Help with Smoker Selection

I'm looking for a little help form people in the know about what smoker would be best for me. I'm completely new at this (never smoked before) but wanted to start trying. I do not own a smoker so I am in the process of trying to find one that will work well for me but yet not break the bank. Currently I'm looking at the horizontal Char-griller and New Braunfell versions. Both are around $150-200 range. That's bout as high as I can go. Am I going to be dissapointed with these? Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance for any help you all can give.

Thats a lot of money to throw around,I would put about seventy bucks in a weber kettle and start practicing my grillin and smoking with that.

It depends on how much you want to play with your fire? With the models you mentioned, you will spend significant time adding charcoal and/or wood to the fire to keep it at the proper temps, unless you do some modifications. For example, if you were to BBQ a 7lb pork butt (shoulder) assuming two hours per pound, you are looking at a 14 hour cook.

About every two hours or so you will be needing to add fuel to your fire. That means not alot of sleep if you are like most folks and cook it overnight. There is a solution.

If you are new to this, and you are really serious about it, get a Weber Smokey Mountain cooker, $179 (still in your price range) It is is a bullet style cooker and it can hold temps for up to 16 hours on one load of charcoal. I have had mine for two years and LOVE it.

I further direct you to www.virtualweberbullet.com to learn more about this cooker.

Good Luck,

Bruce

I second the WSM recommendation and the virtualweberbullet.com website. I don't think there is an easier or more reliable smoker out there. You will have great barbeque from your first smoke. It is virtually idiot proof.

I just got a Weber Smoking Moutain cooker and its great. I used to smoke in compettios with a side fire box rig and it was a pain keeping the temp constant. I have also seen folks win some major competitions on the Food Network with the WSM. Cost 1s $189.00 retail but you can get it on Amazon for $179.00 with free shipping. WSM users have their own free website which is awesome. Chec it out at www.virtualweberbullet.com

If you buy the WSM before the end of July and use the following the promotional code at Amazon, you can get $25 off and still get free shipping. The promotional code is JULYEVENTAMZ

The link is http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004U9VA/ref=pd_pym_ka//103-3902384-5642249?v=glance

John

By the way, I have been cooking on two WSMs at home for six years and sometimes also in competitions. We have even gotten perfect scores at the competitions for brisket off of the WSM.

John

The fine print on that Amazon offer for $25 off:

"All Weber, All-Clad, Capresso, Emerilware, J.A. Henckels, and WŸsthof products are excluded from this offer. "

Still get free shipping.

Sometimes it's best to not read the fine print. When I used a similar coupon in Feb., it had the same exclusions, but worked just fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Maynerd

The fine print on that Amazon offer for $25 off:

"All Weber, All-Clad, Capresso, Emerilware, J.A. Henckels, and WŸsthof products are excluded from this offer. "

Still get free shipping.

That is true but they don't seem to be inforcing it as I already know of other people who have placed an order this month with that promo code and Amazon did give them the discount.

So take it for however you want.

John

That's good to know. If I had the money / permission (apt. living) I'd buy one right now. Seems like a good price. Plus no sales tax I assume.

I've been a devotee of charcoal grilling and smoking. After watching Alton Brown on Food TV make a smoker with a hot plate, I purchased one at the hardware store for $13. I got low heat but some tasty results smoking chicken and ribs for a couple of hours, then finishing the cooking in the oven. The hot plate didn't seem to like being left on high for hours and burnt out on my third load of ribs. I liked the results and the ease of use, so I bought it another smoker--an Brinkman electric.

The results have been wonderful, the flavor comes from putting wood on the lava rocks by the heating element. So far, I've done chicken by leaving it on the rack for an hour or so, without using the water pan, and it came out as a slow roasted, smoky delight. The skin was nicely crisp without being burned. My wife said it was the best chicken she ever had.

Tonight we're doing bluefish that we've brined in a mixture with gin and lime juice. I've put foil on the lower rack to prevent any flare up from the wood chunks--we're using plum and mesquite.

Eventually I'll use the water pan when I want lower cooking temperatures.

quote:

Originally posted by RibDog

If you buy the WSM before the end of July and use the following the promotional code at Amazon, you can get $25 off and still get free shipping. The promotional code is JULYEVENTAMZ

The link is http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004U9VA/ref=pd_pym_ka//103-3902384-5642249?v=glance

John

does anyone know of any discount offers on the WSM going on?

None at the moment but will watch for one.

John

I cooked on a WSM a couple w/es ago after years with my New Braunfels offset cooker. I hate the Weber. Put in a load of fuel, get it up to temp, load with meat and come back when its done. No fire box to maintain, no playing with vents to adjust temp, no need for frequent hits with a good mop sauce, no sitting in a chair drinking beer between all that. Hate it. With the Weber, I'm stuck caulking windows, cutting the grass, trimming hedges, everything I bbq to avoid, and the q comes out awesome.

ROFLMAO

John

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3342513

is this a good one?how many hours u usually smoke the meat like ribs?

quote:

Originally posted by ChowKing

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3342513

is this a good one?how many hours u usually smoke the meat like ribs?

I've been using this smoker for the past year and still consider the $149 I paid for it (at WalMart) a bargain. If you can withstand the "slings and arrows" from hard-core Qers who think cooking with gas is some kind of blasphemy, I know you'll be happy with it. Here's a group dedicated to users of this smoker. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smokeymountain/

Here's a site that tells all about cooking ribs, etc. I cook spareribs in my smoker for 5-6 hours at 235°.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/ribselect2.html