I want to buy a smoker (3 Viewers)

[Jake14mw]

... I think I was leaning towards either Reqtec or Camp Chef, but then decided to get an upgraded gas grill for now, and just fix my existing GM...

Do you remember what went wrong with the GM? I'm scouring Facebook Market and want to know what to watch out for. Thanks.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Very good writeup @Schmendr1ck , but $300-400 for a temperature control system? I've done plenty of pork butts overnight without any issues, as you said, they hold the temps well.

I'm not saying you have to have a temperature control system to smoke - I don't. However, everyone I've spoken to who owns one tells me that it significantly reduces the amount of babysitting required and maintains temperature more consistently than when they were doing it by hand.

Two of the more popular models out there are the DigiQ line ($200-360 depending on the model) and Flame Boss ($250-380). So I guess my entry point was a little high, let's call it $200-400 instead.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

Do you remember what went wrong with the GM? I'm scouring Facebook Market and want to know what to watch out for. Thanks.

Yes. The auger motor went out. In fairness, I used it a LOT for over 4 years, and it sits outside in the weather 24/7/365.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

This is very true. The Kamado Joe is an ok smoker but can be a lot of work. For longer cooks the effort required to add more coal/wood chunks is pretty high as you have to remove the food and grill grates to add more fuel. A pellet smoker or even an offset wouldn't be as difficult. The Kamado joe shines in versatility with the ability to do some smoking, grilling, and high heat sear/cooks. I've done an overnight brisket on the Kamado and it was a lot of work plus I didn't sleep very well as I was checking temps every couple hours.

What the actual F!!!!! Are you kidding??? That is literally the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, and one I had not heard before. That's it, these are DEFINITELY OFF my list of anything I would ever consider buying...

Do you mean just that particular brand, or ALL kamado style cookers?

 

[toothpic]

What the actual F!!!!! Are you kidding??? That is literally the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, and one I had not heard before. That's it, these are DEFINITELY OFF my list of anything I would ever consider buying...

Do you mean just that particular brand, or ALL kamado style cookers?

BGE, Kamado Joe even things like the Weber Kettle are the same where the coals go into the grill and then the grates on top. There's no side door to add more fuel. Granted, it's only an issue on very long smokes (over 6-8 hours) due to how efficient the Kamado Joe is. I can do an easy 6 hours without adding any more coal and maintain a constant 220-240. The first time I did a brisket I was shooting for 12 hours but had to add more coal in the middle of the night. Was the first time I tried so I was less than prepared and it was a pain in the ass. Picture below. On smaller scale cooks you can open one side to add more coal but when you have a brisket or pork shoulder on top with a heat shield and drip tray below it’s a lot more work.

 

[toothpic]

Another picture

 

[Organista1]

What the actual F!!!!! Are you kidding??? That is literally the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, and one I had not heard before. That's it, these are DEFINITELY OFF my list of anything I would ever consider buying...

Do you mean just that particular brand, or ALL kamado style cookers?

Disagree with having to add more coal, it depends on the coal setup, quality, and size of the lump charcoal that’ll get you through IMO. I’ve done a 8 hour brisket once and then added ribs and was able to do a whole 12 hour session.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

Another picture

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Well over 50% of my cooks are pork butt (8-9 hours) or brisket (10+ hours) I'm usually cooking for my large family and I like having leftovers, so I buy the largest ones I can find. Absolutely not going to work for me.

 

[FDLmold]

The pit boss, vertical pellet smoker, from Lowe's is my current smoker. Mine was like $350-400, they are $500 now, but they have redesigned them, put the controls in a better place, upgraded them a little, etc. My impression before buying one, which I got from the reviews, is that if you didn't get a lemon then it was a good value. Mine is not a lemon and has been great. Load the pellets in the hopper in the back, set a temp, and smoke smoke smoke. Tons of rack space for the price. Reliable. Low maintenance. I've smoked turkey, brisket, chicken, sausage, mac&cheese, prime rib, and pork tenderloin.

The trick with my model, is air flows from bottom to top, not side to side. The bottom is hottest, and temperature decreases as you go up the smoker shelves. Brisket is tricky as hell, I don't think I've got one right yet. But I've learned how to manage the air flow with extra aluminum pans, and I can get air to flow *around* them, in an S pattern, up the smoker and out. I like to cook two things at once, with the one needing higher heat closer to the bottom, and the one that is ok with gentler heat at the top.

I think brisket prices are down a little at costco. I'm heading there this week to get me a nice prime brisket to smoke up and feed the fam. I got a grocery store pork butt to do at the same time. Good eats at my house soon!

 

[RainmanTrail]

What the actual F!!!!! Are you kidding??? That is literally the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, and one I had not heard before. That's it, these are DEFINITELY OFF my list of anything I would ever consider buying...

Do you mean just that particular brand, or ALL kamado style cookers?

I don't know about the smaller classic Kamado Joe, but I have the Kamado Joe "Big Joe" and I use it regularly. I've done many long overnight cooks with it, some during the winter months, where I've had it going for 18+ hours for large briskets. I've never once had to add charcoal in the middle of a cook though.

I use the BBQ Guru UltraQ temperature control device with long cooks. I couldn't be happier with the results. It always produces incredible smoked meats.

 

[Indyscammer]

What the actual F!!!!! Are you kidding??? That is literally the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, and one I had not heard before. That's it, these are DEFINITELY OFF my list of anything I would ever consider buying...

Do you mean just that particular brand, or ALL kamado style cookers?

If you cook longer than the fuel lasts - yes. I've never crossed that bridge. There is actually also direct heat so meat cooks twice as fast. I just bought a wifi thermometer and am planning a brisket this weekend. I got rid of my offset burner since it went through fuel like gasoline in a 12 cylinder and couldn't go through the night on a load of fuel. To each his own.

But I've cooked the best ribs of my life on this Kamado. It has its place.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

If you cook longer than the fuel lasts - yes. I've never crossed that bridge. There is actually also direct heat so meat cooks twice as fast. I just bought a wifi thermometer and am planning a brisket this weekend. I got rid of my offset burner since it went through fuel like gasoline in a 12 cylinder and couldn't go through the night on a load of fuel. To each his own.

But I've cooked the best ribs of my life on this Kamado. It has its place.

As I pointed out in another response - the vast majority of meats I smoke goes on beyond 8 hours. Low and slow is the only way I care to cook a brisket. I'm aware that lots of people love them, so my comment was only in regards to ME taking this off my list of products I might one day be interested in owning. At least as far as to replace my smoker.

 

[Old State]

I have a Primo XL with a Kickash basket. I recently did a 9hr brisket cook at mostly 275° and only used up about 1/5 of the charcoal.
You want to make sure you only light ceramic kamado style grills in one small spot

After the cook I decided to do a clean burn with the rest of the coal. I mixed it up and lit it in three spot and then kept the vents wide open. It got up past 650 and burned for probably 2-3 hours like that.

Point is, if you are doing it right, you should be able to run a ceramic smoker for probably 36hrs+ at 250 on a full basket of coal.

These guys ran one at 225° for three days!
https://amazingribs.com/grill-smoke...nation-grill-smoker/primo-oval-xl-400-review/

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

I have a Primo XL with a Kickash basket. I recently did a 9hr brisket cook at mostly 275° and only used up about 1/5 of the charcoal.
You want to make sure you only light ceramic kamado style grills in one small spot

After the cook I decided to do a clean burn with the rest of the coal. I mixed it up and lit it in three spot and then kept the vents wide open. It got up past 650 and burned for probably 2-3 hours like that.

Point is, if you are doing it right, you should be able to run a ceramic smoker for probably 36hrs+ at 250 on a full basket of coal.

These guys ran one at 225° for three days!
https://amazingribs.com/grill-smoke...nation-grill-smoker/primo-oval-xl-400-review/

That makes a lot more sense than "after 8 hours you have to take the whole thing apart to add more fuel."

 

[Old State]

That makes a lot more sense than "after 8 hours you have to take the whole thing apart to add more fuel."

I think the problem may be lighting all the coals at once like for a regular grill or putting a small amount of coal in to begin with. The first instinct of many is to light all the coals which is understandable.

I did a lot of research before I first used mine but I did doubt how not lighting all the coals wouldn’t lead to an acrid charcoal taste and bad smoke. The reality is that the coals next to the lit ones get super heated before they combust so they actually burn very clean. This is the reasoning behind why the many heat wood splits on the top of the fire box before they add them to an offset. Pizza makers will also put a log on the far side of an oven before they add it to the fire for the same reason.

I actually started laying my wood chunks on the bottom of the coals so they have time to get as hot as possible before they light. I’ve noticed a cleaner smoke flavor and virtually no white smoke during the cook.

 

[toothpic]

Welp sounds like I have some adjusting and learning to do before my next long smoke session.

1. Get a kick ash basket. Its coming up highly recommended so often it sounds like it would make things a lot easier.
2. The heat deflectors tend to hold a lot of grease from previous cooks, so when I start a new cook I fire it up and let things burn off until the smoke comes out clean and not white smother smoke. That grease induced smoke leave a nasty flavor. I should do this step separately. Granted the last time I did a brisket was 4 years ago and the memory of my heat not going above 180 around 3-4am wasn't a good one so I haven't tried again. Since I got my weber gas grill I just put the deflectors on that with the gas on high to burn off the grease.
3. Once I do step 2 above, that should allow me to light one corner of the coals and let it burn slowly over the rest. Do you guys fire chimney the starting coals in a small batch first just light it in the corner inside the grill? I was definitely concerned with the smell of start up smoke getting into the meat as well. It was probably heavily swayed as well from the bad smoke test of the heat shield when it was still giving off that grease smoke.

 

[CantSpellPoker]

Been doing some research on this since this thread started a few weeks ago, and this morning I saw that there was a one day flash sale, which was enough to push me over the edge.

I just ordered a Camp Chef Model #PG24-ZG. This is the particular model that is sold exclusively at Dick's Sporting Goods and lands somewhere between Camp Chef's DLX 24 (which is what I was originally set on) and their SG-24.

I'm not really concerned with the "Slide and Grill" feature, which allows you to cook over "direct heat." All this really means is that there's a lever you can pull that exposes the firepot to allow for a more "direct" heat if you remove the drip tray. It still doesn't get hot enough to really sear anything. I'll still use a traditional gas or charcoal grill for grilling, but it's still nice to know that there's a feature that will allow this thing to get to 450-500 degrees if I want it to.

I went with this model because it has all of the features of the DLX 24, plus a bigger cooking surface, upgraded legs, and an extra probe thermometer included.

This will be my first pellet cooker, I'm excited about it. Link below:

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...ill-18ccfu24bttrplltxcfp/18ccfu24bttrplltxcfp

Assembly was about as easy as I could have asked for. Ran a 30-minute burn at 350, as suggested in the instructions. First cook most likely coming up this weekend.

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Whoever it was that was asking for a follow up on "newly" purchased products the other day - this has performed very well for me over the past 2 years. Have done pork butts, whole chicken, turkeys, wings, ribs, etc... Honestly, no complaints that I can think of. Looks like it's on sale again today, as well: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...ill-18ccfu24bttrplltxcfp/18ccfu24bttrplltxcfp

$399.99 down from $699.99. Pretty sure that it's always on sale for least $100 off full retail, but $399.99 for this thing is tremendous value, in my opinion. Just have to get over the fact that you're cooking with pellets and it's not "authentic" smoke, but I don't particularly care as long as the food is good. Which it is.

Eventually, I'll have a stick burner so I can do it "right." Outlaw Patio is in my sights, but that purchase is a ways off for me: https://outlawpatio.com/

 

[raynmanas]

$399.99 for this thing is tremendous value, in my opinion.

i agree with this, but just a note that this controller on this model doesn't have wifi. for me personally, that is a deal breaker.

 

[Jake14mw]

Whoever it was that was asking for a follow up on "newly" purchased products the other day - this has performed very well for me over the past 2 years. Have done pork butts, whole chicken, turkeys, wings, ribs, etc... Honestly, no complaints that I can think of. Looks like it's on sale again today, as well: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...ill-18ccfu24bttrplltxcfp/18ccfu24bttrplltxcfp

$399.99 down from $699.99. Pretty sure that it's always on sale for least $100 off full retail, but $399.99 for this thing is tremendous value, in my opinion. Just have to get over the fact that you're cooking with pellets and it's not "authentic" smoke, but I don't particularly care as long as the food is good. Which it is.

Eventually, I'll have a stick burner so I can do it "right." Outlaw Patio is in my sights, but that purchase is a ways off for me: https://outlawpatio.com/

Thanks for this. I may just get this one. Looks like the perfect size for me. How long does a full hopper of pellets last at 225-250 degrees? Do you get a good smoke ring on your ribs?

i agree with this, but just a note that this controller on this model doesn't have wifi. for me personally, that is a deal breaker.

I already have a multiprobe wireless thermometer with alarms that I can use to warn me in the house if something is not where I want it. Is that the main benefit of the wifi feature? Just trying to understand what I would be missing without wifi. Thanks.

 

[raynmanas]

I already have a multiprobe wireless thermometer with alarms that I can use to warn me in the house if something is not where I want it. Is that the main benefit of the wifi feature? Just trying to understand what I would be missing without wifi. Thanks.

i like to be able to monitor and adjust the smoker from anywhere. i find the bluetooth connection isn't stable enough through outside walls (actually not sure if this model has bluetooth either). hell, i can go run errands for 2 hours and if i notice i'm running slow, bump the smoker temp up a bit.

but if that is not important to you, $399 is a steal for this bronze beauty (#teambronze)

 

[Old State]

Welp sounds like I have some adjusting and learning to do before my next long smoke session.

1. Get a kick ash basket. Its coming up highly recommended so often it sounds like it would make things a lot easier.
2. The heat deflectors tend to hold a lot of grease from previous cooks, so when I start a new cook I fire it up and let things burn off until the smoke comes out clean and not white smother smoke. That grease induced smoke leave a nasty flavor. I should do this step separately. Granted the last time I did a brisket was 4 years ago and the memory of my heat not going above 180 around 3-4am wasn't a good one so I haven't tried again. Since I got my weber gas grill I just put the deflectors on that with the gas on high to burn off the grease.
3. Once I do step 2 above, that should allow me to light one corner of the coals and let it burn slowly over the rest. Do you guys fire chimney the starting coals in a small batch first just light it in the corner inside the grill? I was definitely concerned with the smell of start up smoke getting into the meat as well. It was probably heavily swayed as well from the bad smoke test of the heat shield when it was still giving off that grease smoke.

I use a small blow torch to light a golf ball sized spot …as they say. Wrap the heat deflectors on heavy duty foil for easy clean up. You can also put an aluminum tray under to catch drippings or even add water..,though ceramic grills keep things pretty humid.

As to smoke from fat drippings…that is an interesting topic. One thing I notice with best TX spots is that the briskets had an underlying steak flavor along with the smoky BBQ tones. Turns out some of them throw fat trimmings in the fire box! This makes sense in that a little grease smoke flavor is really whats behind why people like grilled meats.

So this last cook, knowing I was going to replace the foil on the heat deflectors, I let the grease drip. The flavor was noticeable and better! Next time I’ll but an old foil lined sheet tray under it instead.
Also, on the subject of grease, many of these famous joints aggressively trim their briskets. Lots of potential “waste” but then many render that to tallow (that they drench the briskets with before they wrap) and grind the meats trimming into sausage.

Last point…on the subject of smoker types… the ceramic crowd loves to portray Kamados as the perfect jack of all trade AND master of all. They are definitely not. You will not get the same deep but pleasant smoke flavor from a ceramic or even pellet that you would with an offset. But you will get 90-95% as close. To me I’m fine with that because kamado and pellets smokers can be as easy to control as a home oven and require 5% of the effort an offset does…meaning you will BBQ more.

 

[CantSpellPoker]

Thanks for this. I may just get this one. Looks like the perfect size for me. How long does a full hopper of pellets last at 225-250 degrees? Do you get a good smoke ring on your ribs?

Pics of ribs below. Not the most pronounced ring I've ever seen, but it's there. As far as pellets, I honestly just continue to top off once it gets halfway or so, so I don't have a true guess as to how long a full hopper will last. I'd say 8-10 (ish) hours, maybe? They definitely don't last forever.

A few from this weekend. My Camp Chef performed flawlessly.

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[Organista1]

Welp sounds like I have some adjusting and learning to do before my next long smoke session.

1. Get a kick ash basket. Its coming up highly recommended so often it sounds like it would make things a lot easier.
2. The heat deflectors tend to hold a lot of grease from previous cooks, so when I start a new cook I fire it up and let things burn off until the smoke comes out clean and not white smother smoke. That grease induced smoke leave a nasty flavor. I should do this step separately. Granted the last time I did a brisket was 4 years ago and the memory of my heat not going above 180 around 3-4am wasn't a good one so I haven't tried again. Since I got my weber gas grill I just put the deflectors on that with the gas on high to burn off the grease.
3. Once I do step 2 above, that should allow me to light one corner of the coals and let it burn slowly over the rest. Do you guys fire chimney the starting coals in a small batch first just light it in the corner inside the grill? I was definitely concerned with the smell of start up smoke getting into the meat as well. It was probably heavily swayed as well from the bad smoke test of the heat shield when it was still giving off that grease smoke.

I have been looking at videos from James “smokingdadbbq” He’s on IG as well and replies to any Kamado questions. He has a ton of videos for Kamado check him out he’s done all the trial and error already

Smokingdadbbq

 

[Jake14mw]

Whoever it was that was asking for a follow up on "newly" purchased products the other day - this has performed very well for me over the past 2 years. Have done pork butts, whole chicken, turkeys, wings, ribs, etc... Honestly, no complaints that I can think of. Looks like it's on sale again today, as well: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...ill-18ccfu24bttrplltxcfp/18ccfu24bttrplltxcfp

$399.99 down from $699.99. Pretty sure that it's always on sale for least $100 off full retail, but $399.99 for this thing is tremendous value, in my opinion...

Does anyone know if this grill is compatible with the side burner which at one time I think was called a Sear box, and now is called a sidekick? Thanks.

 

[raynmanas]

Does anyone know if this grill is compatible with the side burner which at one time I think was called a Sear box, and now is called a sidekick? Thanks.

the sidekick and the sear box are 2 different attachments, and it is compatible with both. the sear box is its own thing, whereas the sidekick is just a big propane burner that can swap between multiple functions: flat top (comes with it), BBQ box (sold separately), and pizza oven (sold separately). i have all 3.

 

[doublebooyah85]

Love my kamado. It can grill at high temps (900) and smoke (225). Plus, food tastes best with charcoal.

My favorite thing to cook is greek bbq, Kontosouvli. That’s the pork on the rotisserie.

I just purchased an outdoor kamado kitchen cabinet too.

 

[TheWhiteJZ]

BGE, Kamado Joe even things like the Weber Kettle are the same where the coals go into the grill and then the grates on top. There's no side door to add more fuel. Granted, it's only an issue on very long smokes (over 6-8 hours) due to how efficient the Kamado Joe is. I can do an easy 6 hours without adding any more coal and maintain a constant 220-240. The first time I did a brisket I was shooting for 12 hours but had to add more coal in the middle of the night. Was the first time I tried so I was less than prepared and it was a pain in the ass. Picture below. On smaller scale cooks you can open one side to add more coal but when you have a brisket or pork shoulder on top with a heat shield and drip tray below it’s a lot more work.

BGE, Kamado Joe even things like the Weber Kettle are the same where the coals go into the grill and then the grates on top. There's no side door to add more fuel. Granted, it's only an issue on very long smokes (over 6-8 hours) due to how efficient the Kamado Joe is. I can do an easy 6 hours without adding any more coal and maintain a constant 220-240. The first time I did a brisket I was shooting for 12 hours but had to add more coal in the middle of the night. Was the first time I tried so I was less than prepared and it was a pain in the ass. Picture below. On smaller scale cooks you can open one side to add more coal but when you have a brisket or pork shoulder on top with a heat shield and drip tray below it’s a lot more work.

Weber smokey mountain bullet has a side door to reload coals.

 

[doublebooyah85]

Weber smokey mountain bullet has a side door to reload coals.

I can smoke 10+ hours on my Big Joe 3 with the larger lump charcoal and no need to refill.

 

[Jake14mw]

Love my kamado. It can grill at high temps (900) and smoke (225). Plus, food tastes best with charcoal.

My favorite thing to cook is greek bbq, Kontosouvli. That’s the pork on the rotisserie.

I just purchased an outdoor kamado kitchen cabinet too.

Looks like you have figured that thing out well!

 

[Jake14mw]

the sidekick and the sear box are 2 different attachments, and it is compatible with both. the sear box is its own thing, whereas the sidekick is just a big propane burner that can swap between multiple functions: flat top (comes with it), BBQ box (sold separately), and pizza oven (sold separately). i have all 3.

Thanks for the clarification. I think I may pull the trigger on it. Regarding the sidekick, I don't see myself using the griddle, but do you use the BBQ box and pizza oven much? My gas grill needs to be replaced soon. I am usually only using a small part of the grill for a couple of steaks or some chicken. Any chance that I could get away with using the BBQ box in place of it? Does it sear well? I would love to not have the smoker and the grill in the garage!