I have a Brinkmann 2 door charcoal smoker, which I dearly love. And it does an excellent job, but!!! I'd like to smoke for 10-14 hours and don't want to feed charcoal every hour and a half. Nothing can beat the charcoal flavor, IMHO. What would be the next best thing? A wood smoker is out of the question for cost and size. Electric smokers don't seem to have the flavor, unless I'm missing something or there's a trick to it. Propane smokers have potential, but can they produce the taste, wood chips and all? Then there's the puck smokers. They seem very expensive and the supplies (pucks, etc) not even cheap. ANd I've not heard if the flavor or taste is even close to that of a charcoal/wood smoker. At least with the charcoal smoker I can cut on Oak tree and have all sorts of wood to smoke with.Any opinions/advice out there?

Go to amazingribs.com. That's all you need to know.

Many years ago I started smoking with the Brinkman charcoal water smoker and loved it. But I also got tired of feeding charcoal, so I bought the electric version. Worked great. When I started full timing 2 years ago I gave it away (didn't think I had the room) and bought a small Weber Q propane grill. It's wonderful but you just don't get the taste. So I bought a small Weber charcoal grill. Works great but I can't smoke on it. Then I saw that a few people in the CG where I overwintered had pellet grills, so I went and talked to them. They loved them. One guy said it even improved his marriage.So bought the Green Mountain Grills Davey Crockett pellet grill. It's legs fold up to make a handle (and decrease the overall size). It runs on 110v or 12v and they even include alligator clips so you can clip onto a free standing battery ! The temp can be adjusted in 5 degree increments, has a digital readout, and there is even a WiFi model you can control using your phone. They also include a meat probe that's linked to the digital readout so you can monitor the temp of whatever you're cooking. This baby is seriously cool. Yup, I really like the thing.Temp can be adjusted from about 180 to about 500 degrees and the best part is that, once set, it holds the temp really well. And anything cooked over wood tastes great.The negatives: - You need electricity to make them work. They need it to run the augur, fan, and heat control system.- It's difficult to get sear marks on a steak because you cook over indirect heat.- I don't think that I get the real deep smoky flavor that I got from my water smoker. But I am just getting used to it - there are probably some things I can do to get a smokier taste. And I might just put a pan of water on the grill too.The people I talked to use them a couple times every week. I think it's because they are so versatile. You can cook low and slow, or start out at a low smoke temp and then increase the temp to finish cooking, or just set it at 350 and basically cook over a wood fire. But the best thing is you can truly set it and forget it. You could smoke a pork butt for hours and monitor internal temp via your phone - adjust the cooking temp up or down, or set to the lowest temp when done, in case you're driving home from an errand and are running late.I carry three kinds of wood - hickory, mesquite, and a mix - in 3 each, 5 gallon containers with good screw down lids that have gaskets (to keep the moisture at bay).You might call around to your area BBQ stores and see if they ever have a cooking demo so you can taste food that's cooked over a pellet grill.I also suggest that you check out pelletheads.comYes, I am carrying 3 grills now. But the pellet grill is easily my favorite. I am a convert.Tim

Get an offset smoker with a decent size firebox. My firebox is about 20 inches long. I put in my lit charcoal at the end furthest away from the cooking area. Then I fill the rest of the firebox with unlit charcoal. The lit charcoal will light the unlit coals. As the lit coals move closer to the cooking area, I just move them further away from the cooking area and add more unlit coal. I only light coals once at the beginning.Just make sure the charcoal you are using does not have any added chemicals to make igniting the coals easier. Those chemicals will make their way into your meat.-Michael

I just bought a masterbuilt electric 30 inch smoker and it'll produce good smoke. Down side is have to feed a small amount of chips hourly. Like previous poster said pellet grills are true set it and forget it

I've been using a LP smoker for years and it performs very well. Adding wood for the smoke is easy. The smoker is very good at being able to hold the temperature accurately.

Smokers | Good Sam Community

kmbelt
Explorer
Jun 23, 2015
109rfan wrote:
I just bought a masterbuilt electric 30 inch smoker and it'll produce good smoke. Down side is have to feed a small amount of chips hourly. Like previous poster said pellet grills are true set it and forget it

I have one of these too. it really isnt' a downside to have to load it ever hour or so as it only takes a minute to do. The meat only soaks in the smoke the first 3-4hrs normally.

I do a boston butt. start at 5pm in smoker already making smoke. Add chips at 6,7,8 and maybe 9. then go to bed for the night. The thermostat keeps the temp at 225 all night form me and by 8-12am it is up to my temp.
davosfam
Explorer
Jun 23, 2015
We have the Rec Tec Mini pellet smoker which is portable. My hubby loves that it's portable and I love that he cooks. ;) Everything has turned out great on it. We have even done burgers and steaks.
rehless
Explorer
Jun 25, 2015
Charcoal and wood is where it's at. I have 29'fifth wheel and carry a Weber Jumbo Joe. It's 18.5 inches and will do every thing I want it to. I also have the Cajun Bandit rotisserie, if I am hooked up to electricity and want to use that, I can. I have an Auspit rotisserie so if I am not hooked up and want to use a rotisserie, I am covered. Wood and charcoal.
johnhicks
Explorer
Jun 25, 2015
Just get a Weber Smokey Mountain (bullet). It'll easily run many hours on a load of charcoal and hold a steady temperature. Comes in three sizes, 14", 18" and 22".

I think the 14" is too small but that would be dictated by what you can fit aboard.

Note that the WSM is a smoker, not a grill, and is completely unsuitable for burgers, steaks etc. The Weber Jumbo Joe is a great portable grill, and I actually managed to smoke a small turkey on a Jumbo Joe once.

Go here http://tvwbb.com for more.
Super_Dave
Explorer
Jun 26, 2015
Whatever vessel you want to smoke in, imagine this inside of it. Picked up 80 lbs of meat tonight for a weekend smoke.
Need-A-Vacation
Explorer
Jun 27, 2015
johnhicks wrote:
Just get a Weber Smokey Mountain (bullet). It'll easily run many hours on a load of charcoal and hold a steady temperature. Comes in three sizes, 14", 18" and 22".

I think the 14" is too small but that would be dictated by what you can fit aboard.

Note that the WSM is a smoker, not a grill, and is completely unsuitable for burgers, steaks etc. The Weber Jumbo Joe is a great portable grill, and I actually managed to smoke a small turkey on a Jumbo Joe once.

Go here http://tvwbb.com for more.

+1. Great smoker that has a long burn time! Lots of great info, tips, and tricks on tvwbb.com as mentioned!!!

I have actually used my WSM as a grill by removing the center section, and setting the grill grate on the coal ring. then just placed the lid on the bottom bowl. there is a "kit" you can make or buy (about $15/ shipped), Grill Kit. It may not as good as a "true grill", but works for us!
wbwood
Explorer
Jun 27, 2015
We like our Big Green Egg. Charcoal will last a good bit at a low temperature. Have a Brinkmann, but only one door, pain in the butt. The weber kettle works good, but you have to keep adding charcoal... To us, the Big Green Egg is the best we have used. Easy to control the temp and the lump charcoal that hasn't been burnt up can be reused...
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Jun 27, 2015
Need-A-Vacation wrote:
johnhicks wrote:
Just get a Weber Smokey Mountain (bullet). It'll easily run many hours on a load of charcoal and hold a steady temperature. Comes in three sizes, 14", 18" and 22".

I think the 14" is too small but that would be dictated by what you can fit aboard.

Note that the WSM is a smoker, not a grill, and is completely unsuitable for burgers, steaks etc. The Weber Jumbo Joe is a great portable grill, and I actually managed to smoke a small turkey on a Jumbo Joe once.

Go here http://tvwbb.com for more.

+1. Great smoker that has a long burn time! Lots of great info, tips, and tricks on tvwbb.com as mentioned!!!

I have actually used my WSM as a grill by removing the center section, and setting the grill grate on the coal ring. then just placed the lid on the bottom bowl. there is a "kit" you can make or buy (about $15/ shipped), Grill Kit. It may not as good as a "true grill", but works for us!

X2 on the WSM. The kids got me one for Father's day about 5 years ago. Great smoker IMO and built to last. The Big Green Egg is another good one too.
garmp
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2015
From what I can gather the pellet type smoker seems to be the best for my purposes. But I've been wrong before.
What's the best entry level pellet smoker for home use? The best bang for the buck, so to say?
GoPackGo
Explorer
Jun 27, 2015
I admit to being a newbie at pellet grills. But from what I can tell, they all work about the same. They use an augur and have a fan. They have some kind of temperature sensing device in the cooking area that tells the augur when to feed more pellets. They all need electricity to run. And none of them are cheap.

I assume you are looking for one that is suitable for RV use, meaning you want it portable. I'm not sure any are entry level. They are priced more by size.

I suspect we all will recommend what we have and I am no exception. I like my Green Mountain Grills (GMG) Davey Crocket a lot and I would buy it again. But I also like the looks of that Rec-Tec Mini with the fold up legs. Traeger also makes a portable one, but I think you actually have to remove the legs.

I like the Wi-Fi option that Green Mountain is offering now. If you like that idea, then maybe read up on it at their site or call their tech folks and have a talk.

I also suggest that you look at shipping weight for each one you are considering. Heavy is good as it most likely equates to heavier gage metal (holds heat better), but that also makes it a little more difficult to get in and out of an RV. I know Green Mountain states what the gage of the metal they use at their site.

Make sure to get one with a digital readout for cooking temperature. I also like that I have a meat probe and it connects to the digital readout so I can monitor it easily. This is one more thing you can also monitor wirelessly via the WiFi hookup option on GMG grills.

Also look at the actual measurements of the grilling surface. Some are not all that large. Note the size of the opening and how much clearance you have above the grate. You can still cook a whole turkey on some of these small ones.

* I carry 3 kinds of pellets in heavy duty 5 gallon buckets with gasketed lids from Baytec containers at bayteccontainers.com Part number is NG005PK. You get 3 for $40, incl shipping.

Tim

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