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Weber Grill vs. Smoker

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Brad-B-Q

Found some matches.
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I've always had use of my family's 250 gallon smoker and they have recently sold it. I live in a townhouse and have been smoking on a modified ECB for my wife and son. I've been getting pretty tired of significant fluctuations in heat and having to constantly screw with the coals. It's time to upgrade to something a little better. I initially was thinking the Weber Performer Platinum (22.5") because I've seen the BBQ Pit Boys cook just about anything on theirs. But I'm also considering the Weber Smokey Mountain (large one). The 26" Weber Kettle is also a possibility...its the same price as the Performer and I'm not sure the cart and charcoal bin is that useful for me. Other options include the Big Green Egg, a less affordable Kimodo, or maybe a generic grill with offset smoke box by brinkmann or char- broil.

I'm also interested in participating in some local barbecue (and chili) competitions and don't want to roll up with something ridiculous. Whatever I buy needs to be appropriate for an amateur competitor.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure some of you folks have owned some of the options I'm considering.

Thanks!
 
I am a huge fan of Weber. The kettle to me is a must and I do most of my cooking with it. I also have a WSM and it is great. It holds such steady temperatures and food comes out better than I should be able to cook. It seems to give a better flavor than my kettle on pure smoked meat. I use the kettle the most though because I always grill with it and seem to use it more for smoking as well because I am usually only smoking one meat at a time and the kettle takes less charcoal
 
Are you looking to buy something to grill on or something to smoke on? If you need both, and only want to buy one thing, then I probably suggest one of the ceramics like the BGE. While you can smoke on a Weber kettle, and you can grill on a WSM, they are not really made to do that.

Then again, for the price of a BGE, you could buy both a Weber Performer, a 22'5" WSM, the add-on for the kettle to turn it into a pizza oven, charcoal for a year, and a bunch of meat.

Another question, are you looking more set it and forget it like a WSM, or a stick burner more like what your parents had that you need to tend during the cook?
 
I would highly recommend the Weber kettle in your situation, either the 22.5 or 26.75 OTG. If you have a place for it and can spring for the extra cash, the size of the 26.75 OGT is certainly worth it; I routinely build a perimeter snake and can smoke anywhere from 250* to +325* for up to 6-8 hours without refueling with plenty of room for a big brisket, a 17-20 pound turkey, a few racks of ribs or a couple of butts. And of course you can always build hot direct fires for grilling burgers & steaks.

Edit: but I'm not sure about the competition capsbilities of the kettle???
 
I don't mind tending to it during the cook, but my ECB requires an absurd amount of attention. I have a pretty nice gas grill for steaks, vegetables, etc., so it will be used primarily for smoking ribs, pork shoulder, brisket and sausage. I know the Weber kettle can do all of these things and requires less charcoal than the WSM. On the other hand, I'm really looking to get into competitive BBQ and until I can afford a proper competition rig, I need something that will produce excellent smoked meat. The BGE seems to have a loyal following, but for the money I can almost step into a nice Yoder pellet grill. I saw a guy post pics of 3 of the larger WSM side by side, which he was using to cater an event. It looked impressive. I was thinking the 26" Kettles could get the job done too.
 
What type of competitions? That makes a big difference. In KCBS competitions, you can cook everything on one cooker, but have at least two is much easier and flexible. A 22.5" WSM would be the minimum I would consider. You can do two butts and two medium sized briskets and get them done early and into a cooler or Cambro to rest and then put in the ribs and later the chicken.

Having a WSM and a Kettle would give you more flexibility and make the timing easier.
 
So far, I've only looked into FBA...I believe their turn-ins are one hour off. I guess its boiling down to whether the 26" Kettle can smoke as much meat as the WSM at once...and whether the Kettle's end product is as good.
 
The product is as good as the pitmaster :-D I doubt the 26" Kettle can handle as much as a 22.5" WSM, but I've never compared the two.
 
I was grilling and smoking on the 22.5 kettle and have added a Smoke-EZ to the kettle and a Jumbo Joe that was on clearance. I can go back and forth from kettle to multi-rack smoker.
 
I used to not like the performers as i was old school Weber, however now that i have a couple i love them so much i can't see why i didn't have one before.
 
Hard to beat Weber for all around cooking. Currently use a 22.5 kettle, 22.5 WSM and a WSM Mini.
With indirect heat on the kettle, it will smoke as well as the WSM. True the WSM is easier for temp control.
 
The 22.5 kettle will do it all unless your cooking for a extra large group. It's been my go to grill for 20 years.
 
Ron_L said:
The product is as good as the pitmaster :-D I doubt the 26" Kettle can handle as much as a 22.5" WSM, but I've never compared the two.
Click to expand...

It can handle the same if not more. Using one weber charcoal basket you can also use the 22" charcoal grate as extra grill space plus the top grill grate.
 
Have you considered an Akorn Kamado? They are on sale right now for $299, at that price it's hard to beat what you get. I have been extremely happy with mine and have had very good luck smoking with it. I would love to have a Big Joe but my Akorn does such a good job, I just can't justify the cost to upgrade to a ceramic grill.
 
I have never cooked on a Weber, so I can't compare, but I absolutely love my Kamado as compared to my previous home built charcoal cooker and home built pellet pooper, both turned out great end product, but the kamado is so charcoal efficient and, once I figured out the vents, easy to use, I can literally walk away and not worry about temp swings, even in yesterday's -20, windy, snowy conditions.

Perhaps look at a Primo XL, the oval looks like an awesome alternative for someone who wants more space.
 
I have a performer and use the smokenator in it and love it,and also have a ecb. It's ahard choice I use both so much. I think about getting a ez smoke for the performer. I think if I were to get a new toy today it would be the weber 26.75 with the smokenator then put a ez smoke on it after a awhile it's hard to match the size vs pice vs versatility.
 
I think the ultimate may be a Weber kettle with a Cajun Bandit extension chamber. If you are doing a small smoke you can just use the kettle as is but when you want to get after a lot of meat the Bandit makes the kettle a 22 inch WSM. I made my own version of the Bandit and have used it for almost 20 years. I can grill or smoke about anything other than whole hog.
 
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