I will take a shot.
I will skip the ancient practice of simply placing meat over a fire and I will skip the primitive and similar practice of Santa Barbara tri tip that remains the same today.
Things started out originally with masonry built pits. That is how “pit” got it’s name-they more or less were masonry pits with the wood placed below and to the side of the meat placed on a raised grill with a cover on top.
These types of pits are still in use today, mostly I believe in the Piedmont region of North Carolina but elsewhere too.
The configurations of these pits evolved over time to include offset fire chambers from the cooking chamber and rotisserie style rotating shelves and any number of other variations still built with cinder block or other masonry.
Then came the conversion of oil tanks into smokers which has evolved into the stick burners of today. You’ve seen the cheapie versions at hardware stores and Costco. The cheap versions use rather thin steel plate and the simplest ones don’t even have a separate fire box. I started off with one of these. The fancy ones have been named already-Jambo, Lang, Shirley, Yoders, Meadow Creek, and no less than fifty others. Aaron Franklin famously builds his own from Texas oil drums. “Stick burner” means it is meant to burn wood. Splits of small logs. Aaron Franklins are so huge, they burn whole logs though splits burn cleaner. There are variations in design. Reverse flow is a subset of stick burners. There are vertical versions. There are trailer versions and backyard (fixed placement) versions. They come in all sizes and levels of craftmanship. Some have insulated fire boxes (I believe that Jamie Geer of Jambo clams to have “invented” the insulated firebox.
Next we should talk about cabinet style smokers. These are built from two layers of thinner steel with insulation in between and they too come in all kind of variations. Stumps to me is the quintessential cabinet style smoker, Humphreys is another. They generally are designed to burn lump coal with small wood splits or chunks added for smoke. Again, there are countless variations of the same theme. Some have rotisseries, some have gravity fed charcoal or lump chutes, some are designed to work with computerized air flow regulation to keep temps constant.
From there, things drop off to the outliers.
I will skip the Komodo style since I think you asked to do so.
There are the Ugly Drum Smokers almost always called UDS. Just google UDS smoker and you will find all the info you need. Crude, cheap, but very effective and hobbyists love them.
And then we come to pellets. I am a snob. I think pellets are for rabbits. As in rabbit poop. Many call them “pellet poopers”. They work. That is all I have to say.
Does this help? Hope so.
It far from covers every type of smoker.
I was trying to find a variation of a rotisserie stick burner which had a fire chamber underneath and running the length of the cook chamber called “Barrow Smokers” but they must have gone out of business. A local restaurant used one and got great results. But in the process, speaking of Aaron Franklin, I found this https://franklinbbqpits.com/ The cynic would say Aaron is cashing in, but I don’t know, I am tempted.
cookshack
Awww Will…
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Thanks for taking the shot at it Mitch!
Found the other smoker that always interested me; Marrow, not “Barrow”.
http://www.marrowgrills.com/page04.html
Rotisserie. Reasonably priced.
Born in Texas. Raised in the Carolinas. Educated in Memphis. Best friend lives in St. Louis.
No wood, no good.
Amen. Baruch ha-Shem.
Is there anything in between “cheating” and full on old school that can make life easier? Are pellets the middle ground? Is there a wood burner that doesn’t require tweaking every 20 minutes?
COOKSHAK
Does anybody have thoughts about the Pit Barrel Cooker? Almost seems too good to be true?
If you are going to do steaks on it, nothing beats the big green egg. It is the best. It smokes great too. You can get an attachment that will control the airflow with a small processor. It keeps amazingly consistent temperatures. Hands down it is the best for those who want to smoke and grill IMHO.
If you want a smoker that can be used to occasionally do other things, I have to tell you that my RecTec has been primo. I use what is called the perfect mix pellets. Apple,Cherry,Maple and Hickory. It is computer controlled through two integrated temperature probes. The information comes to your computer, phone, pad etc. You can make changes there. I am smoking a brisket right now. 15 lb Painted Hills prepped in the Franklin manner with salt and pepper. I add a little garlic and sweet paprika. They come out perfect every time and the device is easy to clean. It is not cheap but it is cheaper than Yoder etc. The company is out of Augusta, GA. I have “The Bull”. They have a new one. It is more expensive but it has a massive smoking area. You can smoke a whole side of beef on the thing.
I have the RT 700. The big boy is the BFG. RT 2500BFG. It is a dual stack and GIGANTIC. https://www.rectecgrills.com/grills These put Traeger to shame. Much better construction. All stainless. Only thing close is the MAK 2 star which is more expensive.
As an aside, I live next to a national forest. I can’t really leave an open fire unattended even on my drive pad. Therefore, no Big Green Egg to smoke. Too much risk. This pellet grill is electric and has some safety features that keep it from having problems. If a flame happens in the smoke pot, it seems to cut off to prevent a larger problem. I can’t recommend this enough.
I am sorry to sound like a broken record but pellet burners are like fake fireplaces.
I am serious as can be.
They both emulate the real deal and they are both far more convenient and easy to use.
They both accomplish the same result if the only goal is a half-way decent result.
Why stop at a pellet burner if that is all you want? You can stick your meat in a large pot with some smoke chips in aluminum foil and smoke indoors!
For many of us, Q is a process. The process is far more therapeutic, relaxing, and and rewarding than the meat placed on the table. The meat placed on the table is a symbol of all that came before it.
Another analogy would be fly-fishing. Anyone who has stalked fish, waded into the water, experienced the graceful rhythm of proper casting technique, landed the fly where it was intended to go and set the hook knows that the rainbow or cut-throat jumping and thrashing is the symbol of your efforts and achievements and not the beginning of the goal.
When fly fishing, the enthusiast gets to experience the tranquility of the surroundings and a thousand other stimuli that are separate and distinct from whether there is even a rise, let alone a trout brought in.
And fly fishing is damned hard work, particularly in rock strewn uneven and slippery creeks like those in the mountains.
A pellet burner is like landing a farm-raised trout from a tank in a convention center during an outdoorsman’s event.
Disclaimer-I am not sure there is a single hobby known to mankind that gives rise to such strong feelings and opinions as BBQ. So forgive me please for mine.
People, above, mention Cookshack; I have had two Smokin’ Tex machines. Essentially, they are a small refrigerator looking cabinet with a heating element and box to put whatever wood you want (as long as it fits, which is easy to buy on Ebay). Couldn’t be simpler. They have a thermostat of 0-250 degrees. I don’t know the specs of the pellet ones, but they are, to me, highly unappealing: the worst of many worlds. Suspect , processed wood compressed into pellets (making the wood’s character on a food somewhat anonymous; I use various different hardwoods and fruitwoods, depending on the protein, including cold smoking). Then , just like having to buy one brand of anything, you are beholden to the manufacturer of the pellets. If they go out of business, you need an alternative source of fuel. If not, they control your “market”.
Just wanted to make sure that got communicated as a supplement to Mitch’s summary. To my knowledge, none of us are capable or intrested in professional style contraptions, but in simplicity and purity. And, maintenance and space. All these concerns point to a Smokin Tex/
Cookshack type of apparatus: choose and buy your own wood; control the temperature; compact; easy to clean; electric power source; capably of cold smoking (like smoked salmon, which I do all the time). I’ve had two over the last 16 years…and they have changed my life…cooking and eating wise.
Now, if you have a ranch or a trailer on your 4x4 to pull the drum…and stack huge pieces of hickory…and enter competitions or want to open a bbq place…that’s different, though many barbecue places use larger versions of the Smokin Tex/Cookshack types…surprisingly. The best place, IMO, in the Philadelphia suburbs uses nothing else and it is packed all the time.
I will be the first to admit that my opinion is that of a BBQ snob.
There is a sticky on the BBQ-Brethren site entitled “Getting Snobbish on our BBQ” that is worth a look-the message is that it is all-too-easy to lose one’s perspective.
Yesterday I used my BGE XL to smoke three racks of ribs.
It rained all day yesterday where I am in Central Ohio.
Even though I could not sit outside and enjoy the cook, I had one of my best rib cooks ever. Perfect tug, beautiful smoke ring, found a rub and mop combo that beat all previous efforts…
I would not, and likely could not have done that with a stick burner. My 270 cabinet style smoker has never been as effective with ribs as my BGE.
So my point to all this is that I am huge fan of the BGE and I recognize that in reality there is no best smoker for all conditions and all scenarios.
This is a great thread! I’m really interested in adding a smoker or grill that can smoke to my tool kit, but I know very little about smoking food. I’ve seen some criticism that some smokers (e.g., electric) don’t reach high enough heat for somethings. Can you / does it make sense to combine cooking methods like cast iron for searing or oven for higher temp roasting with smoking? Will a lower max temp limit me a lot when it comes to smoking?
I’m interested in something that’s decently easy/convenient (as I won’t usually want to sit by the smoker all day) and very safe (since I live in a canyon with some high winds and higher risk of wildfires); however, I don’t want to get something can’t do much.
Well, I don’t know, fly fishing maybe?
and maybe the WB Politics forum …
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Electric smokers, and I have a Cookshak for many years now, usually go up to 250F. The only thing it means is that you may need to cook something for a longer period of time, no biggie since its electric with a set and forget process. Sure, I sometimes want higher temps, but mainly if one is smoking an entire chicken, let’s say, and wants the skin to crisp up. Again, no issue, since one can smoke it and then finish it on a grill, one more step in the process, but no big deal from where I stand. For pretty much anything else 250F is high enough, I rarely venture outside 200-220F for any meat/fish.
Just smoked a few skin on duck breasts, 45 minutes at 230F. We then finish them on a frying pan, skin side down, in any case, at dinner time, though I seriously doubt a wood smoker would be used differently or you end up with overcooked meat. So, really, a bit of a change in how one does things, but Cookshack and its copies do a great job with minimal effort. And have been winning pro competitions for years now, never mind being compact enough to be used in restaurant kitchens, to boot.
I get some wanting to “mess with” during cooking process, but some of us simply do not have the time to begin with, thus set it and forget it bullet proof method electrics provide. Yes, I am looking at a vertical off-set smoker, but really only for larger quantity whole fish cold/hot smoking where I want to hang them vertically for a professional look once done. That’s it, I cannot see any other reason one would want such a smoker, well, unless one does entire side of animal and real estate is required (the only “negative” to small electric smokers, IMO). But that is my need, and it is different than others’.
Buy a Cookshak, USA made, bulletproof in its use, allows YOUR choice of wood (I usually stick with fruit ones, apple and cherry), and only requires an outlet. No need to keep insulation in good shape as many wood smokers require, nor replacing it, no need to clean much, no time to set up, and no baby sitting.
If you simply want great results with little fuss, then electric unit is more than fine. If you are looking for a “process” and have the time, then wood smoker. Your decision, and how high electrics go is not really an issue with 250F being “high enough” for almost anything you’d want to smoke. You may not get that “smoke ring” some crave, but if you’re not in pro competitions the only thing that matters is taste, and you won’t be able to tell an electric smoker product versus wood smoker in a blind side by side, trust me on that.
Mitch, what do you use in you BGE for fuel?
I use lump only, and my favorite lump by far is called “Clay Hill” and afaik can only be purchased from this outfit, where I also bought my 270 https://mdbbqservices.com/product/clay-hill-cookers-apple-lump-charcoal/ The Clay Hill is produced from a local guy to Mason Dixon and he has access to multiple woods (maple, cherry, hickory, ash, apple, among others) made in his own retort just miles away from the MD store.
Twice I brought a large van and stocked the van floor to ceiling with as many bags as I could fit and drove the six hours from central Ohio to Mason Dixon (out in what is truly the sticks) and back just for the Clay Hill.
Second best imho is of all things, BGE brand which we all know is made for them by Royal Oak but is a premium version (though some debate that and claim it is identical). I used to use a brand called “Rockwood” but I found it only so-so and hard to find.
This database is helpful http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumprankdata.htm?name
Does it all really make a difference? My humble op is yes and no. You can’t argue with the competition winner quoted here
The Science of Charcoal: How Charcoal is Made and How Charcoal Works “Heat is heat” and “flavor comes from the wood” is undeniably true. But what if the lump is made from left over residential treated hardwood (true in many cases) and other junk or chemically treated wood? And what if it does not burn evenly or burn well? Without a doubt, the best bang for the buck-imho-is Royal Oak in the bright orange-red bag that the big box hardware stores often sell for rock bottom prices.
I’m currently leaning towards the Grilla Chimp. I’m thinking a pellet grill seems like the best balance of quality cooking, versatility, and convenience. The Chimp in particular appeals to me due to the value, my family currently only consisting of 2 people, and the fact that I can easily fit it on the balcony outside of my kitchen (my back yard is a level above my kitchen since my house is built into a hill). If anyone has any opinions on this one way or another, I’m happy to hear them.