Joining from Central PA

[Stattic]

Hello there. I am definitely a grilling novice. I moved into my first house two years ago, and it came with a Sears gas grill from 1979:

For the past couple years, I have been using this bad boy over to do run of the mill grilling, but we are getting a new deck, and I'd like to get a new grill/smoker and expand my repertoire of bbq skills. Basically, want 1-2 cookers that will allow me to grill and smoke and have fun learning how to really barbecue....and which cost $1000ish and below.

That's how I ended up finding this site and started reading the equipment reviews. This afternoon, I went to look at an MHP that is similar to our existing grill, and I also checked out a Primo kamado, but not sure what to do and hoping to find some guidance and learn more about cooking meat with fire. Glad to be here.

[Nate]

Welcome from Indiana.

For Grills and smokers I always recommend a Weber Kettle w/ Slow'n'Sear accompanied by a PBC if you are in the mood for two cookers and charcoal.

For around $1000 you could also get into the pellet cooker market and get a blend of both smoker and grill. Lots of folks like the RecTec.

If you are looking for a gasser then Weber tends to have a cult following as well.

[Stattic]

Thanks, Nate. I'd like to explore the non-gas options so I appreciate the recommendations. I've been looking at the PBC as an option to pair with something else and will also check out your other suggestions. Thanks, again.

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit. It would help us to help you if we knew more about what you would like to do:

How many are you thinking you will cook for? Your immediate family or a crowd?
How much hands on work are you willing to put in? You can go from set and forget to tending every 30 min to an hour or so.
What do you want to cook? Burgers and dogs, chicken, ribs, Boston Butts, brisket?
Do you know what fuel you want to use? Gas, charcoal, wood, pellets?
What level of smoke flavor are you looking for? No smoke flavor up to lots of smoke flavor. Most here love a smokey flavor, but not everyone does, and those that do may not like everything to have a lot of smoke.

I'm not trying to overpower you, but the more we know, the more specific we can get. As Nate said, you can't beat a Weber Kettle to start. And a Slow and Sear will also allow you to smoke meats easily. Then I would take some time to learn a few things and then add to your arsenal. Whatever you wind up getting, you will need a very good digital thermometer at the minimum. That will let you know when the meat is done. No matter what you have heard about feeling the meat or whatever, the only reliable and repeatable way to tell when your meat is done is to use a thermometer.I would also suggest some type of leave in thermometer so that you can monitor the temp of the pit. If you get one with two or more probes, you can monitor both the meat temp and the pit temp.

Good luck, and ask all the questions you want. We love to turn people into great cooks.

[Stattic]

Tried to reply here, but post was too long so added it at the end. Thanks for the reply.

[LA Pork Butt]

I am a Big Green Egg guy, so I am partial in that direction. But, I will pose a couple of questions to help you decide. What kinds of food will you cook most often? How Will you cook it - low and slow, roasting or high temp,grilling? For how many people will you typically cook? What is the largest group you anticipate cooking for? Briskets and Boston Butts typically take 12 hours or so at 225. How do you feel about monitoring the temp over the cook duration or having to add charcoal? The answers to those questions will provide you with the appropriate guidance. I typically cook for two and frequently cook for six and can do the entire meal on my BiG Green Egg. I have cooked 40# of meat on the egg for 22 hours without adding fuel. I love low and slow with no need to monitor. Nate has good suggestions depending on your cooking needs. Both of those cookers are good cookers. It is really all about the cook and his preferences.

[Stattic]

Grill meats mostly but would like to start slow cooking. Cook for 2, can be as much as 20 on holidays. Willing to nurse cooker, but prefer to not have to sit around too much. We have a local egg dealer a couple blocks away and attending a demo next week. The versatility is appealing. Thanks so much.

[DWCowles]

Welcome Stattic

[Mr. Bones]

Howdy from Kansas Territory, Welcome to th' Pit!!!!
I'm lookin' forward to learnin' with ya', an' from ya'!!!

Postscript: I hope yer New Deck has more cooker room!
Yer gonna need it, 'round here!!!!

[Stattic]

First off, thanks for the reply. No problem about questions, I should have clarified. I will mostly cook for my immediate family (me, my wife, and our two pugs who freak out every time I light the grill), but our parents are local so at least once a month I will likely be cooking for 6-8. I am willing to be hands on, and I am obsessive, so I anticipate this being a lengthy and expensive hobby. I like smokey flavor, but appreciate the taste of meat, and my wife probably does not like smoke as much...so moderate smokiness.

I cook mostly ribs, chicken, steaks, etc. on my current grill, but would really like to branch out with smoking butts and brisket. I have a natural gas line outside of my house and it is connected to my Sears grill, but have strongly considered just closing off and moving to a charcoal (perhaps ceramic) grill and/smoker.

I was considering getting a kettle and a pbc, but wondered if a ceramic may be a more versatile cooker that I will end up buying down the road anyways. The former combo is obviously the cheaper option. I hope those answers made sense and provides a better idea of where I'm at. Thanks again.

[kmhfive]

You have MCS. And you haven't even started.

You can do great cooks with a simple Weber Kettle paired with a Slow-n-Sear. One thing that makes great cooks very hard is NOT having a good thermometer. Look at what you want to do with the thermometer to start, then review your immediate budget and get a grill.

As you have seen, if you stick to the Gold Medal recommendations on AR, you will find help for almost any recipe on the site. If you get a kettle, there's folks that will provide help for steaks and chicken all the way to butts roasts and ribs. Same for Kamodos. Same for Pellets and stick burners and Gassers.

There's plenty to spend money on and plenty of very good recommendations to come! Welcome to the Pit!

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome to The Pit, from sunny Florida!

[FireMan]

kmhfive started out right. You could get a Weber 22" or 26" with a SnS for grillin & smokin. Then a Pit Barrel Cooker for some great smokin of some decent quantities & do it for a geezer or just under. Great combo, then you let your MCS juices stir & plot your next move. Welcome aboard, eat good & have fun!

[LA Pork Butt]

Stattic i think before you decide you should check out the BGE cooking demonstration. I have cooked on my son's 26" Weber for bit grilling and low an slow with and without the SNS with good results, so that can work for you if you are willing to give it the extra attention. If budget were my consideration I
think I would go that way. I went with the BGE because I wanted to only worry about one cooked. Of course, MCS (More Cooker Syndrome) can bite and you add a cooked. Now I have a BGE MiniMax.

[Stattic]

Thanks LA Pork Butt, I appreciate the information. Kind of in the same boat with identifying one cooker to handle all current and future needs.

[MBMorgan]

Welcome to the Pit! You've already gotten some really good recommendations so I won't pile on any more. I'll just say that when I had to do a bit of fairly recent downsizing, I went for a good (convenient) gasser (Weber EP-330) and paired it with a PBC. Couldn't be happier ...

[RonB]

We are here to discuss Q and to help - my pleasure. If you get a kettle and SnS, plus thermometers you will be off to a good start You can cook several chickens or a fair sized turkey on that. Or you can cook several pork butts or several chuck roasts, or one of each on the Weber. It will also hold a 14 - 15 lb brisket.
I have seen a lot of people go whole hog into a hobby and burn out quickly. They are then stuck with lots of expensive stuff they don't use. That's why I suggest proceeding slowly. If you do love it, you can always add more cookers...

[Huskee]

Welcome to The Pit Stattic! Thanks for your support here. So many great choices, so hard to choose! There are pros and cons to all types, and they all excel at something, and they're all delicious!

Since this is your first post, please check out our homework assignment post for new members, it contains a few how-tos and please-dos. This will help you learn your way around so you can get the best experience from our forum.

Also, it's very important that you:

1. Give us an email address you actually use. You can check the email we have on file for you by clicking your name in the upper-right, then User Settings, then the Notifications tab. You currently cannot change your email on file with us since it’s tied to your Pitmaster Club account as well as our payment processor, Stripe. Don’t worry though, we’d be happy to change it for you. PM (private message) me with your email change request, or via email at huskee[at]AmazingRibs[dot]com.
2. Add the domain AmazingRibs.com to your email safe list. We NEVER spam! This is important to receive notices about your account, such as if you’re up for renewal or are ever drawn as our monthly Gold Medal Giveaway winner, which is open to all USA members or those with a USA delivery address (we’d hate to have to pick another person because you don’t answer us)!

Hope to hear & see more from you!

[Stattic]

Great. Thanks for the info, Huskee.