quote:

Originally posted by medic451:
Take a look at pellet smokers too. Very easy to use for a beginner and they can cook almost anything.

A pellet smoker is my suggestion for a beginner too. More fool-proof and easier to learn on than a traditional charcoal smoker, but better flavor/color/ring and potentially more versatile than an electric cabinet smoker.

quote:

Originally posted by JasonATI:
I have a large BGE and today am going to try to make these.
I have the BBQ Guru wifi which makes it easier to control and track everything you cook.

http://www.vindulge.com/2017/0...ds-recipe-and-video/

I did these about a month ago. Came out great

Ive been cooking on a large BGE for little over a year now. Absolutely great!! Super versatile. I rarely use my Napolean Gas grill now. I'll be putting a 16# packer brisket on it this evening, I trimmed and rubbed yesterday, expecting a 15-18hr cook

There are lots of choices. Much depends on what you want it to do. BGE has great customer service and a lifetime warranty. Don't think the lesser expensive ceramic kamodo styles has it

Get a pellet smoker. I've had them all and you'll use the pellet smoker more than the Big Green Egg.

I had my BGE for almost 10 years and sold it because I used the pellet smoker more often due to its ease of use. The BGE requires minding of the fire and temperature throughout the cook, the pellet smoker does not.

The BGE is great but having the fire beneath the food, where you can't access it without removing the food, was a pain in the butt for me.

I've owned Traeger, Rec Tec, Green Mountain Grills and currently have a Yoder YS640. You can't go wrong with any of them.

Love my pellet smoker. Use it every weekend! Ribs are on for tomorrow!

Take a look at Cookshack smokers. Expensive, but made in the USA(Okla) and built like a bank vault.They will last a lifetime. Just saying... I have used many different types including Mastercraft and others. Been doing this smoking thing for a looooong time now.

.

Hi Veeper,
DeeJay's Smoke Pit website is full of great information for both new and experienced smokers.

The home page is located here:
www.DeeJaysSmokePit.net

but these are direct links to some of his pages:
Basic Smoke, Types of Smokers, Making Fire, Wood, Brining, and a whole lot of recipes for meats of all kinds.

Beginners Guide to Smoking Food, Time & Temperature Chart, Smoking Wood Flavor Chart

Book of Brining

Book of Rubs

Book of Marinades

Book of BBQ Sauces

As usual, you guys are full of fantastic information! Thanks so much! I guess I'll spend the week getting my learn on.


I'm pretty excited about smoking some tasty meat. Uh...I...Um....maybe I'll hit the Glock thread for dessert.

You want this:

https://m.samsclub.com/ip/kama...ll-2017/prod20943283

Check out kamadoguru.com for more info.

The guys pretty much covered it all. My only advice is buy one bigger then you think you need.

I window shopped for years, and 5+ years ago pulled the trigger on a large BGE. As others have mentioned, it is so flexible as I have smoked salmon at 160 all the way up to pizza at over 750. It was a no brainer buying the BGE as the Primo dealer has a 12 week delivery time (i.e. order in May and miss the whole summer) and there wasn't a Kamodo Joe dealer where I lived. Primo's oval shape has an advantage on ribs as well as reverse searing steaks (need 2 zones and oval is easier than round), and Kamodo Joe has the price advantage and IME their ceramic deflector is a better design than the BGE. Not sure if it's a consideration, but when properly crated they move well as I bought mine in Alaska, moved it to Canada, and moved it to Texas. I've grilled/smoked year-around in Alaska, Alberta, and Texas, and this Alaskan Thanksgiving turkey pic shows the insulation advantage of the ceramic:


I bought the ceramic deflector, and my best purchase was the WiFi enabled BBQ Guru CyberQ. The WiFi sure made winter smokes easier in Alaska and Alberta, and the temperature control is awesome. I also have their less expensive DigiQ and it's temperature control is every bit as awesome.

Tips:

Recipes - I highly recommend AmazingRibs.com as their recipes are created from scratch by a chef, tested, and tested again, and a second chef tests them again. One of their admins is also a meat scientist and they have dispelled numerous bbq myths (e.g. beer can chicken).

Cook to temperature not time. To many variables (ambient temperature, humidity, pit tightness, pit hot spots) to trust time.

Thermometer #1 - instant read thermometer (e.g. Thermoworks Thermapen)) for fast 2 second reads as a slow or inaccurate thermometer could mean the difference between medium and medium rare in a steak.

Thermometer #2 - leave in meat thermometer which does not require opening the grill/smoker to read (if you're lookin' you ain't cookin'). These leave in thermometers only read every 15 to 20 seconds so they get me in the ballpark and my trusty Thermapen is the final decision. My CyberQ does this, but so does my Maverick. My maverick is as old as my BGE, but if I were buying today I'd likely buy a ThermoWorks Smoke as Thermoworks builds better and thinner probes.

Equipment - AmazingRibs.com also has excellent unbiased equipment testing and IME you can't go wrong with anything they rate Gold or Silver.

Another vote for cookshack.

Really like it, and have used it for about 8 years. Wonderful product made from this unit.

I too have a Weber smokey mountain and have found it to be great and have smoked lots of things on it. Best $300 I ever spent.....I've cooked 14 hours on it without having to add any charcoal and it's easy to regulate temperature.....

quote:

Originally posted by LBTRS:
The BGE is great but having the fire beneath the food, where you can't access it without removing the food, was a pain in the butt for me.

I've had my BGE for over 10 yrs and I've only ever run into that problem a few times. I had to wrap the butts, pull the grate and plate setter out, add some fuel, and reassemble. It took about 15min. because you want the new charcoal to burn a bit before putting meat over it.

quote:

I've owned Traeger, Rec Tec, Green Mountain Grills and currently have a Yoder YS640. You can't go wrong with any of them.

I'll admit I've not owned all or any of those. So I can't argue for or against them.
When I've thought of adding a second cooker, it's always been about getting another BGE.

Cost has always been the biggest deal breaker for the BGE. For me, I liked the idea of not having to make repairs to my gas grill all the time.
I would have to say the second gripe is the cook area. You learn to adjust for it but you always marvel at the bigger smokers hauled behind a truck, packed w/ all sorts of meats.
The BGE won't do that.

If you are at all interested in a ceramic cooker I highly recommend the Primo Oval. Made in Atlanta. It's the most versatile of all the smokers. Has a divided firebox so you can do anything from cook a couple of steaks to smoking several pork butts. All without all the additional set up required with the round ceramic smokers. I've had one for many years and it's still amazing. The founder was the engineer for Big Green Egg and had a better idea so he started his own company. Check them out.

^^ One thing I've always admired about the Primo Oval is the extra room when doing several full racks of ribs. The BGE will do it but the Primo makes it simple.

I've tried traditional BBQ smokers with the offset forebodes, komado/ceramic grills and a few other types. This is my next purchase, a pellet grill with the propane wear grill. https://www.campchef.com/smoke...lls-and-smokers.html

quote:

Originally posted by GT-40DOC:
Take a look at Cookshack smokers. Expensive, but made in the USA(Okla) and built like a bank vault.They will last a lifetime. Just saying... I have used many different types including Mastercraft and others. Been doing this smoking thing for a looooong time now.

Cookshack is a beast!

Thanks so much for your help fellas! I ended up nabbing the Green Mountain Daniel Boone (WiFi) just to get started with. If I get serious and this becomes a thing for my family, I'll pull the trigger on a Yoder for sure. I looked at one of those things and they're amazing.

quote:

Originally posted by Veeper:
Thanks so much for your help fellas! I ended up nabbing the Green Mountain Daniel Boone (WiFi) just to get started with. If I get serious and this becomes a thing for my family, I'll pull the trigger on a Yoder for sure. I looked at one of those things and they're amazing.

Congrats, that is a great cooker. You'll enjoy many years of good cooks on your GMG.

You guys may be jumping the gun a little.

Aaron Franklin of Austin, the world renown Franklin's Barbecue, is coming out with a line of pits, reputedly starting at $2500.

https://franklinbbqpits.com