What would you consider as the best outdoor smoker?

treitz3 · Apr 1, 2012

Just as the title states. What would you consider as the best outdoor smoker?

There are many options and what we would like to know is what is your contender for the best outdoor smoker but more importantly, why?

Keith_W · Apr 1, 2012

Probably a BGE/Kamado type smoker? The reason why - versatility. You can do low and slows, you can also turn it into a furnace. You can get controllers like the Rocks BBQ Stoker that will keep them stable. The thick ceramic insulation keeps heat and moisture in, which means these things are very economical with fuel. The downside - you can't prepare a lot of food at once. It's OK for small parties but won't feed more than 10 at once.

Steve Williams · Apr 1, 2012

Keith_W said:
Probably a BGE/Kamado type smoker? The reason why - versatility. You can do low and slows, you can also turn it into a furnace. You can get controllers like the Rocks BBQ Stoker that will keep them stable. The thick ceramic insulation keeps heat and moisture in, which means these things are very economical with fuel. The downside - you can't prepare a lot of food at once. It's OK for small parties but won't feed more than 10 at once.

IIRC that's the one Amir has

richr · Apr 1, 2012

I have a Komodo brand ceramic cooker and it can cook quite a bit of food on three grilling / smoking levels.

http://www.komodokamado.com/

lasercd · Apr 2, 2012

My two main hobbies are audio and BBQ. For the past 7 years I cook every night on a Primo Oval XL ceramic cooker. Its an improved (and US made) version of the BGE. Its an extremely versatile grill and smoke that surpasses the Egg. A great jack of all trades cooker.

Having said that...my "go to" smoker is the Cookshack "Fast Eddy" FEC-100. Its a competition quality pellet cooker that has never failed to turn out amazing BBQ. At one time it can handle 8 whole packer cut briskets, or 16 pork butts. I can cook enough ribs to feed 100 people.

My wife bought it for me for my 50th birthday. Its foolproof and makes me look like a BBQ superstar everytime.

Many, including myself, consider it the best smoker made.

lasercd · Apr 2, 2012

Keith_W said:
Probably a BGE/Kamado type smoker? The reason why - versatility. You can do low and slows, you can also turn it into a furnace. You can get controllers like the Rocks BBQ Stoker that will keep them stable. The thick ceramic insulation keeps heat and moisture in, which means these things are very economical with fuel. The downside - you can't prepare a lot of food at once. It's OK for small parties but won't feed more than 10 at once.

Keith:

The Primo Oval XL ceramic cooker can accomodate 2 whole briskets, or 10 racks of ribs, or 8 pork butts. You can feed a small army with it.

amirm · Apr 2, 2012

Steve Williams said:
IIRC that's the one Amir has

That's right. The brand is Grilldome: http://grilldome.com/images/banners/xlandsilver/XL-Silver_01.jpg

They have thicker ceramics than Green Egg. And the guy who owns is a genuinely nice guy and very customer oriented. I tried getting questions answered from Komodo people but never heard back. And I had heard of some reliability/lead time issues at the time. Not sure the status today.

They are all wonderfully efficient appliances. I uses ours in snow for overnight smokes and with less than a bag of charcoal, I have gone 16+ hours!

As noted, adding an automated temperature control system such as stoker will make life much more enjoyable. Then you can add the program I have written to have full remote control from your PC and you are good to go! http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9270072103/m/784107513

I plan to write a tutorial on all of this one of these days

. For now, I keep kicking myself for not getting one years ago.

Keith_W · Apr 2, 2012

Ahhh, YOU are the Amir who wrote Stokerlog!! Very nice to meet you! Not sure if this is better in a seperate thread, but I was using it last night and had a few problems

Do you have any issues with the Stoker when using wifi?

thuffman03 · Apr 2, 2012

I have a Weber Rocky Mountain smoker. Does a good job for a bullet/water smoker.
For a pellet smoker I would go with a Traeger
For an offset coal I would go with a Texas Pit Crafters

lasercd · Apr 2, 2012

I owned a Traeger (075 model) for about a decade. Very problematic and ultimately gave it away when I replaced it with the Cookshack FEC-100. My understanding is the Traeger family sold off the company and they smokers are now made in China. Supposedly the quality has gone downhill. When the Traeger worked properly it turned out fantastic BBQ. Problem is...it didn't always work properly.

amirm · Apr 2, 2012

Keith_W said:
Ahhh, YOU are the Amir who wrote Stokerlog!! Very nice to meet you! Not sure if this is better in a seperate thread, but I was using it last night and had a few problems

Do you have any issues with the Stoker when using wifi?

Yes, I am the guilty party

. For support, best thing to do is post in this thread: http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9270072103/m/784107513

On Wifi, yes many people report problems. It is hard to keep that link going all the time. We have had threads in the above forum about that. So I finally bit the bullet and ran an Ethernet cable to the garage where my smoker is and now I have rock solid reliability. Others have had good luck though.

Do you have the new Wifi unit or are using a bridge?

Keith_W · Apr 2, 2012

I am honored to be talking to you

Wait till my BBQ friends hear about this, they will be tickled pink! They think my hifi hobby is nuts, little do they know that the author of the software they love is also a hifi nutter!

I am using the new wifi unit, purchased in November last year and running the latest firmware. I can't run an ethernet cable from my computer or router to the Stoker for various reasons - the main one is the house is too big and people will trip over the cable. I am not sure if it is your software which is causing the problem or the Stoker unit itself - either way, Stokerlog does not interrogate the unit at all. If I want to see what is happening, I have to hit "F5".

Perhaps Rocks BBQ should send you a new Stoker unit, gratis, so that you can update your software for it

Greg_R · Apr 2, 2012

treitz3 said:
Just as the title states. What would you consider as the best outdoor smoker?

There are many options and what we would like to know is what is your contender for the best outdoor smoker but more importantly, why?

Another vote for the Komodo Kamado; it should not be confused with other Kamado brands. Note that there is a "Kamado Grills" brand that should be avoided --> http://www.kamadofraudforum.org/

While I'm a huge fan of the KK, you are paying for the ability to handle the very wide range of temperatures. If you ONLY want to smoke then I'd recommend something like a Cookshack. They have tons of room, are extremely easy to use, and work in a variety of temperatures (they are insulated). They can also blend (visually) into an outdoor stainless kitchen more easily.

amirm · Apr 2, 2012

Keith_W said:
I am honored to be talking to you Wait till my BBQ friends hear about this, they will be tickled pink! They think my hifi hobby is nuts, little do they know that the author of the software they love is also a hifi nutter!

It is a side of me most people don't know!

I am using the new wifi unit, purchased in November last year and running the latest firmware. I can't run an ethernet cable from my computer or router to the Stoker for various reasons - the main one is the house is too big and people will trip over the cable. I am not sure if it is your software which is causing the problem or the Stoker unit itself - either way, Stokerlog does not interrogate the unit at all. If I want to see what is happening, I have to hit "F5".

Perhaps Rocks BBQ should send you a new Stoker unit, gratis, so that you can update your software for it

I have heard of some issues with the Wifi unit. Months ago I asked them to test it with stokerlog before releasing and they promised to do so. Then they released it without it

. So when people came to ask me to troubleshoot, I told them to go and complain to Rock's. They did and they also then decided to create a fund to buy me a wifi unit! I could not believe the generosity. That led to Rock offering a unit to me free. That was a week ago. I am hoping it will arrive soon so that I can fix whatever compatibility problems there are. So hang in there for now. Hopefully it will get resolved soon.

Keith_W · Apr 3, 2012

That's great to know, thanks for the response

BTW any chance of an android app? I told my BBQ geek friend that I have been chatting with you and his first response was ... "android app!". If not, then I suppose I could buy a book on android coding for dummies and write my own app

Ronm1 · Apr 3, 2012

Just realized I posted this in the wrong thread.

Amir is right on about the ceramics. What they do they do well, but the versatility makes them on some things a compromise. Its like separates vs a receiver or integrated. It comes down to what an individual is really looking for in product. All mentioned do good Q, but the bottom line IMHO is flavor and to me that comes from real wood. So for smoking that's how I/we roll. Its certainly not as convenient and does require attention. Amir's mention of snow prompted me to add a few snow pics to my smoker thread. Those were from a Super Bowl Sunday a few yrs ago in the early morning. Gas assist was a godsend that day.

Greg_R · Apr 3, 2012

Ronm1 said:
Amir is right on about the ceramics. What they do they do well, but the versatility makes them on some things a compromise.

Could you list some of these perceived compromises? I can only think of two - portability & grill area per dollar. A few chunks of wood & proper charcoal selection are all I've needed to impart a specific flavor (fruit wood, mesquite, etc.). As you've noted, world class BBQ can come from almost any cooker (from a $200 Webber Smokey Mountain to a simple open pit to a $$$$ trailer rig).... if the cook knows what they are doing.

amirm · Apr 3, 2012

Keith_W said:
That's great to know, thanks for the response

BTW any chance of an android app? I told my BBQ geek friend that I have been chatting with you and his first response was ... "android app!". If not, then I suppose I could buy a book on android coding for dummies and write my own app

Android is on the TODO list but I have to be honest. The list is so long that it is not going to get done anytime soon

.

Ronm1 · Apr 3, 2012

Greg_R said:
Could you list some of these perceived compromises? I can only think of two - portability & grill area per dollar. A few chunks of wood & proper charcoal selection are all I've needed to impart a specific flavor (fruit wood, mesquite, etc.).

Greg

My use of compromise is in reference to a firebox type. In that regard I don’t consider
portability any advantage. Area though maybe but the firebox types aren’t given away that’s for sure. The biggest compromise to me is flavor. What you consider a chunk of wood & charcoal selection is where I find the largest compromise. On our unit hunt we used a grill with chips or flavored lump and were greatly disappointed. Temp control was very good as the grill had 4 cast iron burners so lo & slo was easily possible. Results were fine except for the flavor. Diff flavors were used with mesquite the worst, had an off sour tendency. Next we borrowed a neighbor’s BGE for a few weeks when they went on vacation. Temp control was good, but the same flavor issues raised their head. Next we went with an entry-level firebox unit from Lowe’s. Temp control took some time-on-console, but the flavor with wood logs was way more to our liking. Not so artificial is how I would describe it. While mesquite was still not a win it wasn’t as pronounced which just reinforced the whole artificial perception? So we ordered a larger, more well made unit and have never looked back. Maybe compromise is to strong a word and I should have used preference. Bottom line, if the taste is off IOHO, it’s of little value. Why go through all that trouble if the results seem to be a compromise. Valid? It wasn’t for us.

treitz3 · Apr 3, 2012

Keith_W said:
Ahhh, YOU are the Amir who wrote Stokerlog!! Very nice to meet you! Not sure if this is better in a seperate thread, but I was using it last night and had a few problems

Do you have any issues with the Stoker when using wifi?

Yes, Amir never ceases to impress me with his knowledge. Don't worry about the off topic posts, they don't bother me at all and I'll probably be asking the same questions later on when I get one so go right on ahead. I currently have the BGE and the KK is on my long list of things to own, I just want to do some things to my rig before I take that plunge.

Gentlemen, thanks for the information regarding what you think is the best smoker and if anybody else has something not mentioned, by all means, speak up. There is no perfect smoker but what folks consider the best [consensus] can be an achievable goal. Keep 'em coming!

What would you consider as the best outdoor smoker?

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