Best smoker?

77GreenMachine

77GreenMachine

Phillip Talton
Joined
Mar 30, 2010
Location
Trinity, NC
I really enjoy smoking meat. I have been using the $40 upright smoker from Walmart for a few year. It’s time to upgrade and I’m looking for advice. I mostly smoke pork loins and whole chickens, but that’s cause I can really only get about 3-3.5 hours without adding charcoal and I have lots of temperature swings. Would like to do longer smokes and do more briskets and stuff.

Part of me loves the traditional way of charcoal, water and wood chunks.

Part of me likes the idea of using an electric one and setting a temp and timer and not worry about it. I guess there’s propane units for that too.

Part of me feels like anything other than charcoal is cheating lol.

Main requirement: traveling. It needs to be able to easily be taken with me on wheeling trips. It’s become tradition now that I arrive before most folks and have dinner ready on Thursday evening.

I can make a good smoker out of a 30gal drum for under $100. I’m considering this, but I want to hear what others are using.

Looking for something reasonable, up to $350 is about all I’d spend.
 
Traeger makes one with the collapsible legs for travel and home use. Pretty spendy, but most that own them talk real highly about them. I just keep staring at it waiting on a sale. One day...
 
I nearly pulled the trigger on and electric Pit Boss today because everything at Gander Outdoors was 40% off today. But since I don’t really know what I want, I let it be. The simplicity of a pellet smoker is really intriguing. I could set it and do yard work, or wander around camp or go wheeling till it’s done.

When I went to AOP I got it up to temp, set it, and went wheeling for a while. It worked out but a little wind or anything messes mine up and it’s actually starting to fall apart. It’s been a good one.
 
The pellet smokers are about foolproof from what I've heard from some friends and I'm somewhat reluctantly going to buy one soon. One friend bought one @ lowes and is using it about every day.He says it is set and forget for butts,w a prob that shows the temp in the meat. He also said it made the best chicken wings hes ever made. He also said that the price of the pellets he's used for what he smoked so far vs the amount of charcoal, the pelets are much cheaper.I also know alot of bbq food trucks, and competition peeps are using pellet smokers.It occurs to me that w an automatic fuel supply and adjustable feed/temp. once you nail it you can repeat whatever you smoke to perfection again and again.
 
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Stumps Baby with a BBQ Guru controller. Brisket, ribs, pork butts, chicken, tri-tip - it does it all. Roll it up onto your trailer and strap it down. Take it with you wherever you go. Hold temp like no other. By far, the best smoker I’ve ever owned.
 
When you read what all is included with the one @obullfish posted it’s a solid deal.

I’m torn between a smoker or a flat grill. I would get a lot more use from a flat grill. Like almost daily.
 
tlucier said:
View attachment 302351

Stumps Baby with a BBQ Guru controller. Brisket, ribs, pork butts, chicken, tri-tip - it does it all. Roll it up onto your trailer and strap it down. Take it with you wherever you go. Hold temp like no other. By far, the best smoker I’ve ever owned.
Click to expand...

:eek: Holy smokes... that thing retails for $2360 before any options. I’d be afraid to leave that sitting at camp!
 
Since I’m in the same boat as you, I’m gonna ask a question.

Do these pellet smokers able to get a low temp and hold it? I have a little chief and it works great for smoking trout, but not so great for any large cuts of meat


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Loganwayne said:
Since I’m in the same boat as you, I’m gonna ask a question.

Do these pellet smokers able to get a low temp and hold it? I have a little chief and it works great for smoking trout, but not so great for any large cuts of meat


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Traeger and the Pit Boss pellet grill/smokers I’ve used hold temps very well but you need to protect them from rain and wind from my experience.
 
I’ve been reading and watching videos about the Green Mountain Grill and I’m really impressed for the price tag!
It starts out at 150* so sounds like it would work for you.
 
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