Help to narrow down my choices...

[dotcodotuk]

Hello folks - looking for some help and opinions to narrow down my options for selecting my first pellet smoker. Allow me to explain...

I am based in the UK and have a dream that I would like to achieve by this time next year, namely putting together a full BBQ platter cooked by my own fair hand. I'm talking pulled pork, burnt ends, turkey, sausage, pork cheek, beef rib, you know - the full works. The cover photo from Franklin Smoke is one my inspirations.

I've bought some books, pored through some online forums, watched a lot of YouTube and I believe this is all achievable with thorough planning, lots of testing, using quality ingredients carefully prepared and cooked methodically. It won't be easy and there will be a steep learning curve, but I'm into it!

FWIW I have been experimenting with smoking on my Summit Kamado over the summer and while I've enjoyed the process and learned a little along the way, what it has taught me is that I should look to a dedicated smoker to flatten some of the variables and allow me to focus on the end result as a whole.

And yes, I appreciate what I get off the WSCG will have a flavour profile a pellet smoker may not be able to achieve - but I'm okay with that.

Now, we don't get all the wonderful toys that you get in the US, but we do have access to a fairly decent selection of both smokers and pellets and it's the former that I'd like to get you to opine upon to help me narrow down where I should be spending my money.

I have done a fair bit of prep to get to the selection below and I'll explain why I have chosen to eschew certain brands at the end - in case you see something missing and wonder why. Should also mention, I have a Genesis 3-burner, the WSCG and a SNS Grill as well, so no specific need for a smoker to sear.

In roughly ascending order...

Weber's Searwood XL and Smoque XL

Both look good, big fan of Weber's products and I'd lean towards the Smoque as my preference given it's cheaper and doesn't have any extraneous features that I will not use. Roughly a $350 dollar different between the two and would love to know if the smoking performance is equivalent or better on one or the other as they seem like a decent 'entry level' smoker for me.

Camp Chef Woodwind Pro 24 / 36

A lot more expensive than the Weber, starting at roughly $2,100 for me, but I love the look, feel and build of these - especially the stainless construction. The little smoke box thing seems like it could be a wonderful addition and allow me to add specific smoke flavours/profiles/whatever through a long smoke where I am adding additional types of meat at different points... but I have seen people saying it makes no difference and then others who say it makes all the difference.

Louisana Grills Founders Legacy

Roughly the same as the Camp Chef, have no idea about these as a brand or what they are like... but it seems mighty fancy and I have found some solid reviews. Not sure about the build or the controller and it has some features I couldn't care less about, but it looked very smart in the showroom and was heavily reduced to clear.

Yoder YS640s

Putting this in more as a joke than a realistic option, given it costs a fortune over here. A couple of my US colleagues have one and keep hounding me to go for something that is American made and built like a tank, so I thought I'd look into it and I have found one in the UK that I could get for what feels like a steal compared to others I found... but it's still the same price as buying a Weber Smoque and a Searwood and a Camp Chef!

Clearly costs a lot of money to get a big ol' hunk of metal shipped here - who'd have thunk?!

I'll go do some reading in the dedicated sub forums about the models in the meantime, but I think the above selection is pretty solid. In terms of other options that I have discounted from the running...

Traeger - I have avoided selecting them as I feel their reputation over here is one of constant problems and high prices compared to some of the other brands, but if you feel there is one that I need to consider then I'm open to suggestions.

Masterbuilt - felt cheap when I saw one, but again feel free to make a case if I'm being overly cautious.

Pit Boss - same as above, saw a Titan and loved some of its features but felt like a lot of money for stuff I don't need and won't use.

GMG - potentially viable, but hard to source and can be expensive and the one I saw didn't impress me.

Recteq - do not exist over here as a brand, only ones I can find were imported and priced accordingly with no backup or support from the manufacturer.

[Purc]

I would strongly consider the brand that has the best parts and service available to you.

[dotcodotuk]

Point taken, but even Weber are tricky to deal with - took them a week to respond to an email and then a month to source spares for my WSCG. I'll look for a retailer with good after-sales support as a minimum.

[WI Bubba]

This is just my opinion, so take it with a heavy pinch of salt.

The actual difference between brands in the $800-$1200 pellet smokers is not very much. As you go up in price, you might get better slightly thicker metal, a few more bells and whistles like Wi-Fi control, and better electronics, but the internals of one to the next are going to be so similar that you would be hard pressed to tell them apart without the manufacture badge on the front.

The models that have included means to burn real wood chips or chunks are just making up for the known fact that their pellet systems will not produce a decent smoke profile at anything over 200°F (93°C). With that said, you can reproduce those same flavors for a lot less money if you are prepared to do a little more work. It really comes down to cost vs convenience.

Pick a smoker at a price point that works for your budget, and then learn what you need to do to raise the smoke profile to a level that is good for you. The Weber will make good BBQ. The Trager will make good BBQ. The Camp Chef will make good BBQ, and so on.

The only difference will be how much effort you have to put in to get the smoke profile to where you want it. That might mean running it at a very low temp for the first couple of hours, or adding a smoke tube. Everyone has their own idea of what the "right" amount of smoke is. That's the fun part of having a new smoker. Learning how to make it turn out food that tastes good to you.

[RiverJeff]

+1

[Murdy]

Are barrel smokers available to you? (Pit Barrel, Bronco, etc.)

[Murdy]

AI:
There is a dedicated UK operation, Pit Barrel Cooker UK, currently selling them:
Pit Barrel Junior 14" — about £299
Classic 18.5" — about £399
Pit Barrel XL 22.5" — about £499
UK retailers carrying them: including FireFly Barbecue and Logs Online.

These are simpler and cheaper alternatives to most pellet grills and provide a better smoke profile and are easy to run.

Just something to consider to muddy the water, I know you're trying to narrow things down, but we don't do that here

[Waster]

I was about to recommend a barrel cooker - you can make an ugly drum smoker quite easily and fairly cheaply, and they work great once you get the valves dialed in. Only issue I had with mine was on a particularly cold day or ran out of fuel, so I had to fashion an ad hoc charcoal chute from aluminium flashing - luckily I used Weber round grates with flip up sides.
First ever pork butt took 19 hours that night and two extra loads of charcoal. I screwed everything up and it stilcame out great!

[dpearce]

I was about to mention this, but since the original poster was talking about pellet smokers, I was hesitant to mention it. I guess it all comes down to fuel. If you're comfortable with charcoal or wood as a fuel source, I would recommend a Pit Barrel. Otherwise, with pellet smokers, I really don't have an opinion, since I don't have one.

[glitchy]

From your list, I would probably go for the SearWood myself. I haven’t had one, but the results from the SmokeFire were amazing when it worked right and Weber has supposedly worked out the issues with the SearWood. I’ve had a Woodwind and it’ was a nice pellet smoker, but was much lighter on smoke profile than the SmokeFire. Plus with the SearWood you can grill as well as smoke which most pellet grills don’t do well.

If you absolutely don’t care about grilling and only want to smoke in it, the Smoque would probably be fine too. I haven’t looked at the Smoque internals, but guessing they’ve put a full drip pan in and that will probably reduce smokiness if you compared cooking on the two side by side.

Edit: I thought I read that the parent company over Louisiana and Pit Boss shut down the Louisiana brand? I might be misremembering that, but I’d avoid Louisiana if it’s true as parts will likely get hard to find down the road.

[dotcodotuk]

Appreciate the insight, what makes you lean towards the Searwood being a more effective smoker? Definitely has a different internal setup to the other pellet grills I have seen, but I felt that was favouring higher heat searing being more akin to the flavourizer bars in my Genesis, where the Smoque had the flatter 'pan-style' system.

Will definitely avoid the Louisiana, didn't click with me at all.

[Richard Chrz]

I can only recommend that id give a vote for glitchy ‘s advice, he is very thorough in his testing.

[glitchy]

@dotcodoruk The design to let more heat up the middle also lets more smoke up the middle versus having to go around a giant drip tray and be circulated to hit you food before hopefully being pushed out the exhaust.

[bbqLuv]

Yes but one
Weber Smoque XL vs Searwood XL Pellet Grill Showdown! – Amazing Foods TV

[glitchy]

Also, and maybe you’ve already considered this, but using an automatic temperature control system on your WSCG can make it almost as easy and consistent as a pellet grill. It’s going to take a bit longer to get fired up, but after that it’s cake. A torch, weed burner, or GrillGun can reduce the setup time too.

[Draznnl]

The only one on your list I'm familiar with is the one I've owned and used for several years, the Yoder. I like it a lot. Get good results cooking on it. And their customer service has been excellent the couple of times I needed it.

You should make sure, whatever cooker you choose, that replacement augers and igniters are readily available. Those are two parts that, from my reading here in the pit, tend to break down most frequently.

[dotcodotuk]

If money were no object, the Yoder would be a brilliant addition to my setup and probably offer me the best resale value as well were I to not get on with it!

Hard to justify one when I could buy 4 of the Weber Smoque XLs and twenty bags of pellets for the same price!

[texastweeter]

Can you get a LSG or Pitmaker.com over there?

[dotcodotuk]

Neither brand have a presence from what I have seen - LSG definitely came up in my research, but only one specialist imports them and that's on-demand and comes at a premium.

[Manxman]

I went down a similar route a few years ago in terms of choosing a pellet grill and narrowed it down to Weber and Traeger in terms of UK product availability and UK back up.Very often Hobson's choice here in the UK compared to the US!

After speaking to a UK dealer in both they steered me towards a Traeger Pro 575 which after a couple of years I upgraded to a new generation Ironwood and neither have disappointed. Indeed I have done my Christmas turkey, gammon and rib roast on them on Xmas Day for the past 5 years.

Zero problems with either notwithstanding neither are perfect, for example if you like a strong smokey product or being able to sear meat but there are ways round both.

One downside is that Traeger UK has ceased to exist and they are imported via a third party as of this year which could affect service provision, I have yet to speak to my dealer about that. Conversely the new Traeger Woodridge range looks good and more cost effective?

Not really trying to convince you one way or the other just suggesting you try and talk to the appointed dealers and actual users face to face? When I have been in my local Traeger / Weber dealership I have both given and gained practical help.

If I had unlimited funds it would be a Yoder Competition Cart for me!

[LA Pork Butt]

I love my Searwood 600XL, but it produces limited smoke flavor which I believe is mostly the result of which pellets are used. I am still working to identify pellets which are for example are all hickory as opposed to pellets which say hickory, but are largely composed of cheap hardwoods. One other thought is that the XL can accommodate a ton of food, but is inefficient for small amounts. I love the ease of using my Searwood. We would like to hear what you decide.

[captainlee]

Yoder owner here it's great but I understand your issues. As mentioned you need to purchase a brand that you can easily get parts for. I'm sure any of those mentioned will do a great job for you. Good luck with your decision.

[realdocBBQ]

If you haven't yet, I'd check out the YouTube channel Pellets & Pits. He has done a lot of stuff with the Weber Searwood, and I'd probably lean that way for now. He also has a lot of experience with several others in the same 'range'. Worth checking out some of his reviews and head-to-head comparisons.

[BKYDBBQ]

I can only comment on Weber Searwood XL since that is the only one mentioned that I have used.

I really like it for short cooks, it is my go to cooker, for clarity my deck has the Searwood, PBC, PBX, Weber Kettle, and a Blackstone, so I have lots of options but the Searwood is my go to for shorter cooks or if I don't want to spend a lot of time getting the smoker ready to use.

I have not done a pork butt or brisket on it yet since if I am going to spend that kind of time on a cook I am firing up one of the Pit Barrels.

I have cooked Ribs, Chicken, Chuck Roasts, Shrimp, Fish, Pork Belly, Flanken Ribs, etc. on the Searwood and they have all come out really good.

It might be my taste buds but I do not see a large difference in smoke between the Searwood and the Pit Barrels ( HawkerXP please don't kick me out of the PBC club) but I do see a slight overall flavor difference leaning toward the Pit Barrels

I have also done some items on the Searwood where I took the meat off and cranked up the heat to do a reverse sear and it worked great on that as well.

My two cents worth I think the Searwood would be a good option based on my experiences over the last year.

BKYDBBQ

[HawkerXP]

..., ..., ...!

[Sweaty Paul]

dotcodotuk Welcome to The Pit! I have no experience the the Webers, the Camp Chef, or the Louisiana Grills. However, I have a lot of experience with the Yoder. While I know it is expensive. My Yoder is over 10 years old and has been used lots since I got it. I had a Green Mountain Grill prior to getting the Yoder. The Yoder has a far superior smoke flavor profile than the GMG in my opinion and given its heavy frame holds temps well and pellet consumption isn't unreasonable. I would, contrary to what I was told by the Yoder Representative when I ordered my YS-640, get the insulated cover. I think it helps control temps in the pit in both hot and cold days and have recommended to a couple of my buddies who have since purchased one. All the folks I know that own one have been very pleased and have recommended to others.

I also agree with captainlee and making sure you can get parts. I'm fortunate not to have needed a single part in over a decade of Yoder ownership to need any new parts except replacing the felt around the door and grinding a repainting a couple of places.

[captainlee]

I've replaced one temp control probe and 2 fans. I use mine a lot all year. When turning on in extreme cold here in the mountains those fans moan quite a bit for about three minutes, so I know it's hard on them. I believe now they are using a higher quality fan I believe ball bearing. I've had mine since 9/2017.

[Sweaty Paul]

captainlee I know a guy who's brother is one of their engineers. Because of the cold fan squealing they have allegedly been testing a ceramic ball bearing of some kind to see if that doesn't help with that issue. Not sure about the durability, however, if the squealing stops that would be nice assuming the same longevity/durability.

[captainlee]

Yes it stops not too long after startup. I imagine those fans were never designed to start in that low of temp. Not really an issue, all is fine quickly.