What smoker should I get?

Alabamacoastie

Alabamacoastie

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I do all of the cooking at my house, and I really enjoy it. I have lots of experience with grilling, but I've never had a smoker.

I really want to smoke a brisket, and bacon, and chicken wings, and ribs, and everything else...

Also, my current grill is disintegrating from rust...

My wife wants me to get a smoker. And she wants me to get a new grill.

Please give me recommendations for an awesome smoker / grill combo. Something less than say $1000.

Thanks!
 
BBD280 said:
Smoke butts at 200° or sear steaks at 600° plus....... I love mine.
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Thank you... I have seen these egg things before, but i thought they were just a grill. Didn't know they could smoke too...

A friend told me to get a traeger, but I have no idea about the different models...

If it makes any difference, it'd be awesome if it watt on the bigger side si I could do more than one rack of ribs at a time.
 
I have a TRAEGER .. Any more now thay are over rated. They sold out and went China way.
Dint get me wrong, it's a good product. 5 years and a coule hundred pounds of pellets without a hiccup . I have the tailgater. It fits in the trunk of my 2011 Fusion. Yeah, that small.
But , I've smoked whole packer brisket and done 6 racks of ribs. (Set on edge)
Just about any of the pellet smokers will be acceptable now. If you have a big family, or have lots of friends over a bigger unit would be good. But you really don't need humongous...
 
I bought one of the Acorn Kamado grills around 5 years ago and loved it. Upgraded to a Primo XL last year and took the Acorn up to the Mountain place. Nice thing about the Kamado grills is you can smoke low or crank the heat up to 700deg plus for searing. I have a large 4 burner natural gas Weber that sits beside my Primo and it really only gets used to keep things warm or possibly finish something off after a really long smoke. Just cooked my first brisket on Friday. It was yummy and I will be doing it again soon. I cooked 4 roughly 8 pound butts a month or so ago on it.
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Carolinatlc said:
I bought one of the Acorn Kamado grills around 5 years ago and loved it. Upgraded to a Primo XL last year and took the Acorn up to the Mountain place. Nice thing about the Kamado grills is you can smoke low or crank the heat up to 700deg plus for searing. I have a large 4 burner natural gas Weber that sits beside my Primo and it really only gets used to keep things warm or possibly finish something off after a really long smoke. Just cooked my first brisket on Friday. It was yummy and I will be doing it again soon. I cooked 4 roughly 8 pound butts a month or so ago on it.
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That meat looks amazing!
 
Alabamacoastie said:
Holy crap. That thing looks amazing!

My big concern with smokers is...

Will it smoke up or over heat the ceiling of my porch? I had a large gas grill under the back porch roof for the last 4 years, and it didn't hurt anything. Will one of these smokers mess up the overhead on my back porch?
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@Lil D has a pellet smoker on her covered back porch. It’s been piped out from under the porch with black chimney pipe.
 
Alabamacoastie said:
Looks like yours is out, away from any covered porch.

Do you cover it with anything when not in use? Amy issues with rust or anything?
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I have the Traeger fitted cover for it. No rust issues...

It's so easy, I use it constantly. This week alone I did that pork butt, chicken, pork chops, smoked sausage, and bacon... And I have been working, not on lock down.
 
bigfelipe said:
I have the Traeger fitted cover for it. No rust issues...

It's so easy, I use it constantly. This week alone I did that pork butt, chicken, pork chops, smoked sausage, and bacon... And I have been working, not on lock down.
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That's really good to hear! Stay healthy brother!
 
Alabamacoastie said:
Holy crap. That thing looks amazing!

My big concern with smokers is...

Will it smoke up or over heat the ceiling of my porch? I had a large gas grill under the back porch roof for the last 4 years, and it didn't hurt anything. Will one of these smokers mess up the overhead on my back porch?
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If I hadn't just bought the austin xl that's the one I would buy. mine is also under a covered porch with vinyl on soffits and hasnt hurt anything.

FWIW I have done 2 butts and 6 racks of ribs on mine at the same time.
 
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I have had a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker for 20+ years and have really enjoyed it. Mine is the 18" size and does everything I need, but you can go bigger with the 22" model. There is a ton of good information at https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/
 

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I have a Weber genesis gas for convenience after a long day at work, and a Weber kettle for the days that I can slow down and charcoal grill or smoke. A digital thermometer with probes help monitor the temps on the kettle, but you still have to dedicate your time to the cook. It's not like setting a temp dial on a pellet grill.
Both grills and accessories can be had for well under your budget.
 
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Alabamacoastie said:
I do all of the cooking at my house, and I really enjoy it. I have lots of experience with grilling, but I've never had a smoker.

I really want to smoke a brisket, and bacon, and chicken wings, and ribs, and everything else...

Also, my current grill is disintegrating from rust...

My wife wants me to get a smoker. And she wants me to get a new grill.

Please give me recommendations for an awesome smoker / grill combo. Something less than say $1000.

Thanks!
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I’ve had a Kamado from Lowe’s for years coupled with a BBQ IQ 110 system which essentially turns that smoker into an oven. It’s,great for smoking because you aren’t tied to,the smoker for,hours on end. I’ve set the IQ system for 225 before bed and when I woke up, still at 225. It makes your smoker super efficient with charcoal as well. I can get an 18 hour smoke out of one ring of Fire in my Kamado. You won’t be disappointed.

https://www.bbqguys.com/pitmaster-i...MIy87krY3B6AIVd4FaBR3r9QvXEAsYASABEgK50vD_BwE
 
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I recommend the Bubba 2000 temperature control model.

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The Bbq iq system makes it stupid easy. And so far the Weber kettle has been the only grill I have had that hasn't rusted out after two years.
 
Alabamacoastie said:
Holy crap. That thing looks amazing!

My big concern with smokers is...

Will it smoke up or over heat the ceiling of my porch? I had a large gas grill under the back porch roof for the last 4 years, and it didn't hurt anything. Will one of these smokers mess up the overhead on my back porch?
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We love our Traeger, it will pump out clouds of thick smoke.
Having a grill on a covered porch makes my skin crawl. A friend had been doing it for years and had the grill too close to the house. The house burnt to the ground so fast they barely got his disabled child and MIL out alive. If I can find the pics I’ll post them. To me it’s like using a gas turkey fryer on a covered porch.
 
Pink_Vapor said:
We love our Traeger, it will pump out clouds of thick smoke.
Having a grill on a covered porch makes my skin crawl. A friend had been doing it for years and had the grill too close to the house. The house burnt to the ground so fast they barely got his disabled child and MIL out alive. If I can find the pics I’ll post them. To me it’s like using a gas turkey fryer on a covered porch.
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You don't need to post pics. That explanation is more than enough! Thank you brother!
 
Alabamacoastie said:
That makes sense... Get the smoke out away from the ceiling... I can do that too.
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Just make sure you clean that puppy good before you crank it up for grilling or you’ll have a bit more heat on that back porch than you’re wishing for! #grease fire+back porch=Scared midget and blistered Traeger!
 
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Put about a pound of lump in my Akorn to burn it off. I got it going an opened up both vents to get it hot. I started doing yard work and forgot about it, honestly. When I came back the temp was wrapped well past 700°. This is the same grill I smoke butts on at 200°. It's hard to beat that versatility.
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After it cooled down, I prepped a chicken to put on to smoke, and decided to take @kcult's advice and try some Viennas on there. The Viennas were a pleasant surprise. I'll definitely do them again. In the last pic my daughter was showing her approval before she devoured a leg. Lol
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CZfool68 said:
@Alabamacoastie we’ve been patiently awaiting new smoker pictures. You are leaving us hanging. What’s up with that? Don’t let some pesky virus screw with smoked meat. Life must go on.
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Sorry brother... I still haven't bought one yet.

My friend from church was going to teach me to smoke, but he and his wife literally got covid 19.

So, I figure I can wait until after they heal up.

I've been doing some shopping for them and leaving it on their porch.
 
Alabamacoastie said:
Sorry brother... I still haven't bought one yet.

My friend from church was going to teach me to smoke, but he and his wife literally got covid 19.

So, I figure I can wait until after they heal up.

I've been doing some shopping for them and leaving it on their porch.
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Well that sucks. Hope they are ok.

IMO half the fun of smoking is learning and experimenting. Order the Franklin Barbecue book about Aaron Franklin and Meathead by Meathead Goldberg. Follow some basic guidelines and have at it. Those 2 books are great and will explain pretty much all of the basic concepts and ideas 2 expert cooks use. And they have some recipes to get you started. What would be really cool is that when your friends are better and we are free again that you have them over and cook for them.

Plus we have some really good cooks on here. The stuff @Chdamn, @wvsig, @Geezer, @bigfelipe, @bspitt and probably about 10 other members cook looks amazing. No shortage of hints and advice buried deep in our cooking threads.
 
CZfool68 said:
Plus we have some really good cooks on here. The stuff @Chdamn, @wvsig, @Geezer, @bigfelipe, @bspitt and probably about 10 other members cook looks amazing. No shortage of hints and advice buried deep in our cooking threads.
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You left out @CZfool68 . You have posted some nice meals that you've cooked. I'm about to get settled in enough to strike a match to some charcoal here before too long.
 
CZfool68 said:
What would be really cool is that when your friends are better and we are free again that you have them over and cook for them.
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That's always the best - the more you cook the better you get.

I knew nothing about BBQ when I moved to the state. Now my coworkers bug me every couple months to bring some in. Practice and you'll learn the tricks that work for you. And you get to eat the mistakes, too - which may not be perfect but they're rarely bad.
 
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