Need help with picking a smoker

Smokenrt said:
Iceturkes Have tried cooking a turkey on your acorn? I want to cook ribs, butts, meatloafs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, brisket, steaks, burgers, ah heck anything that I can get my hands on. I think I would use the acorn more. But when it comes time to cook a lot I will want the size of the offset.
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Yes turkeys turn out great on the Akorn.. I have a cheap offset as well, I enjoy cooking on the offset more.. Its fun feeding logs, but it is more demanding and you have to keep a better eye on it.. Additionally with our cold winters in the north it just isn't very efficient or fun going out every 30 minutes.

The Akorn is 19.75 I believe and also has the upper rack which is nice.. It can cook up a pretty sizeable amount of meat..

I have never cooked on WSM, or Drum but both have a cult following and are well loved.. But if you are looking to do the gamut of stuff from 225 for BBQ to 600+ for steaks you may be better off getting the Akorn or a 26 inch kettle..
 
Uds check
Wsm check
How about a pbc? Pit Barrel cooker. Check it out. I love mine.
 
Smokenrt said:
Hello everyone I'm new here & just started learning how to smoking meats & bbq. I have a Kingsford kettle & a mastercraft 7in1 smoker. The other day I found out how BAD of a smoker the mastercraft is. It took almost 6hrs to do a whole fryer chicken! I had problems the whole time trying to keep the temp between 275-300 and I had to keep feeding the fire. I was using Lump charcoal and it burnt about 8-9lbs in that time. I've been looking around and I like the Char-griller Acorn Kamado. My local walmart has them for $288 & I'm really thinking about getting one but last night I found a offset smoker that I've been looking for its a New Braunfels Longhorn Deluxe for $350 used. So if anyone has these can you tell me the Pros & Cons of them.
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Smokenrt,

Welcome to your new world of learning how to smoke...

I think it is actually good that you started with a poor quality smoker because things can only get better from here. Heck even Myron claims he can cook good BBQ in a trash can, but yes because it requires more time and work to cook properly. So if nothing else you have learned the basics of fire management.

While there are many choices of smokers to choose from, you are still learning and your likes and dislikes will change as you progress.

Keep in mind that people are different in many ways, so to buy a smoker on another users recommendation could be a poor fit for you. Before you get caught up on an idea of a specific smoker, I would suggest that you build yourself a UDS.
1) This will allow you the ability to cook more food without expending a lot of your hard earned money.
2) This will give you a sense of accomplishment and understanding how basic smokers work.

Once you get beyond this you can safely judge the amount of food you will normally cook at a gathering. From here you know the size of the cooker you are looking for, the type of fuel you want to use, and the footprint size for your cooker. All this can help save you a lot of money buying smokers as you progress.

I used to think it was fun to collect the many smokers I purchased, even lining them up like little soldiers. When I did research and finally bought my last smoker, at that point I realized I no longer needed the other 5 smokers. My new smoker served the purpose of all five combined, so I gave them as starter smokers to family and friends.

Keep to the basics and make a list of what you need to do with your smoker keeping separate what you want to do. Somewhere in the middle you will find the list of requirements of your smoker needs and some of your wants. This will make the task of finding the perfect smoker easier.

Good luck on your hunt and keep us posted.
 
Have you looked at Craigslist for someone that sells UDS's? Sometimes the hardest part is finding a drum to start the build. We have local guys that sell them for $200 for the basic units up to $400 for the ones with custom paint jobs like baseball/football teams.
 
As far as efficient use of charcoal and the ability to eventually cook a lot of food at once, it's hard to beat a UDS. I don't have one, but I will one day. Right now I use a kamado and sometimes I wish I had more space. Other than the space issue, my kamado is fantastic for efficiency, ease of use, finished product and subzero winter smoking. Many members here have been able to build one for about $50, look on CL for parts and search out threads where members built them on the cheap. If charcoal efficiency is a priority for you, a cheap offset smoker (less that $200) will not give you that and it needs a significant amount of tending, especially in the beginning. I don't know about the Akorn, I think it's similar to a Bubba Keg, isn't it? I've heard a lot of good things about the Bubba Keg, re: efficiency and ease of use. I am a fan of the idea of having less smokers that accomplish more. Why not spend your money on nice meat if an accomplished smoker like a UDS can be had for so little cash?
 
Thank You everyone for you thoughts & insight on this. I just left the guys house that has the offset. He told me that when he bought it new he paid over $900 for it his wife even still has the recepet for it (she had fun reminding him how much he paid Lol). He even came down on his price from $350 to $300 and he said he would throw in all the stuff he has for it 40lbs of kingsford, chem starter, & 3 digital duel probe thermometers. He said the reason for the deal was cause there moving and he can't take it with them. I've been looking at the UDS but I don't have a concrete area to put it on. One of the guys I work with said I can use his Akorn to see how I like it. He said that all he's done to his is when he was putting it together he used High Temp silicon on the vents and he doubled the gasket on the lid and the ash pan. So the first test tonight is steaks I want to see if it can get hot enuf to sear then for tomorrow I have a 7lb butt to test it with.
 
Wait a second, the $350 NB offset, now at $300, you were talking about cost $900 new? Doesn't sound like a cheap one, how thick is the steel? I'm going to google around a bit and search some threads here.
 
From what you have posted I would recommend a WSM as well or build an UDS if you like a project. I had an ECB and struggled for years trying to maintain a good temp for coking. Finally resorted to doing most all of my bbq on a kettle grill. Since I purchased a 22 WSM, it has definitely improved my cooking quality of life. Lots of room on these uints. I have cooked 6 pork sholders at one time on the WSM. Good luck and enjoy!
 
Yep that's it. It's a BEAST!!! It has 1/4" Steel and it's 700lbs+ I've got the wife on board to get it and after using the akorn last night she loves it. So she wants to get the akorn as well.
 
Ok y'all I've got the longhorn home and on the porch beside my friends Akorn & man it's Big it took me & 2 other guys to get it loaded into the truck using ramps and pushing it up. The fun came when I got back home and it was me and my wife trying to get it unloaded. But it's here and when I got into its spot I told my wife it didn't look that big at the guys house. :shock: it looks like a Monster beside the akorn. Now the akorn has been going sence 6:30am and with notes from my friend on this smoker on how much lump and the vent settings it has stayed at 230 all day & the butt looks GREAT!!
 
Congrats on the cooker and the wife being on board. Now go get the Akorn before she comes to her senses! This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity.
 
Wow, ¼" thick steel? For $300 plus paraphernalia? I'd go for that, too, holy smokes!

Congratulations, brother, you really scored. Big time. :nod:
 
I've had my Akorn for 2 years and I love it. Never had any experience with a wsm but I wouldn't mind having one for more smoking room. The Akorn is a versatile cooker.. It does low n slow cooks and sears steaks. If you want you want a all in one type cooker get the Akorn. If you want a cooker mainly to smoke probably consider a wsm or Uds since they have more room.
 
Took my wife to Wally World to get the akorn. As I was putting in the box on the cart my wife noticed that this was the Only type grill that wasn't on clearance. The regular price was $288 so I got an associate to get the manager. She finally come back to us and I asked her about the price and why this one wasn't on Clearance like the rest of them. She looked at the grill and scanned it with a price gun and said it must have missed the markdown like the rest of the grills. She told me seeing how it's the last one she offered it up for $75 :shock: I told her that I would give her $50 and to my Surprise she said OK!! :lol: I didn't even wait around I went strait to the checkout with the Manager in tow to Hold her to her price. We left out of there and picked up some Lottery tickets. My wife said I must have a Golden horse shoe somewhere to have this LUCKY of a day. So come on Luck hold out for me so I can cash in on Power Ball or Mega Millions!!! :-D
 
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