WSM 18.5 or 22.5 vs PBC/BHC for Brisket

[EmperorMA]

Hi there! First post!

I am getting into BBQ and my love is brisket. I will also do pork butts for pulled pork but brisket is what I want to make sure I have the right charcoal cooker for in terms of size and results.

I have a Weber Performer 22.5 Kettle for grilling and have smoked brisket on it to good effect. But I want a dedicated charcoal smoker for my brisket and pulled pork.

I want to be able to cook a full packer brisket with no worries about room in the cooker. I feel the WSM 18.5 might be a bit small for this task, but I've also heard the WSM 22.5 doesn't have as good of temperature control and doesn't cook as low (around 250-275 vs 225-250) as the smaller WSM.

I believe the Pit Barrel Cooker and Barrel House Cooker will hold a brisket but how does it come out cooking hotter and faster? Is it as juicy and tasty? As good as a WSM? If not, is the quality close enough that the time saved is worth it?

If you fine folks were worried about cooking a 16lb packer brisket to perfection every couple of weeks, which of these three would you get?

All feedback is greatly appreciated. thanks!

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

You will be encouraged to get the WSM 22. I haven't used one myself, but they have a good reputation.

 

[ulc]

18.5 WSM, PBC, and BHC are pretty much the same size. 18.5 WSM is little small for some of the bigger briskets but you can put small bowl underneath when you cook to make it fit. If you want no worries about room in the cooker, get the 22 WSM.

 

[EmperorMA]

18.5 WSM, PBC, and BHC are pretty much the same size. 18.5 WSM is little small for some of the bigger briskets but you can put small bowl underneath when you cook to make it fit. If you want no worries about room in the cooker, get the 22 WSM.

Do the PBC and BHC do as good of a job on brisket?

 

[Bob C Cue]

PBC does great briskets and more.

Check out the PBC Appreciation
thread for more details. http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=210239

 

[foam2]

I have all three of the smokers you asked about. I think you can't go wrong with any one of them - no losers in this bunch. In my opinion the pbc is the easiest to use - set it and forget it, it will burn for 8-10 hours on a full load of coals. Many people say the PBC is a rib and chicken machine. The weber has a lot more you can adjust and customize with accessories to suit you. You can use the water pan or go without and get a similar flavor profile as the pbc. I would think cooking capacity might be a bigger difference here for you. I'm in the camp where if weber would make a 26" WSM I would buy it lol. You can't go wrong here - pick what is most important for you.

 

[rwalters]

I have all three of the smokers you asked about. I think you can't go wrong with any one of them - no losers in this bunch. In my opinion the pbc is the easiest to use - set it and forget it, it will burn for 8-10 hours on a full load of coals. Many people say the PBC is a rib and chicken machine. The weber has a lot more you can adjust and customize with accessories to suit you. You can use the water pan or go without and get a similar flavor profile as the pbc. I would think cooking capacity might be a bigger difference here for you. I'm in the camp where if weber would make a 26" WSM I would buy it lol. You can't go wrong here - pick what is most important for you.

Hunsaker’s 85 gallon drum has a 26” diameter...

 

[dward51]

As the owner of a 18.5" WSM since 2005, I can verify that a full brisket will *NOT* fit on the rack without cutting. Same for a full rack of ribs. They are just too long for the grates without trimming/cutting. You can still produce fine Q in a 18" WSM, you just have to make the meat fit.

 

[SyraQue]

22 wsm. After a few cooks mine holds at 250 plus or minus 5 degrees for about 16 hours. Granted I bought the larger coal basket after market. Even without the bigger basket though, it is a solid cooker.

 

[foam2]

I already asked Mark if he would make me a SS 85 gallon lol

 

[dward51]

22 wsm. After a few cooks mine holds at 250 plus or minus 5 degrees for about 16 hours. Granted I bought the larger coal basket after market. Even without the bigger basket though, it is a solid cooker.

A WSM with a Guru or other power draft controller is about as close to "set and forget" as you can be with charcoal. It will hold temp as long as there is fuel to burn. I've been using a Guru with mine since about 2006.

Even without a power draft unit, a WSM is a rock solid and reliable smoker which you can depend on to repeat a cook over and over. The learning curve for the vents is not that hard and once you figure it out and "learn" to give the pit time to adjust to your airflow changes before fiddling with the vent again, it's pretty dang easy.

Actually that advise can translate to any fire fueled smoker adjusted by changes in the air flow vents. Any change will take approximately 15 minutes to show the total effect in the fire. If you don't wait 15-20 minutes to see what the pit settles to, you will be chasing a yo-yo of up and down temps by adjusting the air flow too much and too often. Patience is a true virtue with air flow controlled smokers....

(relax and enjoy the time, it's not supposed to be work!)

 

[EmperorMA]

I have all three of the smokers you asked about. I think you can't go wrong with any one of them - no losers in this bunch. In my opinion the pbc is the easiest to use - set it and forget it, it will burn for 8-10 hours on a full load of coals. Many people say the PBC is a rib and chicken machine. The weber has a lot more you can adjust and customize with accessories to suit you. You can use the water pan or go without and get a similar flavor profile as the pbc. I would think cooking capacity might be a bigger difference here for you. I'm in the camp where if weber would make a 26" WSM I would buy it lol. You can't go wrong here - pick what is most important for you.

Thanks.

Do the barrel smokers tend to dry out the meat more with those big hooks stuck completely through the meat? Growing up in a devout Santa Maria-style area, any puncturing of the meat during a cook was taboo, even with a small fork.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

I've have an 18 WSM for now about 9 years. Have done close to 100 full packers over that time. It's true that it is tricky to get a big chunk of brisket in it. Also true that a full rack of spares X 3 or 4 will not lay flat.



The biggest brisket I've cooked on the 18 was a 22lb pre trimmed. There are ways.
As to ribs, a rib rack and tuck the ends into the provided handles. They will shrink and you can wrap either as needed.


I can't speak to the 22 but I think it will consume more fuel. I can go 16 hours at 275*F with 16lbs of coal. 22hours at 250*F. You are right about temp control. The 18 is Great. This is using KBB coal, not lump.


When I did the 22lb brisket, used a SS bowl to take advantage of unused dome space. With ribs, tucked the ends in the top grill handles.


Afew pics and Good Luck with your choice.

Lots of ways to get around space limitations. I hope to start a thread on the 4th to hang 2 chicken halves and 3 racks of ribs over the coals with applewood smoke.

 

[Monkey Uncle]

I have the WSM 22.5. I have no problem maintaining steady low and slow temps, and I don't even use water in the pan. I do have to fiddle with the vents occasionally, but I don't really mind that. I've never tried, but I believe you could fit four smallish packers on it if you needed to.

 

[Pocchampion]

I have a WSM and Pit Barrel. Brisket always goes on the WSM 22. I prefer a deflector between the fire and meat. WSM also accommodates any size brisket. The pit barrel gets the green light for ribs and anytime I travel and que.

Both great products. If I only could have one, it would be WSM.

 

[foam2]

I don’t find things dry out with hooks. You can also cook on the grate just like the wsm

 

[LloydQ]

Get the 22" WSM and add a Gateway 55 gallon rib hanging kit. For under $500 you will have an extremely versatile set up. Hang your meat or have a traditional water smoker.

 

[foam2]

The hunsaker hanging kit for the WSM is also the same price at the gateway and has more placement options.

 

[BigKing]

You aren't going to run into dryness problems in the PBC. The hooks don't do a thing to it.


The PBC produces a meat fog from the drippings hitting the coals. It's moist in there. I never spritz or anything like that.

 

[Potatoe]

You aren't going to run into dryness problems in the PBC. The hooks don't do a thing to it.


The PBC produces a meat fog from the drippings hitting the coals. It's moist in there. I never spritz or anything like that.

I too have been experimenting with not spraying my ribs in my drum, they have been really good