It's a toss up, close your eyes and click add to cart. You'll be happy with either one.
I give slight advantage to WSM 22 for capacity and I can run it as a PBC with the right grate.
I agree that the PBC is the way to go. I like the set it and forget it nature of the PBC. It cooks natively at a higher temp than the WSM, but it holds more meat and you can grill and smoke at the same time. Highly recommend it.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
PBC for all of the reasons mentioned previously. Plus the cleanup! There is none. Just wash off the hooks, empty the ash and boom you're done. If you put a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil in the bottom of the barrel before the cook, all you have to do is fold it up and toss the bundle into the trash. If you use the grate, the cleanup is a bit longer.
In contrast, the cleanup of my WSCGC after every cook takes about an hour by the time I crispy up the grates in my gasser to clean them, scrape down the insides, empty the ash and then clean up what sifts onto the deck every time I use the One Touch Cleaning System... It's a production. The PBC? In 5 minutes or less I'm done and back at The Pit.
That is a huge plus right there. Smokers can be a pain to clean, and anything that can save time is a winner in my book. I've been thinking about a PBC more and more lately.
In my WSCG, I use the disposable foil restaurant pans when cooking large cuts of meats like briskets and pork shoulders. As a result it rarely takes me more than 10 minutes of clean up time. I learned the trick from reading one of Myron Mixon's books.
Get a WSM and the Weber hanging rack. That gives you the option to use it like the PBC without the water pan or do traditional low and slow. Best of both worlds
The PBC and kettle with SnS make one of the best outdoor combinations you can have. Between the two of them you have a vast array of versatility and the ability to do large quantities. You also will have the flexibility of time since the PBC tends to allow for quicker cook times.
PBC and Kettle with SnS compliment each other extremely well and make for a great backyard setup that you can't go wrong with.
It's simply a matter of personal preference. They both produce great results but the set up is completely different. The biggest difference is the WSM uses a heat diffuser whilst the PBC cooks over radiant heat with the drippings from the meat dropping into the fire creating "grill smoke". I have the 14.5 WSM and the PBC. I really like both and although they are not competing due to the size difference, after 4 cooks I think I like the PBC better than I would a bigger version of the WSM.
The PBC is just a great tool. Simple, straight forward....idiot proof. And you can elevate with a few simple steps or tricks. And the cleanup, as Kathryn points out, takes a few minutes at most. The efficiency is tremendous as well--I've gotten up to 8 hours on Kingsford Blue without adding any charcoal and with the convection style cook and smoke, the food finishes faster without sacrificing quality.
Between my PBC, my new 26" kettle and my "old" 22" kettle, I can host a pretty great party!
I know this is an old(er) thread, but am gonna add my two cents ..
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I am a Big Green Egg guy ... I've mastered the egg, I've cooked (I think) possibly everything there is to cook on it, I've done ribs more times that I can remember, some very good ribs mind you .. that being said, I am a proud new owner of a PBC. I recently did 8 full racks of babybacks on it.
In a nutshell, I ain't ever made ribs like that - they were freakin' amazing. Beyond amazing - if that's possible.
Best purchase I ever made, BUT, that being said ... the PBC can't touch or match or improve on a Boston Butt low & slow @ 225 on a BGE - it's not even close, the BGE Rocks It!
I did my 4th PBC cook over the 4th - 5 slabs of St Louis cut ribs. Best batch of ribs I've ever cooked and I have cooked more batches of ribs than I can count, over the years.
The WSM has temperature control. I am able to cook at 225f when I want to and can jack it up to 375 when I want to. I also have the hanging hooks for the wsm and when I cook chicken or turkey I jack up the temp and use the hangers.
I think it it boils down to this, if you want set and forget, with limited ability to control temps, but little temp watching, go with the PBC. If you like more temperate control, and don't mind spending a little time to dial in the right temperature, then the WSM is for you.
I loved my PBC for ribs and for the capacity - it is truly set and forget, no fail cooking. What I like about my 18.5" WSM is that you can get longer cooks, dial in temps (hot and fast vs. low and slow for different meats) and have the option to use a water pan either as a heat sink or to catch drippings. Or, you can cook direct over the coals. If they came out with a hanging rack like the PBC it would be perfect. You can also switch it up with fuels (lump, briquettes with wood chunks, etc.) where the PBC runs best with briquettes, although some here would probably disagree (I found chunks to disrupt my temps). Not a fan of the WSM doors, esp. on the 22" model, and hate having to contort and twist ribs to get them to fit on the 18.5" model.
You already have the kettle and SnS set up, which gives you the kettle experience and allows you to do small batches. It looks like the 22" WSM wins in a capacity contest a la the PBC, so I'd go with the WSM and would get some gaskets for the door or upgrade to a better after market door from Cajun Bandit.
Get the most out of your grill with Weber Original accessories that are a must-have for every backyard cookout. The Weber expandable smoking rack is designed to let hang meat in your Smokey Mountain Cooker. Now you can smoke link sausages and other similar foods, by simply hanging them over the bars. There are hooks fitted over the bars so you can also smoke fish or other meats. The smoking rack comes complete with 2 support bars that span the width of the rack and 5 hooks that fit over the bars. To use, simply remove the top cooking grate and replace with the smoking rack. This rack is designed to fit all 18 1/2 inch Smokey Mountain Smokers.
I love the PBC. It's all in one, so it travels well, easy to clean, simple to operate and it pretty cheap at only $300/DLVD. I am sure you will be happy with either. But when I had the choice, I went with the PBC.
If it's not to too late, I'd like to throw my two cents in. To me, having owned both, it comes down to one factor: is controlling your temp important, or are you a person who can let go of control and trust the cooker? Me, I'm a control guy, so not being able to set my temp on the PBC like I can on my WSM is why I no longer use the PBC. I was always stressed a bit cooking w/the PBC b/c I seemed to get more temp fluctuations than I do on my WSM. I could never "trust" the cooker b/c no matter how hard tried, I always seemed to run way hot or way cool.
And I did try all the recommendations found here, from Noah and other sites for starting my coals, lid fit, plugging holes, not plugging holes, rebar in, rebar removed, etc. Tried myriad times (60+ cooks) but could never get consistency on my cooking temps.
Don't get me wrong. I made some great food on the PBC. But my need for controlling temps made me look at other options.
The first time I fired up my WSM, I maintained w/very little effort a temp in the 230s. Been very happy w/my results over the last year.
So if control is your thing, I'd recommend the WSM. If you are not as OCD, the PBC can cook some great food. It's really about your cooking personality.
Not uncommon with PBC. Even if it does cook evenly a lot of folks buy it and feel the need to "tinker" with it throughout the cook. If you like lots of hands on cooking, then PBC may not be for you.
Great insight. Like you, I've had both. I prefer the PBC because of the amount of meat I can cook in it vs. the WSM for the same footprint on the patio. I'm cooking for more and more people lately, and the PBC is able to keep up.
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