoulders and one turkey all with ease and minimal adjustments. All my guests said it was the best bbq they've ever had

My large IVC makes me look like a better cook than I am. But I'm OK with that.