Best smoker?

77GreenMachine said:
I’m torn between a smoker or a flat grill. I would get a lot more use from a flat grill. Like almost daily.
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I will one day own a pellet smoker, but I can tell you I use my blackstone flat top at least 5 times a week. It gets constantly used. I bring it to work once a month and cook breakfast for 30 guys also. I don't think I could get along without it now that I've had it for a few years.
 
I made an ugly drum smoker using a 55 gallon diesel motor oil barrel from work after we emptied it. Cleaned it out real good with degreaser, torched the seams and then burned it out. I've got less than $200 dollars in it and could have done it cheaper but I wanted brass valves to control air flow.

It'll hold 25 to 30 lbs of charcoal and wood mixture and only uses 1/3 of that for a single smoke session. I'll put a brisket or butt on at 3 in the afternoon and let it go. Usually pull meat off around 10 or 11 am the next morning.

Once you get the air setting dialed in it's not too maintenance heavy, I occasionally shake it to knock the ash down to keep the fire from smothering and if my digital thermometer in the house shows the temp dropping or spiking I'll go adjust it but it's not that common. Usually let it get a little hot 250 or 260 before bed and when I wake up it'll be 170 or so. Shake it and open valves and temp starts rebounding.
 

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I really want a Trager for the house, I just can't decide which size to get Pro575 or Pro780

I think the 575 would be big enough for our family though.
 
I run a Pit Boss Austin XL. 1005 sq inches of grill space, dual temp probes and a 31lb hopper.

This thing is the cats azz! I turn everything to charcoal on a gas or charcoal grill, with this, everything comes out moist and very edible. Did 9 racks of ribs on it for my housewarming, they came out fantastic.

Pit Boss makes a tailgater model that has folding legs for about $300
 
cranbiz said:
I run a Pit Boss Austin XL. 1005 sq inches of grill space, dual temp probes and a 31lb hopper.

This thing is the cats azz! I turn everything to charcoal on a gas or charcoal grill, with this, everything comes out moist and very edible. Did 9 racks of ribs on it for my housewarming, they came out fantastic.

Pit Boss makes a tailgater model that has folding legs for about $300
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My buddy has a pit boss and uses it about every other day.He lives about 45mins. from me and sends me pics of the stuff he smokes just to piss me off!
 
77GreenMachine said:
I like that a lot!
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I have a DC. I like it alot, but the size leaves some to be desired. I have fit 2 ~9lb butts on it, 4-5 steaks, 2 racks of ribs laying down, could likely do 4-5 on a rib rack. only 1 spatchcock chicken, but likely 2 if not, 1 decent sized turkey. It isnt tall enough to do beer can style, that i can tell. It is 12v powered, can fit in your trunk, weighs about 60lb. I got it with the sole purpose of traveling. It can cook upto 500+ deg, which is nice. Takes ~20 min to get upto temp. It has wifi & meat probe built in, which is really nice.

The downsides that I have had with mine.. I had to replace the control board and auger assembly in mine. Their customer service was awesome and they sent the parts out with no issues/cost. You cant use any pellet. They must be less than 3/4" long. The wifi can be a pain to setup. Keeping the inside vacuumed out is critical. The ash pot will fill up fast and create issues.

For the price, I would buy again. I looked at the RecTec RT-340 and feel like it is a nicer machine, but its more $$ and bigger (less portable).
 
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.
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That patio is beautiful!
 
obullfish said:
Davy Crockett - Green Mountain Grills
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After much consideration and procrastination, I pulled the trigger on this today. The reviews are excellent, and it just fits the budget and my travel friendly needs. Got a wheeling trip coming up real soon and plan to smoke a Boston Butt for everyone. May buy the rib racks and do some ribs also.

I will update my thoughts after I have used it.
 
I have had several tragers. The old ones were the shit. The new ones are cheaply made. I went through two last year and finally gave up on them. You could say I was a fanboy. I now have DC green mountain. Currently as I type this I have a Boston butt on it that I started at 5 am this morning. I like it a lot. I also have a green egg. I usually smoke something at least three times a week. (a perk of the retired life) When I smoke fish, I use one chunk of wood with two charcoal lumps in a Weber with a slow and sear. Works great and holds about 135*. Sorry I just caught up on this thread.
 
Rec Tec and don't look back!

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
77GreenMachine said:
After much consideration and procrastination, I pulled the trigger on this today. The reviews are excellent, and it just fits the budget and my travel friendly needs. Got a wheeling trip coming up real soon and plan to smoke a Boston Butt for everyone. May buy the rib racks and do some ribs also.

I will update my thoughts after I have used it.
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One of the guys I wheel with has one of the pit boss pellet smokers. He will put the meat on in the morning and we'll leave camp and not come back for hours! It'll ruin you!
 
NCJeeplover said:
One of the guys I wheel with has one of the pit boss pellet smokers. He will put the meat on in the morning and we'll leave camp and not come back for hours! It'll ruin you!
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That’s the plan! I done that at AOP last year with my charcoal smoker but honestly I stayed worried about it not staying up to temp and stuff and could only be gone for a couple hours.

With this, I could literally smoke something like a butt or a brisket all day long while on the trail and not have to worry about it. And with the app, I can wander around different camp sites in the evenings and I’ll know what the temp it and when my meat hits the desired temp.

I’ve known about these benefits for quite some time but what finally pushed me to make the decision was, well for one my charcoal one is done for. For two, my neighbor got a Pitt Boss pellet smoker and made a few things for me, one being pizza. The pizza was amazing. But the biggest thing I realized is, I’d been over smoking meat every single time and didn’t know it. The flavor of what he cooked was amazing with this nice subtle smoky flavor. Mine was always too smoky, I just didn’t know any better. Specially as of late, as my smoker got worse and worse I’d just add more wood to bring up the temp which would make the smoke too heavy. I think this is why the last time I smoked pork loins for Harlan, we all had smoky burps and heartburn the following day @Nakoma o_O
 
Another +1 for the Pit Boss. I've had my 700fb for a year and love it.. watch for sales. I got mine at Academy Sports for around $300....
 
I had a GMG Daniel boone. It was great at first, but then started having wild temp swings. They sent me a new controller and no dice. It would work but randomly it would drop temp by 75 or more degrees then come back up. Also my big hang up with it was it started to rust all over and it has been covered since I bought it in 2017. I just a few weeks ago sold it and bought an egg. Also picked up a SMOBOT for it since I don't like babysitting smokes. Couldn't be happier.
 
rodney eppes said:
Meat is in short supply, Stores will be limiting purchases, & Price will Rise! @77GreenMachine , hope you got your supply of Sweet Meat, & a Big Freezer! :mad:
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If you didnt have a freezer in Feb, you arent getting one now.
 
So I’ve had my Green Mountain Grill, Davy Crocket for over a month now. I’ve burned thru 3 20lb bags of pellets and took it on 2 wheeling trips.
It’s been amazing to say the least. It’s incredibly efficient, and produces some amazing food. I have been using it at home now just about every single day for almost 2 weeks straight now. I absolutely love it. The App works flawlessly, and the grill just makes it so easy.

I have smoked 3 pork butts, a few chickens, hamburgers, pork loins, potatoes, leftover spaghetti, cookies, brats, queso, reverse seared ribeyes, and bacon jalapeño wrapped chicken thighs today. I can’t recommend it enough.

I want to get the bigger Daniel Boone for home use now and just leave the Davy Crocket in my camper.
 
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I bought this one just to try out the whole smoker deal and when i saw it on Walmart.com for $200, I couldnt say no. After a good few months of using it, i can say that i love that i can just throw it on a temp and walkaway for however long. Only issue i have with it would be that there is no 275deg setting. Other than that, its just the right size for a family but not big enough to treat the entire camp to a good time.

All in all i would give it 8.34 out of 10
 
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