Gateway Drum Smoker

[phoccer]

Now you can use 2038 as a response, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem

[Sacred Smoke BBQ]

I had to order mine online. My wife gave up asking about that stuff because I always respond with "I'm still getting ready for Y2K."

[Sacred Smoke BBQ]

Please report back with great details on fogo in the pbc. I'm afraid of temp spikes with lump in pbc without temp control....however, I noticed that I have much smaller temp spikes when opening gateway while using fogo. I'm guessing due to so many large pieces??? Oh boy I'll be waiting for your report!

[phoccer]

Went searching for Fogo in my area. Bad news, closest place is 3 hours away. Good news, my son goes to school in the same town. Wonder if the wife would notice if another bag of charcoal showed up in the garage. Hmm....

[Spinaker]

Sacred Smoke BBQ
I agree FOGO is great stuff. I burns forever. As you mentioned, every bag is full of huge pieces, along with smaller ones too..
I want to try FOGO in the PBC, I may try that this weekend. I think some ribs with Cherry smoke added would be a good place to start. I love that combo in my kamados. I used FOGO with cherry, tonight, on some salmon and the results were spectacular.

[CandySueQ]

Just be sure to let the turbinado melt in. Doesn’t really make anything overly sweet. Works for Butts and brisket.

[Sacred Smoke BBQ]

CandySueQ thanks. I will try that. I tend to prefer sweet too

[Sacred Smoke BBQ]

MSU Spartans my favorite lump so far has been fogo premium lump. Excellent stuff. A close 2nd has been blues hog lump. The American made royal oak was good too. I avoid the other 3 royal oak lump sources. All from south America. According to reviews some quality control issues. The royal oak bag will have an obvious Made in the USA stamp on the front. The cost of fogo may be worth it though because it was full of large pieces. I got more cooks out of same size bag as any of the other quality lumps.

Now for flavor profile....I believe I have had the best quality smoke possible, assuming wood was excellent (I buy from same place as most competition teams in the area). I once owned the KBQ. The smoke doesn't get any more pure than that. Ask Spinaker or any other KBQ fan. I cannot duplicate that smoke flavor but I am so much closer to it with the gateway than using briquettes in the pbc. But like I said, I would like to try lump in a pbc with the pitmaster iq and I believe you'll get same great flavor as gateway. Lots of pros and cons. In an ideal world where money or space was not an issue, I would have 4 gateways and a custom 1000 gallon propane tank offset smoker lol

[CandySueQ]

Add some turbinado sugar at the end of the rub dusting. Builds Bark!

[MSU Spartans]

Thanks for your input, what type of lump charcoal do you prefer? Is the flavor profile that much different than a traditional offset smoker? I just love having toys haha

[Sacred Smoke BBQ]

MSU Spartans the pbc does most everything except I prefer to wrap ribs in foil. I like competition style ribs most of the time. Only way to do that on pbc is cutting ribs. The flavor obtained from using quality lump with chunks is so much better than using briquettes. I'm considering buying pitmaster iq to use with pbc so I can control temp with lump...but that means electricity now. If money is not a factor, it's not close....the gateway all the way. Better flavor, temp control, larger capacity, cooks much faster. Also I use less fuel from being able to choke off oxygen.

I will add that it is easier to hang ribs all the way in the pbc. The gateway cooks so fast that it is difficult to time when to check and pull. I lost 1 out of 3 racks all 3 times that I have attempted to hang beginning to end in gateway. The flavor in the pbc is a bit harsh for me now as I have become used to a cleaner smoke flavor. Ask all the questions you'd like. I'm here

[MSU Spartans]

I really appreciate your input. I am still mulling it over as it is such a tough decision. Do I go bigger with the 55 or will the PBC be sufficient. Does the PBC pretty much do everything the gateway does once you figure out the system? A lot of questions to ask lol. If you had to choose between one or the other what would you choose? Price not being a factor, well maybe but not really lol

[Sacred Smoke BBQ]

As my boy Spinaker said I run a Gateway. I also have 4 pit barrels. Had 6 at one point. If you're thinking 30 gallon, save your money and go with pbc. It's a wonderful cooker. The Gateway 55 is only $100 more than the 30 gallon gateway. Gateway themselves told me to stick with the 55 if I buy more. Also, gateway has a nice sale on 1 particular black 55 model. It is $50 off ($750) and free shipping ($95 I think). I'm considering scooping that up. I'm blown away by my results so far and the cook times are ridiculous. I have done 12lb brisket in 4.5 hours. 8lb butts in 4 hours. Ribs in 1:50 to 2.5 hours. Many of the best competition teams are now cooking on Gateway. The only downside that I can think of right now is that cooking hot n fast means less/minimal bark. And as much as I love a good bark, I don't miss it with the results I'm getting. Feel free to ask any questions you may have

Edit: looks like that free shipping on that one particular barrel is no longer available

[CandySueQ]

I agree with Livermoron! But you may want to buy a PBC to see if barrel cooking is what you want.

[MSU Spartans]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. I am probably over analyzing all of this haha