Need some advice on choosing a smoker.

[LarryjCamp]

Hi everyone I have come to a point I need advice on. I have been saving a long time to buy me my dream pit. The problem is that I honestly am having trouble deciding on what to get. First off my budget is $4500 and wife said not a penny more lol. I have been looking for almost 6 months seriosly now. We really like charcoal and wood flavor its also what i have used for years on my kettle. I have never used a stick burner but not affraid to start. Here's a few of the smokers I am considering in random order. Lang 48 hybrid deluxe patio. Lang 36 hybrid deluxe patio. Heavily upgraded lonestar 24x36 cabinet. Upgraded 48 assassin grill. Yoder ys640 or ys1500 although i hear pellets dont have much flavor.American Barbecue systems pit boss. Ole Hickory ultra. My problem is that they are all awesome definitely things I like about them all. Just can't make up my mind. I really like the American Barbecue systems pit boss has rotisserie and flat racks possible pellet add on etc. But then there is the lonestar lol see what I mean I know all of them are way overkill I'm only cooking for 5 at most but it's my addiction lol plus i like lots of options. I guess my biggest problem is that I am wanting it to last for ever and cook good and look cool. Can anyone help me with some recommendations and elaborate as to why. This has become a harder decision than a new car. I really appreciate any advice I can get.

 

[Joshw]

A lot of good pits there. In the end you should buy what you really want. Deep down,you probably have a favorite. If you want my opinion. If I were only cooking for 5 people, and had never used a stick burner. I would buy the Ys640 and that would leave you $2000 to buy a good stick burner as well.

 

[Rockinar]

Just pick one and start there. You wont know what you like unless you buy it. Anything on that list will be better than a Kettle as far as BBQ goes.

 

[LarryjCamp]

Ya I have considered that. I want them all lol. Looked at a Shirley also but they are over 2 years wait. I am leaning towards a stick/charcoal co I can do any combination but pretty much all the ones I like do that I really like the looks of the American Barbecue systems pit boss and all of its options but it's thinner steel than the others I don't know lol that's the reason I figured I would ask the pro's maybe get some more information and input before I chose

 

[TopItOff]

I would decide first on what you want your cooker to look like. With your budget you can decide between a barrel design or a cabinet design. I personally don’t cook on any of them and my purpose when picking one out is purely marketing and the idea of can I make money on it. Cooking for so few of people means that you are cooking tons of meat at a time, a small cabinet smoker, in the color you want is probably 2K. Add a BBQ guru for some nice relaxing cooks. Stump makes a nice looking cabinet smoker.

 

[CptKaos]

Of the pits you listed the Assassin 48 would be my choice, very versatile type cooker. Plus it leaves you enough money to buy a nice offset stick burner

Larry

 

[pharp]

Schedule a brethren road trip and visit somebody that has each one

 

[Mikhail]

At that price I'd be sure to get one that can do wood and/or charcoal. Versatility is key for me. I'd also look at how much real estate I wanted to devote to it.

Of course I do not have a smoker in the price range so take my advice with a big old grain of salt...

 

[16Adams]

Current trend in my observation are high end stick burners, drums and pellet smokers.

I’ve seen a lot of positive comments on the two you are pondering.

I’m staying with my charcoal lump variant cookers.

They’re old but work well.

 

[bonz50]

if I didn't want to wait for a shirley then Lone Star would be high on my list as well, seems to have a great reputation and there are several models that would fill my needs. only thing that would suck is the drive to go pick it up!

 

[KevinJ]

If you like cooking with charcoal and wood, I'd stick with that. I don't know what gauge metal ABS uses for the Pit Boss but whatever it is, it's not a tin can, it weighs 560lbs. I like the Ole Hickory too, I follow Malcolm Reed on youtube, he does a lot of cooking on the Ole Hickory.

Everything you're looking at is excellent.

 

[JohnH12]

I can't speak for the others but I've had two Langs and like the quality and flavor they produce if I do my job.
Understand that regardless the brand, most horizontal stick burners only run well with wood if cooking in the main chamber. A deluxe model that includes a vertical warmer with flues will cook well in the warmer using charcoal if you want.
First decide on the profile you want, vertical or horizontal. Both have their pros and cons.
You didn't mention a ceramic cooker like the BGE or Kamado. They're well within your budget and also turn out some great Q. They can be truly a set it and forget it cook.
I have a Lang, XL BGE, and Weber kettle. Each has it's place and each place is different.
Good luck.

 

[-Chris-]

I just went through the same decision, here are my thoughts.

What do you like to cook and how much do you want to cook?

I went from a Big Green Egg, which was way too small, to a Myron Mixon 36" stick burner which is simply massive with two 32" x 21" shelves. For a superbowl party I was going to, I had a 12 pound brisket and 3 full racks of spare ribs with a ton of room to spare. I just don't need any more room.

Do you live in a cold climate or warm climate?

I live in the Northeast and routinely smoke in sub-freezing weather. A single wall smoker, no matter how thick, is going to require some sort of insulation. The Yoder folks throw welding blankets over their smokers to reduce pellet usage. For me, an insulated smoker was a requirement.

How much do you want to babysit the smoker?

With my BGE and Digi Q, I could load up 15 pounds of charcoal and have it smoke unattended for 15 hours locked at 220 degrees. The downside was the level and quality of smoke was hard to maintain. I think a pellet grill like a Yoder provides similar hands off control with a more consistent, but lighter smoke.

The stick burner on the other hand is like a toddler, it pretty much requires constant attention. You need to add wood every 30-45 minutes to keep the temperature consistent. I cook warm ~275 and quickly to limit my cook days to 8-9 hours max. That being said, I am going to adapt my Digi Q to the Mixon smoker and try to run it like my BGE or a gravity fed smoker. Mainly use a charcoal heavy load with pellets interspersed for flavor with a choking fire. My objective being to smoke much lower and longer without the constant baby sitting.

I always use a water pan and think you should add the Myron Mixon water smoker to your list of smokers you are considering.

Chris

 

[Beentown]

Hmm, many options. Really you need to decide what kind of footprint you have available and what style of cooker you want. You could get both styles...a set and forget and a stickburner.

An Assassin grill and a stick burner would be a great combo.

A Lang Hybrid deluxe and an Assassin 17 cabinet smoker would also be a great combo. Both can be picked up in GA.

With two cookers you have more options. Do you have the available real estate for that?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[bonz50]

beentown makes a good point, do you have space for multiple cookers?? also, do you have other grilling weapons in the arsenal already? if this is to augment existing weapons then a hybrid may not be the best choice and a dedicated smoker might be. do you need the added capacity of a 48" chargrill? or would the kettle continue to service.

sounds like you may need to get a few more details in order before you jump. always good to get other opinions tho, might just open your eyes to something you hadn't considered yet. given you are up nort, an insulated box smoker would be a high priority for me (i'm up nort also)

 

[pjtexas1]

i'm gonna jump on the multiple cooker bandwagon...but only because you don't cook volumes at a time. i have several different types of cookers and i like having choices to cook on and it keeps me from getting bored. i have a big stick burner just in case i need to cook 20 or so briskets (will never happen), a medium insulated cabinet and the rest are smaller. all of my small cookers will feed 5 people easily. you have the opportunity to have an arsenal of cookers if you have the space.

small insulated cabinet: $1,500
small stick burner: $1,500
hunsaker drum: $800

 

[EdF]

Yeah, multi-cookers for me too. LBGE for overnights and flexibility. KBQ for excellent smoke at the expense of time tending (which can be a pleasure). Small TEC gasser for fast and easy, and for searing (got other options for the searing bit, though). And an Uuni Pro multi-fuel pizza oven that hasn't been broken in yet.

You have a good budget to work with there. Do check out the KBQ if you don't mind tending the fire:

https://amazingribs.com/smoker/karubecue-c-60-pit-review

https://kbq.us/product/kbq-c-60-pit/

This thing is still the apple of my eye, cooker-wise.

 

[D-Fuse]

I just went through basically the same problems as you are. The only difference is the pits we were considering. I did as much research as I could. I read reviews, watched YouTube videos, and called the pitmakers to answer the questions I had. At the end I decided to go with the lone star 24x36. I liked the way it looked, it has more room than I need, and I haven't found one person with negative things to say about them. The one other thing that helped me decide between the lsg and the other pit I narrowed it down to, was the fact that I can go pick up the lsg instead of shipping it. Is it the best pit? I don't know, but I went with my gut and it's the one I decided on.

 

[70monte]

Look at the M1. It cooks like a traditional grill and has an adjustable charcoal grate like a Hasty Bake but can also smoke using charcoal or wood in the separate smoking basket. It's well under your budget at around $2,500. This way you can see if you like cooking with wood. If you don't, you can still get 4-6 hours of smoking using charcoal according to the manufacturer. It also has a lifetime warranty. I don't own one but it's on my radar.

 

[JohnH12]

The statement from D-Fuse is probably the best advice you'll ever get:
Get a cooker that "has more room than I need".
Unless you want to go through this again. I wish I would have considered that when I was looking.