So Ive had my KBQ for a couple of years and love it. Best smoked food Ive ever made. I recently had a friend claim the Char-griller 980 Gravity Smoker can produce similar quality food as the smoke flows through the flame before entering the cooking chamber (just like the KBQ). I was very skeptical,
but then saw this diagram of how it works. Can this smoker really produce smome as good as the KBQ while also being set and forget? Thoughts?
If your friend owns a 980, it sounds to me like you need a cook-off. I guess I would be skeptical because the KBQ would be 100% wood smoke while the 980 would not be. The source of combustion makes a difference for smoke flavor.
Makes sense but he’s claiming that smoke from wood in the ash bin has to go through the fire before entering the cook chamber giving the same high quality smoke as the KBQ. The diagram of how the 980 works seems to suggest he may be correct. Interested in your thoughts.
Either way a cook off would always be the ultimate test!
STEbbq Wood is an important difference, but equally important is KBQ's remarkable design that burns up impurities in the wood smoke before it enters the smoke box. The results are amazingf!
I run a mix of charcoal and wood a lot on my Bronco and Weber Kettle (more charcoal than wood, of course) and am happy with the results. That said, I'm not sure when I last had something smoked with straight wood, so I'd hesitate to offer an opinion.
Own a KBQ and have operated a gravity smoker during competition. You will get a better "smoke" flavor from the KBQ. As mentioned above, one is working off of wood and the other charcoal. Now you might think, "hey, let's put some wood in the gravity feeder". It will burn, but as Max Good stated the KBQ will burn up the impurities, while the gravity feeder will not immediately. We had this exact issue in competition. When the chicken was placed in the gravity feeder, they also put in some wood. The wood smoldered and the chicken came out black. Needless to say our team's chicken took last place in the competition.
Besides, the KBQ is the closest thing you'll get to "set and forget" for an offset smoker.
Max Good What he’s claiming about the 980 is that smoke from wood in the ash bin has to go through the fire before entering the cook chamber giving the same high quality smoke as the KBQ. The diagram of how the 980 works seems to suggest he may be correct. Interested in your thoughts.
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
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I am not even gonna dignify this with a legit response.
I kid, but my main thing would be it really is not doing the same thing as the KBQ. First of all, the KBQ runs on wood, not charcoal. So you already have a different flavor profile to start with.
Second, with the KBQ, the only air/smoke that can enter the cooking chamber is pulled in under a slight vacuum. On the KBQ, the fire is on top of the cook chamber. The CG980 has the smoke coming from the side. By pulling the smoke straight down on the KBQ, the heat and the smoke must be cleaned through the coals in order to enter the KBQ chamber.
The cook chamber is very tight on the KBQ, so the fans draw in the heat and smoke through the fire. When this happens, it really ramps up the heat of the coal bed, which makes the cleaning of the smoke much more effective. In a smoker like the CG980, not all the smoke is drawn through the fire because the smoke travels sideways. Sure their diagram might look like it is, but it is doubtful. And with other CG products I have used, I would highly doubt the build quality is there to properly isolate the fire to make it burn hot enough to clean the smoke as effectively as the KBQ.. Additionally, it looks to me like the heat source is offset of the charcoal, (I might be wrong about that) if it is, I would think you would have some smoldering. if that is the case that smoldering, acrid smoke has no where to go, except through the cooking chamber. The KBQ does not have that problem. As the KBQ cycles off, and the smoke and heat are not being drawn through the cook box, the smoke goes up and away as is not drawn into the cooking chamber. Therefore, the only smoke that can enter the cook box is cleaned through the fire.
"the Char-griller 980 Gravity Smoker can produce similar quality food as the smoke flows through the flame before entering the cooking chamber (just like the KBQ)"
The CharGriller is a completely different wheelhouse. If you’re looking for an all in one solution, it might be a great option, but I don’t think it’s really gonna touch a KBQ or well run offset for end results. For one, charcoal as a primary fuel is a dirtier smoke. The whole premise is keeping the coals stifled to maintain low temps. If your friend is happy though, keep encouraging them. Serious BBQ is an evolution for most people. It took me 10 plus years to finally realize I wouldn’t be happy with just one or even two outdoor cookers. However, if the SmokeFire would have been made by MAK, Yoder, LSG, or Cookshack it might have been the only cooker I needed.
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You can’t taste words, neither written nor spoken. You guys need to get together and cook stuff side by side, in the spirit of neighborliness and curiosity, and see if they are the same, similar, different, better, etc.
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