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Meat Smokers? Who has them...

Corbet

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wesintl

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I roll a traeger for the past 5+ years. Nothing like mtn biking all day or skiing and come home and its ready to go. It's too easy. I've thought about augmenting with a real smoker or an egg recently
 

Corbet

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Uncle Ben

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Love my Treager! We uses it a lot all year long! It would make your old gym shorts into a delicacy you could feed to Wes and he would just think it was chicken!
 

wesintl

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Hey, i like the pig, it'. It's expensive though. I have a lil tex. I'd prefer the size of the texas. i'd say get the biggest one you can afford.

I tried to get a steer back in the day. used ones are hard to find. They even built john deere tractors when it was usa made before they went to china.
traeger_steer_grill.jpg


The Green mtns are step up from traegers.
 

SteveH

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I have the Master Built 30" electric $179-at-Lowes smoker. Electric is stunningly convenient - I didn't want to be a slave to charcoal, wood chips, or whatever. For smoking wood, it takes just a handful of wood chips (no fancy disks) that are dirt cheap.

I get very consistent results, and it works well at low temps (30F) and of course when it's hotter. Easy to add chips and water. I generally set it up in the morning, a brisket or ribs smoke for a few hours, then wrap in foil and go another 4 hours. It has 4 shelves and could easily handle a medium turkey.

I suspect a glass window would be opaque in 1 hour and a drag to clean. And why not electric?
 

Notyourmomslx450

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I use a Master built as well. You don't get the smoke ring, but it works good. I've smoked many 13lbs briskets and loads of ribs. I want a treager, but haven't pulled the trigger due to price.
 

B-RAD

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I have had a Big Green Egg for 17 years. Natural lump charcoal, very well insulated so it does a great job maintaining a steady temp control with any climate or wind. Works great for smoking low and slow (think pork shoulders, brisket, ribs) or grilling hot and fast (steaks, etc.) and anything else in between. Get the Large...it will hold three chickens, or a 20 lb turkey, or 2 pork shoulders or cook 6-8 burgers easily at one time. It only takes about 10-15 minutes to light it and get it to temp. Strongly recommend the BGE! They are not cheap, but it will be the last smoker/grill you will need to buy. Again...17 years and still going strong!
 
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I use the Weber Smokey Mountain, 18.5" model. It's a vertical / bullet shaped smoker with two cooking grates. It can easily do 2 15# turkeys, or up to 4 butts in the 6-8# pound (each) range. I've been using the WSM for several years and have been very happy using it; holds temp well, easy to use, plenty of space for me. The WSM has models smaller and larger than the 18.5" depending on your needs.
 

timmbuck2

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I have a BBQ food truck and have been doing bbq catering and events for many years. I have a couple of big stick burners and a Traeger commercial double smoker on a trailer, and a couple of regular Traegers. For home use you can't do much better than a Traeger, or Green Mountain Grills. If I was buying new, I would probably go with Green Mountain. Same as Traeger, but you can get them with built in wifi so you can track, and change, the grill settings from anywhere. Helpful when running errands while trying to cook. Stay away from electric, and gas. Charcoal or wood or pellets is the way to go for consistent, quality results. Ruff's BBQ shop in Lakewood is a great place to go. I know you are not anywhere near them, but hey I will be in your neck of the woods several times this summer. :)

https://www.ruffsbbq.com/
 

Uncle Ben

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OK, but which model are you two using? There are like 20 different models listed inline.

Lil' Tex Elite. Most of the time the size is perfect but a couple times a year when cooking up a bunch to take a bunch to a large party it could be bigger. Hasn't been that big of a problem though. You want the models with the temp probe and control no matter what size you get! Costco has big bags of blended Premium pellets pretty cheap
 

Rezarf

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Treager is the Land Cruiser of the smoker world. I was impressed when I came to a friends house who was also just walking in from a 10 hour day at work and the Treager smoker had been doing the work for him the entire time. I was super impressed.

That said I have a side box stick burner that I love. It is a grill/smoker combo with a main chamber and a side burn box. I have modified it a little to seal it up and added a few thermometers and a water pan... it was a freebie when my buddy upgraded his and I love it. I have made, briskets, pork shoulders, jerky, chicken, ribs etc. My only issue is I need to babysit the fire all day, but even that I enjoy.
 

timmbuck2

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I don't see an issue with being too big. Probably use a little more pellets, but they are cheap and the extra room is always nice to have. UB is right about the pellets at Costco, good deal when they have them, but they are also a blend, so not perffect if you are looking to only use hickory, mesquite, fruit woods, etc. Some of the outdoor/hunting stores have good deals on the Traeger bags. Make sure they don't even get a little damp! That can cause the smoker to shut down without warning. I have a temp gauge that sends me a warning when the pit gets too cold, or when the food hits a particular temp, as long as I am within bluetooth distance. The Green Mountain grills hook up with your wifi and can email or contact you where ever you go.
 

LXBRADY

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looks like I'm going to lean towards the Treager.

What is the disadvantage of a bigger one when you don't need all that space? Can you still grill hot and fast on them too? If I can sell my existing big propane grill to a neighbor that would be nice.

I still have my Weber for steaks, burgers etc.....I would not sell your gas grill.
 

Uncle Ben

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I still have my Weber for steaks, burgers etc.....I would not sell your gas grill.

We too have a Weber. You want to do quick burgers or dogs fire the grill. You want uber moist and flavor packed whole chicken or anything pork or most things beef Smoke em. You want wings or shrimp that will make you famous, smoke em. You want a wood fired pizza, throw a stone on the Treag and bring it to temp and throw on a cheap grocery store take - bake or a Papa Murphys and your neighbors will be over when it starts to sizzle!
 
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