putting the Shirley to work.

falconer said:

So a question for you and others with smokers like this... I do my cooks on a WSM 18.5; plenty of space for whatever I need for me and the wife. But sometimes I want more. Does running a large smoker like this use "too much fuel" for a small cook (like one brisket and a slab of ribs, for example) or is it still efficient to do small cooks on a big smoker?
I'd LOVE something like this but doubt I could justify it...
Sure looks good though. Makes me want to go out in the rain and start a port butt...

Click to expand...

my answer is no, it does not use too much fuel

I cook in my main chamber in my Shirley all the time, I prefer it.

I think the air flow is better, I just think the results are better. I dont care if its full or only has 1 piece of meat on it. Obviously if its full it will take more wood.

Just yesterday I cooked one rack of ribs and a whole chicken. Used about 15 splits I would say. Just a little more than I would use when cooking with the warmer. I will have to keep track next time, I am doing a small brisket on it next Saturday.

This is for burning wood. If I was using briqs and the minion method, then the warmer works great for that