Is there really a difference?

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bradgreer

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I know that an accomplished pitmaster can make great food on just about anything, from a hole in the ground to a 20k rig.
My question is for those who have experience on different types of cookers and different types of fuel sources (wood only, charcoal, pellets etc...)
Is there a big difference in flavor when it comes to different cookers.
For example, if i cooked a brisket on a wsm and a brisket on an expensive offset (pick one) using the same cooking methods, rubs etc...would there be a big difference. I know teams are winning with all kinds of cookers on the circuit, and the standard mantra is "always the pitmaster, never the pit".
I just wondered if people have found this to be accurate.

Thanks, (sorry for the rambling)
 
I went to Rod Greys class (Pellet Envy). One of the very first things he said was the smoker doesn't matter, its the cook. He said he chooses to cook on a Jambo and loves it but the smoker is not what makes him win.
 
Agree with everyone, HOWEVER I will say weather will make a HUGE difference. Especially in amount of fuel being used. I cook on WSM's and have been fairly happy. But when it is cold, rainy, and especially windy I struggle quite a bit keeping a steady temp. I have to do certain things to be more stable than buddies of mine have to do with most if not all gravity feeds. If I had the money and didnt have to worry about transporting I would go with a Gravity feed, but for what I have with just a bit of work I will stick with my WSM's
 
I will say this. I'm a gravity guy. I just got my Deep South about a month ago and cooked on an Assassin before that. I loved the Assassin, but the smoke flavor off of the Deep South is much more pronounced (in a good way) . I cook exactly the same way I did on my Assassin.
 
IMHO....it's not the cooker, it's the cook. That having been said, I don't believe that as many as 5% of cookers are purchased because of flavor, bark, tenderness, or finish. The cooker is in most instances, bought or built according to the cooks preference. How does it burn, how does it flow, how much meat do I want to cook, how heavy is it to load or how does the trailer pull? These are only a very few things that a cook might take into consideration. He wants his cooker to be comfortable to use and to respond to the various changes that he will make during a cook. Just my $.02, but I would like to see any opposing thoughts to this.
 
PekingPorker said:
I will say this. I'm a gravity guy. I just got my Deep South about a month ago and cooked on an Assassin before that. I loved the Assassin, but the smoke flavor off of the Deep South is much more pronounced (in a good way) . I cook exactly the same way I did on my Assassin.
Click to expand...

I wonder what would cause the more pronounced smoke flavor???
 
I like to say it is the cook, not the cooker. Last year I got 5 GCs: 3 using a Stumps/FEC, 1 using a Jambo/FEC and 1 using WSM/Yoder. You can produce great bbq on almost any smoker as long as you know how to use it and understand which style of cooking works best with each smoker.
 
I guess one of the reasons I ask this question is that some people think that a stick burner is more "pure".
Kind of silly I suppose.
 
Well,.. I won't get into the purist thing,.. because that isn't what I really care about. ( Although,... I do care about it as far as what I use. Don't get confused,.. lol,.. try and keep up.) Just good Q. My personal exp. leads me to stick burning. I like my uds alot,.. but she's getting lonely and neglected. I prefer the stick burner because of the taste, yes. But more for the method, the journey if you will. I have pulled many an all-nighter burning sticks, and many with the uds chugging along while I slept like a baby. I guess to get to the point, I do notice different flavor profiles depending on different cookers. Better ones on the stick burner?,... To me,.. yes. But hey I might like Dr. Pepper and you might be a Pepsi guy. Different strokes for diff. folks. Anything taken too seriously in the BBQ world is just silly. Smoke on brother!

But all you pellet poopers can burn in hell!! LOL,... j/k pellet poopers. ......or am I?....:behindsofa:
 
As others have said, get to know your cooker(s).

But, it is nice to go to an event that you have done well at on a (insert cooker here) then go back the next year with (insert new type of cooker here) and not do so well, you have something to blame it on :grin:
 
I switched from FE's to a Jambo and didn't change any of my rubs or sauces. A bit of a change from cooking butts in 14 hours to 4 though...
 
I think the pit and the pit master have equal importance. For example my ribs come out dark on the WSM that I use. They use to anyways until I got a bit of help understanding why the rub was burning. I had my WSM at 275 and I had cooked on my kamado at 275 did the same length of time in each smoker. The kamado grill ribs were the way I wanted them to be but the WSM ribs were way too dark. I couldn't figure it out so I asked as it is weird. Apparently the WSM acts more like a direct heat cooker while the kamado absorbs and reflects the heat. So I adjusted and can get the same product now. I knocked an hour orf the time in the smoke compared to the kamado grill. I am sure someone can explain this better but this is what I have experienced.
 
The best barbecue cooked in a mobile pit I've ever had came out of a stick burner.

The worst barbecue cooked in a mobile pit I've ever had came of of a stick burner.

There is no question in my mind that the old school offset is the ultimate tool when it comes to creating incredible smoked meat in something you can move around. The depth of smoke flavor and bark characteristics are noticeably superior to other cooker types when in the hands of an expert pitmaster. However, this type of smoker also requires the highest level of experience and attention of any mobile pit. It is greatly affected by such things as ambient temperature, humidity, wind and moisture level in the wood. As such, when conditions are not optimal or the pitmaster not sufficiently skilled or attentive, stick burners can turn out some of the nastiest, creosote coated meat imaginable.

I think it is a great irony that one of the most difficult pits to cook on is also one of the most common choices for the novice. There is no denying the pure sex appeal of that big iron tube - it's why so many caterers bring an offset on site for show even when the meat was precooked on an Ole Hickory or Southern Pride back at HQ.
 
Old pitmaster told me if it doesn't start with a burn barrel it anit real bbq.
 
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