I have, and absolutely love, my Camp Chef Woodwind Pro. HOWEVER, getting parts and service over where you are will be a significant consideration, and for that reason I cannot encourage you to go that route. I believe you will have better odds with the other manufacturers if/when the time comes that you might need their help.
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I absolutely love my Smoque XL. I've been very happy with the results from it. I still have my Weber Smoky Mountains and plan to use them when the cooking capacity warrants it, but for smoking, the primary has been the Smoque XL. I did 4 pork shoulders in it 2 weeks ago and I might have been able to squeeze in 2 more and with the upper grate a few more. I use the SmokeBoost setting, which runs at 180 degrees, for a couple hours at the beginning of the cook then move it on to the standard cook temp 225 - 275 depending on what it is. I've not noticed too big of a change from charcoal on the WSM with wood chunks at the beginning of the cook to the Smoque.
I don't think you can go wrong with any of the cookers you have in mind. It really is just a question of service and responsiveness considering you're in the UK.
I was looking at a much more expensive grill and I ended up getting the smoque and a new Weber gas grill for almost less than half.Comment
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Oooh, now you are a man I need to speak to. How far below the lower grates are the flavorizer bars on the Smoque XL? Think you could balance a water tray on them?
Perhaps use a half sheet or quarter sheet with the foil tray on that? -
dotcodotuk I don’t think there would be enough room for a foil tray but I’ll have to do an actual check with a foil tray. The thing is, you can remove grates on one side and have plenty of room for a foil tray filled with water and the other side can hold the meat on the grate.
Another thing, I haven’t used a water tray on my smoque once since I got it. I stopped using one on my WSMs too. I read Harry Soo didn’t use them in his WSM so I figured I’d give it a shot and haven’t looked back.
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I'm torn, I'd say weber since you have access to service... but the UK weather absolutely destroyed my supposedly stainless US brand grill after 4 years of living there.
I'd probably lean towards Yoder or LSG and do the annual rust mitigation, I'd also pay extra to have an ignitor or two on hand. I assume you'd be using an inverter or whatever for the power if it was a 110 device, is there a way to get a 220 Yoder? Thise boxes can cause issues long term for electronics.
I'd be shocked if there wasn't a UK made custom pellet grill manufacturer, they are popular enough to warrant a couple being in the market amd the country is small enough that wherever they might be could be visited in a day or so of travel to see hands on?Comment
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Weber products do seem to hold up well - my one complaint is their covers don't last as long as I feel they should for the money, but that's a minor gripe in the overall scheme of things.
My issue with Weber's support seems to come with them not holding much stock in the UK for products that are a little bit niche - but they do get them eventually and usually offer a small discount for having to wait. -
Oh, and the Yoder apparently runs off a standard UK plug, no inverter needed. But I'll double check, just in case I can sell a kidney on the black market and feel the need for a YS640s in my life!
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Didn't Louisiana Grills go out of business?Comment
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Okay folks, I have a concept of a plan. Feel free to pick it apart!
I'm not saying the Yoder is out out but unless I can sell my slightly-damaged left kidney for good money (long story how it got that way) it's money I can't justify spending, even though there seems to be very decent and responsive support over here in Europe for them.
If I was in the US and could get my hands on one for what you pay it would be on my deck as I type this, but it's a minimum entry price of $4,400 delivered to my door, albeit with a whole bunch of accessories thrown in - cover, shelves, pellets, thermometers, grease guard. Mega money for some idiot who has never owned a pellet smoker before.
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I'm not saying the Searwood is 100% out... but it's 75% of the way there as I feel the Smoque is just as good at what I want it to do, for less money. I can get a Smoque XL with a cover, bottom shelf, some foil trays and a whole load of pellets for the same price as just the Searwood XL.
However, until I can see and touch one for myself, I'm wary of buying blind and then regretting not getting the Searwood. But I'm also wary of all the wannabe influencers out there on who seem to fawn over the Searwood*.
Is anyone doing that for the Smoque? I've not seen it... but please correct me.
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Where I'm leaning is the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro 36. Hard to find here, but I do have a line on an ex-display model from a BBQ School who only ever had this one model for promotional purposes and it would come with the cover, the insulated blanket and 2-years warranty for a pretty solid price.
In my mind, and this is where you can all tell me I'm being daft, there are three big pluses about the Camp Chef.
- Huge amount of real estate on the top racks for smoking, which would allow me to start cooks off there and then wrap and move to the lower racks while I add more to the top to make my 'perfect platter' cook**.
- The Smoke Box just feels cool as heck and I want to believe it will make a difference. I envisage being able to run the smoker on a 'standard' pellet and then add different wood at different stages of the cook to add flavour to the meat I'm smoking for my so-called perfect platter**.
- I have seen some in-depth reviews and cooking demonstrations using the Camp Chef that I feel I can trust enough to be objectively sound, where I'm struggling to do the same with the Weber or even the Yoder. Mad Scientist BBQ being the main source here, so this is probably the time where someone needs to tell me he's absolutely full of it and I shouldn't trust a word the guy says...
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All that being said, if we're talking just price and price alone, I could get two Smoque XLs or a Smoque XL and a Searwood XL for not much more than the Camp Chef WWP 36. And as I said before, I could get all three for the same as the Yoder!
*One thing I want to say is I am not dismissing any of the opinions offered here with my comments above about reviews or similar, that's purely based on the amount of people on YT who seem to be willing to fawn over a particular product in the hope they'll get sent some free stuff or get one step further along to becoming Internet Famous.
**I will have to create a dedicated thread for this whole 'perfect platter' idea as I could do with people who know what they are talking about to give me some guidance on whether my plan is even doable or if I'm just wasting my time... perhaps that is needed before I do spend some money.Comment
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I would also go look at CampChef’s website right now. Under pellet grills they currently have one grill, the Woodwind 24 and it appears to be without the smoke box. 6-7 years ago they had probably 10-20 models with 24 and 36 of many of them. Doesn’t appear they’re doing well in pellet grill market to me. Maybe it’s different over the pond. -
Regarding the Searwood, I'm yet to see a review where they heap praise on the smoking capabilities alone - it seems to always be in conjunction with the searing ability. Review after review talking about both, which to me seems to skew opinion. I could be wrong there, happy to be shown otherwise, but I'm not discounting it as a good piece of kit - I just want someone to tell me why it's better at smoking than other options. -
And yes, the Smoke Box on the Camp Chef is below the drip pan, but so is the fire box for the pellets - it sits on top of where the pellets burn. I don't really see how that's a downside, given the pellet smoke will emanate from the same location - thoughts?
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I can’t help with the product lineup. I have a small grilla chimp pellet grill that I use a lot, but it is nowhere near big enough for what you want to do. I think pellet grills are great additions because of the ease of using them. And sounds like you have the charcoal cooking covered.
But in that fine print in your post about people here that know what they are talking about, well, just be careful. Some, like Uncle Bob and Panhead John and texastweeter, well, just beware. And that WI Bubba guy is suspect.
I am editing this list to add jayjordan. He is a little shady too. And even though she is a moderator and may kick me off the site, SheilaAnn. I am not afraid of the truth.Last edited by klflowers; Yesterday, 08:30 AM.Comment
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Put a deposit down on an XL Searwood today... will make a decision in the week ahead whether to pay the balance and have it delivered, but couldn't resist the price on offer and felt it might force my hand into making a final decision.
Still more than you pay in the US, but was a hair under $1,300 as an ex-display model (comes with warranty) which is about $330 less than the cheapest price for a new one I have seen so far.Comment
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