Choosing the Right Smoker

Okay, so you're asking yourself, how do I get started making good backyard BBQ?  Maybe you aren't asking yourself that yet, but you will be soon enough...trust me.

The first step is to purchase a smoker, or make your own.  I am not handy, so I purchased a smoker, but if you are a handy person, search Do It Yourself Smoker and you'll find numerous different options to build your own.  One of the most interesting to me is the Ugly Drum Smoker.  Essentially, this is just a 55 gallon drum with a heat source at the bottom, maybe a water pan above, and then cooking grates above that.  You can get fancy and install a thermometer and damping valves and a chimney, but as long as you have an indirect heat source that produces smoke and a place to set meat, you have the basis for a smoker.

Further, I believe you can cook good food on anything.  So you have to ask yourself a few questions:

1)  What do I want to do with this smoker?

If you're looking to just cook for your family, something small will do the trick.  If you want to cook bigger backyard events, or branch out to cook for larger gatherings, then you're gonna need something bigger.

2)  How much work do I want smoking to be?

This is a critical question, because you can get a great little smoker for $60 at Lowe's if you are willing to babysit it, stoke the fire and basically have your whole day occupied by cooking some Q.  If you want more hands-off then you're looking at electric, gas, pellet or a higher end wood or charcoal smoker.

3)  How much do I want to spend?

This is probably the most critical question.  You can spend anywhere from $60 up to several thousand on a smoker.  You may want to set  your budget before you look at the first two questions.

Now that you have your questions answered, I recommend going to the Internet.  You can do some really good smoked food on a Weber kettle, or the big green egg (or on of its generic versions).  Those are versatile too because you can grill on them.  Also, there is some great information out there if you google "best smokers under $400" or "best smokers under $1000."  You will see several different types.  Most people start with a vertical water smoker, at least most people I've known.  They are cheap and pretty reliable.  My first smoker was the Master Forge smoker from Lowe's.  I've got a picture below:

This charcoal smoker goes for $60, and with a few modifications does a great job.  I installed a rack for the charcoal to sit on, and bought a better thermometer for it.  It doesn't have great temperature control, but if you go by meat temperature, you can turn out some pretty good food.

If you like this model, but are willing to spend a little more, there are whole BBQ forums dedicated to the Weber Smokey Mountain.  This is the probably the most popular starter smoker.  There are 3 different models, ranging in price from $200-$400 dollars.  There are several competition cooks using these as their primary smoker.  From everything I've read, you load up the charcoal and wood chunks, start the fire and let it go.  Most users say temperature control is not a problem and you can turn out great food with relative ease.

In that same price range, there are a number of electric and propane smokers.  I am not a fan of these, as I like to cook with real fire, but I know a few guys that have electric or propane, and they seem to make really good food as well.  Shop around and see what you can find.

If you're willing to pay a little more, I'd recommend a pellet grill.  When I was looking for a new smoker, I was almost sure I was going to go with the Weber Smokey Mountain 18.5 inch.  Then a guy at work told me about his Pellet Cooker.  I had seen pellet cookers on the many BBQ TV shows I watch, but I always thought they were out of my price range.  This guy told me about Green Mountain Grills, which is a relative new comer to the BBQ industry.  He said they had pellet smokers starting in the mid $700s, and that they usually had $100 off in the spring.

So I started researching, and I found a lot of good information about Pellet Grills on the Internet.  Green Mountain and Traeger are the two manufacturers that have Pellet Cookers for under $1000.  They both make the grills in China to help keep the costs down.  Most of the Pellet reviews said that the cookers produced a nice even, light smoke flavor, and consistently moist and delicious meat with very little work.  These cookers use wood pellets, which are compressed sawdust.  The compression process holds the sawdust together using the natural lignin in the tree.  You simply load the pellet hopper, turn the grill on, and set the desired temperature.  The auger feeds the pellets into the firebox which produces the heat.  You are cooking with real wood in a very easy manner. 

So I was sold.  And, my wonderful wife purchased it for me as a surprise.  We have a local dealer that sells Green Mountain, so we bought it from them.  I chose the Daniel Boone Model, pictured below:

So far, I've done 4 cooks on the new grill, and I really like it.  It can run from 150 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, so you can smoke, bake and grill.  I highly recommend this cooker.

Regardless of what you choose, I hope you choose to start making your own BBQ at home.  I think you'll find that you are able to turn out restaurant quality BBQ and a fraction of the cost, and you'll really enjoy yourself in the process.  If you have any questions about which smoker might be right for you, please feel free to leave me a comment and I'll respond.