I want to buy a smoker (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter liftapint
- Start date
my stepson took up smoking, you can have him for free
Jake14mw
Flush
Bumping this back up, looking for some help. I have been smoking with my Masterbuilt MB250 Electric smoker for probably 6 years. The display just went out on me. I hear a faint beep when I plug it in, but the electronic display is totally dead. I will look into fixing it, but I'm also interested in an upgrade. I read through this entire thread. I learned a lot. I appreciate everyone's opinions here.
For me, the Masterbuilt has been pretty darn good, not great. I regularly do chicken thighs, ribs, and pulled pork. Have tried a few briskets with moderate success. The best things about the MB are the low price, convenience of electricity, and set the temp and forget it. The negatives are - no smoke ring, small size, and the extremely small wood chip tray. I'm a convenience guy first, so I have been thinking about maybe replacing it with a pellet smoker. My budget is low, definitely has to be under $900.
I think one of the most helpful feedback on here was that of @TX_Golf_N_Poker, who bought a smoker, and then came back and shared the things he liked and didn't like about it. Many of you in this thread got new smokers about a year ago. I was hoping some of you will check back in a give me some advice on what to look out for. @raynmanas , @FDLmold , @IaHawk , @ranger764 , @k9dr , @Schmendr1ck , @Buddha , @Indyscammer I am presently leaning towards a Green Mountain Grill model, or maybe Camp Chef, but am still open to ideas. Thanks!
For me, the Masterbuilt has been pretty darn good, not great. I regularly do chicken thighs, ribs, and pulled pork. Have tried a few briskets with moderate success. The best things about the MB are the low price, convenience of electricity, and set the temp and forget it. The negatives are - no smoke ring, small size, and the extremely small wood chip tray. I'm a convenience guy first, so I have been thinking about maybe replacing it with a pellet smoker. My budget is low, definitely has to be under $900.
I think one of the most helpful feedback on here was that of @TX_Golf_N_Poker, who bought a smoker, and then came back and shared the things he liked and didn't like about it. Many of you in this thread got new smokers about a year ago. I was hoping some of you will check back in a give me some advice on what to look out for. @raynmanas , @FDLmold , @IaHawk , @ranger764 , @k9dr , @Schmendr1ck , @Buddha , @Indyscammer I am presently leaning towards a Green Mountain Grill model, or maybe Camp Chef, but am still open to ideas. Thanks!
I've had my RecTeq RT-700 for about 1.5 years and love it. Heavy duty construction, works as expected, app is great and plenty of space. RecTeq support is 2nd to none. I had a screw I stripped during assembly and they shipped out asap at no charge and then I had some issues connecting to my wifi and their phone support was excellent. The warranty on the RT-700 is 6 years, so the peace of mind is great.
Pros:
- consistent temperature for cooks
- easy clean up
- easy to use (pellet grill vs other types of smokers)
Cons:
- don't grill as much, but thats mostly on me as you should clean up any excess grease before using higher temps to avoid grease fires (which do happen, check out YouTube)
- I still use my Weber grill for most grilling and to sear steaks after smoking on RT. If other smokers have a side kick or whatever to grill, may get more use out of it.
Based on your budget, the RT-590 ($900) would be an option. 4 year warranty on that one I believe. They also have a smaller unit RT-380 ($400), simpler unit without WiFi connectivity but is more of the "weekday warrior" that you can easily use as a grill as well. Many RT-700/590 owners purchase the 380 as well as their grill during the week and for travel as well...I'm considering making that purchase as well. Prices went up earlier this year but I believe all smokers are currently $100-$200 off.
I remember when I was doing my research, Green Mountain Grill was a close 2nd but the RT 6 year warranty, customer service and construction gave RecTeq the edge.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.
RT-590: https://www.recteq.com/products/rt-590-wood-pellet-grill
RT-380: https://www.recteq.com/products/rt-b380-wood-pellet-grill
Last edited:
With a comp cart! +1
I own a Kamado Joe Classic II, which is just barely in your price range at $800. However, you will almost definitely buy some accessories for it, either immediately or down the road.
The pros:
- Insane temperature flexibility. I can smoke at 200-225F, cook pizza at 550F, and grill anywhere in between.
- Temperature stability. Because this thing has a huge thermal mass (it's basically 200lbs of ceramic), it maintains temperature for a long time.
- Lots of accessories. There are add-ons for different cooking surfaces, pizza ovens, temperature control systems, etc.
The cons:
- More setup time is required, because it takes a while to heat that grill up. Generally, I'm setting up the grill and lighting it about 30 minutes before I want to start cooking. I have a remote thermometer that I keep an eye on from the house, and when it gets within about 50 degrees of my target temperature, I start babysitting to make sure I don't overshoot. (Cooling down takes even longer than heating up, so you want to avoid overshoot if you can.)
- It takes some skill/practice to learn how to adjust your airflow to hit target temperatures. It's definitely not as simple as electric, where you can just set your temperature and walk away. There are accessories that will make it a LOT easier, but expect to pay $300-400 for a good temperature control system.
- It's big and very heavy. Don't unbox it by yourself, you need someone to help you. And it comes with casters, so it will roll around on a paved surface just fine, but you can't just roll it out into the yard to use it.
- (Minor) It takes a long time to cool down. For me, this just means closing it up, walking away for a couple hours, and coming back out to put it away. Sometimes I forget and it sits out overnight.
Also, be aware that you should only use natural lump charcoal, NOT briquettes. I think this is generally true for any charcoal grill, but it is critical for a kamado. The natural lump charcoal burns cleaner and hotter - you won't get pizza oven temps with the old Kingston stuff.
Overall, I am extremely happy with the Kamado Joe. Before I got it, I used a gas grill and an electric smoker for years. I noticed an immediate and substantial improvement in the quality of my grilling even when I was still learning how to hit and maintain temps well. Smoking is harder, but with practice you can get a good 12-14 hour smoke with minimal babysitting. I understand that it becomes "set it and forget it" with a temperature control system like DigiQ or Flame Boss, but I haven't bought one yet.
i posted some initial thoughts on a couple pointless features of my camp chef here, which i still agree with:
all-in-all, i still love the camp chef and i use it often. you simply cannot beat the convenience of pellets, and i use it far more often because of this. i have settled on these pellets for everything, but i had been paying $35-$40 a bag, not sure why they are so high now.
the camp chef is great value when you consider the sidekick attachment (basically all i use ever this for is the pizza oven, which is still awesome. i would not buy the barbecue box again, unless you don't also have a regular propane grill. i do bust out the flat top sometimes to whip up some steak & cheeses).
really the only issue i have had with it was that the app used to CONSTANTLY try to turn connect to bluetooth or get me to turn bluetooth on, even though i was connected via WiFi and that is more stable and useful than bluetooth. but they fixed that in an update a few months ago, and it hasn't harassed me since.
happy to answer any specific questions you have about the camp chef.
TheWhiteJZ
Two Pair
i came here to say this.
I smoked some pork butt this weekend and it came out great. just realized i didnt take a single picture. sorry
Jake14mw
Flush
Thanks very much! I had heard of Rectec, but I thought it was out of my price range. That RT-380 actually looks very interesting. My gas grill will also need to be replaced at the end of the year. I wonder if that could do double duty?
from what i understand, the 380 does not hold low temps well, and is not really intended for smoking. my buddy is a recteq superfan (to the point of being annoying about it, i had to ignore him on facebook for a while lol) and swears by the RT-700/RT-380 combo for smoking/grilling.
Definitely read up on the reviews (outside of the RecTeq FB groups). I took months, if not almost a year to make a decision. If you were only going to pick one, I would lean towards the 590, see if you think the 380 would benefit you or not and then buy it in a year or two.
yes this. i'm not sure how they cultivated such rabid fans. they are nice for sure, and i might even own one myself if it weren't for the bullhorn handles. i'm petty like that.
I love the horns!
TKEUofM
Flush
Just picked up a Traeger last week and did my first test of some pork tenderloin over the weekend. Smoked for 3 hours @ 180 degrees. Even the left overs were still juicy and super tender. Trying out a pork butt this weekend for some pulled pork. Need to get my skills up before I spend the money on a brisket. Having the automatic pellet feeder and the ability to keep it at a steady temp is a life saver. I'm in love.
Love my Kamado classic iii my only con is that I have trouble smoking up to 5 racks of ribs. It smothers the thermostat and would like to learn how to feed at least 10 people. I haven’t gotten creative enough to figure it out tho.I own a Kamado Joe Classic II, which is just barely in your price range at $800. However, you will almost definitely buy some accessories for it, either immediately or down the road.
The pros:
- Insane temperature flexibility. I can smoke at 200-225F, cook pizza at 550F, and grill anywhere in between.
- Temperature stability. Because this thing has a huge thermal mass (it's basically 200lbs of ceramic), it maintains temperature for a long time.
- Lots of accessories. There are add-ons for different cooking surfaces, pizza ovens, temperature control systems, etc.
The cons:
- More setup time is required, because it takes a while to heat that grill up. Generally, I'm setting up the grill and lighting it about 30 minutes before I want to start cooking. I have a remote thermometer that I keep an eye on from the house, and when it gets within about 50 degrees of my target temperature, I start babysitting to make sure I don't overshoot. (Cooling down takes even longer than heating up, so you want to avoid overshoot if you can.)
- It takes some skill/practice to learn how to adjust your airflow to hit target temperatures. It's definitely not as simple as electric, where you can just set your temperature and walk away. There are accessories that will make it a LOT easier, but expect to pay $300-400 for a good temperature control system.
- It's big and very heavy. Don't unbox it by yourself, you need someone to help you. And it comes with casters, so it will roll around on a paved surface just fine, but you can't just roll it out into the yard to use it.
- (Minor) It takes a long time to cool down. For me, this just means closing it up, walking away for a couple hours, and coming back out to put it away. Sometimes I forget and it sits out overnight.
Also, be aware that you should only use natural lump charcoal, NOT briquettes. I think this is generally true for any charcoal grill, but it is critical for a kamado. The natural lump charcoal burns cleaner and hotter - you won't get pizza oven temps with the old Kingston stuff.
Overall, I am extremely happy with the Kamado Joe. Before I got it, I used a gas grill and an electric smoker for years. I noticed an immediate and substantial improvement in the quality of my grilling even when I was still learning how to hit and maintain temps well. Smoking is harder, but with practice you can get a good 12-14 hour smoke with minimal babysitting. I understand that it becomes "set it and forget it" with a temperature control system like DigiQ or Flame Boss, but I haven't bought one yet.
Kamado Joe sells a rib stand that's supposed to hold up to 5 racks of ribs, is that what you're using?
No but have something similar, I tried it once and it didn’t cook as well and I’m guessing because I put a rack on every slot plus I had to cut them short because the Joe is round obviously. Wanted to try something like this
That would make an awesome King of BBQ crown...
I have used the rib trays as well to cook 3 or 4 racks of ribs but the smoke flavor did not come out as nicely I'm guessing due to potential crowding (I have a Kamado Joe original). Due to the curve of the dome you can't put full racks into the trays so I had to trim some down.
I use the grill expander now but only cook 2 or 3 racks max at a time so that gives them plenty of room in between.
https://www.amazon.com/Kamado-Joe-K...20&sprefix=kamado+joe+tray,aps,97&sr=8-9&th=1
To do more I would want The Big Joe grill. The original is plenty for just me and my family and is the sweet point because it's more efficient with the lump charcoal, but for parties it's way undersized.
I use the grill expander now but only cook 2 or 3 racks max at a time so that gives them plenty of room in between.
https://www.amazon.com/Kamado-Joe-K...20&sprefix=kamado+joe+tray,aps,97&sr=8-9&th=1
To do more I would want The Big Joe grill. The original is plenty for just me and my family and is the sweet point because it's more efficient with the lump charcoal, but for parties it's way undersized.
Oh man, I wish I had a better memory. A few months ago both my Green Mountain and my gas grill were not working. I looked over the features of everything available from Yoder and Pitts & Spitts (made in Houston about 10 miles from my house) all the way down to just replacing my GM with a newer model. 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.
Just compare features and get the one that best meets your needs. They're all good, and none of them are perfect.
Are you using a temperature controller? It seems like airflow might be a problem when you're loading it up like that.
I'm speculating - I've only ever put a couple racks on at a time, and that's never been an issue for me.
Per my post above - this was my thought too. Can I get one unit to both smoke and grill? I eventually decided against that idea, because when you have one thing with two purposes, it rarely does either as well as the more specialized units do.
Yes a couple racks works beautifully, I’d want to get 5 in there but haven’t figured it out yet and the dome shape is an issue and so is the temp controller. Maybe I have to get another smoker for stuff like that. Thanks for feedback
Indyscammer
Flush
I've had a Kamado Classic for 2 years now. Super stable smoking Temps, super high heat possible, but I'm about ready to find something else to grill on because it takes too long to get a grilling fire good. Maybe its my fuel but haven't solved it yet. I think I will try the lump charcoal idea mentioned above and see if that helps my grilling.
I love the IDEA of the kamado style ceramic cooker. Just like I love the idea of a large offset stick burner. But the amount of work and attention they require means I know that I simply won't use either of those as often as I use my pellet smoker. Pellet smoker with WiFi controls and a hopper big enough to run for more than 8 hours straight means that I can put a brisket on before I go to bed and know that I will be serving amazing smoked meat by noon the next day. Priceless!
Good lump charcoal started in a fire chimney speeds up the process but it definitely takes longer than a gas grill. Personally I have preferred the Kamado Joe lump coal of the Fogo lump coal.
https://www.fogocharcoal.com/
The premium is fine for grilling and light smoking. The super premium has really big chunks which is great for extended smoking. When doing a pork shoulder or brisket I go with the biggest lumps I can get, but as the ashes build up I find the temp to drop. My friends say a kick ash basket helps reduce that effect but I haven't tried it yet.
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.
SeenRed
Sitting Out
I cooked on a Rec Tec pellet grill for several years, and liked it. For those who like cooking over a live wood fire, it doesn’t get any more convenient than pellet cookers. As easy as using an oven - set your desired cooking temp and push a button.
But they aren’t perfect. For use as a smoker, many people say they are less than satisfied with the amount of smoke flavor imparted into the meat, which is definitely less than stick burners or charcoals smokers, but there are workarounds for this issue (search A-Maze-N pellet tube smoker, for one). They are also only average for use as a high-heat, direct grilling (searing) cooker. The max grilling temp that most of them will reach is less than 500* (Although some higher-end units, like the Memphis Pellet Grill, claim they can reach temps of around 700*, but for a hefty price tag). When I bought my Rec Tec, I was trying to consolidate and save some space in my garage. I wanted one cooker that would do the job of both a smoker and a grill. The RT served that purpose adequately, but over time I decided I could buy a smoker that smoked food better, and a grill that seared better, and that’s when I sold the pellet cooker and bought my big charcoal smoker and a Kettle grill for searing/grilling.
So it really boils down to your own needs and expectations. If convenience of use is your most important need, you’ll probably love a pellet grill.
Hope this helps…good luck with the search for your next rig!
Red
joepro
Flush
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 own a Kamado Joe Classic II, which is just barely in your price range at $800. However, you will almost definitely buy some accessories for it, either immediately or down the road.
The pros:
- Insane temperature flexibility. I can smoke at 200-225F, cook pizza at 550F, and grill anywhere in between.
- Temperature stability. Because this thing has a huge thermal mass (it's basically 200lbs of ceramic), it maintains temperature for a long time.
- Lots of accessories. There are add-ons for different cooking surfaces, pizza ovens, temperature control systems, etc.
The cons:
- More setup time is required, because it takes a while to heat that grill up. Generally, I'm setting up the grill and lighting it about 30 minutes before I want to start cooking. I have a remote thermometer that I keep an eye on from the house, and when it gets within about 50 degrees of my target temperature, I start babysitting to make sure I don't overshoot. (Cooling down takes even longer than heating up, so you want to avoid overshoot if you can.)
- It takes some skill/practice to learn how to adjust your airflow to hit target temperatures. It's definitely not as simple as electric, where you can just set your temperature and walk away. There are accessories that will make it a LOT easier, but expect to pay $300-400 for a good temperature control system.
- It's big and very heavy. Don't unbox it by yourself, you need someone to help you. And it comes with casters, so it will roll around on a paved surface just fine, but you can't just roll it out into the yard to use it.
- (Minor) It takes a long time to cool down. For me, this just means closing it up, walking away for a couple hours, and coming back out to put it away. Sometimes I forget and it sits out overnight.
Also, be aware that you should only use natural lump charcoal, NOT briquettes. I think this is generally true for any charcoal grill, but it is critical for a kamado. The natural lump charcoal burns cleaner and hotter - you won't get pizza oven temps with the old Kingston stuff.
Overall, I am extremely happy with the Kamado Joe. Before I got it, I used a gas grill and an electric smoker for years. I noticed an immediate and substantial improvement in the quality of my grilling even when I was still learning how to hit and maintain temps well. Smoking is harder, but with practice you can get a good 12-14 hour smoke with minimal babysitting. I understand that it becomes "set it and forget it" with a temperature control system like DigiQ or Flame Boss, but I haven't bought one yet.
I absolutely love the KJ II, I graduated from a cheapo Char Broil Akorn grill, which was a good starter but completely fell apart after a few years. I'm not sure about the flavor profiles of the pellet grills, but everyone raves about the smoky flavors from the Kamado Joe.
Mandatory accessories for a Kamado grill:
Pizza Stone
Kick Ash Basket (I'm probably buying the can as well, too expensive but a time saver)
A therma pen or similar digital thermometer
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!
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