New To BBQ

[GolfGeezer]

Welcome from SoCal. Your cooking profile is very, very close to my situation. My wife does not like smoke flavor at all on just about any food while I enjoy many foods smoked. Most of my cooks these days are using my gasser, a Napoleon Prestige Pro 500. I can do direct and indirect with it, so hot and fast through roasting. I use my pellet smoker for ribs (spares, BBs, beef), port butts, brats, jerky, and certain veggies like stuffed jalapenos (poppers or ABTs as they are named). I do have a smaller flat top griddle (2 burner Blackstone) that is great for smash burgers, fajitas, stir-fry's, etc.

I would start with the gasser as it will provide a good first step given your stated situation. Just be prepared - you WILL be bit by the dreaded disease called MCS! There is no cure.

[Murdy]

Welcome from Northern Illinois.

You can add a little smoke flavor on a gas grill with pellets using something like this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/A-MAZE-N-1-Adjustable-Length-Stainless-Steel/1001294708?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-sol-_-google-_-lia-_-119-_-grillaccessories-_-1001294708-_-0&placeholder=null&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=CjwKCAjwlrqHBhByEiwAnLmYULGFFVi-IIKfcCIfwVL5vRx4bGWVKvciwrxzVH0RQxT1jqgboVZ9MhoCYrwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

They also make those perforated metal boxes that you can soak wood chips in and set on top of a burner (available at most big box stores). However, a gasser is not very airtight (by design, so you don't blow yourself up), so any smoke flavor is going to be very mild. I use both devices for years, sometimes both at the same time.

I would start with a Weber Kettle charcoal grill. You can add wood chips to the charcoal as you see fit to impart smokiness. They are cheap and versatile, and you can make some fine BBQ on them. A 22 inch kettle is my primary smoker right now.

[Brisket Syndicate]

Depending on your budget, and what cooking capacity you are looking for, a ceramic grill may be a viable option. You can run them hot and fast, or slow and low, and you can also add wood chunks to help get your smoke just right.

[LA Pork Butt]

Welcome to the Pit from Dallas, Texas! Everyone has a favorite cooker, but it usually takes more than one cooker to discover yours. By what you cook it looks like a grill. The questions are gas or charcoal and large or small cooks. I favor charcoal and usually cook for two and once a week for six but rarely more than six. Oh, one other question - cook one item or an entire meal.

[CaptainMike]

Howdy from The Great State of Jefferson!

[Kingrex]

Thanks all. I hate to admit where I'm at. I'm in Seattle WA.

I have used a Weber kettle all my life. I guess I did not really consider it a real BBQ as I have found it very limited in what it does. I don't have any inserts for it. I am tired of it for the fuss and mess. And I have never been able to control the fire well. And it seems to eat a lot of fuel. But I have not had to purchase pellets or gas so I don't really know what sort of cost BBQ will end up being with a more controllable machine.

To me, the idea of a real machine was something with reliable heat. Duration and intensity. I'm a good cook. But to cook well, I have to know what the source is doing. It has to be consistent and repeatable. I guess if I got a burn insert for the Weber and weighed my fuel I could dial the heat better. But the heat output moves quickly with time, another critical component.

FWIW, I make one of the best Paella I have had on the Weber. Beats most any restaurant I have had it at. But I have to stand there for 30 to 40 minutes constantly monitoring the process. And I feel at the mercy of the coals.

I make so so chicken and steak on the Weber. I have to be there and on it. It eats up my time. And again, I feel I have very little control. In the kitchen on my BlueStar I can nail it every time in a pan.

If I do go though the process of cooking onion halves, corn and meat on the Weber, even I find the smoke pushing intense. Its not over the top for me. It is for her. It really becomes a lot of the meal. I like the meat and onion to pick up maybe a 1/3rd to a 1/2 the smoke intensity of what a Weber gives. I really don't need it on the corn.

I am not interested in dialing in the Weber. Reading through this site has showed me some of what I was doing was wrong. And there are ways to tighten a Weber up. But I want less smoke flavor, better temp and time control. Either the Genesis or Smokefire should do that. I do worry either Weber product I am considering will have varied temperature over the top of the grates as I have seen on reviews with bread test. I was not aware I would have to tune the unit so much. I assume a few pieces of strategically placed 1/4" thick by 2" wide strips of aluminum flat stock will assist in heat distribution. And the Grill Grates could also be an interesting addition to amplify temp output.

Rex

[STEbbq]

If your focus is on temp, time control and less smoke flavor versus charcoal, it sounds like the SmokeFire is a good ootion. It sounds to me like you value more information about the cook and the pellet grill should provide that with a good app. Plus, if you use a good thermometer like a FireBoard or a leave in thermometer from Thermo works you will know what temp the food and grill is at which is critical.

[ofelles]

Welcome from the California Delta.

[mcook2201]

Greetings and welcome from North Carolina.

[FireMan]

You can add smoke to any gasser, whether it be pellets or I think is better, chips. There are various products to do chips or pellets with. You can’t take smoke out of a charcoal or pellet. As you grow in yer grillin/Q’in experience you can venture into other cookers. I have a Napoleon. But, as you’ve pointed out, the money end of things point you to the Weber products which are top notch & seem to be the best in yer estimation. You have not erred in any way of decision making. Go with yer gut, pull the trigger, have fun! We will be here if’n ya need any help. Welcome!

[Soonerpop]

Based on all the input, I’d say the SmokeDire if you need to get Weber. I’d say no to a gasser if you really want to get into it. Just remember, whatever you get won’t be the last, just the first.

[STEbbq]

SmokeDire amuses me

[Soonerpop]

Sometimes the fingers miss their mark.

[RonB]

One question - when do you put food in the Kettle? If you are not waiting for the white smoke to dissipate, you are going to have to much of the wrong smoke and that will adversely affect flavor.

Lots of members, (including me), have no problem running a fairly steady temp on a Kettle. When you use an indoor oven, the temp in it fluctuates 10° to 15° either side of the set temp and I can stay much closer to my chosen temp with my Kettle.

The temp on either choice above will also fluctuate to some degree, but the app should keep it at least as close as your oven although I must admit I don't know how steady your high end stove's temps are.

[Rob Johnston]

Welcome from Pittsburgh, PA!

[jfmorris]

Kingrex if you already have a Weber kettle, to be honest, that is one of the best grills AND smokers there is - even without an insert. If you are just dumping charcoal in there and filling the charcoal grate every time though, like I used to - it becomes a roaring inferno of heat. The tricks to fire management with a kettle are mastering 2-zone cooking, and for smoking, while the Slow 'N Sear insert is the best choice, I did it for years using just a charcoal "snake" around the perimeter of the kettle (2 briquettes wide and high) with some wood chunks on top, and lit the end using a starter cube and 3-4 lit briquettes. It will smoke for hours at 225 with just that trick.

Anyway, back to the two grills you are talking about - Genesis II versus SmokeFire.

I have a Genesis II E-410, and they are nice for a gas grill. They are not great for doing indirect smoking of something like ribs, as there is little smoke, even if you make a pouch of wood chips or use a smoke tube, mostly because gas grills are designed to be almost wide open in the bottom and back of the cabinet, for safety reasons, and the smoke goes out so fast it rarely gets to the meat on the grate. But the Genesis is great for direct cooking, non-smokey indirect, and a great machine for steaks, burgers, chicken of all sorts, and veggies if you use a skillet or buy Grillgrates or a griddle for doing the smaller stuff. I grill corn, artichokes, and even foil wrapped potatoes right on the grate on mine, while cooking my meat. You will get smoke from drippings from your meat hitting the hot "flavorizer" (diffuser) bars below the grate, and the Genesis II has fairly even heating across the cooking surface. My Genesis II is outfitted with a set of aluminum Grillgrates that I use most of the time, and that evens things out even more. The cast iron grates get stored underneath, and I pull those out if I need to do indirect or throw a cast iron skillet on the grill.

I highly discourage you from considering purchase of the rotisserie for the Weber Genesis II grills however. I wasted my money on one. To use it to even cook a 4-5 pound chicken, you have to remove the cooking grates, and even then, unless tightly trussed, the chicken will be hitting the flavorizer bars. I used it exactly once, and it was the worst chicken I've ever made. Couldn't crisp the skin up, and I fought with chicken slapping the drip pan the entire cook, and could not use the grates to cook anything else. I ended up getting a rotisserie for my Weber 22" kettle and it works much much better - it has enough clearance for me to spin a 20 pound turkey and then some!

The SmokeFire will be more versatile, as it is one of the only pellet grills on the market that can smoke at low temps (225-250), and also do high heat direct grilling. Weber really did design it to be a replacement for a gas grill, while also being a smoker. Something else to be aware of - with pellet grills, the higher the heat, the less smoke you get from the pellets. Most of them have little smoke at temperatures above 300, and chicken and stuff you always want to cook at 350 or so. Also - pellets have a MUCH MUCH lighter smoke profile (flavor) than you get from charcoal grills and smokers.

Good luck with the decision - I think both grills would be good, and I also advise hanging out here and getting some tips and advice on running your kettle. If its a 22" Weber kettle, you may find that it can do a LOT more than you thought. I would lean towards the gas grill myself, as I feel every outdoor kitchen needs either a gas grill or a gas powered griddle (flat top).

[Redwng]

Welcome from St. Cloud, FL.

[Kingrex]

I didn't pull the trigger yet. I was going to get the SmokeFire, but I ran into an ordering snag.

Grill Grates are sold out and I don't know they have any date to get new stock in.

My kettle is all used up. Junk now. The air flow ports on the bottom are rusting over. They work but they are work. I have cooked a few meals on it lately. Temp control is my issue again. Probably due to the grill being worn out.

I also don't like turning the kettle on. To much smoke. I guess I could get paraffin starters. I'm seeing where having 2 devices is better than one.