New Grill Shopping Questions

[SmokingJoe]

Hello Ya'll

Very excited as my 10 year anniversary is coming up and we both agreed instead of surprising each other with a gift that we each go out and get something we've wanted. My spend range is $1500-$2500.

Been a Weber person all my life (huge fan of their product and service overall). I currently own The kettle gold (go to coal cooking), Little Joe (tailgating/camping), Smokey mountain (smoking), Genesis (go to dinner grill), and Spirit (like new, limited use)

However, I ALWAYS wanted the green egg (now leaning towards Primo for American Made) but really debating this now. Have some friends with the egg and I feel my smokey mountain crushes it when it comes to smoking. Outside of the eggs ability to retain heat and maintain temp for a very long period, I feel like the WSM produces a flavor profile much more to my liking on a smoke.

Now I'm looking at the Loaded Wichita. Have never looked for an offset and I'm trying to find one unit that can replace my Kettle and WSM.
Couple of questions I have:

1. Are there any other offsets I should look at?
2. Can these offsets cook at 500-600 for direct heat grilling?
3. Do these only really work with logs or can I continue using lump&wood chunks for a smoke?
4. What would your ideal grill be in that price range?

Thank you so much in advance for your feedback

 

[KClandcruiser]

When it comes to offsets, you can certainly run them on charcoal, it will just take a lot and be very costly to run.

It sounds to me like you want to stick with charcoal and maybe have the option to use wood if so inclined.

A traditional offset is not going to be very good for direct heat grilling. Some have options for coal inserts, but I think there is a better path if you're looking to do both.

My suggestion would be to look into the M Grills M1 or a Hasty Bake. That gives you the ability for direct heat grilling or the ability to run low and slow. Those can also be effectively run on charcoal but you can also burn only sticks in the M1.

If you're stuck on an offset, with your price range, the Shirley 24x36 is going to be very difficult to beat. Sounds like you've got yourself a fun conundrum

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

In that price range I would be looking at the Shirley mentioned above or the 20x42 LSG.

 

[gtsum]

I have an M1 and it burns logs, charcoal, or a combination. Also does direct and two zone grilling very good. You cannot beat the flavor and end result of a stick burner imo. But you can also get 4-6 hours of burn time with charcoal in the m1 also.

I grill 70% and smoke 30%, so it works great for me. There is a lot of airflow on the m1 and it gets much hotter than my weber performer when grilling...need to control the temp with amount of charcoal more so than choking it down


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[SmokingJoe]

Can beat this conundrum Wish all my lifes problems were what smoker to buy.

Thanks for the suggestions, looking into these. I'd love to only burn sticks. Unsure if its a problems or not as I haven't looked into it around where I live but i'd need to figure out where to get my hands on the wood I like and then just the learning curve as I've been burning coal all my life. But I definitely want the option of being able to replace both the kettle and wsm so I'd definitely need a versatile cooker

 

[Shiz-Nit]

Not knocking other smokers but I'd be rocking a Shirley if my wife approved a purchase like that.
Built so well if taken care of you can hand that dude down for generations.

 

[thedude9999]

I'd look at Horizon over the Yoder. Very similar, but Horzion is going to be cheaper (and isn't dogged with the apparent yoder design flaws).

You can grill high heat on them, I have a cooking grate that sits in the firebox to grill on. But I never use it, my Weber Kettle is far easier to use than this.

It goes without saying, replacing your WSM with an offset is going from a mostly set and forget process to one that requires a lot of attention throughout the cook.

 

[glitchy]

If you're a huge Weber fan, you could sell everything have but the Little Joe and buy a Weber Summit Charcoal Grill and a SmokeFire. Both of them are do everything grills. My SmokeFire replaced a Spirit E-330 and then later also replaced the Camp Chef Woodwind I used for lazy LnS cooks. The Summit Charcoal will just do anything and it's rumored to have a new model in a couple months that will hopefully be in the sub $1000 range (with no gas starter).

I cannot speak for the WSCG to WSM comparison in smoke profile though as I've never had a WSM. I does have pretty good heat retention, but not quite as much as a ceramic would, so my guess is it would be between the BGE and the WSM on the end result. The SmokeFire will outperform you gassers for flavor as a 'dinner' grill and heats up in about the same time as well as provides a set and forget option for low and slow when you need that. It's not going to put out as much smoke as a charcoal smoker or stick burner, but it does produce more smoke than most other pellet grills.

As far a stick burners, there are a lot of beautiful grills out there, I was drawn to the Horizon when I was looking at them. I played with a OKJ for a couple months and realized stick burners just weren't my thing as I get distracted too easily to keep the fire running as steady as I wanted it. If you decide it's your thing, the options there seem endless. Franklin's pits look pretty cool, but might be a little overpriced.

Good luck in your search. Others already mentioned the M1 and Hasty Bake which also seem to be great versatile cookers.

 

[JackJ]

Delivery would put this over your price range, but I would take a serious look at the Lone Star 24" x 48" Adjustable Charcoal Grill & Smoker.

I only know it from the mfg's video and a few glowing reviews, but it looks versatile enough to perform the duties of a charcoal kettle and offset stick burner, filling the roles of both a grill and a smoker, and to generally cook for one person or a crowd. I'm confident it would excel as a grill, but how it compares to a dedicated offset when it comes to low and slow is still an open question in my mind. But I like the fact that it comes from a respected maker of traditional offsets.

You should buy one and report back! Good luck with your search!

 

[frayedend]

Regarding stick burner offset, getting wood can be an issue depending where you are. I am lucky to have 7 acres and an abundant supply of oak. But most people selling firewood here only advertise "hard wood". It's not easy to find specific wood types. But I'd contact home builders. I've gotten apple from a lot they were clearing.

I have the LSG 20X42. You can open the lid on the firebox for a griddle and you can remove the griddle to cook on the grate, directly over the fire. But the grate is a bit low so manipulating food isn't super easy. Especially if using a spatula. Honestly I use my Weber kettle for direct cooking unless I have the smoker going for some other reason. I mean, if I'm making a brisket and I need to throw burgers on for lunch the LSG is perfect.



If you go LSG the learning curve is there. Watch the videos on fire management.

Chris posted this in another thread...

Looks like my next video should be on fire management, building a proper fire, and how to maintain temps durning your cooks on the LSG offset. Until then a couple points. Stack should always be wide open. It’s going to take 45-75 minutes to get your pit up to temp and establish a good bed of coals. For about the first 20-30 minutes the door should be wide open, then crack it for 5-10 minutes, then shut with damper wide open. Then close down damper to fine tune the temp. Pit will consume 1-2 splits every 1-2 hours @225-250 in the 24” pits those are full sized splits (14-18” and 3-5” in diameter) on the 20” pits that’s half sized splits (7-9” and 3-5” in diameter). I prefer to start with about a diner sized plate of lump charcoal (this provides me with a instant bed of coals and then the wood will replenish the coals from then on, if during a long cook you are running low on coals then a handful along with a fresh split is fine) and 2-3 splits of good seasoned wood stacked in the center on top the charcoal. Wood should be seasoned 3-6 months not enough and it won’t burn clean or hot and to long and it doesn’t leave good coals and burns up quicker. Then it’s just a matter of adding wood as needed. The key is a small hot burning fire. Stuff the box with to much wood, unseasoned wood, too large of splits and it smolders with white dirty smoke. Follow these simple rules and you will have clean blue smoke. Build a massive fire to start with then try to choke it down yes it will look like a train puffing white bitter smoke, even then though all is not lost, be patient let it regulate itself and organize it into that small clean hot burning fire. You won’t add food until the pit is at temp and maintained with clean blue smoke, 45-75 minutes after starting the fire. Every time you add a split you will get a little white smoke until that split lites. Couple things that will help is preheating splits on the griddle plate and leave the door cracked open for a couple minutes after adding a new split. I know some people prefer cooking with the fire box door wide open and that’s just fine nothing wrong with that but it’s not made to work that way mostly because your having to build a much larger fire than if the door was closed and temp is regulated with the intake damper. Hope this explanation helps anyone having issues with fire management and as always you can call me at the office, I am always available to coach anybody that asks for help

 

[Lomey]

Take a look at the ABS All Star. It's a rear offset made in the KC area that uses lump and wood chunks. You can grill directly on the firebox. Very well built and efficient smoker. I had one for about 3 years and sold it a couple of weeks ago because I wanted to go back to burning sticks. It's within your price range.

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[Jrogers84]

Have a M1, love it. I have multiple kettles, wsm and a pellet smoker. Haven’t touched any of those since I got the M1.


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[gtsum]

Delivery would put this over your price range, but I would take a serious look at the Lone Star 24" x 48" Adjustable Charcoal Grill & Smoker.

I only know it from the mfg's video and a few glowing reviews, but it looks versatile enough to perform the duties of a charcoal kettle and offset stick burner, filling the roles of both a grill and a smoker, and to generally cook for one person or a crowd. I'm confident it would excel as a grill, but how it compares to a dedicated offset when it comes to low and slow is still an open question in my mind. But I like the fact that it comes from a respected maker of traditional offsets.

You should buy one and report back! Good luck with your search!

Agreed on the lsg adjustable charcoal grill. Sometimes I almost order one to try it out as it looks great. I have no doubt it would excel as a grill (maybe even more than my M1??), and I’m sure it would do great smoking with charcoal and wood....just not sure how it would hold up if burning splits a lot for stick burning?? There is a reason high quality stick burners use 1/4 plate or thicker on their fireboxes


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[JackJ]

just not sure how it would hold up if burning splits a lot for stick burning?? There is a reason high quality stick burners use 1/4 plate or thicker on their fireboxes

Yeah, good point. I especially wonder how well the grate lift mechanism would hold up over a long time and high heat. I've got high confidence that LSG is solid on the engineering and build quality, but it's still a relatively new model, I believe.

I too would like to acquire one cooker to rule (and replace) them all. Right now that's my PK360, but it's certainly no stick burner.

 

[robertm]

After 15+ years cooking on a BGE I bought an offset. I did this after using offsets a couple times and producing better tasting BBQ than anything I could produce on the BGE.

For me I wanted as much of a jack of all trades as possible. I finally settled on the LSG 20x42 for a few reasons. First, and foremost is the quality. It’s up there with the best. Second is versatility. I couldn’t find anything else on the market that would let me do traditional offset plus direct cook over the firebox and even griddle. Heck I’ve even made pizzas in the firebox. Third was cost. To me, it seems like an extraordinarily good value for all that you are getting.

Below are a few pics of firebox side cooking. Most of the time I’m smoking something on the left and finishing or doing side dishes on the right.

You’ll have to decide what makes the most sense for you and your family’s needs. For me and mine the LSG has been an absolute blast.

 

[eric21]

Wow, you sound like me about a month ago. I thought I was going to go with a Weber Summit Charcoal, I wound up with a Mak 2 star for my 10 year anniversary. So obviously you know which way I went! I wasn't even considering pellet smokers, until I was. If you're looking at offsets you might not be as concerned with convenience as me, but I'm very happy.

If you are looking for an offset, the LSG 20x42 above looks pretty nice to me!

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

From everything you say it sounds like the M1 is perfect for you.

I'd also look at the assasin 48" charcoal grill.

 

[Chester]

A Lang Hybrid might be worth checking out. Especially one with the wagon wheels. Sweet looking rig.

 

[SmokingJoe]

Wow, so much amazing info here. The M1 is so nice, but I think the LSG 20x42 moved to the top of list for what it offers and the price. Part of the deal with my wife is getting my kettle and WSM off the deck (she said nothing about it not being able to live UNDER the deck or in the garage :grin:

Definitely looking for the versatility, my kettle cant be replaced and wings will never be as good on anything else.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/js8dFxrdhXnTxwvY7

Gonna do some homework on the LSG now as the pricepoint is perfect for me with some leftover for some accessories/add-ons


You guys are awesome, thanks for all the input. This is a big decision in a mans life

 

[pwrserge]

I pondered on the same question and i recently ordered an Assassin 48 Charcoal Grill. I am hoping to use it for grilling and smoking, so i can get rid off a few items from my patio.