How many smoker do you have and why?

A

Archie

Got Wood.
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Here is a question for the Bretheren. How many smoker do you have and why? No I am not a spy for your wives. I just want to know if there is a strategy that is employed to use different types of smokers.

I am fighting the urge to purchase a second smoker as I type this thread.
 
5
It is an addiction. But like tools, not one does everything well. Or has enough/right cooking room/space for every job. :loco:
 
ebijack said:
5
It is an addiction. But like tools, not one does everything well. Or has enough/right cooking room/space for every job. :loco:
Click to expand...

Thank you for such a quick reply. Let me be more specific. I live in Maryland and do a lot of offshore fishing. If I use my Flowmaster for seafood and applewood will using hickory or mesquette with beef change the flavor profile for my seafood on the next smoke?

Should I have separate smokers for seafood or poultry and beef and pork?
 
I have no idea on the mesquette, as I never use it.
I smoke quite a bit of fish. Mostly salmon for friends and family. I also smoke whitefish and a few others. The salmon is requested about every other week.
I can not STAND the smell of tuna or salmon.
Some of the Brethren say to use only a designated smoker for fish as the smoker will smell.
I have never had any left over smell. I use aluminum covered drip pans on a rack under the fish. Then dispose. I have smoked pans of nuts right after smoking/removing the salmon, cleaning the drip pans then smoke the nuts. Never any smell of fish.
This works for me and has for many years. Couple of photos.
Most everyone loves the crispy edges best. So that is how I do it for them.

 
ebijack said:
I have no idea on the mesquette, as I never use it.
I smoke quite a bit of fish. Mostly salmon for friends and family. I also smoke whitefish and a few others. The salmon is requested about every other week.
I can not STAND the smell of tuna or salmon.
Some of the Brethren say to use only a designated smoker for fish as the smoker will smell.
I have never had any left over smell. I use aluminum covered drip pans on a rack under the fish. Then dispose. I have smoked pans of nuts right after smoking/removing the salmon, cleaning the drip pans then smoke the nuts. Never any smell of fish.
This works for me and has for many years. Couple of photos.
Most everyone loves the crispy edges best. So that is how I do it for them.

Click to expand...

Thank you for such a detailed explanation. This helps a great deal. At the moment I am not sure of what I will do but I am leaning towards a second smoker. It will either be another Flowmaster or the Over Under.

I do like the idea of having a separate smoker for my seafood. On some of out trips we come back with hundreds of pounds of fish. I would be smoking for the crew and not just for myself.
 
A dedicated smoker for seafood is a reasonable excuse --er, REASON for a second smoker. Lots of folk do it that way. I have never had a problem using the same cooker for all stuff I do, but it is a personal thing.
 
I will have 4 different types after the Langs are delivered tomorrow.
1 - 22.5" & 18" Weber Kettles - For most direct grilling cooks. One for home and one for the RV.
2 - XL Big Green Egg - For long low and slow, set it and forget it cook. Also for less smoke flavor for some who don't care for all the smoke.
3 - Lang 60 Deluxe - scheduled for delivery tomorrow - For what I consider true wood fired BBQ where I can easily change the smoke profile and for slow smoking (I hope) home made bacon and sausage.
4 - A Lang Fire Pit with a cook grid - Scheduled for delivery tomorrow - Because there's nothing like sitting around a campfire and nurturing the brain cells with friends.

I prefer outdoor cooking with wood but sometimes need the convenience of charcoal. BTW: I've gone to nothing but lump unless traveling and I'm forced to buy briquettes.

The wife has a small propane grill but I don't claim it as mine. I ditched all propane years ago other than the Blackstone griddle.
 
With the amount of fish having a dedicated smoker probably makes sense.

I have 5 devices -- a gasser, pellet grill, pizza oven, griddle and Kamado Joe. Ignoring the griddle, the KJ could do what the other three do. In practice though, I almost never use it. It's not as easy & fast as the gasser for quick grilling, isn't as easy and doesn't hold as much as the Rec Tec pellet and just isn't as good as the Blackstone for pizzas.

I could get away with less but it's nice being able to use a cooker that's geared towards the specific need
 
Yup each cooker is a different tool.

Offset for ribs brisket and butts

Wood fired drum for chicken pizza and most everything else

Weber cart to store bbq equipment in/on

Blackstone for breakfast and grilled sandwiches

Akorn i leave out front so passer by knows i grill

Big easy for holiday birds
 
3, the Lang 60 Deluxe is for volume cooks, the Stumps Baby is for small amounts and the Weber 26 is for everything else. When we compete we do everything on the Lang except chix which goes on the Stumps.
 
I used to have a total of six. I used the others mostly as supplemental or back-up smokers for large cooks.

After I bought my Humphrey's I gave three of the others away. I now have a small fish smoker and my Humprey's Down East Beast.

I also have a Camp Chef 24" Smoke Vault which I do not use for smoking, but rather as a holding oven for food because it will fit full size pans. It just makes it so easy to keep large amounts of food warm, and it's light and portable. I also use it in the winter and fall with an a-maze-n pellet maze smoker as a cold smoker for jerky, snack sticks, cheese, butter, and spices. It has enough air leaks to keep a good airflow for the maze without holding any heat.

I also have a Camp Chef Denali that I can use as a portable set of burners or as a griddle, which makes supplemental cooking very easy using stock pots or dutch ovens. I have a large high pressure burner for deep frying chicken wings, chickens, and turkeys, and a couple years ago I got the "Big Easy" radiant infrared cooker as a gift. Since I got the "Big Easy" I no longer deep fry turkeys because this device creates a perfectly cooked turkey every time...

Oh and of course I have a Weber Kettle as my grill.
 
Right now mine is down to two, a 18" WSM and a 22" Performer. Even though the Performer is not a true smoker with the Slow N Sear it works really good as one. I can't say enough about the WSM. I have had it for 5 years now and 3 of those years were with a Guru DigiQ DX2. I have sold the Q because it really is not necessary on the WSM.
 
Thank you all for helping to make an exc...err case for at least one more smoker. Now I just have to decide on either another Flowmaster or its big brother The Over Under. I like the vertical aspect of their design and they appear to be very well built.
 
One smoker/charcoal grill (PK), one gas grill for fast stuff (Broil Mate).
 
Smokers

I have 2 here Shirley 24 x 36 patio model for ribs, chicken, small butts.
A 22" WSM for long overnite cooks, packers and large butts.
DanB
 
I've got a BGE for the versatility of grilling and smoking. I've got a WSM for larger cooks, and I've got a Humphrey's Pint Plus on order for future competitions and an eye towards local catering.

On the other hand - as my 2.5 year old toddler says all the time - "Why not????"
 
That's like asking, "Why buy another gun?"

3b_zpsaae3ygbt.jpg
 
1. I'm singles and when I run the smoker I fill it up completely and vacuum seal everything I don't plan on having for dinner that night. Also, I don't eat fish, so I'm not worried about needing a separate smoker for fish. If I ever get around to buying the heat diffuser with the access door for my Yoder, I may look into selling the Weber.
 
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