Budget Smoking

[iggy 84]

I own a ProQ Excel 20 (large drum stackable smoker).

I find it annoying to clean every time I want to smoke a couple of briskets or a couple small racks of ribs because it’s so damn big !

I’m seeing lots of basic Weber Kettles on sale- 2nd hand in good condition for like $60-$80. I’m considering one, and simply adding the slow n sear because I’ve been led to believe it’s a game changer, but I’m not sure if I’m just blowing money.

I’m not looking to grill anything on it- this is purely for smoking. Is it worth it, or should I be aiming for something like the pit barrel cooker or SNS grill and just fork out the money ? How’s your experience been if you’ve done something similar ??

[Dr J]

I have a pit barrel cooker, a gmg Davy Crockett, and a 25 year old Webber kettle with slow n sear. The Webber kettle with sns is by and far the most versatile cooker out of all that and the best option in my book especially if budget is a concern. The sns makes fire management a breeze!

[iggy 84]

this is what I was looking for! Did you get the hinged or diagonally raised grates for your Weber also ?? And if so, are these just for easy access to charcoal? Last question- how do you find heat retention on a basic Weber ?? Budget is only a concern in so far as I already blew $700 on the ProQ which I hardly use which is a bit sad. I think my mistake was getting something that would probably be suited to a competition cooker- not a beginner like me. Which is y I want something affordable.

[Dr J]

I got the hinged grate and yes it makes it easy to add coals or move coals around if you need to. It wasn’t that expensive. I bought fireblack tape from Amazon also cheap to put around the lid to improve heat retention but it was already good with my kettle.

[bunky2021]

My first (and current) smoker is an Old Smokey smoker...a close friend of mine recommended it. The company has been around for a long time. This grill has a Silver rating on this site.

It's a smaller drum - 15" diameter which is just big enough for a 9 lb butt on the lower grate (to give you some frame of reference). Heat source is an electric element so it's fairly easy to regulate heat, which was what I was looking for when getting started. I've gotten good results with it. I know there are folks here who don't like electricity as a heat source. But for a lummox like me, simple is best.

These are now $150 from the manufacturer.

They also make three different sizes of charcoal grills that would work well for 2-zone smoking, regular grilling and reverse sear. these are also relatively inexpensive, smallest model (13" grill diameter) is $34 & largest model (21" grill diameter) is $75.

[Draznnl]

Since you plan to only use it for smoking, have you looked into a WSM? You can probably pick up a used one cheaply. Mine served me well until I got a pellet cooker and even when the pellet cooker broke.

[Troutman]

WSM or a PBC are both excellent choices

[LA Pork Butt]

I do low and slow on a Big Green Egg and I grill on a Weber 18” with the SNS. Cleaning and not wanting to waste money on cookers that won’t improve things for you seems to be your big concern. No matter which cooker you choose you’ll still have the pain of cleaning. Admittedly some are easier to clean than others. Smoking seems to be your most important part of cooking. If I were starting over I think I would look at the Oklahoma Joe Bronco. Uncle Bob and Panhead John can provide you with some great insights into how it cooks and the difficulty of cleaning.

[Panhead John]

The Bronco is an excellent choice for a smoker as well, highly recommended but they’re currently priced at $450., if that’s in your budget. They’re easy to clean as well. It comes with a charcoal basket, making for easy disposal. At the bottom center of the barrel, there’s a hole for the air intake and a removable cap. You can remove the cap and hose out the inside if needed, all the water drains out the hole.

[RonB]

It would help if we knew how many people you might want to cook for and what you want to cook. You can easily fit two or more racks of ribs in a Weber Kettle by getting a rib rack and standing ribs on edge, but two briskets would have to be small to fit unless you could figure a way to stand them on edge.

Almost forgot - welcome to the posting side of The Pit.

[Panhead John]

You will NOT be blowing money by adding a kettle to your cooker collection. As mentioned, it’s the most versatile cooker out there, when paired with the SnS insert and a Vortex. I’d bet that 3/4 of us have a kettle. The SNS Kettle has a few more features over the basic 3 legged Weber Kettle. I’d recommend the SNS Kettle over the basic Weber, just for the additional features.

You won’t be able to fit 2 full packer briskets on the 22” kettles, though one medium size should fit easily. You should be able to do 2 racks of ribs, though they might need to be halved or used with rib racks. I have recently started using my SNS Kettle at home for smoking, it does a great job and I’ve easily gotten 8 hours of smoke time out of one load of coals in the SnS insert, I probably could have gotten a few more hours out of that load too. Another tip is the use of good charcoal. A lot of us are fans of B&B Charcoal Briquettes, clean smoke and long cook times.

[Soonerpop]

B & B briquettes are great, my go-to now.

[Troutman]

If I only had one cooker it would be a 26” Weber kettle with all the obvious accessories, period. SNS, a Vortex, fan control, upgraded stainless grates all make it the most versatile cooker on the planet.

[HawkerXP]

Like said above, what you buy depends on how much you smoke at one time. I have multiple Weber kettles and find them perfect for many of my cooks. Checkout craigslist of Facebook marketplace as this is where I've found some of mine.
I also have a PBC which I use for briskets, ribs, poultry........ I've done six racks of ribs at one time as well a big brisket and three racks another time. If you don't need that much room, they have the PBJ. Cleanup is easy as I mostly just use the hooks and rarely use the grate. They recommend that you don't clean the inside of the barrel. Good luck with your search.

[radiodome21]

Don’t have any kettles but do have the 18.5 WSM that I got for a prize. Cleaning isn’t too bad. There are two sets of grates and the water bowl. I always wrap my water bowl in foil regardless if I’m filling it up with water. I usually toss the grates on my gas grill to burn off any food and then scrape them. Plan on using them on the 19th.

[Murdy]

I do 90% of my smoking on a 22" Weber Kettle. I recently purchased a Slow & Sear, but haven't tried it out yet. I have primarily used the snake-method of managing charcoal (if you google it, you will get a ton of results/videos). I have been happy with the results and received many compliments. If I could only have one cooker, I would probably upgrade to the 26". I do have the hinged stainless grates from SNS, which make it easier to access the fire if necessary, and I would recommend them.

[Jim White]

Well, if you're looking to smoke your budget, you've come to the right place...

[Mosca]

Easy decision. Think another step ahead.

If you buy a second hand kettle for $60-$80 and don’t like it, you can always sell it for $60-$80.

THEN you can decide your next step. FWIW, I have a Weber and a BGE. I have used the Weber to smoke, but the BGE is easier and more efficient. Actual results are the same.

About 75% of my grilling is hamburgers, and I do those on a griddle insert on top of the Weber.

[rickgregory]

Assuming a kettle has the capacity for what you want to do, it's an excellent choice (says the guy who uses one). The main limitation is the capacity but it sounds like you have a large smoker in case you want to cook for 30 or something.

For a used kettle, make sure the lid and body fit together well. Doesn't need to be perfect (you can and likely will want to add a high temp gasket to help) but make sure there are no large gaps or warping.

Get the hinged grate. In fact, one of the advantages of the 22" kettle especially is the massive variety of accessories.

[Santamarina]

I started my smoking journey on a Weber kettle. Made some good barbecue. When I got an offset a couple years later I quickly shifted to stick burning only - no charcoal - and I haven’t looked back. It’s a big use of fuel if I’m only smoking a couple racks of ribs, but I’ve accepted that as the price of admission for great barbecue.