Whats the best smoker?

[michael ark]

I love my gosm wide body and recomend it to anyone. It is easy to use and cheaper than charcoal.:D

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[curious aardvark]

Why bother supporting the Chinese economy when there are so many good used Weber kettles on Craigslist Kettles in excellent condition can be had for 50% or less than retail.

we don't have craigslist in the uk :-)
but probably a good point.

Just bear in mind that a half price used weber is still twice the cost of a similiarly sized and new cheaper brand kettle. Here anyway.
I've had a good look at webers in the shops and to be honest. the build quality is no better or worse than any of the cheaper brand kettles I've seen.

[tenacious bee]

Must be a better breed of cheap kettle in the UK. In this market the cheaper ones grates wear out very fast , The lower section paint burns off and the thing rusts. The porcelain enamel paint and plated steel grates last for years on the weber. I have tried a few in the past. Noticed I was buying one about every other year. Four years on the silver..with no cover.

[Bearcarver]

For ease of use & not a bad price, I would go with exactly what I have:

MES 40--WITH an AMNPS.

MES 40 has everything you need, and some things you might not need, but really are nice. Digital temp & time controls, chip dumper from outside, so you don't have to open the door, Glass Door, so you can see what's going on, without opening the door, Remote control, so you can see the temps & make settings changes without going near the smoker (up to 300' or more away), etc, etc.

However no matter which chip drawer you get with your model, nothing works like the AMNPS. Load it up, get it lit right, put it in the bottom left on the SS bars, and get 9 to 12 hours of perfect smoke---Hands Free!

I think right now they're $429, but frequent sales make them under $400.

They're so easy to use, even a Bear can don it !!!

Bear

[chisoxjim]

best = loaded question.

my 2 cents: Ive had an electric, a gasser, an offset & the WSM. Hands down the best of the bunch is the WSM. Offset was legit, but a tough learning curve.

WSM you are still tending a fire, learning fire control, etc, plus the end product is 2nd to none of any deck size smoker.

My issues with gas and electric: taste, flavor, texture, being able to turn a knob for temp control, you name it.

good luck.

[Crewdawg52]

Drum, or a Weber Kettle (you can do a lot with those).

[Fishawn]

Personally, if I could only have one tool for cooking, give me the 22.5" kettle any day

You can do anything on them, perhaps with the exception of the low heat needed for smoking/cooking cured sausage & I bet that can be done with some experimenting. They are not set it & forget it like an electric, but once you figure them oot, they are really pretty easy to control.

[Ryan]

Thanks for everyone's input. Here's what I told her, for electric I'd go with a mes 40 but I read the reviews from Walmart and the highest temp is 275(Idk if that's true, but it was on there) and that could be a problem with chickens as far as getting the skin crispy. Also told her about the GOSM. What I strongly recommended was a uds if she wasn't to serious about making sausage. She held up to her deal and got me my grandpas bbq sauce. Real interesting sauce, there's no ketchup or vinegar in it, most of the ones I make have them. Basically some sugars, tomato paste and. Sauce, chili sauce, and a couple different spices.

[ktdavis]

DONE!!

Thanks Baja,

good one!

This can be an emotional subject, but this site is a little more mellow than some, so maybe I shouldn't have been so paranoid. Everyone here respects others equipment, whatever their passion!!!

to everyone here, (If I could)!!!

[Bearcarver]

Thanks Baja,

good one!

This can be an emotional subject, but this site is a little more mellow than some, so maybe I shouldn't have been so paranoid. Everyone here respects others equipment, whatever their passion!!!

to everyone here, (If I could)!!!

LOL----That can be a problem, but I think most know there are good & bad points about them all.
I sacrifice somewhat better tasting Q for the ease of using my electric MES 40. Some guys can make the charcoal & lump smokers do everything but talk, but I'm not interested in trying to learn that at this stage of my life. I don't get a smoke ring, but I can get everything going right & just let her ride.
All smokers are Great, if you know what you're doing & get that mighty tasty stuff for your table!!!

Bear

[1894]

(insert here, icon of can opener opening can with worms hanging out)

Like Rich said, for ease of use, I like my cookshack, but it just aint as good as cooking with real wood!

No help for the conversation , but you were looking for something like this ?

[1894]

DONE!!

OOps , should have read all the way through before posting

I like that one better

[tenacious bee]

Thanks for everyone's input. Here's what I told her, for electric I'd go with a mes 40 but I read the reviews from Walmart and the highest temp is 275(Idk if that's true, but it was on there) and that could be a problem with chickens as far as getting the skin crispy.

That is accurate from what I have found. I agree with you that a mes is best as it will be an easy learning curve for everything else. For chicken a used kettle to go with the mes and done. She can do chicken on a kettle with ease. Pretty much pile the coals on one side, a pan on the grate and let er rip. I just saw an 18" on CL for 30 bucks.

And speaking of kettles...

best advice would be to start with a decent sized kettle (one of the cheap chinesse knockofss - weber are just too bloody pricey).
I actually saw one the other day with a warming rack built into the lid.

Well how about this CA. The local hardware store has these for 30 dollars us !! I am heading down there on Sunday to buy a canopy . If it looks good I may just grab one and test her out. I have spent 30 bucks on a round of drinks so I think it may be worth the investment to do a side by side comparo of a weber vs the Chinese knock off.