Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[Moliere]

Oh, and this is my grill. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I bought one with a rolling stand since I didn't ahve a place to put a built in grill. The charcoal pan can be raised up and down by the lever, which helps adjust the temperature (a must for charcoal grills) of the grilling. It's also big enough to do indirect heat cooking for something the size of a brisket. In fact, I've smoked a brisket on it twice prior to me getting my Weber Smokey Mountain.

[MarkGrace]

Late this fall my brother-in-law decided to try his hand at masonry and build an outdoor grill/smoker at our cabin. For a first-timer, I think it turned out great. I'm anxious to try it out this summer. It will be my first time smoking something - what meat is good to try first?

That is pretty awesome.

[FMCoug]

You won't like my recommendation but here goes: Amazon.com: Weber 721001 Smokey Mountain Cooker 18 1/2 Inch Smoker: Patio, Lawn & Garden

It's cheap and does the job just fine. I have the 18.5 inch one but they also come in Amazon.com: Weber 731001 Smokey Mountain Cooker 22.5-Inch Smoker: Patio, Lawn & Garden. I realize they aren't top of the line but it's what I settled on when I got into smoking. It sounds like you are a pro so you might be looking for something more but this has worked wonders for me.

I've found that I can cook up to 4 briskets on 18.5 inch smoker. When I'm only doing 1 pork butt I can get 16 hours out of the charcoal in the fuel holder (not in cold weather but in the fall in Houston). The vent controls are easy and I find I can set the smoker around midnight and get a good 7 hours of sleep only to wake up and find the temperature is still within 10 degrees of where I left it. In fact, the last time I smoked a brisket it went for 10 hours and I never adjusted a vent (it stayed between 225 and 240 the whole time). You can also get a fan adapter for a coupe hundred bucks if you want to not have to worry about adjusting vents.

My first choice was a Big Green Egg, but I didn't want to put down that much cash into something I had never tried. The Eggs seem to hold their temperature better as they are ceramic, but you can fit less on an Egg than you can a Weber. I've even seen a place that sells extension kits for the Weber.

One thing I've always been told to avoid is a pipe smoker. They look cool and work well, but I've heard the temp controls are a pain. If you get one, make sure you get one that has a fan or other control for the temp. If I were to ever start up a BBQ catering business (this is my retirement plan....er hobby) then I'd buy a bigger one of these to haul around. Maybe something like this would do.

I actually started out on a charcoal / water smoker, then moved on to the Bradley. Now I'm looking to upgrade from that. So I think the Pellet grill is the way to go.


Anyway, I went by Backyards of America in Sandy today. They carry both Traeger and Memphis.

In looking at the Traegers, I think I'd definitely go with the full size Texas Grill as I just think the Lil Tex is a bit small in terms of cooking area. Also it just has the Smoke/Med/High temp controls vs. the full digital on the full size.

I also looked at all 3 Memphis they had there. Pro, Advantage, Select. THe main difference is how hot you can get them. The Pro goes to 650. The others less (600 and 550 IIRC). Pricing was $1395, $1695, $2195. The Memphis Pro is a sweet machine but that is a chunk of change. They would sell me the Traeger for $899.

Also keep in mind I already own and love this grill. I have the deluxe model with the rotisserie.

I also own this Bradley smoker. Which is showing its age but could still be used on large cooks to supplement the new smoker. To do smoked jalapenos, etc. I've also thought about getting an old fridge and the smoke generator from the Bradley and using it for cold smoking.

So my options are:

Go with the Memphis and try to sell the Solaire grill and combine the two functions. ONe question on that for CJF. How long does it take to heat up to grilling temp? One nice thing about the Solaire is you can have those IR burners up to sear in no time flat. The other question is what I could get form the Solaire on ksl, craig's list, etc. If I coudl get $500 or so that makes the Memphis not so outrageous.

Keep the Solaire and buy the Traeger. Using the Traeger for just smoking. I am leaning this way but could be persuaded otherwise. But I'd have a pretty sweet setup at that point. Solaire for grilling and rotisseries. Traeger for hot smoking and Bradley and/or fridge conversion for cold smoking.

Decisions ...

[CJF]

To get to about 300 in single digit weather took between 5 and 10 minutes. 650 takes about 15 minutes in that weather. I would imagine that time comes down considerably in warmer months.

[Jeff Lebowski]

In looking at the Traegers, I think I'd definitely go with the full size Texas Grill as I just think the Lil Tex is a bit small in terms of cooking area. Also it just has the Smoke/Med/High temp controls vs. the full digital on the full size.

You can put the digital control on any Traeger. It came standard on mine and I would definitely make sure to get one as it gives you much better temp control.

I also looked at all 3 Memphis they had there. Pro, Advantage, Select. THe main difference is how hot you can get them. The Pro goes to 650. The others less (600 and 550 IIRC). Pricing was $1395, $1695, $2195. The Memphis Pro is a sweet machine but that is a chunk of change. They would sell me the Traeger for $899.

Also keep in mind I already own and love this grill. I have the deluxe model with the rotisserie.

I also own this Bradley smoker. Which is showing its age but could still be used on large cooks to supplement the new smoker. To do smoked jalapenos, etc. I've also thought about getting an old fridge and the smoke generator from the Bradley and using it for cold smoking.

So my options are:

Go with the Memphis and try to sell the Solaire grill and combine the two functions. ONe question on that for CJF. How long does it take to heat up to grilling temp? One nice thing about the Solaire is you can have those IR burners up to sear in no time flat. The other question is what I could get form the Solaire on ksl, craig's list, etc. If I coudl get $500 or so that makes the Memphis not so outrageous.

Keep the Solaire and buy the Traeger. Using the Traeger for just smoking. I am leaning this way but could be persuaded otherwise. But I'd have a pretty sweet setup at that point. Solaire for grilling and rotisseries. Traeger for hot smoking and Bradley and/or fridge conversion for cold smoking.

Decisions ...

Lots of good choices. Good luck.

[FMCoug]

You can put the digital control on any Traeger. It came standard on mine and I would definitely make sure to get one as it gives you much better temp control.

I made the non-digital temperature control mistake with the Bradley. Won't be making that mistake again.

The Memphis actually ties it to there internal probe and sets itself to warm when it reaches the desired temp. Pretty cool feature.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[Drunk Tank]

You won't like my recommendation but here goes: Amazon.com: Weber 721001 Smokey Mountain Cooker 18 1/2 Inch Smoker: Patio, Lawn & Garden

It's cheap and does the job just fine. I have the 18.5 inch one but they also come in Amazon.com: Weber 731001 Smokey Mountain Cooker 22.5-Inch Smoker: Patio, Lawn & Garden. I realize they aren't top of the line but it's what I settled on when I got into smoking. It sounds like you are a pro so you might be looking for something more but this has worked wonders for me.

I've found that I can cook up to 4 briskets on 18.5 inch smoker. When I'm only doing 1 pork butt I can get 16 hours out of the charcoal in the fuel holder (not in cold weather but in the fall in Houston). The vent controls are easy and I find I can set the smoker around midnight and get a good 7 hours of sleep only to wake up and find the temperature is still within 10 degrees of where I left it. In fact, the last time I smoked a brisket it went for 10 hours and I never adjusted a vent (it stayed between 225 and 240 the whole time). You can also get a fan adapter for a coupe hundred bucks if you want to not have to worry about adjusting vents.

My first choice was a Big Green Egg, but I didn't want to put down that much cash into something I had never tried. The Eggs seem to hold their temperature better as they are ceramic, but you can fit less on an Egg than you can a Weber. I've even seen a place that sells extension kits for the Weber.

One thing I've always been told to avoid is a pipe smoker. They look cool and work well, but I've heard the temp controls are a pain. If you get one, make sure you get one that has a fan or other control for the temp. If I were to ever start up a BBQ catering business (this is my retirement plan....er hobby) then I'd buy a bigger one of these to haul around. Maybe something like this would do.

I may be picking up one of these tomorrow. There is a guy who is trying to get rid of one for $100.00. While I dont "need" it, I think I could easily flip it and make a few bucks on the deal. Not sure if it is an 18" or 24".

[Moliere]

I may be picking up one of these tomorrow. There is a guy who is trying to get rid of one for $100.00. While I dont "need" it, I think I could easily flip it and make a few bucks on the deal. Not sure if it is an 18" or 24".

That's a good deal, at least if it is in good condition. They last a long time if you take care of them. Just make sure the thing seals well enough where the pieces come together.

The 22" incher would be fun to have. You could pack that thing with a ton of meat!

[Drunk Tank]

I was wondering sizewise between the Lil' Tex and Texas Grill. Do you find you have plenty of cooking space? Plenty of room for a large brisket plus some other stuff?

Here is the cook I did today in the Texas. two 5lb chickens, three 3.5 lb tri-tips and a 6 qt pot of beans. I think I could have squeezed a little more on there if I had to. The Traeger did great, although it had a hard time getting to the temp I wanted it with it loaded down like that. I had it set @ 325 and the temp on the controller was always between 285-300. The food came out great though, just cooked a little longer.

[CJF]

Landed at 11:35 this morning and smoking an 18 pound shoulder at 9:00. I can't wait for tomorrow.

[Portland Ute]

Landed at 11:35 this morning and smoking an 18 pound shoulder at 9:00. I can't wait for tomorrow.

I will open the windows and sun roof on my car and follow the smell over to your place.

Welcome back to the DC!

[Jeff Lebowski]

A few weeks ago we had a neighborhood party and I cooked 27 lbs of ribs and six chickens in the Traeger. I used my rib rack and did the ribs first and rotated the ribs into the kitchen oven while the chickens cooked. Everything turned out great and it was a huge hit. We were in such a rush that I forgot to take pictures.

[Surfah]

Drunk Tank I really wish you were my neighbor when you post things like this.

[FMCoug]

Looks like I need to pull the trigger soon. Today I was asked to do brisket for the ward activity in July. Never done that big of a cook before but if I get the new smoker and also use the Bradley I should be okay. I can do it in a couple of shifts if I need to.

[CJF]

Looks like I need to pull the trigger soon. Today I was asked to do brisket for the ward activity in July. Never done that big of a cook before but if I get the new smoker and also use the Bradley I should be okay. I can do it in a couple of shifts if I need to.

So the rain really screwed with my overnight smoke last night. If your patio isn't covered, keep that in mind with the Memphis. It does really well in very cold weather, and it was holding the temp very well in the cool and windy weather last night. When the rain started it was game over.

It still ended up very very good. I had about 5 hours in the smoker before the rain started so I still had a pretty good smoke flavor and a very nice smoke ring. I put the shoulder in the oven at 225 for another 9 hours. I put the mop on it every hour after hour 9. It turned out very good. Some vinegar based slaw and a little bit of sauce and it was a darn good. Much better I thought when I pulled it off the smoker in the middle of a rain storm.