Stonehauler
Knows what WELOCME spells.
Hey all,
Okay, it's getting serious. The wife is in agreement and the funds have been allocated...now just deciding on what to get
My wife and I have been looking at getting a smoker for the past few years. We love the smoke flavor that we can get using our Lynx natural gas grill when using chunks, but honestly, having to come out every 30 minutes to look at and possibly adjust the gas, making sure the temps are right, making sure that the smoke is flowing, etc., and we have decided that a dedicated smoker is the way to go.
what we plan on using it for:
Smoking meats/BBQ. Pork Butts, Brisket, Robs (beef and pork) 7 bone standing rib roasts, fish (salmon, maybe trout) MAYBE a spatchcocked turkey or some beer-can chicken. Since Yoder has a pizza oven, we MIGHT use that, but I would not fully say yes or no at the moment.
What we are not planning on using it for: Grilling or searing.
Seasons we plan on using it:
Year round. We would love to be able to use it even in the dead of winter.
Our time:
We both work full time jobs, but I am the one that cooks. My wife is a dedicated water burner and while she can reheat with the best of them, she doesn't have the 35+ years of cooking for the family I have. While I work mostly from home, I am on conference calls 5 or more hours a day, sometimes I am on 2 or more calls at the same time. So, while I would love to have a stick burner, I just can't commit to being able to go down and throw another log on the fire every 45 minutes or so. If we did, we would be leaning toward a custom Meadow Creek TS70P setup with a fireboard as they are "local" to me being just a few hours away and I was impressed with the build quality. This leads me to "pellet smokers"
Now, I live in Delaware (not to far from another brethren member in Middletown over in Bayberry), home of salt marshes, fog, and rain, and we are only a few miles from the Delaware Bay. Everything here RUSTS...like a 1970s car in the midwest type of rust. If it's not rusting, it's mildewing.
That means I want thick steel. full on stainless, or aluminum. I would love to have a 1/4 inch, but 1/8 inch is a minimum.
My wife and I looked at the Traeger, and neither of us were impressed with it. The build quality just wasn't there and all the metal is really thin. We also would prefer something US made. I've looked at the charcoal gravity smokers, but I am just not sure on them. Also, the ones I did find were mostly China made.
Models
YS640S - high heat for searing if we wanted, good amount of room, but it's probably on the very edge of having enough room. It's also right on the edge of the steel thickness I am looking for
This leads me to the YS1500S and YS1500S Outlander. What impresses me most about the outlander is the pellet dump (no using a shop vac to get the pellets out, the easier access to the needed maintenance points, and the additional 20 lbs of pellet capacity (40 total). I know it can only get to 500 degrees vs 600 on the 640, but I am thinking that my infrared burner on my grill makes a great sear station for reverse cooked steaks, and I can sear the outside of the rib-roast in my oven.
That said, some have mentioned that there might be a few others to look at. Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance and much appreciated.
Okay, it's getting serious. The wife is in agreement and the funds have been allocated...now just deciding on what to get
My wife and I have been looking at getting a smoker for the past few years. We love the smoke flavor that we can get using our Lynx natural gas grill when using chunks, but honestly, having to come out every 30 minutes to look at and possibly adjust the gas, making sure the temps are right, making sure that the smoke is flowing, etc., and we have decided that a dedicated smoker is the way to go.
what we plan on using it for:
Smoking meats/BBQ. Pork Butts, Brisket, Robs (beef and pork) 7 bone standing rib roasts, fish (salmon, maybe trout) MAYBE a spatchcocked turkey or some beer-can chicken. Since Yoder has a pizza oven, we MIGHT use that, but I would not fully say yes or no at the moment.
What we are not planning on using it for: Grilling or searing.
Seasons we plan on using it:
Year round. We would love to be able to use it even in the dead of winter.
Our time:
We both work full time jobs, but I am the one that cooks. My wife is a dedicated water burner and while she can reheat with the best of them, she doesn't have the 35+ years of cooking for the family I have. While I work mostly from home, I am on conference calls 5 or more hours a day, sometimes I am on 2 or more calls at the same time. So, while I would love to have a stick burner, I just can't commit to being able to go down and throw another log on the fire every 45 minutes or so. If we did, we would be leaning toward a custom Meadow Creek TS70P setup with a fireboard as they are "local" to me being just a few hours away and I was impressed with the build quality. This leads me to "pellet smokers"
Now, I live in Delaware (not to far from another brethren member in Middletown over in Bayberry), home of salt marshes, fog, and rain, and we are only a few miles from the Delaware Bay. Everything here RUSTS...like a 1970s car in the midwest type of rust. If it's not rusting, it's mildewing.
That means I want thick steel. full on stainless, or aluminum. I would love to have a 1/4 inch, but 1/8 inch is a minimum.
My wife and I looked at the Traeger, and neither of us were impressed with it. The build quality just wasn't there and all the metal is really thin. We also would prefer something US made. I've looked at the charcoal gravity smokers, but I am just not sure on them. Also, the ones I did find were mostly China made.
Models
YS640S - high heat for searing if we wanted, good amount of room, but it's probably on the very edge of having enough room. It's also right on the edge of the steel thickness I am looking for
This leads me to the YS1500S and YS1500S Outlander. What impresses me most about the outlander is the pellet dump (no using a shop vac to get the pellets out, the easier access to the needed maintenance points, and the additional 20 lbs of pellet capacity (40 total). I know it can only get to 500 degrees vs 600 on the 640, but I am thinking that my infrared burner on my grill makes a great sear station for reverse cooked steaks, and I can sear the outside of the rib-roast in my oven.
That said, some have mentioned that there might be a few others to look at. Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance and much appreciated.