Anybody help me decide on a smoker?

[DILLIGAF]

I am looking to get a smoker primarily for ribs but will try other stuff also. It will need to smoke a lot of ribs when I make them. I don't know where to start so if you guys could suggest/provide me with information I would appreciate it.
Thanks

[a catered life]

sorry bro i dont smoke much meat and never looked in to getting one...gl

[DILLIGAF]

sorry bro i dont smoke much meat and never looked in to getting one...gl
I am surprized to hear that.
Someone else help me out here?

[prosthogod]

As a former BBQ contest winner, I can tell you a vertical weber smoker does just finr. If you want something biger go to a side fire box with a larger barrel for the meat. Try BBQ's galore, they have a vareity.

[shockwavebd]

I saw some cool ones at sams club ........but don't know much about them..we have an ele. one for doing turkeys that works pretty well

[Mr. C]

maybe something like this only $6500- $7500
shouldn't be a problem for someone who keeps finding money :rollside:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/tinkerbelle/newsmoker.gif
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/tinkerbelle/bbq_d_commercial_l.jpg

[RiverDave]

Tom I just recently took a BBQ class taught by a guy that has won more then his fair share of BBQ competitions. He recomended the Weber bullet pretty highly in his class.. You can stack alot more meat in their then you'd think.. Enough to feed 15 - 20 people in one of those little guys.
Honestly if it was me and your interested in starting to BBQ more "seriously" I'd look at getting a Weber Ranch Kettle. You can cook ribs on them no problem, as well as Brisket, and well just about anything else you can think of.. I'll show you what I learned in the class, and you can pretty much set it up in the morning go out drinking for 2 - 3 hours, come back rotate meat / ribs, and add a little charcoal, then go out drinking for another 3 - 4 hours and their done. :)
I'm still running the big stainless gas setups, but honestly they are more work to keep a temperature stabilized then a Weber..
If you want to go gas, and again more serious about BBQ'ing and not the "bling" factor then look at the Weber D6. It will do everything you want to do and then some.
Here's the website for the BBQ class I took (I can't recomend it enough.. the food is worth the price of the class alone!)
They are coming back around down to So Cal in March!
http://www.bbqinstitute.com/
RD

[DILLIGAF]

Thanks for the info everybody. RD...I will check it all out.
Keep it coming if you have some other suggestions for me peeps

[DILLIGAF]

maybe something like this only $6500- $7500
shouldn't be a problem for someone who keeps finding money :rollside:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/tinkerbelle/newsmoker.gif
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/tinkerbelle/bbq_d_commercial_l.jpg
LOL...That one is a little big for me size and budget wise :)

[msc5195]

Try www.pigroast.com. These are some great smokers!!!

[Jetdriver]

Do a google search for The Big Green Egg.

[Quality Time]

I have a gas Brinkman that can also convert to charcoal. I like it for six years now & have had no issues with it.

[28Prowler525]

I like these.....
http://www.biggreenegg.com/

[Jbb]

Join....The Ring.... (http://www.thesmokering.com/)

[C-2]

BBQ's Galore, Lowes, Home Depot and even Walmart will have a few with offset fireboxes (so flames/direct heat never touch the meat). Don't worry about going big, it's a big waste of energy, time and lump charcoal.
Buy a few rib racks to stack them vertically and you're good to go:
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/1132ribs.jpg

[rrrr]

Anybody help me decide on a smoker?
Thanks
I think topless smokes....... :crossx: :rollside:

[Old Texan]

In my backyard I've got a Texas Hondo bought at Academy (large sports outlet if you aren't familiar out that way) that retails for $140.00. I believe they're made around San Antonio. I'll see if I can locate Academy's website and get it to you.
It is basically a horizontal "Pipe" style with a fire box on one end. It's built of 12 gage steel. They have a couple higher end models with "better" material, but I haven't seen "better' Performance, just cosmetic appearance and a little longer life.
I use it on average 2-3 times a month and it is 3 years old. I hold a steady temp at 225-300 degrees depending on what I'm cooking. It will hold 6-8 slabs of full size pork ribs or double in baby backs. At 225 deg, Memphis style dry smoked it will take about 6-8 hours and use 1 large bag of quality charcoal and about 4- 6" x 12" Mesquite, hickory, pecan, or oak logs.
The high dollar "Pits" look real good but can't outcook 'er. :cool:

[DILLIGAF]

rrr :rolleyes:
Damn, a lot to take into consideration. I thought this was going to be easy but I can see it is far from that if you want to make sure you get the right one for your application.
I would appreciate it if you guys add those links or post the info to the other smokers you are talking about.
One thing for sure is I am getting hungry....and shit :)

[Sleek-Jet]

In my backyard I've got a Texas Hondo bought at Academy (large sports outlet if you aren't familiar out that way) that retails for $140.00. I believe they're made around San Antonio. I'll see if I can locate Academy's website and get it to you.
It is basically a horizontal "Pipe" style with a fire box on one end. It's built of 12 gage steel. They have a couple higher end models with "better" material, but I haven't seen "better' Performance, just cosmetic appearance and a little longer life.
I use it on average 2-3 times a month and it is 3 years old. I hold a steady temp at 225-300 degrees depending on what I'm cooking. It will hold 6-8 slabs of full size pork ribs or double in baby backs. At 225 deg, Memphis style dry smoked it will take about 6-8 hours and use 1 large bag of quality charcoal and about 4- 6" x 12" Mesquite, hickory, pecan, or oak logs.
The high dollar "Pits" look real good but can't outcook 'er. :cool:
I went and looked... seems Char Broil makes those now... I've seen them at Lowe's for less than a C-note this time of year. I was going to pick on up and try a little smoking this winter.

[RiverDave]

rrr :rolleyes:
Damn, a lot to take into consideration. I thought this was going to be easy but I can see it is far from that if you want to make sure you get the right one for your application.
I would appreciate it if you guys add those links or post the info to the other smokers you are talking about.
One thing for sure is I am getting hungry....and shit :)
I'm telling ya Tom, spend about a Grand and get a Ranch Kettle.. A little knowledge and a ranch kettle goes A LONG LONG way.. You can cook anything on it, and they hold temps with the best of them.
If you hate charcoal then the D6 Weber doesn't look the best but it's one of the best gas cookers.
When you get into the competition style smokers and cookers, some of them actually hold temps within 2 degrees front to back, side to side, AND top to bottom.. That shit gets ridiculously expensive in a hurry. A good stainless rib rack and a ranch kettle can yield championship results with some basic knowledge. Add a BBQ Guru to the mix, and it's literally idiot proof.
If you want a big bad ass Stainless BBQ for the Bling, and don't mind a little extra effort when your cooking, then head on down to lowes. They have a Jenn Air down there for I think 1100 bucks that is the shit. Infrared sear plates, Infrared back burner, etc.. It looks alot like mine out at the river but nicer, and is WAAYYYY ahead of the one I got. I was getting ready to get one until I took that BBQ class. I think I'm going to switch back to the ole style Webers for awhle (Ranch Kettle), but I'll tell ya I still think about that jenn air almost daily. :D If I wasn't so broke right now I'd probably have one.
RD

[DILLIGAF]

I went and looked... seems Char Broil makes those now... I've seen them at Lowe's for less than a C-note this time of year. I was going to pick on up and try a little smoking this winter.
I can see myself having a drink or two of the JWG while letting the smoker do its thing :)

[DILLIGAF]

I'm telling ya Tom, spend about a Grand and get a Ranch Kettle.. A little knowledge and a ranch kettle goes A LONG LONG way.. You can cook anything on it, and they hold temps with the best of them.
If you hate charcoal then the D6 Weber doesn't look the best but it's one of the best gas cookers.
When you get into the competition style smokers and cookers, some of them actually hold temps within 2 degrees front to back, side to side, AND top to bottom.. That shit gets ridiculously expensive in a hurry. A good stainless rib rack and a ranch kettle can yield championship results with some basic knowledge. Add a BBQ Guru to the mix, and it's literally idiot proof.
If you want a big bad ass Stainless BBQ for the Bling, and don't mind a little extra effort when your cooking, then head on down to lowes. They have a Jenn Air down there for I think 1100 bucks that is the shit. Infrared sear plates, Infrared back burner, etc.. It looks alot like mine out at the river but nicer, and is WAAYYYY ahead of the one I got. I was getting ready to get one until I took that BBQ class. I think I'm going to switch back to the ole style Webers for awhle (Ranch Kettle), but I'll tell ya I still think about that jenn air almost daily. :D If I wasn't so broke right now I'd probably have one.
RD
I don't care about the bling as the food is the important thing as we both know. I will go by and check it out at Lowes. I am going to be out in BH this weekend and they just opened one up there.

[djunkie]

Tom, we used to have this one http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/2005/charcoal/cg_sg_smk.aspx Before it fell victim to our garage fire. I used it many times to smoke ribs. Its a little time consuming but it worked well and the ribs were always great. I think we used to get 4 or 5 racks of baby backs in it with room to spare.

[Powerquestboy]

I have a vertical barrel type smoker and it works great. I think there are a lot of good smokers out there, what is more important is watching your heat and how you prepare your meat. The first time I did it the smoker got super hot and I ended up basically BBQing the meat. Now I use real low heat for a long time and put anything I can find in the boil pan. Saturday I did ribs and a tri tip. We used warms coals, Pecan wood and Mesquite chips. In the boil pan I put red wine, apple juice, lemons, limes, Beer, water and I dont even remember what else but it was great. My lame temp gauge on the smoker has 3 settings, Warm/Ideal/Hot. THh entire 6 hours it never got out of the warm section and into the ideal section and I sitll think we should have cooked it with less heat. Its fun, a lot of trial & error and Beers on the patio. Hell we messed with it for a few hours, went and bought a car, messed with it for another hour or so then ate!

[Old Texan]

Academy Sports- Grill section http://www.academy.com/index.php?page=content&target=products/outdoors/grills/smokers

[Old Texan]

I went and looked... seems Char Broil makes those now... I've seen them at Lowe's for less than a C-note this time of year. I was going to pick on up and try a little smoking this winter.
Make sure you get the model with the firebox. Some have the fuel underneath the food rack and this isn't the way. You need the indirect heat and ability to control the fire.
I've also got a 3 burner gas grill, a kettle charcoal steak grill, and 2 portables- Brinkman and Hibachi for the boat and camping. Can't have 2 many grills. :p

[Sleek-Jet]

Make sure you get the model with the firebox. Some have the fuel underneath the food rack and this isn't the way. You need the indirect heat and ability to control the fire.
I've also got a 3 burner gas grill, a kettle charcoal steak grill, and 2 portables- Brinkman and Hibachi for the boat and camping. Can't have 2 many grills. :p
The one's I've seen have the firebox as an extra... for like 35 bucks or so...
I'm buying a new Weber Gas grill next year... then I'll have 4 grills... :idea:

[2Driver]

http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/506/3347old-smoker.jpg

[Sleek-Jet]

I can see myself having a drink or two of the JWG while letting the smoker do its thing :)
Heck yeah... the best part about smokers is the amount of booze you get to consume... :idea:

[Jetdriver]

You have 2 votes for the big green egg already. You really should look at it.

[Debbolas]

Where is Scream?
He almost bought this huge smoker at (i think) LOWES.....but it was so big it wouldn't fit in his suburban :rolleyes: (thank you lord):D
Seriously, this man buys BBQ's like most women buy shoes;)
Tom,When I first saw this thread, I thought you were asking us to help you decide if you should hire a smoker at you work LOL :D

[THATJEFFGUY]

After going through 2 cheaper models, I finally bought this one at Costco. So far it's been perfect for chicken, ribs, turkey, brisket, jerky, etc. The price is decent too !
Bradley Smoker (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11177787&search=smoker&Sp=S&Mo=6&cm_re=1-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&N=0&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=smoker&Ntt=smoker&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1)

[C-2]

In my backyard I've got a Texas Hondo bought at Academy (large sports outlet if you aren't familiar out that way) that retails for $140.00. I believe they're made around San Antonio. I'll see if I can locate Academy's website and get it to you.
It is basically a horizontal "Pipe" style with a fire box on one end. It's built of 12 gage steel. They have a couple higher end models with "better" material, but I haven't seen "better' Performance, just cosmetic appearance and a little longer life.
I use it on average 2-3 times a month and it is 3 years old. I hold a steady temp at 225-300 degrees depending on what I'm cooking. It will hold 6-8 slabs of full size pork ribs or double in baby backs. At 225 deg, Memphis style dry smoked it will take about 6-8 hours and use 1 large bag of quality charcoal and about 4- 6" x 12" Mesquite, hickory, pecan, or oak logs.
The high dollar "Pits" look real good but can't outcook 'er. :cool:
If you are smoking, then Texan has it right.
I also use the New Braunfels offset I bought for $140 about ten years ago. It's a committment at 6-8 hours, but damn good. Like Texan sez - it's not the equipment - but your technique which seperates the men from boys. I really want to check out one of the vertical stack dealios - the idea of not babysitting every 1/2 hour also seems pretty cool.
Now, if you are just grilling, that's a whole different game where heat is king. A Weber Genesis is one of the best grills. Good size, even heat and it almost get's hot enough for a good sear. Again, don't be fooled into thinking big is better. Probably 3/4 of the grills out there don't burn hot enough, let alone the supersize models. My sis has a $5K stainless grill - and my little $550 Weber cooks circles around it (although hers definitely looks cooler).
I was at Lowes today - and saw some very good deals on leftover grills. But it was kind of like a trainwreck with their grills since it's the off season - so don't bank on any of the home improvement stores.
Happy cooking

[C-2]

After going through 2 cheaper models, I finally bought this one at Costco. So far it's been perfect for chicken, ribs, turkey, brisket, jerky, etc. The price is decent too !
Bradley Smoker (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11177787&search=smoker&Sp=S&Mo=6&cm_re=1-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&N=0&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=smoker&Ntt=smoker&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1)
Yeah, that's the model I was thinking about.
Good huh?

[BEER&WATER]

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=11601&productId=13383&parent_category_rn=16240 the best i've had all of them dont spend your money on anything else

[GHT]

Tom,
I have a "Great Outdoors" (I think that's the name). I purchased it as Sam's / Walmart. It is very durable and is fired by Propane. If I had my T-day photos I would show you two Smokin' turkeys that turned out great. I smoke ribs, brisket, fish, chicken, turkeys, etc, etc..... If your interested PM me and I will get you the info......
Don