Needing some guidance

[HPD510]

Hello all,

So I have posted an intro in the cattle call, but have got some questions now. Long story short, I grew up since I was a pre-teen smoking meats on a cheap brinkman smoker. It was an offset, yet we used charcoal with chunks in it simply because we knew no better. Well I have relocated myself due to work now, and am starting from scratch with two weber kettles. Although I have spent the last few month successfully smoking multiple butts, briskets, and chicken on the kettles, its time for me to upgrade. Life has finally afforded me the opportunity, and I will soon be able to get me another actual "smoker" soon. Now comes the hard part. Deciding what to get.

I have used a cheap vertical smoker in the past, but did not get the same flavor I like that I had out of the offset. Plus I seemed to actually have a hard time managing the vertical. This has me leaning more towards the offset. Although this time I want to actually learn to properly use the offset as a stick burner. Now the next question is price point and quality. I have always been in the camp of buy nice instead of buy twice. I have looked hard and long at the Old Country Smokehouse solely due to Smitty throwing a wrench in what I was looking at with his thread about his. I have also looked at their Brazos and Pecos. Only concern of mine for the Old Country is the lack of thickness in the metal other than the Brazos. Then there is the aspect of Bell Fabrication being in my back yard basically (1.5 hour drive). I just have been unable to find a whole lot on Craig's works that aren't huge trailer units.

I am not looking to spend more than $1000, but may be able to fudge it a hair higher. I love the looks of Lone Star Grillz, Yoders (I have a friend with one that is still trying to get me to buy one), Lang's, and the likes, but am simply unable to take my price point that high. This purchase is justified by our need to smoke meats for my upcoming wedding, meal prep, and the fact that when we have our friend get together (10ish people), they generally always ask me to smoke some meats.

I guess the question boils down to are the higher priced, thicker units really worth the extra coin, or would a middle ground such as the Pecos or Smokehouse be more suitable for the demands? If there are links that I may have missed when lurking throughout the site, paste away and I'll get to reading. Thank you all for your inputs!

-Nick

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

Welcome to the forum! You said it perfectly in the sense that "Buy nice or buy twice." Thicker metal retains heat better so when you're running your offset the "correct" way with wood you'll see less temperature fluctuations (well, slower change in temps).

Note : Do yourself a favor and stay away from the smaller Yoder offset smokers. There's a large thread on this forum detailing the issues people have with them, myself included. Beautifully crafted put poorly designed and they were nothing but trouble.

The Brazos is a pretty amazing piece of equipment for the price. Well built, thick steel, good drafting...tough to go wrong with that pit. I've never used LoneStarGrillz myself but people here rant and rave about how great they are, so it's definitely going to be a good buy.

I've never seen a BellFab cooker in person but there are quite a few on this forum who have and they also seem to love it. For the price and your proximity it's certainly worth taking a look at their stuff.

Finally, there's really some great used smokers out there for a great price. You can get more "bang for your buck" going this route. Here on this forum people are often selling solid offset smokers for great prices.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=9

Good luck and I hope you find what you're looking for.

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

Welcome to the forum! You said it perfectly in the sense that "Buy nice or buy twice." Thicker metal retains heat better so when you're running your offset the "correct" way with wood you'll see less temperature fluctuations (well, slower change in temps).

Note : Do yourself a favor and stay away from the smaller Yoder offset smokers. There's a large thread on this forum detailing the issues people have with them, myself included. Beautifully crafted put poorly designed and they were nothing but trouble.

The Brazos is a pretty amazing piece of equipment for the price. Well built, thick steel, good drafting...tough to go wrong with that pit. I've never used LoneStarGrillz myself but people here rant and rave about how great they are, so it's definitely going to be a good buy.

I've never seen a BellFab cooker in person but there are quite a few on this forum who have and they also seem to love it. For the price and your proximity it's certainly worth taking a look at their stuff.

Finally, there's really some great used smokers out there for a great price. You can get more "bang for your buck" going this route. Here on this forum people are often selling solid offset smokers for great prices.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=9

Good luck and I hope you find what you're looking for.

I would like to see a link or a bump (or a PM?) to this thread please. A good friend is thinking of making a purchase...

 

[HPD510]

Note : Do yourself a favor and stay away from the smaller Yoder offset smokers. There's a large thread on this forum detailing the issues people have with them, myself included. Beautifully crafted put poorly designed and they were nothing but trouble.

Yeah, I happened to stumble upon the thread with all the issues people are having with the Wichita I believe it was. My buddy has a Kingsman and swears by it. says that he only has to add a split almost every two hours is all. Either way, the Yoder is out of my price range along with other such brands.

My desire for quality, yet a slightly constricted budget is what got me looking into Bell's smokers. They seem to be the same higher level quality as the other high end guys, but without having to pay for the name. I just simply haven't heard enough of guys with backyard models to convince me to fully pull the trigger on one.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

Here's the thread about the Wichita....the Cheyenne has also suffered from the same issues, and towards the last few pages there's a VERY in depth YouTube review of the Kingman where a guy has to use a large box fan aimed towards his firebox just so his cooker will function properly.

To each their own but I suffered through the silliness of Yoder for over a year and I'm just making sure people are aware of their issues (and pretentiousness) before making a purchase.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=226666

 

[Smokie185]

Take a look at these.

https://www.humphreysbbq.com/products/the-weekender

https://shop.backwoods-smoker.com/collections/frontpage/products/chubby-3400

 

[Joe Black]

With your close proximity, I would look at the bell. Check out my avatar. Mine is a 24”x48” backyard model. I’ve had it for three years and I love it. It has a lot of great features like the big name units without the cost. Check them out, Craig Bell is a good guy and very easy to work with.

 

[SmittyJonz]

Smokehouse being a direct firebox vertical doesn’t have to be heavy gauge - more effecient than an offset- and if you keep ash cleaned out and spot paint rust when needed it will last for a good while. Otherwise if you want a standard horizontal offset go see Craig Bell -‘couple guys on here have smaller units and love them. And from what they say he will build to your specs -get a 24 x 48.

 

[mchar69]

A UDS is perfect for you - but since you won't make your own,
the Big Poppa Drum Smokers are the way to go for you.
might be $600. Good price point, making your own is at least 200, and not as good.



A drum smoker is - you set your fire, with Lump and Good charcoal, and fist sized lumps of Cherry or Apple or Pecan for me, others use different wood.

The drum comes to temp, you adjust your intakes, put the meat on,

check for about one hour, dial in air if you need, and leave. Go to work.
That's why I love my UDS. Set it and forget it.

It is a set it and forget it system. A stick burner must be tended.
Sometimes I fire up my UDS then go to work for 5 - 6 hours with no worries.
Pellet poopers will do some of the same things - unless you lose power.
Less smoke, I have read as well. UDS! UDS!

 

[SmittyJonz]

I’ll always have one charcoal smoker and one stick burner. A drum smoker would be a good choice for a charcoal smoker........

 

[SonnyE]

I'd like to ask how old your are Nick, if you don't mind.
It helps advise you about which way to go. :wink:

If you have several decades to enjoy a costly smoker, that's one thing.
Me, at 69, and a heart patient, I take a different view. I figure my crap is going to be sorted over and divided up, or thrown away. So going big bucks is not really worthwhile to me.
In my 20's and 30's... shucks yeah. But then, the income to throw down on the barrelhead wasn't really there either.

Until now, you got by fine with a UDS. Nothing wrong with that. High dollar invested does not mean high return.
Over the past 30-40 years I may have had 5-7 different ways to burn meat. But also had a dedicated smoker on the side. (Not counting some campground brazers I've used for a big fish or two.)

So, do you want to invest a large sum and feel stuck into a certain way?
Or maybe try a few different things before you make a commitment of sorts?

Me, myself, and I, are looking towards an OK Joe combo gas and offset. What's holding me back is it's currently Propane only on the gas side. And I want Natural Gas capability.
I'm not worried because I'd put firebrick in the off-set firebox. So it would last.
But buying into a big expensive BBQ may, or may not, be something you want to commit to.
You might want to try a few disposables before you buy into high dollar iron. :mrgreen:

 

[HPD510]

A UDS is perfect for you - but since you won't make your own,
the Big Poppa Drum Smokers are the way to go for you.
might be $600. Good price point, making your own is at least 200, and not as good.

I'd like to ask how old your are Nick, if you don't mind.
It helps advise you about which way to go. :wink:


Until now, you got by fine with a UDS. Nothing wrong with that. High dollar invested does not mean high return.

So, do you want to invest a large sum and feel stuck into a certain way?
Or maybe try a few different things before you make a commitment of sorts?

But buying into a big expensive BBQ may, or may not, be something you want to commit to.
You might want to try a few disposables before you buy into high dollar iron. :mrgreen:

mchar: Yeah I looked into the UDS when I was looking at charcoal units. I was also looking at the WSM though due to the ultra long smokes possible with the WSM (I absolutely love long brisket smokes). The concept of the UDS with hanging meat and all has just been a completely foreign concept to me since I grew up under a rock when it comes to knowledge of other units. I have heard wonderful flavors coming out of UDS though.

Sonny: I am rolling up on 25 here pretty soon, so still very young with the prayers of a long life considering work and all. Some very sound advice within what you said though. There really is the concept of wanting to learn many different ways of smoking, its just a matter of what I can fund at the moment. I have just seen so much of the stick burning, that I thought it would be fun. Plus it has that aura of the original and traditional way.

Regardless of what route I decide to go, I will have to be around when I fire things up. Due to the nature of my work, I am unable to smoke something while I am at work. My days can easily go from an 8 hour day to a 18 hour day real quick.

Thank you all for your inputs so far. Much appreciated!!

 

[Hoss]

Welcome friend,buy your time,save and scrimp your last penny and buy a small Shirley.You will be glad you made the scrafice.

 

[mchar69]

The concept of the UDS with hanging meat and all has just been a completely foreign concept to me since I grew up under a rock when it comes to knowledge of other units. I have heard wonderful flavors coming out of UDS though.

I don't hang meat, I have normal grates. a home made UDS job.
I agree, that hanging thing makes no sense, but it works for many.
My grate is 27" above the fire. Flat Meat Likes this grate.

My Homemade UDS was about $150 or less to make.
It looks like it, but it cooks like a million dollars - Steady Eddy!

 

[HPD510]

I don't hang meat

Ah got it! I didn’t realize there were normal grates for the UDS. Makes sense though. Thanks for the clarification!

 

[jermoQ]

I feel a little pain by saying this, (because I am cheap) but if you are going with an offset, $1000 is not really going to get a new one that is really good. There are thicker units, that are still small, similar to or the same as ones you mentioned, that are going to run significantly higher. However, you would get the most life out of a more expensive one IMnotalwaysHO. If you only need to cook for 10 to 12, I think a Smokehouse, or a $100-$800 barrel would cover what you need. If you need more capacity, you will need to consider a smokehouse, which is higher capacity, and can be used to burn sticks. I started out 18 years ago with a cheap vertical Brinkman with no temperature control, and if I had known about building a barrel cooker, I would have upgraded in a heartbeat.

 

[ebijack]

My experience, I've cooked on a few Shirley's and Lang's along with other high end offsets.
I'd still like to have a Shirley. Was the easiest to run over the others. And I'm talking alot of overnite smokes cooking for Veterans cooking on multiple cookers. Not just 4 or 5 hr cooks.
My home built horizontal drum, out of a 55 gal drum burns almost the same total amount of wood as the high end units over the same given time. Very close.
Yes I have to add smaller wood splits more often, every 20-30 mins. But I like tending fire. I don't mind being right there. Only one reason for having an offset.
But I do have to chop/split the wood more. More work.
I would not shy away from the close to $1000 offsets.
Once you've mastered it. And still want a high end unit. Buy it. You won't be missing out. If you find it is not your bag, you will be out ALOT less $$ in the end.

 

[awscwi]

Hunsaker Drum...look closely at these. Lump charcoal and wood chunks.
Very easy to run and easy to transport if needed.

 

[HPD510]

Hunsaker Drum...look closely at these. Lump charcoal and wood chunks.
Very easy to run and easy to transport if needed.

I had never heard of these. Took a look at them, and they're pretty cool looking actually. I always just worried about capacity with the drum smoker. You may have thrown another wrench into the decision process haha