Welcome from Virginia. Coming from someone who owns a Hasty Bake, I would recommend the SNS Kamado as my suggestion for versatility. Bottom line you are going to get alot of opinions here and they will all be great. It comes down to you weighing all of the options with your needs.
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Club Member
- Jul 2019
- 621
- Boston/South County Rhode Island
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Name: Scott, Chemical Engineer
Equipment:
Weber Genesis
Weber Spirit Special Addition, with Griddle and Grillgrates (just got)
Thermoworks Smoke (2)
Thermoworks Thermapen (2)
Thermoworks IR (1)
Maverick IR (1)
Penzey's Spice rack with loads of spices
Hobbies:
Cooking, wine, guitar, golf, beach, board games, travel, herb gardening
Want to get into BBQ and Smoking.
Since I have the Weber Performer with SnS and smoke with now, I would say either get that set up or a PBC/WSM. All three are less money than your budget and allow you to get accessories like a Pit Viper fan with a digital controller. I haven’t cooked on a PBC, but knowledgeable folks here rave about. The Weber with the SnS make great food too.
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Charter Member
- Dec 2014
- 7388
- Grew up in New Orleans, 20 years in Texas, 22 years in Mandeville, LA. Now Dallas, TX
Welcome to the Pit from Dallas! You already have good advice, and some things to think about. I am a Kamado guy (BGE), and if not having to pay attention to 12-14 hour cooks is important to you a Kamado and a controller are a good combo. I have not eaten food cooked on a pellet cooker, but that might be another option. I see you live in PA, so as Spinaker noted it will be hard to beat a Kamado for cold weather cooking. Have fun with the search and the cooker. The reason there are so many cookers out there is that each cooker fills in for the weaknesses of a different cooker. Which limitations are you willing to live with?
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Founding Member & Pit Barrel Cooker Queen
- Jul 2014
- 7203
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My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron GriddleGrill Grate for SnSGrill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:Extreme BBQ Thermometer PackagePit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:Thermapen MK4 (pink)Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
If you're just getting into charcoal cooking and you want to see what all the fuss is about, you can't go wrong with a PBC. $350 and you're in, $385 with the cover. Then you can spend the rest on a really good thermometer setup like the Fireboard.
The PBC well made and does a great job with anything you throw at it. Plus cleanup is easy. Literally less than 5 minutes. You can cook in volume and it doesn't take up much space. Chicken, ribs, brisket, chuck roast, pork butt, bacon, meatloaf, you name it and you can do it on the PBC.
I started with a gas grill, using it to smoke briskets, etc, for a lot of years. Then I got the PBC to dip my toe into charcoal+wood chunks smoking. What a game changer. There's a lot of good smoke flavor that comes out of that cooker and, as you get more involved in smoking and buy $omething el$e like a kamado (I bought a Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center next) , you'll still use your PBC a lot because you'll love cooking on it so much.
With a PBC and a gasser, you've got a great combo.
Kathryn
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Well, since > $1K has come up, take a look at the KBQ. https://amazingribs.com/node/381
Aside from its being a "serious" cooker, there are 2 bits that might disqualify it: needs a stick about every half hour, and it needs electricity. Search the threads here on the forum and be prepared to salivate.
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Club Member
- May 2017
- 2785
- San Antonio, TX
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Weber Kettle Performer
SNS Upgrades
Weber Jumbo Joe w/SNS
Weber Q1200
Meater Block
Thermoworks Smoke
Thermapen MK4
Thermapop
Thermoworks Chef Alarm
Thermoworks Dash
Too many thermometers, gadgets, accessories, and tools!
Favorite beer: Alaskan Amber
Welcome from south Texas!
I would certainly second the recommendation you check out the SNS Deluxe Kamado. Same general price range as the Big Joe I believe. Comes with a ton of accessories. Gives you true two zone grilling as well as traditional kamado cooking. I’m thinking hard about getting one now.
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Club Member
- Sep 2015
- 5097
- Tennessee
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22" Weber Kettle w/SNS, 18" WSM, Bronco, Grilla Chimp, Traeger Tailgater, UDS, Camp Chef Tahoe Stove.
Welcome from TN. Only thing I would add is that if you get a wsm get the 22. I have owned a wsm for years and I love it, but it is an 18†and every once in awhile I wish I had the extra capacity. But I have a kettle/sns too and that helps out for larger cooks. Good luck and let us know which way you decide to go.
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Club Member
- Jun 2018
- 4885
- Brentwood CA
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LSG large insulated cabinet
Yoder YS640
LSG 48" Santa Maria Gill
SNS travel kettle
FireBoard controller and PitBull fan
FireBoard 2 Drive
Thermapen Mk4
Thermapen One
Avid Armor USV32 Vacuum Sealer
KWS 10" slicer
Welcome from the California Delta. As you can see you will get A Lot of advice here. I have found that it can be overwhelming. But it is solid advice.
I am not the type to dip my toe in to try the waters, I jump in the deep end. Started with a Pit Boss Kamado and found I it didn't work for me. I wanted a pellet grill for the ease of use and got a Yoder YS640 and I love it. Wanted a charcoal grill and got a David Klose 20x42 grill chief grill, love it. Wanting to up my game; I'm waiting on a Lone Star Grillz insulated cabinet smoker, I hope I will love it. Bigger and more is better!
That being said the PBC, WSM, kettle, Joe and Slow n low kamados are all great cookers and smart choices. Good luck and welcome again.
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So in thinking about it a little more I think I'd do this:
Get the SNS for your Weber. AND get the PBC. That would give you a TON of capacity if you do a big summer cook (or 3) or you could grill on the weber and gasser while smoking on the PBC or... a lot of things.
Do you NEED the SNS with the PBC? nah. But it's $100 and so it's not a big additional investment.
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Club Member
- Nov 2017
- 89
- Rockville, MD
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Weber Kettle 26â€
SnS standard
Thermoworks Smoke, Theromoworks Dot, ThermoPop
Greetings from another SEPA native (also MontCo!). I’d add the slow n sear to your kettle and see how that works for you. I use the standard slow n sear 2.0 in my 26†kettle and can comfortably handle cooks for 15-20 people which we do about once a month or so. Beyond that, at that budget number and needing or wanting some lay flat space, a pellet grill with smoke tube could be the most bang for the buck. As you can see though, the PBC is a very popular and effective cooker.
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First, welcome! Next, I'd say your first thought was the best one for where you are...a Kamodo Joe (or any ceramic like a BGE or Primo) smoker.The ceramics are great smokers to get your feet wet, perfect your fire control skills and they give you the ability to smoke or grill. The quality of Q is really good, certainly an upgrade from your electric. I'd also recommend you pick one up used. I bought my 24" Big Joe for $800 with most of the options included. After using it for a while it led me to my decision to purchase an offset plus keep my gas grill and the Joe too. Best of luck.
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