All Things BBQ

[2LaneCruzer]

I have a Weber kettle that I use for hamburgers and steaks, and a Big Green Egg that I use for everything that I smoke, like ribs, pork shoulders and brisket, but it is very limited in capacity and heat control is manual. I also have a Weber Smoky Mountain smoker that turns out some great ribs, but clean up and heat control are a bit difficult.

Question: does anyone have a Smoker that has digital controls? If so, are you happy with it? Also, has anyone who owns a pellet grill, used the new charcoal pellets?

Thinking about buying a new smoker with digital controls, but want one that burns charcoal instead of pellets. There are only a couple out there that uses charcoal; most are pellet grills...which work great, but meat doesn't have quite the flavor as when cooked over charcoal, or so I'm told.

 

[Citydude]

I have a Pitboss digital pellet fired smoker. Works great but struggles to keep temps in the wind . Never knew there were charcoal pellets.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I have a Pitboss digital pellet fired smoker. Works great but struggles to keep temps in the wind . Never knew there were charcoal pellets.

Yeah, they are fairly new. Royal Oak makes them.

 

[polo1665]

I have a REC TEC digitally controlled pellet smoker and I love it. I had also never heard of the charcoal pellets, but I'll look into them.

 

[ljjhouser]

Never heard of them either, but so......
Royal Oak Charcoal pellets
Says they burn hotter than wood pellets.

I would guess if All Things BBQ doesn't have the smoker you want, it will be very hard to find. Might even call them and see what they say. Maybe charcoal pellets will burn in a regular pellet smoker.

I have one of their offset smokers. Made of 1/4" plate. It is great.

 

[Citydude]

Never heard of them either, but so......
Royal Oak Charcoal pellets
Says they burn hotter than wood pellets.

I would guess if All Things BBQ doesn't have the smoker you want, it will be very hard to find. Might even call them and see what they say. Maybe charcoal pellets will burn in a regular pellet smoker.

I have one of their offset smokers. Made of 1/4" plate. It is great.

The royal oak pellets are pricey but worth a try. They (royal oak) say they can be used in any pellet smoker.

 

[Yander]

I have a Traeger i bought last year, I also didn't know about the charcoal pellets once I run out of my 150lbs + of wood pellets, I may try them. Or do they work in any pellet smoker? Would be interested in hearing from any of you that do try them. I bought a wireless thermometer so I can be smoking something with the remote thermometer sitting beside me watching the ball game. I didn't splurge for the wifi to use my phone but I'm sure that is slick. Looks like @polo1665 did.

I would like to get an off-set smoker at some point but I'm looking for the right used deal on marketplace. People buy them, use them a few times and sell them. They are a bit more work than a pellet grill but I hear that it is worth it.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I have a friend with and Oklahoma Joe's offset smoker and he really likes it. They make a pretty good quality smoker at a very reasonable price, compared to some of the higher end offset smokers.

Smokers | Oklahoma Joe's®

www.oklahomajoes.com

 

[Yander]

I have a friend with and Oklahoma Joe's offset smoker and he really likes it. They make a pretty good quality smoker at a very reasonable price, compared to some of the higher end offset smokers.

Smokers | Oklahoma Joe's®

www.oklahomajoes.com

Yes, I've been looking at the OKJoe longhorn reverse flow almost bought one. I may buy one next spring that's about what my budget will stand.

You can get them used for around $400.

 

[ljjhouser]

I bought a Yoder offset smoker used from someone for my son in law. It was in Ft Smith Ark and had to drive about 150 miles to pick it up. At that time about (7 years ago), I paid $800 - list was $1300. It was used and looked like new. They use plate steel and last forever. It was a Cheyenne - their smallest offset. I don' think they make it anymore. After that, we always had brisket and pulled pork (and rib slabs). But, you are right, rather pricey. But after buying about 8 bbq sheet metal grills over the years, that is the only way I would go ---especially if I were young and could use it 40 years.

 

[ljjhouser]

The royal oak pellets are pricey but worth a try. They (royal oak) say they can be used in any pellet smoker.

Royal Oak has a charcoal plant about 10 miles from here in Branson MO. But I don't recall seeing pellets on the shelf anywhere. Maybe I just didn't look for them. We always smoked with wood and/or lump charcoal. Thanks, it is good to know the pellets will work in place of wood pellets.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I bought a Yoder offset smoker used from someone for my son in law. It was in Ft Smith Ark and had to drive about 150 miles to pick it up. At that time about (7 years ago), I paid $800 - list was $1300. It was used and looked like new. They use plate steel and last forever. It was a Cheyenne - their smallest offset. I don' think they make it anymore. After that, we always had brisket and pulled pork (and rib slabs). But, you are right, rather pricey. But after buying about 8 bbq sheet metal grills over the years, that is the only way I would go ---especially if I were young and could use it 40 years.

They look really good.

 

[jaxs]

Wooo hooo the title says All Things BBQ so thread wander is fair game. If anyone is thinking of a serious but affordable smoker I highly recommend THIS GUY . IMO noone can hold a light to him for service,price and quality. If you can't drive down to pick it up,call a trucking broker in your area to compare transportation costs with freight companies. An owner/operator without a full load coming out of Dallas to some place near you will haul it for less than freight companies.
Looking at everything out there on the market is enough to make your head swim but "process of elimintation" can make it easier to choose. Pellet smokers are a good choice for those not addicted to outdoor cooking and us with the addiction love offsets. Connoisseurs go for eggs that turn out best food of the bunch. Lite weight big box cookers offer an inexpensive way to try out various styles before diving into a quality cooker. One that intrigues but I've never tried is La Caja China Roasting Box. Anyone know about those?
What about the guy with a flat wallet, the taste for an egg,15 people showing up to eat every weekend , pretty good fabricating skills but no welder. The UDS aka Upright Drum Smoker aka Ugly Drum Smoker says "I'll be your huckleberry.
That should about cover it,right ? Wrong ! We haven't talked about Pauvre vieux moi yet. I've been using a small offset and a large offset for quit a while and haven't mastered either but love working with them. I might not have to work as hard if I'd stick to one wood with consistant moisture but my pals and I like trying to out do one another. Seriously we must have tried every fruit and nut wood known to man and a few that aren't. After me and my side kick burned grapevine another guy gave it a try with disastrous result. He mistook a huge poison oak vine for grape and the smoke landed him in intensive care. Since my can do has increasingly lagged behind my want to (that's to say I get drunk and fall asleep while tending the fire) I've dreamed of an offset which allows me to be hands on but occasionally take a nap without ruining the meat. The prototype inside my head will be an offset with a salvaged LP gas oven serving as the cooking compartment. The idea is have oven t-stat ignite burner in the event temperature drops below what I choose. At same time t-stat signals burner it will trigger an alarm. A t-stat from an electric oven will sound an alarm in the event temperature exceeds setting by 10%. As I said this is a prototype that helps me tweak air control so alarms will really help with that. If I'm pleased I'll build (or have Phil build) a smoker using what I learned from prototype.

 

[gsganzer]

Has anyone ever built a cinder block pit smoker in their backyard? Like this? Cinderblock Pit Smoker

This is a pretty typical style used in TX.

 

[notaz3]

I have a Grilla Grill Silverbac that does a pretty good job with 'set and forget'. The app doesn't work well; but, the grill works fine as a smoker or pellet BBQ.

 

[grsthegreat]

im confused. i used to smoke using charchol smoker yeas ago. i switched to a yoder pellet smoker maybe 4-5 years ago. flavor using real wood pellets (as opposed to flavored pellet) is FAR better than the old charcoal smoker. I find i use oak pellets more than other flavors. the taste of my steaks is amazing. way better than any restaurant i have ever eaten at.

 

[ljjhouser]

im confused. i used to smoke using charchol smoker yeas ago. i switched to a yoder pellet smoker maybe 4-5 years ago. flavor using real wood pellets (as opposed to flavored pellet) is FAR better than the old charcoal smoker. I find i use oak pellets more than other flavors. the taste of my steaks is amazing. way better than any restaurant i have ever eaten at.

That really sounds good. I have never used a pellet smoker, but burning wood, pellet or otherwise I think if best. Oak pellets seems a lot cheaper than oak or hickory wood. They make fantastic smokers. I also think their tube smoker is interesting for adding flavors. Makes me want to get a pellet smoker and start bbqing again.

 

[copytmpmzl]

Wooo hooo the title says All Things BBQ so thread wander is fair game. If anyone is thinking of a serious but affordable smoker I highly recommend THIS GUY . IMO noone can hold a light to him for service,price and quality. If you can't drive down to pick it up,call a trucking broker in your area to compare transportation costs with freight companies. An owner/operator without a full load coming out of Dallas to some place near you will haul it for less than freight companies.
Looking at everything out there on the market is enough to make your head swim but "process of elimintation" can make it easier to choose. Pellet smokers are a good choice for those not addicted to outdoor cooking and us with the addiction love offsets. Connoisseurs go for eggs that turn out best food of the bunch. Lite weight big box cookers offer an inexpensive way to try out various styles before diving into a quality cooker. One that intrigues but I've never tried is La Caja China Roasting Box. Anyone know about those?
What about the guy with a flat wallet, the taste for an egg,15 people showing up to eat every weekend , pretty good fabricating skills but no welder. The UDS aka Upright Drum Smoker aka Ugly Drum Smoker says "I'll be your huckleberry.
That should about cover it,right ? Wrong ! We haven't talked about Pauvre vieux moi yet. I've been using a small offset and a large offset for quit a while and haven't mastered either but love working with them. I might not have to work as hard if I'd stick to one wood with consistant moisture but my pals and I like trying to out do one another. Seriously we must have tried every fruit and nut wood known to man and a few that aren't. After me and my side kick burned grapevine another guy gave it a try with disastrous result. He mistook a huge poison oak vine for grape and the smoke landed him in intensive care. Since my can do has increasingly lagged behind my want to (that's to say I get drunk and fall asleep while tending the fire) I've dreamed of an offset which allows me to be hands on but occasionally take a nap without ruining the meat. The prototype inside my head will be an offset with a salvaged LP gas oven serving as the cooking compartment. The idea is have oven t-stat ignite burner in the event temperature drops below what I choose epoxy floors gold coast. At same time t-stat signals burner it will trigger an alarm. A t-stat from an electric oven will sound an alarm in the event temperature exceeds setting by 10%. As I said this is a prototype that helps me tweak air control so alarms will really help with that. If I'm pleased I'll build (or have Phil build) a smoker using what I learned from prototype.

I've got my RecTec which has been awesome, and the few times that I've had issues or wanted upgrades, their support is top-notch. Having said that, I also use a grill quite often, and I prefer charcoal over gas. The current selection of charcoal models is quite limited, especially if you want something on the large side and not a round Weber or Green Egg. I'm eyeing something along the lines of the Char-Griller Legacy 33in or the Royal Gourmet 30. If there is something better, I'd like to take a look. Any suggestions? Thanks,

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I've got my RecTec which has been awesome, and the few times that I've had issues or wanted upgrades, their support is top-notch. Having said that, I also use a grill quite often, and I prefer charcoal over gas. The current selection of charcoal models is quite limited, especially if you want something on the large side and not a round Weber or Green Egg. I'm eyeing something along the lines of the Char-Griller Legacy 33in or the Royal Gourmet 30. If there is something better, I'd like to take a look. Any suggestions? Thanks,

Have you looked at these? They are designed to be much more than just a grill though.

Masterbuilt 30 in. Gravity Series 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill and Smoker Black - Ace Hardware

With the Gravity Series 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker by Masterbuilt, you can smoke, grill, sear, bake, roast and so much more. Set the temperature on the digital control panel or your smart device and the DigitalFan maintains the desired cooking temperature. The GravityFed charcoal...

www.acehardware.com

 

[nbking]

I have a Traeger, my brother has a Rec Tec. They both are great, we both use remote thermometers. His seems to keep the temps a bit more accurate. When I'm in smoke mode it can go anywhere from 170-225, which I guess is normal for Traegers.