JayDee
Found some matches.
Folks,
I'm in the market for a smoker and I have a $750 budget that comes with a caveat: The budget is born from cashing in credit-card reward points for gift cards. This limits me to Lowe's, Home-Depot, Bass Pro and Amazon as vendors.
I've currently got a cheap Walmart gasser (pretty much relegated to grilling chicken quarters); the big Weber Kettle (steak & burger machine) and a home-brewed UDS (butt, rib & brisket machine).
The UDS cooks very well, but is a pain to use if you need to refill a water pan, add wood or move meat around on the lower grate. So, I'm looking for a new option that can hold at least one big brisket without having to scrunch it any to cram it in. I'm not married to any particular type (vertical, offset, pellet, stick-burner) as long as it's wood (stick, chunk or pellet) and/or charcoal fueled.
I'm not afraid to modify a new smoker and can handle most anything that does not require welding or a lathe.
The UDS has been a fairly reliable "set & forget" smoker, but I also would not mind something that would require more "tending" during a cook. More "tending" appeals to me as it will give me an alibi from the "honey-do" list for at least every other hour or so during the cook (or as much as I can plausibly milk it).
Primary use is casual cooking for two to ten, although several times a year I could be cooking for up to 40.
I have not been paying attention to the current crop of smokers and would appreciate some advice on best bang for the buck. I'm currently leaning towards the Oklahoma Joe offset cooker from Lowe's so a sanity-check would be appreciated there. But, I'm also open to other suggestions.
Thanks in advance!
-JD
I'm in the market for a smoker and I have a $750 budget that comes with a caveat: The budget is born from cashing in credit-card reward points for gift cards. This limits me to Lowe's, Home-Depot, Bass Pro and Amazon as vendors.
I've currently got a cheap Walmart gasser (pretty much relegated to grilling chicken quarters); the big Weber Kettle (steak & burger machine) and a home-brewed UDS (butt, rib & brisket machine).
The UDS cooks very well, but is a pain to use if you need to refill a water pan, add wood or move meat around on the lower grate. So, I'm looking for a new option that can hold at least one big brisket without having to scrunch it any to cram it in. I'm not married to any particular type (vertical, offset, pellet, stick-burner) as long as it's wood (stick, chunk or pellet) and/or charcoal fueled.
I'm not afraid to modify a new smoker and can handle most anything that does not require welding or a lathe.
The UDS has been a fairly reliable "set & forget" smoker, but I also would not mind something that would require more "tending" during a cook. More "tending" appeals to me as it will give me an alibi from the "honey-do" list for at least every other hour or so during the cook (or as much as I can plausibly milk it).
Primary use is casual cooking for two to ten, although several times a year I could be cooking for up to 40.
I have not been paying attention to the current crop of smokers and would appreciate some advice on best bang for the buck. I'm currently leaning towards the Oklahoma Joe offset cooker from Lowe's so a sanity-check would be appreciated there. But, I'm also open to other suggestions.
Thanks in advance!
-JD
