Insulated Charcoal Cabinet, or bigger Kamado?

[Rusty1234]

I've got a 18" Vision Kamado that I've been happy with (set up with dual racks, heat deflector, and drip pan from Ceramic Grill Store. I also have a FireBoard 2 Drive setup, which replaced a BBQ Guru DigiQ). I use it mainly for smoking butts and briskets, and only occasionally for grilling (I also have a propane griddle, so that covers most of my grilling needs). But it's pretty much maxed out with two butts or a large brisket (I usually cook the flat and point on separate racks), and my grandkids are getting older (and more numerous!), so I foresee a time when I'll need something bigger for family gatherings.

So I've been debating whether to replace it with a larger kamado (something like a Big Joe), or add another cooker. The Big Joe 3 is about $3K, so for that budget, I could buy a pretty nice cabinet smoker -- something from Humphries or Backwoods (or Cascade, which is much closer to me - I live near Seattle). I don't need huge capacity -- I'm guessing that a Backwoods Chubby G2/G3 or similar would be plenty.

So I'm looking for ideas and suggestions. I've read in a few places that there is a notable difference in flavor between a Kamado and a dedicated smoker, but others say it's about the same. I've not sampled much BBQ other than what I make myself, so I don't have much to compare.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Not used a Cabinet but I have looked at many of them,,,,,I think they are a great option (if you want to save some coin that Oki Joe could be given some consideration)

I have a 24 x48 Off Set and she weighs about 1,250 lbs; I am shooting for 10 -12 years before she is too big for me to handle (I'll be 75 at that point!) and then I will down-size to a Cabinet

[Oak Smoke]

I bought the Kamado Joe Big Joe I, it’s just a larger version of the Kamado Joe Classic I bought years ago. It came with the divide and conquer system, the ash tool and the split heat deflector. As I said it cooks just like my classic which is fine by me. I looked at the difference between the I, II, and III. I just didn’t need the other options offered and especially didn’t want to pay big bucks for a slow roller that just hasn’t caught on. I payed just over $1,100 last year on line from Walmart for the Big Joe I. That saved me enough to easily pay for a new Smobot for it. I couldn’t justify the $3,000 for the III, for me it had nothing that would make my next brisket easier or better.

[ofelles]

I had a Kamado before I joined here. Never did learn to use it well (super too hot or no where's near hot enough) so can't help on that point.

I have owned a LSG large cabinet for a couple of years and just love it. I use a Fire board controller and Pit Bull fan on it. I get steady temps with this combo consistently running charcoal and wood chunks. I did my burn in and first several cooks manually so I could learn how to use it and how it reacted to inputs. Like a Kamado if you over shoot temp by a lot you will fight with it for quite a while.

I also have a YoderTS640 and there is a large difference in smoke profile. The cabinet is IMHO getting near to comparable to a stick burner. I would buy one again in a heartbeat.

[PNWsmoke]

I have the Cascade Competitor.
Its a beast , 750 lbs. and big capacity.
Most i have cooked 14 full spare rib racks.
I go back and forth on selling it just because cooking for 2 or 3 peole mostly.
It was near $3600.00 3 years ago

[Rusty1234]

I’ve been looking at Cascade, because I could pick it up myself to avoid shipping. Looks like they make super heavy duty (and heavy) equipment!

[tenphases]

Rusty1234 that's actually a really good reason to get one their Quemeister is about the size as my assassin and I love it! Slide out rack are the best.

[PNWsmoke]

Rusty1234 if you want to talk about pluses and minuses let me know.

[Thunder77]

Personally I would go for a larger Kamado. The Weber Summit Kamado is a great all around choice. Charcoal grill, Kamado and smoker in one. Does a great job at ALL of them. Lighter than ceramic, 24 inches in diameter. Just my not so humble opinion. 😎

[tenphases]

You seem to be happy with your griddle for grilling. That's important because Kamados are great Swiss army knives, I love mine. They don't however, in my opinion, compare to dedicated smokers. The sliing racks makes cooking multiple meats a breeze, easy access to the firebox, tons of space, plus cabinets are amazing my Humphreys and Assassin are my favorite cookers with the gravity-fed having the edge in ease of use and flavor. I love Kamados but if your not grilling, space is a priority, and you can avoid shipping by picking up a Cascade then that cabinet is sounding good. Okay I'm done trying to spend your money

[Rusty1234]

That was actually my thought when I originally posted. I had also wondered if a dedicated smoker might produce a superior product to a Kamado. I could easily get by with my current Kamado and griddle for grilling, so a dedicated smoker would not be a disadvantage for me. What do you think of the smaller insulated cabinets, such as the Backwoods Chubby and various copies?

[learning pellets]

As mentioned above, if you might cook for big groups a cabinet or gravity fed offer great volume for size and charcoal use.

[tenphases]

Rusty1234 Backwoods is the og that everyone took the blueprint from (as far as I know). I never saw a backwoods up close but I saw a red box which is a duplicate of a Backwoods. Even that little thing was terrific. You can't go wrong with a Backwoods it got reviewed and got gold here on AR and there is nothing comparable, that I saw, that rated higher. In other words, they are great.