Need some advise on best type of smoker

[gmcole]

My wife gave me the green light to buy whatever smoker I want and after doing some research, my head is spinning. I'm Looking to produce the best tasting, repeatable BBQ for family and friends. I am not an experienced pit master by any stretch. However, I am willing to put some effort into learning the basics. I'm hoping to get some direction from BBQ enthusiast on here.

I am not afraid to spend the money if I can produce great tasting repeatable BBQ . I would even consider a commercial type unit(Ole Hickory, FEC etc.) if it is reasonable in size and appearance.

I'm worried that a stick burner is too big of a learning curve . I think I could handle a gravity fed (charcoal with chucks)but have read that many struggle getting the smoke profile they like . An insulated vertical cabinet also looks within my abilities but research says it comes with the same challenges as a gravity fed plus many don't like the further issues of dealing with water. Would I be happy with a high end pellet burner? if so, which one? or.... should I get an Ole Hickory Ultra Que (gas assisted wood burner)? or...something totally different???

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks- Jeff in Ohio

P.S. I already have a Weber gas grill (never use it) and a Hasty Bake Charcoal (great for steaks and burgers)

 

[Blythewood BBQ'er]

Build a UDS! Ha I win first one in with that.

Seriously though all of the smokers you mentioned can produce wonderful and repeatable results. The big decision is up to how you want to cook. That is the main question.

 

[WilliamKY]

If you have the green light to buy an Ultra Que with gas assist I'd jump all over it without a second thought. As Malcolm Reed says of the CTO "It's one bad dude". Just my 2 cents.

 

[hurricanedavid]

I would reccomend a gravity fed smoker if you are lazy like myself, enjoy a good nights sleep, and don’t want to deal with the hassle of fire maintenance.

In summary, I think you’ll be happy with what ever you decide upon because it’s all about the adventure.

Good luck, :thumb:

 

[Matty95]

Assassin 17

For my two cents, I'd highly recommend The assassin 17. I just got mine last month. It's a gravity feed with a relatively easy learning curve. Big enough that I fed 60+ people, small enough that I don't feel guilty just making a single
Butt. Great smoke flavor, easy to use, and long burn time. It cost a few pennies,
But jeff and Rachel were great to deal with and make a fantastic product.

 

[TXNewbie]

My wife gave me the green light to buy whatever smoker I want and after doing some research, my head is spinning. I'm Looking to produce the best tasting, repeatable BBQ for family and friends. I am not an experienced pit master by any stretch. However, I am willing to put some effort into learning the basics. I'm hoping to get some direction from BBQ enthusiast on here.

I am not afraid to spend the money if I can produce great tasting repeatable BBQ . I would even consider a commercial type unit(Ole Hickory, FEC etc.) if it is reasonable in size and appearance.

I'm worried that a stick burner is too big of a learning curve . I think I could handle a gravity fed (charcoal with chucks)but have read that many struggle getting the smoke profile they like . An insulated vertical cabinet also looks within my abilities but research says it comes with the same challenges as a gravity fed plus many don't like the further issues of dealing with water. Would I be happy with a high end pellet burner? if so, which one? or.... should I get an Ole Hickory Ultra Que (gas assisted wood burner)? or...something totally different???

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks- Jeff in Ohio

P.S. I already have a Weber gas grill (never use it) and a Hasty Bake Charcoal (great for steaks and burgers)

I was in the EXACT same boat recently. I realized no one could tell me what was best for me - that I needed to decide HOW I wanted to cook.

For me it was near "set and forget" as I didn't want to spend my time sitting in front of a smoker all day. So it was a gravity feed or insulated vertical.

From there I narrowed down company and size. It was between the Assassin and the LSG.

I went with LSG as I often only cook a couple of chicken breasts, or sausages and felt the design of the LSG allowed me to easily put just a bit of charcoal in, central the wood flavor with the amount of wood I put in, and easily make food on a week night. I also like how it seems LSG is very focused on incremental continual improvement on their units.

But before I got to that point I had "made my mind up" and then promptly changed it at least 5 times. I'm glad I put myself on a 30-day purchase moratorium to force myself to read/research everything I could.

And it was worth it. I made the best decision for me and what I want to get out of smoking.

That's the best advice I can give you. Make sure you call up and talk to the companies that make your final list as they can be extremely helpful.

 

[Jason TQ]

Man that's tough because seems like you are just getting into it with a fairly open budget :-D. My advice would be to try a few inexpensive options and work up from there since you don't know what you don't know.

You could drop a lot of coin on something that doesn't float your boat. What do think sounds fun? Burning sticks, set and forget (like a WSM), gravity fed, etc? How much weight can/do you want to move around? How many people you cooking for? Ohio is cold and grey and nasty a lot of the year.

Great tasting bbq can be made on anything. Based on your post I'd say get a 22 WSM and go from there. And if $400 is well below your budget and you have money to burn then also get a pellet smoker.

 

[GVDub]

I’m going to give the same advice I used to give when people asked me what computer they should buy (because I’m been messing with computers wince 1972 on an IBM 350, and people seem to think I know what I’m talking about sort of)

Figure out what it is you’re most likely to do, and what you realistically think you’ll want to grow into, then look at the different applications (in this case cooking styles) the different things do best. Make a chart with applications running horizontally and your desires running vertically. Map every product you’re considering into that chart and buy the one that checks the most boxes.

 

[Smoking Cajun]

I started with an inexpensive pellet smoker, just to see if I liked it. I now know that I want to stick with pellet smoking and am researching to decide on my next pellet smoker.

I don't think going with a cheap offset is smart. It is very hard to get good results.

I have learned a lot about smoking with the pellet smoker. It helped me understand how to cook good ribs, chicken and brisket. I think it helped me no matter which smoker I would have eventually chosen.

 

[SmittyJonz]

Insulated cabinet smoker - gravity fed or Reg firebox. Assassin, Deep South, T&K, 270 Smokers, Humphrey’s, Pitmaker Vault or Safe, Lone Star Grillz IVC, plus many others. You don’t Have to run water in them but I usually do cuz I don’t like drippings burning........insulated cabinet smokers are Easy - both gravity fed and Reg and water pans are Easy........

Stare at this for a few days......... https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=186946

Maybe a Brethren or 2 on here have insulated cabinets within a reasonable drive from you that you could go check out when they are smoking.........?

 

[SmittyJonz]

Or start with a Humphrey’s or Gateway Drum Smoker.........

 

[gmcole]

I was in the EXACT same boat recently. I realized no one could tell me what was best for me - that I needed to decide HOW I wanted to cook.

For me it was near "set and forget" as I didn't want to spend my time sitting in front of a smoker all day. So it was a gravity feed or insulated vertical.

From there I narrowed down company and size. It was between the Assassin and the LSG.

I went with LSG as I often only cook a couple of chicken breasts, or sausages and felt the design of the LSG allowed me to easily put just a bit of charcoal in, central the wood flavor with the amount of wood I put in, and easily make food on a week night. I also like how it seems LSG is very focused on incremental continual improvement on their units.

But before I got to that point I had "made my mind up" and then promptly changed it at least 5 times. I'm glad I put myself on a 30-day purchase moratorium to force myself to read/research everything I could.

And it was worth it. I made the best decision for me and what I want to get out of smoking.

That's the best advice I can give you. Make sure you call up and talk to the companies that make your final list as they can be extremely helpful.

Thanks- Did you go with the an LSG gravity fed or Vertical cab? Are you able to produce the end product you thought you would?

 

[gmcole]

Thanks for all the reply guys!

 

[TXNewbie]

Thanks- Did you go with the an LSG gravity fed or Vertical cab? Are you able to produce the end product you thought you would?

I went with the LSG PeeWee Vertical Insulated Cabinet.

It is a fantastic unit and holds more product than I thought it would.

It is very easy to tweak the temp and amount of smoke flavor to any personal liking. The limiting factor will be the user (in this case - me) and not the unit.

Want more smoke? Add more wood to the charcoal mix. Want less smoke? Add less wood.

It's so easy to start. I put in the amount of charcoal I need (which is usually a very small amount as it is very efficient), light a few coals in the front corner with a small propane torch, and then let it do its thing.

If it would help, I'm happy to chat via phone. I know for me it was such a daunting and at times overwhelming journey.

 

[GVDub]

I haven't been here long, but long enough to know they're just getting started.

 

[TXNewbie]

PS. I dated a girl from Findlay many years ago.

 

[CptKaos]

Have you cooked on the peewee yet?

Larry

 

[NYC ‘Que]

There are absolutely zero smoke profile issues with a gravity fed smoker, at least for mine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Westx]

If I didn’t want a stick burner and didn’t have any smokers I would go with the LSG Mini. You can see below what I have now and will have an Assassin Pellet Grill in about 2 weeks. Also remember it isn’t the smoker but the cook that makes the difference. A good smoker will help but a good cook can make good, repeatable ‘queen just about anything.

 

[gmcole]

If you have the green light to buy an Ultra Que with gas assist I'd jump all over it without a second thought. As Malcolm Reed says of the CTO "It's one bad dude". Just my 2 cents.

I really like the looks of the Ole Hickory. I have had good Pork and Brisket at restaurants that use the big units over the years. Our local city BBQ uses a big one, food is always cooked well but smoke flavor is variable. I suppose it depends on who cooked it and how much wood they used etc???