Too many types of smokers and ways to smoke!!!!

[northernrescue3321]

So I started out smoking a few years ago and kept it simple... I tosed a packet of wood chips on the back on my weber grill, put the temp low, and threw on some ribs. After that I was hooked and wanted a dedicated smoker. After some investigation I got my WSM and could not be happier with it.

THe only draw back to the WSM is its size limits the amount I can cook at one time. On a normal day no big deal, but for my yearly summer BBQ , wel lets jut say 60+lbs won't fit on it.

So this year I decided to start checking into other options. There are a lot of differant options capacities, and styles.

THe first question is Stick vs carcoal burnerrs?? Is there truely any differance??

Second is horizontal vs vertical, reversal flow vs direct flow, fire box no fier box rigs with both vertical and horzontal. In the end I guess my question is what is the differance between all the differant choics, does it make a differance, and if in the end they all do the same thing and it just comes down to a matter a wht you preferr then why do some rigs ahve mutliple types of smokers. It can get confuseing.

Personally I've been leaning towards a larger vertical style smoker because of how much I love the way my WSM cooks. Its just with the amount of money that these things run I want to make sure I dont screw this decision up.

I wish there was a place near here in NJ that sold these things but all the manufactures are in the south and south west when i go looking.

The one I do keep looking at is Stump smokers but even they have about 4 differant styles and got confused in there selections.

PLEAE HELP

 

[Fatback Joe]

Why do you think we all have multiple smokers?

Good luck. :mrgreen:

 

[Mark Warren]

The biggest decision you have to make first is how much room are you willing to give up to store it. That can narrow you down pretty fast. From there you are correct the choices are endless.

 

[northernrescue3321]

There inlies the million dollar questions Joe, does one type of smoker cook a type of meat better than another?

Is there one that does all decent enough to be worth the money to start until I can save up again to by a differant style?

 

[northernrescue3321]

The biggest decision you have to make first is how much room are you willing to give up to store it. That can narrow you down pretty fast. From there you are correct the choices are endless.

I have a relativley decent size area, and in turn can do either a verticle of horizontal style with out much issue.

I guess the real question is is there a differant in the quality of the cook between verticle and horizonal, or even offset vs not, water vs no water, coal vs stick

 

[Mahoney86]

Your story sounds very similar to mine and pretty much every other person on here...My best advice is do your homework and be patient, don't rush because you need extra space for your yearly family bbq etc... I rushed on my first 3 smokers and spent well over what a nice cooker would have cost me if I did it right the first time. Your WSM is great, always keep that handy, I gave mine to a buddy hoping he would get into the hobby and wish I still had it.

Personally once I knew what to look for in good bbq I was always comparing restaurants etc when I traveled south and the flavor that I liked the most came from real word wood burning bbq and IMHO no matter how hard I tried I could not replicate that taste with propane or charcoal (maybe it was in my mind, maybe it wasn't ) but I finally decided that a stick burner was the route I wanted to go. Sure it requires the most "babysitting" and practice to cook great bbq on, but thats what I wanted out of this hobby was a challenge and something new for me to tackle. I didn't want the set it and forget it type smoker. End of the day, its what type of cooking brings you the most fun!

Humphreys smokers is in NY if I am not mistaken, very nice vertical smokers that you can check out. I know a fellow brethren is a dealer as well.

Start off thinking about how much food you will want to cook, then if you want something you have to watch or a cooker that will give you some sleep. Then decide on price range.

I have a Lang 84 that I just recently picked up. You are more than welcome to come down and take a look and fire up some food anytime if you want.

 

[Mark Warren]

I am saving up for a vertical smoker myself the BBQ Vault. The issue I see is a longevity one because of the firebox being smaller and right under the coming area so if nothing is in the water pan it could ruin the plate between them. I don't have a lot of room or I would opt for the horizontal smoker. Taller fire boxes more cooking height.

 

[Bristol]

Verticle Smoker

I made my smoker. I saw the ugly drum smoker on websites and decided to make one. It is not hard. There are directions on most all the BBQ websites. Mine cooks good. For me anyway. Very Happy.

 

[Mark Warren]

I made my smoker. I saw the ugly drum smoker on websites and decided to make one. It is not hard. There are directions on most all the BBQ websites. Mine cooks good. For me anyway. Very Happy.

I think he is looking for a lot more cook space than a UDS has to offer.

 

[Goddahavit]

OK, you need to see some of these units.

Check out the next closest comp, i guarantee you if your there friday, and are polite everyone would be glad to show off the toys, and talk.

that said, you need to set a size and price range. decide if you like to tend or not.

Wsm can fit 60 lbs of pork, but more than 2 briskets can be tricky.

I have used stumps gravity fed, backwoods, a backyard jambo, wsm, bubba keg, meadowcreek pr60
if i can answer any questions let me know.

Do they cook different, yes, do they all make great bbq yes.

 

[jmoney7269]

I'm a vertical convert! Used to burn down wood to coals and shovel em into the pit and cook direct and indirect on the same pit, but you gotta have a chord of wood handy at all time and its alot of work and the flavor can't be beat, but I'm lazy and like to drink beer and socialize while I BBQ.
Bang bang bang, clank clank clank, begg it for some coals, scoop, add more wood and repeat all dayum day! Lol

 

[Hoss]

All you need is wood/charcoal and meat.How you set it up is pure personal preference.Some of the best Q I ever tasted was cooked over open coals in Argentina just hangin on a rack over a bed of coals.

Arnold Palmer could shoot par golf with a 2x4.It is a journey,try many different methods,then choose the one you are most comfortable with.The Holy Grail of cookers begins and ends with you and what you and your guests like.

 

[flyingbassman5]

There inlies the million dollar questions Joe, does one type of smoker cook a type of meat better than another?

Is there one that does all decent enough to be worth the money to start until I can save up again to by a differant style?

This is the heart of my personal problem. Ever since I gave away my Offset, I have sworn up and down that my ribs come out different on my UDS. I don't know if it is the true indirect heat in an offset vs the dry water pan over the coals in my UDS. Maybe its the sizzling of the grease drippings. Its not a bad flavor change, just different.

I am on a dedicated track to purchase a trailer mounted Lang in the coming year or two instead of going through two or three cheaper Big Box store "heavy duty" offset smokers. Plus, I just really want to have the ability to be able to pull a cooker to where ever I need it and have a large enough capacity to cook for a crowd.

So yes, to me every cooker is different. The differences might be subtle but they are there and noticeable.

 

[wasilvers]

A few UDS' s or even WSM's will get you to 60lbs pretty fast. And you can do different temps for different cooks easily.

 

[northernrescue3321]

Thank you every one for the advice. I guess as everything with cooking there is no scientific answer to these age old questions.

And Mehoney thanks for the offer I may have to take you up on it some time

And Goddahavit, that is great advice I'm going to start looking for some local comps and see whats really out there

 

[ButtBurner]

sounds like you like your WSM just fine, and just one time a year you need more capacity?

I dont think I would buy another smoker just for that. Figure out how to add more racks to your WSM is one answer

How much more capacity do you need for this one cook?

Unless of course you are just looking for an excuse to buy another cooker

I like that better

 

[shirknwrk]

... How much time do you want to spend tending the fire? If you don't want to add wood every 45min-1hr, then a vertical smoker would be a much better choice than an offset stickburner. Backyard Bomber, Backwoods, American BBQ Systems, The Good One are worth checking out... in addition to those mentioned.

 

[northernrescue3321]

sounds like you like your WSM just fine, and just one time a year you need more capacity?

I dont think I would buy another smoker just for that. Figure out how to add more racks to your WSM is one answer

How much more capacity do you need for this one cook?

Unless of course you are just looking for an excuse to buy another cooker

I like that better

To be honest it would be a lot more than once a year if I had a bigger smoker. Right now I am in the midde of making pastrami for co-workers. Its about 70lbs worth of brisket that I've been curing. But when I get to the point im ready to smoke, I'm going to have to do it in 2-3 batches. I would much rather just do one smoke and then be able to move on.

Last year for my BBQ I made 4 Butts and 2 Briskets. I order to accomplish this in the time needed I used my WSM, my weber propane grill, and my brother in laws kettle grill.

To be honest even if its only once year that is just an out right pain in the ass.

And as a side note it is nice to get a bigger shinnier toy! :biggrin1:

 

[Fat Cap]

Good luck with your search! Like many before have said it's the journey. I built a trailer rig and love it. Took about 80 hours and about 2 grand. Now I am building a modified UDS for the back yard. Next I think I will build a verticle out of an old safe I have laying around. the more you try, the more you know. You know?

 

[eggzlot]

Northern - the advice to go to a comp is great advice. If you can wait, and I know waiting is hard, there is a KCBS event in Cresskill, NJ the weekend of Sept 7th. If you are in Northern NJ, that should be rather close to you. At that event you'll see some offsets like Langs/Meadowcreek, some verticals like Backwoods, Spicewine or Stumps and who knows what else. You can walk around, talk to the teams who will all gladly show off their toys and show you how they work, etc.

As mentioned, Humphreys is close, I think they are in Maine, not NY though. Though expensive, the new Myron Mixon line of water cookers look to be very well built, and they are made up in CT - so if you can go pick it up, you save some $$$ on delivery vs getting a lower cost pit shipped from TX, GA, etc.