Glad to see I'm not the only one who likes to try new methods. I will certainly try the B&B briquettes. Thanks all,
Steve
Steve
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I've seconded Huskee above in a comment, but want to say that my experience with an offset is that the fire needs tending more often than every 45 minutes. Maybe every 25-30 minutes for me. When I was younger (30's - 40's) I didn't mind as much sitting up with the dog and a beer, smoking a big mess of boston butts overnight. These days (I'm 58), I need my sleep more. So I do any overnight smokes on the Weber kettle + SNS, or on the SNS Kamado, using charcoal + wood chunks, meaning it tastes about like your WSM.
The only way I know to make an offset more "hands off" is to use a charcoal basket, and set it up in minion mode using charcoal and wood chunks. I can do that, and get 2-3 hours hands off with my offset, but it burns through maybe 30+ pounds of charcoal and 10 pounds of wood chunks to do an 18 hour cook that way, as I have to reload the firebox with charcoal every few hours. And, the results will be more like your WSM than if burning straight wood with a small hot fire.
There are ways you can run an offset and cook hotter and faster, and not have to spend overnight cooking. I.e. if you burn up around 275 to 300 degrees in the cook chamber, you can start a brisket or butt when you get up, and have it done by dinner time, and not lose sleep. But... unlike with your WSM (or my kamado or Kettle+SNS), you are stuck at the house all day, as you cannot wander far, due to the need to feed the fire.
I've still got my offset, that I've had since the early 90's, but the only thing I smoke on it any more are the Thanksgiving turkeys (two 20 pounders usually), or 6 to 8 racks of ribs. I can handle managing the fire for the 6 hours it takes to do ribs, and I don't have to lose sleep. Anything else gos on the kamado or kettle...
You asked about use of briquettes. I use them on my kettle, but use lump charcoal on my kamado. I find Kingsford briquettes do have a more off putting smoke aroma during lighting than other brands like B&B.
So my advice to you is to think hard about whether you want to hassle with feeding sticks to a fire every 20-30 minutes, as well as the investment/expense to obtain a quality offset. Anything using charcoal and wood chunks is going to likely be similar in smoke flavor to your WSM in my opinion.Last edited by jfmorris; June 12, 2024, 08:10 AM.Comment
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You want to try a stick burner for its flavor, and I don't blame you, it's great when you get fire management down. But here's the over-simplified truth of selecting a smoker:
Your available options are:
~Affordable
~Top-notch flavor
~Easy to operate
Pick 2.
You already have the best combo of the three options with your WSM, and a kettle+ Slow 'N Sear or a gravity feed will get you another tool to have fun with, perhaps offer increased flexibility in some fashion over another, but the end product will be extremely similar. You could play with burning more, or all wood, in a kettle (cheaper than an offset), but it will still need hands-on from you to keep it inline properly. That's the nature of wood burning.Comment
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Thanks to all, I'm pretty sure I'm off the offset. I just don't have it in me to do this. I will try the B&B briquettes and maybe lump as well. I have found lump burns too hot to keep the WSM at a temp I like (225-250 max.)Originally posted by Huskee View Post
SteveComment
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OK, my next project - try B&B.Comment
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Wondering if a Chud Box would be relevant here?Comment
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Thanks for the tip! To be honest, the basic principles of the burning and heat transfer here are exactly the same as my WSM. This product seems more versatile in that it can achieve a large range of temperatures, but I have other options for high heat grilling.Comment
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Bradley just announced his new stainless steel grill option yesterday, too. Really a nice looking product, but at 1800 for a charcoal grill, it's out of my range.Comment
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