The Pitmaster Club Decision Tree for Choosing a New Smoker & Grill

[STEbbq]

Thoughts? Let's call this version 1. WillTravelForFood

To be used alongside this thread including our best advice on choosing a smoker & grill.

[Oakgrovebacon]

Looks legit

[rlozinak]

Well done

[STEbbq]

For version 2, I need to add the Weber kamado and M Grills (offset or charcoal? Rob whatever ) maybe Hasty Bake, and probably the Weber Smokey Mountain.

I wonder if there is a good way to break down the over 1k pellets one more level? glitchy

Ssme question for the major offsets (LSG, KBQ, Yoder) CaptainMike ofelles Spinaker

I should add griddles underneath gas and searing alongside Weber. Camp Chef and Blackstone.

[ofelles]

I don't have an offset. I have a Santa Maria and an insulation cabinet LSG

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

it's sketchy in the 1K area, especially since the US made grills have gone up significantly (and/or added shipping costs on top of that) and the Chinese ones really haven't. You'd be better off doing Made in the US vs not and even then it gets kinda sketchy because some of the US grills are not 100% US made and it's not always as clear or easy to figure out as it should be.

[STEbbq]

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs I did think about the Made in USA bit but without a “bright line” distinction between smokers, I didn’t see an easy way to do it so maybe I just leave the box as is.

[Jerod Broussard]

A Venn Diagram would also rock.

Great job!

[WillTravelForFood]

We like it very much

we also have lots of suggestions. May take a stab at a ver 1,8 based on this terrific start.

[randy.56]

Well done X 2

[glitchy]

Ya’ll are overthinking this. No matter how elaborate the questionnaire is and how thorough the answers are, the suggestion here is always a Weber or SnS kettle.

[bbqLuv]

Missing the starting point?
Beam me up Scotty if I am wrong.

[WillTravelForFood]

gotcha covered

[TripleB]

Add Jambo to Yoder, KBQ, LSG list.

[ecowper]

no Hasty Bakes on the tree? Now I am sad!

[Jim White]

Yes, there should be a path for things like Hasty Bakes and LSG Adjustables that can do more than one thing.

[STEbbq]

I think I can squeeze in Hasty Bake as a charcoal option but drilling down to specific models would be really hard to implement and keep this fairly simple. Not planning to go beyond a few brands as places to start work and let the buyer figure out models. WillTravelForFood

[ecowper]

STEbbq or maybe just an option for high end charcoal .... would be things like LSG Adjustable, Hasty-Bake, Engelbrecht, that kind of thing.

[fracmeister]

Doesnt look like any paths lead to a karubecue

[STEbbq]

See offset box

[MBMorgan]

Gents ... I really think you should reconsider going all the way to naming specific brands/models here. I suggest that if you're intent on building this decision matrix, you stick to helping someone decide what type of cooker might be best, then stand back and let Max Good and company take over the acquisition and constant updating of brand- and model-specific options and details.

[MBMorgan]

STEbbq - Obviously, I disagree … but it’s yours to do with as you please.

[STEbbq]

I get your point about brands declining or new brands improving to may be worth including but I feel like these ones have been pretty consistent recommendations for a while here. Are there brands you are concerned about?

[MBMorgan]

STEbbq - Particular brands? No. As I said earlier, I just don't think that it's appropriate to drill down to any brand. I'd fully support stopping the decision tree process at "Type of cooker" and let a newbie (with guidance if necessary) do a deep dive within the appropriate category into the details as documented by Max Good (and others) in the AR database of grills, smokers, et. al.

[Mhp]

I know MAK (and others I believe) offer the ability to sear by changing some of the inners (https://makgrills.com/product/flame-zone/). I have no experience with this but maybe one day....

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

While Meatheads review says otherwise, I personally have been able to achieve a decent (not excellent) sear on stock grates with the MAK (sometimes it just takes a little help from some low flashpoint cooking spray ) but realistically the MAK needs the searing grates to do it 100% of the time or like I usually do... a cast iron pan. A searzall or similar would do the same for any pellet grill that can handle the extra heat I suspect... but I never got around to buying one to test it.

[WillTravelForFood]

whipped this together pretty fast.

we can make it flow nicely before we make it pretty. biggest discussion point is identifying the individual decision points and the order they need to be completed in -- and in some cases, those decision points may overlap.

another thought -- maybe there needs to be a list of the final destination choices. we think we left one or two cookery options off.

[WillTravelForFood]

chose not to include "budget" on all line items -- other than pellets seem to have pushed the $$ envelope pretty darn high

it might be worth eliminating budget from the conversation, as the person using the chart would utilize buying guides, etc from there.