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Recommend a smoker?

Jared Nomack

Jared Nomack

Vintage Human
Joined
Feb 12, 2021
Messages
373
Howdy All,

I want to get a smoker, but have no experience with them. Do you have a favorite? Recommendations? Electric, charcoal... etc.? Kinda want to keep it around $200 if possible, doesn't need to be huge, just for me and my family of four (five if you count the daughter's useless boyfriend)....

TIA,

Mark
 
Don't have much experience with other types, but I dig my Weber Smokey Mountain. Uses charcoal and you add in wood chunks. Need to fire it up again sooner rather than later.

I know a lot of people use the pellet smokers such as Traegers, and they do seem to be more user friendly, but when I was looking around for my first smoker the Weber seemed to get the most well-rounded marks in terms of price, ease of use, quality, and results.

Would like to get a stick burner someday but they can be pricey and more labor intensive to cook on.
 
had one of these for about ten years & they work great. :cool:
It has the electric element in the bottom so, the heat stays nice & constant.
They are a generic design, they can be found just about anywhere; likely for around a C note now days.

smoker.jpg
 
Jared Nomack said:
Howdy All,

I want to get a smoker, but have no experience with them. Do you have a favorite? Recommendations? Electric, charcoal... etc.? Kinda want to keep it around $200 if possible, doesn't need to be huge, just for me and my family of four (five if you count the daughter's useless boyfriend)....

TIA,

Mark
Click to expand...
Add a 1 in front of your budget and get a Recteq

Flagship 1100

The Flagship 1100 is the latest iteration of the O.G. recteq RT-700, the wood fired grill that started it all. The Flagship boasts new and improved leg design for stability, more heat than competitor pellet grills with a temperature range of 180ºF to 700ºF, and more precision temperature control...
www.recteq.com www.recteq.com
 
CBoukal said:
Add a 1 in front of your budget and get a Recteq

Flagship 1100

The Flagship 1100 is the latest iteration of the O.G. recteq RT-700, the wood fired grill that started it all. The Flagship boasts new and improved leg design for stability, more heat than competitor pellet grills with a temperature range of 180ºF to 700ºF, and more precision temperature control...
www.recteq.com www.recteq.com
Click to expand...
The "small" RecReqs they just put out are around $400, I think, if that's in the budget. If not, you can't go wrong with a WSM like Jeff said.
 
smellysell said:
The "small" RecReqs they just put out are around $400, I think, if that's in the budget. If not, you can't go wrong with a WSM like Jeff said.
Click to expand...
Is this what you are talking about?

RT-B380 Bullseye Wood Pellet Grill

Enjoy direct-flame grilling and restaurant-quality searing with the RT-B380 Bullseye. With a temperature range of 200°F to 750°F, this wood pellet grill can handle all the cooking you throw its way, whether it's the neighborhood cookout, the weekly meal prep, or a family get-together. Experience...
www.recteq.com www.recteq.com
 
Recteq makes good stuff, worth the cash. They also offer financing if that’s an option with pretty cheap monthly payments
 
Thanks, guys. I ended up just ordering a Dyna-Glo charcoal unit, mainly because I could get it delivered before the weekend. A friend has one and tells me it works great but you have to keep a close eye on it. So, I guess I'll have to set up a chair on the back patio... and sit out there with a smoke and a drink. Poor pitiful me, the sacrifices I make...
 
Mark,
For what its worth, i started with a $200 electric cabinet smoker, then moved to charcoal, then to the small Traeger, then to the Medium Recteq I linked above I wish I would have started with the Traeger or Recteq and saved a lot of money. I don't even use my grill except for a few times a year now. Everything turns out great on the smoker, even burgers and smaller things like that.
 
CBoukal said:
Is this what you are talking about?

RT-B380 Bullseye Wood Pellet Grill

Enjoy direct-flame grilling and restaurant-quality searing with the RT-B380 Bullseye. With a temperature range of 200°F to 750°F, this wood pellet grill can handle all the cooking you throw its way, whether it's the neighborhood cookout, the weekly meal prep, or a family get-together. Experience...
www.recteq.com www.recteq.com
Click to expand...
Yep, I will be getting one at some point. I've got a big, charcoal one for big jobs, but I want something less attention intensive for small jobs.
 
CBoukal said:
Mark,
For what its worth, i started with a $200 electric cabinet smoker, then moved to charcoal, then to the small Traeger, then to the Medium Recteq I linked above I wish I would have started with the Traeger or Recteq and saved a lot of money. I don't even use my grill except for a few times a year now. Everything turns out great on the smoker, even burgers and smaller things like that.
Click to expand...


Thank, Chad. We have a pellet stove at the house (fireplace insert), it's great when it's running. The only problem has been that sometimes pellets are hard to find locally. This winter was particularly challenging, and I found myself bring back a truckload from upstate NY... The other thing being, of course, pellet stoves require electricity to operate. So are useless during outages unless you connect to a generator. But I'm looking forward to trying this out, I've never used a smoker before at all.
 
Jared Nomack said:
Thank, Chad. We have a pellet stove at the house (fireplace insert), it's great when it's running. The only problem has been that sometimes pellets are hard to find locally. This winter was particularly challenging, and I found myself bring back a truckload from upstate NY... The other thing being, of course, pellet stoves require electricity to operate. So are useless during outages unless you connect to a generator. But I'm looking forward to trying this out, I've never used a smoker before at all.
Click to expand...
I've never heard of the Dyna-glo, so please let us know how it is.

ETA: Went and checked them out. Which one did you get?
 
I went through 2 or 3 cheap charcoal smokers, then bought an electric. When I grow up, I will get a green egg.

@jfields can make some amazing stuff on his green egg!
 
Jared Nomack said:
This one:

Amazon.com: Dyna-Glo DGX780BDC-D 36" Vertical Charcoal Smoker

Amazon.com: Dyna-Glo DGX780BDC-D 36" Vertical Charcoal Smoker
smile.amazon.com

Should be here tomorrow. So, a Memorial Day test run is in order.
Click to expand...

I did the electric smoker thing for about ten years, like I previously posted, eventually tossed it & got the charcoal version. Man, was that a mistake.
Besides having to feed the 'machine' charcoal to maintain a constant/consistent heat, which was much less consistent than the electric version, I had to also keep track of the wood for the smoke. It was like a two wrongs didn't make a right kinda dingus. Also, when you use a charcoal smoker you get the residual 'flavor' from the charcoal which to me is not desirable.
You don't get that charcoal tainted flavor with the electric smoker & the electric offers that consistent 225 to 250 degree range, all without the hassle of feeding the 'machine' more fuel (charcoal) for 'heat.' With the electric version you also get the added benefit of only having to keep up with the smoking wood, and of course, the meat you are smoking. I learned my lesson.

I hope you like yours.
 
CigarStone said:
I went through 2 or 3 cheap charcoal smokers, then bought an electric. When I grow up, I will get a green egg.

@jfields can make some amazing stuff on his green egg!
Click to expand...
That’s what I was going to chime in with before I read keeping it under $200. The BGE was one of those things like Humidors. I just wish I went big, or go home from the beginning. Wasted a lot of money upgrading along the way. When I finally splurged on the egg, I remember thinking “Where have you been all my life!!” 😂
 
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