Slow ‘N Sear 2.0 "Trifecta" or Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker

[buster]

Which would you buy? Trying to surprise husband with birthday gift. Mainly just grilling/smoking for our small family. A few times a year will grill/smoke for family get together. Currently he just uses a weber grill to smoke. Most often grill/smoke pork butt, ribs, burgers, brats. Has mentioned wanting a smoker so he could smoke more ribs... duh.

Husband also mentioned wanting the Slow n Sear. Is the "trifecta" necessary, or would you just buy the Slow ‘N Sear 2.0? Of course, just the Slow 'n sear is budget friendly ... but by the time you buy the trifecta, I figured maybe I should just buy the smoker?

Thanks in advance from a clueless wife that doesn't want to mess up!

[DeusDingo]

if you weren't already married...

[Brewmaster]

i would buy the trifecta, as i already have it for my kettle or the pit barrel cooker $299.00 + ash pan + turkey hanger

[Grill Dog]

buster, I have a Weber kettle at the marina that I was never using. Saw the Slow n Sear and got one to try out. Really liked it and started using the kettle more & more. Mine has the permanent water tray, which can be a pain to drain & fill. The removable water tray on the new model is a nice upgrade. Bought the SS grate and the drip pan/tray afterwards. The grate is nice because it is SS but didn't like the fact that the hinged part of the grate could be removed. Kept coming apart and was a pain to get back on. Finally crimped the hinge joints to stay on. Never have used the drip pan/tray to date. I would say try out just the Slow n Sear first. He is going to want one anyway, even if you get him the smoker. It is great for two zone cooking on the kettle and provides a nice closer to the coals sear zone. Buying the right smoker for the way he cooks might take a little research. Many choices out there. FYI My 2 cents.

[Kramit78]

I had to look up the Trifecta. Seems like a waste of money to me. You can use foil for drippings then throw it away. The slow and sear is a great tool for smoking on a Weber.

[jlazar]

I have the SnS and also have owned an WSM. If I just had a kettle, I would add the WSM before an SNS. Keep the kettle for the grilling items and the WSM for smoking bigger things like butts, briskets and ribs. But that is me.

To be safe, I would give your husband a birthday card with a certificate that says it is good for either a WSM or an SnS. Instead of our opinions, let him do the picking and he will select the one he wants the most.

[klflowers]

I have had a 18.5" WSM for years; just got the SNS with the drip pan and the grate for a 22" kettle. I agree with Grilldog on the hinged grate - I already had a hinged grate that I should have just used. The removable part of the SNS grate falls off too easily. I personally like the drip pan because I am clumsy and I always tear foil.

I would probably go with the wsm over the sns. After using the wsm for so many years, I am partial to it. I guess the main thing is that I can cook more on the wsm if I use both grates, and it has a port in the side for my temp control device wires (maverick ET 732).

Now that I have said that out loud, it doesn't seem like reason enough for the extra cost. Maybe jlazar is on the right track.

One suggestion - keep him away from this site. MCS is very contagious; before you know it, he will have the sns, a wsm, a pellet pooper, a KBQ, a pbc and who knows what else (I love all these acronyms; before this site I had no idea what all of this stuff meant).

[EdF]

KBQ (= karubecue)!

[klflowers]

If you notice, that is the only one I capitalized. MCS trying to tell me something?

[EdF]

Could be a message from beyond!

[BriggsBBQ]

If he already has a kettle I would go with a WSM. I do not want to get stabbed in here but I think the WSM is a better smoker than the SNS setup. My 18.5 WSM I can smoke a ton of ribs and even do a pork butt and ribs. Definitely more capacity. Also later if he wants to add a fan controller it is easy to do on a WSM. Also can hang ribs like a PBC with a attachment.

[RonB]

If your budget is tight, I would suggest the Slow N Sear. With that your husband can grill and smoke on the Weber. I do suggest using foil to cover the exposed part of the charcoal grate so that all the air has to go through the SnS. That will help control temps.

If your husband does not have a thermometer, that would be a great thing to get him. When you cook in your oven, do you turn it on without looking at the temp? I think not. So using a thermometer in the kettle will greatly help smoking meat. The Weber thermometer is in the wrong place, and not necessarily accurate.

A Thermoworks Dot is not too expensive, and guaranteed accurate. It will allow your husband to monitor pit temps for better control of the cook. If budget allows, something like a Thermopop will allow him to check meat temps, which is the best way to insure properly, (and safely), cook meat and fowl. You can see it in the sidebar on the right.

\No matter what he cooks on, he should be using thermometers for the best results.

And welcome to The Pit.

[SmokeyGator]

The Smokey mountain will have way more capacity. It can also be used for smaller cooks, but it will not have the dual zone capability that the kettle with the slow-n-sear has.

So it is hard to tell which is "better". The kettle with SNS has more flexibility, but less capacity. But lots of people use kettles with great success. As for the trifecta thing, I can see how a drip pan contoured for a kettle would be nice. Rectangular pan in a round grill doesn’t exactly fit as well. But is it worth it? I don’t know. Maybe. Again, depends on preference.

But seeing as how I could simply stack coals on one side of use fire brick to make a barrier (SNS is a better solution but whatever works gets you by), personally I would get the Smokey mountain.

Also remember to throw a few racks of ribs into a cooler with ice and wrap that up to go with the new smoker. Might also throw a bag of wood chunks in there just to complete the package. BONUS: you get ribs.

[jecucolo]

And mix up a batch of BBBR and Memphis Meat Dust and put that in the cooler.

[dshaffes]

You mention that he currently has a Weber grill which he can continue to use for grilling foods (burgers, dogs, etc...). If he wants to get into smoking ribs, pork, brisket, turkeys etc. then I would get him a Weber Smoky Mountain (WSM). I own a Weber kettle with slow n sear and a 22" WSM. The WSM is a easy to learn smoker, and is made for smoking meats.

[Steve R.]

Since you mentioned WSM as a possibility, and he already has a Weber kettle, I would go with the WSM. You will have every likely situation covered with those two cookers. Then get the SnS or even the Trifecta for his birthday or anniversary.

Edit: Yeah, what dshaffes said before I could get my $.02 in. ​​​​​​​

[jecucolo]

Get the SNS. It is a nice easy add on it works and not a big learning curve. It will give him a chance to improve his skills and then he will probably want something like an EOC.

[lukenich18]

If he is wanting space to cook more ribs I would pick the pbc over the weber. The pbc puts out some awesome tasting ribs and chicken.

[Beefchop]

Surprise him with the WSM. It's just as convenient to cook BBQ on as the WSM as it is on the Weber kettle, honestly. At least once you get the smoker seasoned and dial in your temps (it took me about four or five cooks to figure out how to control my fire with the vents) and he'll love having another cooker to play with. I have both the 18" WSM and the 22" kettle with the slow n' sear (not the trifecta, mind you) and if I had to pick one then I'd go with my WSM. The SNS is nice, but I think you get more bang for your buck with the WSM. There are lots of ways to modify your kettle to get low n' slow or to get that high heat sear, but the dedicated smoker changes the game. But, I'm a big fan of the Weber Smokey Mountain! In fact, my WSM was the only cooker I took with me when I moved from Maryland to Louisiana. I even grilled on it during my first two years here in Louisiana. http://virtualweberbullet.com/grilling.htmlIt's been with me for a decade, and it always delivers. Super versatile and efficient.