Odin's Cooler Alumnus
ritchieblackmore
If you ever want to see a giant dick, dont watch porn, just read my posts
Drengr (1,490)
Mar 14, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by ritchieblackmore on Feb 14, 2018 12:51:08 GMT -6
Thanks... I was at Costco looking at this nice combo unit pellet smoker they got in last spring(Louisiana Grills- Champion). I hadn't ever really looked into pellet grills, and the research showed it was a super good value ($899, if I remember right). However, I couldn't find much about that specific model. Well, I was at Quetopia in Eden Prairie and they showed me the Yoder and I fell in love. She's a sturdy beast. No thanks. Im gonna stick with my current grill
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Post by SmokedPears on Feb 14, 2018 12:52:51 GMT -6
Whatever it takes. Campfire is my favorite way to cook.
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Odin's Cooler Alumnus
ritchieblackmore
If you ever want to see a giant dick, dont watch porn, just read my posts
Drengr (1,490)
Mar 14, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by ritchieblackmore on Feb 14, 2018 14:42:09 GMT -6
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Uncle
Berserker (7,565)
Feb 8, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Uncle on Dec 2, 2020 8:31:43 GMT -6
I've been hemming and hawing about getting a smoker for a little while and then what type of smoker to get, and would definitely like to hear from anyone on the board who has a smoker, know of someone who has one and what their honest opinion of it is.
The types of smokers these days are as follows:
- Offset: traditional and can use wood or charcoal (or both); definitely can get an intense smoke flavor if you know what you're doing - Pellet: I'm a little turned-off by limited sources of fuel - can only use wood pellets and I don't want to be limited - Gas: honestly, I'm looking to smoke so gas is my last choice - Electric: like gas, I'm looking for smoke and I've heard from others that it's hard to achieve "bark" on pork/beef w/ electric - Kettle: I have one and have used it here and there for smoking and have inconsistent results - it's a cheap version of the Weber Kettle so I can't even get a Slow-n-Sear for it. It's good for doing small pieces of chicken for family (did 2 lbs of wings the other night w/ just some lump charcoal and pecan wood chips), but the reason I want the smoker is doing large chunks of meats on weekends that can last us an add'l meal or two during weekdays. - Kamodo: a decent one is pretty much out of my price range (I'm in the $500 or below range) - Charcoal: like the Weber Smokey Mountain or the Pit Barrel, it's a "bullet" shape that uses charcoal at bottom and smoke rises to the meat at top. The more compact "bullet" shape can really retain heat without much adding more fuel so you could theoretically "set it and forget it" somewhat.
I'm pretty much down to charcoal or offset; I do live in an area with access to cheap, municipal electric so I thought about an electric smoker but I really want that "smoke" taste and it just doesn't seem like it's what I want. I have a kettle but I can only do so much with it, I don't think I can afford a decent Kamodo-style and gas isn't what I want either.
After doing a bunch of research, looking at them in stores and reading through a bunch of BBQ forums, the two I'm sort of down to are:
- Oklahoma Joe's Highland Reverse Flow Offset - Weber Smokey Mountain (probably 18" model)
As far as offset smokers go, I don't want the cheap one's at Wal*Mart that are made w/ sheet metal and lose heat like a sieve and I certainly can't afford a Yoder ($900+) or Lang ($1,500+) that use 1/4-inch steel in the construction, and the Oklahoma Joe's models seem to be that happy medium. You can find them in Lowe's so they are a "big box store" smoker (and another thing I hate is Char Broil bought them and shipped the manufacturing to China - I want to go made in USA, especially for something as American as smoking meat), but the steel is pretty solid heavy-gauge stuff. The reverse flow models means it's a more "even" cook and you're nut fussing with meat cooking faster on one side vs the other. The thing w/ that particular offset smoker is the versatility: you can use the firebox as a grill if you want, and you can also grill in the smoking chambers by just removing the baffles underneath the main cooking grates. You can also use charcoal only, wood splits, wood chunks or a combination as your fuel source and I love that versatility because sometimes you can find something different on sale. The cons are that it will still require a few modifications to truly be air-tight and keep all heat in (need to put gaskets around doors and possibly fire-grade sealant around edges of firebox) and it may not be the best for where I am in New York State (they can lose heat faster than 1/4" steel models if you're smoking in cooler weather).
The Weber Smokey Mountain gets rave reviews online for being an efficient smoker - put your charcoal (possibly a wood chunk or two, as well) at the bottom and assemble your "bullet" from there and put your meat at the top. Once you have the correct temp you want, it's almost as simple as just putting on your meat and waking away with very little fuss about controlling temp or adding add'l fuel. The cons are that it's somewhat limited - it's purely a smoker and you can't use wood - you can use chunks to add on top of charcoal, but if you ever find a local source for apple/cherry/oak/hickory and have some nice splits, the "bullet" grills aren't made for wood fuel source. There are some times I can imagine where it'll be nice and convenient to set it up, put the meat on and just walk away and do other things for a while and not have to worry too much about fussing with it every hour or so (ie, putting a brisket on at midnight and just having to check on it once or twice in the morning before pulling it off late morning or noon and you're ready to go).
So, if anyone has a smoker (regardless of what kind), let me know how you like it relative to what type of climate you live in, how much fuel you go through (regardless of whether it's a pellet, offset or charcoal) and how you like it overall. I know many on here live in Minnesota - another colder environment like where I am in upstate NY - and I would definitely welcome your opinions and stories.
From looking through this thread, I can see Smokedpears has an offset Char-Griller model, malschla has a Yoder (def jealous) and nodak has a pellet. I believe someone else mentioned they have a Primo, too. Let me know how you came to choose those particular models vs others and your honest opinion of it overall.
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Movikx
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Thegn (2,829)
Feb 8, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Movikx on Dec 2, 2020 9:17:19 GMT -6
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Uncle
Berserker (7,565)
Feb 8, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Uncle on Dec 2, 2020 9:28:20 GMT -6
Thanks Movikx! How much fuel do you go through on a regular cook (regular meaning a decent chunk of meat - a few chickens, pork butt, brisket, etc)? Do you find you go through more in colder weather vs warmer weather? Are there any leaks of heat/smoke when you use it as a smoker? What types of fuel can you use - charcoal/wood chunks/chips only?
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Post by Purplemachine on Dec 2, 2020 10:02:31 GMT -6
Uncle, I have an XL Big Green Egg(24' dia.) which is a ceramic cooker and similar to the Vision and Kamado Joe. The fuel you use is lump charcoal and then you add wood chunks the size of a computer mouse throughout the charcoal to give you continuous smoke. Yes it is charcoal only. Ceramic cookers once they get warmed up to the temp desired tend to be fairly stable. You may have to mess a little with the air vents until you get used to your unit. I have used it both in winter and summer and you may use more fuel in the winter but because they are usually an inch thick it not substantially more. I just load up the charcoal to the max amount have cooked a brisket for 12 hours and not ran out of fuel. I also have a large pellet smoker that really are set it and forget it. I have managed to get decent smoke out of mine because every different kind of cooker will have its own learning curve which is part of the fun to me. I just start out smoking at a lower temp for the first couple of hours when the pellets tend to smoulder more then I crank it up to my target temp. Hope this helps.
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Uncle
Berserker (7,565)
Feb 8, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Uncle on Dec 2, 2020 10:11:25 GMT -6
Uncle, I have an XL Big Green Egg(24' dia.) which is a ceramic cooker and similar to the Vision and Kamado Joe. The fuel you use is lump charcoal and then you add wood chunks the size of a computer mouse throughout the charcoal to give you continuous smoke. Yes it is charcoal only. Ceramic cookers once they get warmed up to the temp desired tend to be fairly stable. You may have to mess a little with the air vents until you get used to your unit. I have used it both in winter and summer and you may use more fuel in the winter but because they are usually an inch thick it not substantially more. I just load up the charcoal to the max amount have cooked a brisket for 12 hours and not ran out of fuel. I also have a large pellet smoker that really are set it and forget it. I have managed to get decent smoke out of mine because every different kind of cooker will have its own learning curve which is part of the fun to me. I just start out smoking ate a lower temp for the first couple of hours when the pellets tend to smoulder more then I crank it up to my target temp. Hope this helps. Thanks Purple - I know from your past posts that you've shared of your cooks that some of your stuff turns out great. I mean, just look at your avatar! Couple follow-ups: How is the "bark" that you get on your brisket from the Egg - really solid, or is it not as much as you would get from offset due to the water inside the Egg? To me, there's two reasons for wood: smoke flavor (which is possibly to achieve w/ charcoal and wood chunks like you mentioned) and the "bark" on the outside of pork/beef...and me and my family are bigtime "bark" lovers... Just curious - on an avg cook, how much charcoal do you go through? Let's say you buy a 20-lb bag of Royal Oak lump charcoal from Wal*Mart and the $5 bag of Hickory wood chunks; how much of that 20-lb bag of charcoal do you go through in each cook, on avg? Half the bag? 1/3 of the bag? Can you get 3-4 cooks out of a bag that size? Do you use exclusively lump charcoal for you Egg, or do you use briquettes once in a while? I use primarily lump for my kettle now (burns cleaner and hotter) but for long, smoke-cooks, I don't know how long the lump will last since it tends to burn hotter. I do realize that you can fill your chimney halfway and pour the rest into the hopper of the Egg and when the hot coals in the chimney are ready, they can sit on top of the "cool" coals in the hopper and it will burn down and last longer (sort of like a "snake" or "minion" method in a Kettle), but just curious on how long-lasting lump vs briquettes can be from your experience. Also, no rush on the replies, either...
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malschla
Drengr (825)
Feb 6, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by malschla on Dec 2, 2020 10:28:01 GMT -6
The only downside to a Kamado cooker is refueling. On my Primo XL, I could only get about 16 hours of fuel in it. If you’re doing a longer cook, you have to take the grates, food, and deflectors to add more. This might only be a problem in MN winters where it takes more wood to keep it at temperature
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Post by Purplemachine on Dec 2, 2020 10:37:43 GMT -6
Uncle, I have an XL Big Green Egg(24' dia.) which is a ceramic cooker and similar to the Vision and Kamado Joe. The fuel you use is lump charcoal and then you add wood chunks the size of a computer mouse throughout the charcoal to give you continuous smoke. Yes it is charcoal only. Ceramic cookers once they get warmed up to the temp desired tend to be fairly stable. You may have to mess a little with the air vents until you get used to your unit. I have used it both in winter and summer and you may use more fuel in the winter but because they are usually an inch thick it not substantially more. I just load up the charcoal to the max amount have cooked a brisket for 12 hours and not ran out of fuel. I also have a large pellet smoker that really are set it and forget it. I have managed to get decent smoke out of mine because every different kind of cooker will have its own learning curve which is part of the fun to me. I just start out smoking ate a lower temp for the first couple of hours when the pellets tend to smoulder more then I crank it up to my target temp. Hope this helps. Thanks Purple - I know from your past posts that you've shared of your cooks that some of your stuff turns out great. I mean, just look at your avatar! Couple follow-ups: How is the "bark" that you get on your brisket from the Egg - really solid, or is it not as much as you would get from offset due to the water inside the Egg? To me, there's two reasons for wood: smoke flavor (which is possibly to achieve w/ charcoal and wood chunks like you mentioned) and the "bark" on the outside of pork/beef...and me and my family are bigtime "bark" lovers... The bark is determined mostly by if you wrap your brisket/pork butt or not. Wrapping gets you through the stall period on any large piece of meat which can speed up cooking time by a few hours. If you wrap use butcher paper vs. aluminum foil. If you don't wrap you will most definitely get better bark, it just take more time for the cook. Again it's about experimenting on what you like best. I have never had bbq off a stick burner offset cooker so I couldn't compare the results. Here is a good video I found fwiw. About smokers on a budget.
Just curious - on an avg cook, how much charcoal do you go through? Let's say you buy a 20-lb bag of Royal Oak lump charcoal from Wal*Mart and the $5 bag of Hickory wood chunks; how much of that 20-lb bag of charcoal do you go through in each cook, on avg? Half the bag? 1/3 of the bag? Can you get 3-4 cooks out of a bag that size? I would say on a long cook of 10 hours or so maybe 1/3 of a bag or so. That's with a running temp of 225-250 deg. F. Also different lump charcoal may use different base wood which will affect the flavor.
Do you use exclusively lump charcoal for you Egg, or do you use briquettes once in a while? I use primarily lump for my kettle now (burns cleaner and hotter) but for long, smoke-cooks, I don't know how long the lump will last since it tends to burn hotter. I do realize that you can fill your chimney halfway and pour the rest into the hopper of the Egg and when the hot coals in the chimney are ready, they can sit on top of the "cool" coals in the hopper and it will burn down and last longer (sort of like a "snake" or "minion" method in a Kettle), but just curious on how long-lasting lump vs briquettes can be from your experience. I use strictly lump charcoal and a small propane torch to get a couple spots going. The only downside I have with my egg is the time it takes to heat up all that ceramic. It is usually at least 1 hour or a bit more to get it to the desired cooking temp. That is one thing the pellet smoker kicks ass on. Turn it on and 10 minutes later your ready to go. Also like with any hobby you have accessorize these with pit temperature controllers that run a fan to maintain you pit temp with alarms if this get to low or high. These usually include some meat probes so you can monitor you internal cooking temps. Here is a great site for equipment reviews, recipes, gear, etc.
Enjoy the journey! Also, no rush on the replies, either...
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Movikx
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Thegn (2,829)
Feb 8, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Movikx on Dec 2, 2020 12:15:16 GMT -6
Thanks Movikx! How much fuel do you go through on a regular cook (regular meaning a decent chunk of meat - a few chickens, pork butt, brisket, etc)? Do you find you go through more in colder weather vs warmer weather? Are there any leaks of heat/smoke when you use it as a smoker? What types of fuel can you use - charcoal/wood chunks/chips only? Use lump charcoal in a ceramic cooker. I use wood chunks or chips also. I can get a 16 hour brisket cook done on one load of lump. I usually go through about a half a pot on pork butts. On ribs I doubt I use a quarter pot. I probably don’t experience temperatures as cold as you do in upstate NY. I have cooked in temperatures as low as -4. As far as fuel consumption goes as long as the wind isn’t really cranking I don’t notice much difference in lump usage.
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Post by Purplemachine on Dec 23, 2020 10:40:14 GMT -6
Uncle, Here is smoker that may be worth a look. Around $300 is 18" diameter and uses charcoal with wood chunks for smoke flavoring. Has some good reviews. They also do make a larger model but it goes for closer to $700. www.oklahomajoes.com/bronco-drum-smoker
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Post by Purplemachine on Dec 25, 2020 18:01:26 GMT -6
Here is an inside look at professional bbq'ers at the American Royal. Kosmos has some really good products. He is a guy I follow on YouTube.
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Post by Purplemachine on Jan 31, 2021 19:44:59 GMT -6
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Post by Purplemachine on Feb 19, 2021 19:16:11 GMT -6
Is this the reason Aaron Franklin has killer brisket? Some say the best in the USA. May have to give this a try.
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