New Smoker

[mattyn1]

Have been tinkering in the garden and getting ready for Spring/Summer BBQing - the smoker is looking a bit tired (it is a Oklahoma Joe - https://www.oklahomajoes.com/longhorn-offset-smoke... Has got me thinking about replacing it for something a bit better - something a bit more controllable etc.

So what are the experts thoughts on these -

Traeger Pellet Smoker - https://thebbqshop.co.uk/traeger-pro-22-wood-pelle...

or this (which has really caught my eye)

Masterbuilt Gravity Charcoal - https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/mb20041020/ma...

I do like the look of the Traeger's but only the bigger versions to be honest (ironwood, timberline), - which are too expensive. I have a gas grill too - but the Masterbuilt gives me the option to charcoal grill too and quickly.

Are either any good? Any other options for sort of the same cash?

Cheers

[witten]

I have a Masterbuilt 1050. Get that one. You can run it on charcoal or even wood splits but you still get the convenience of the 'set and forget' approach. I got mine from Prosmoke BBQ in Banbury and they seem to always have a deal on to throw in a load of fuel. I probably end up using 1/3 a bag of lumpwood charcoal for a 12 hour cook so it is pretty efficient. Plus the 1050 is large. There is some temp differences around the grille and the high up shelves are mostly just for warming but I love mine. I would get an offset but not sure I can invest the time versus using the Master built and just going to get on with some work.

I wouldn't bother with the 560. It's too small. The 1050 takes 17 chickens which some find excessive (man maths gets me through it) but as the top is mostly warming its good for a Brisket, a pork shoulder and 2 racks of ribs or a Turkey Breast. That's cooking for 15 or so people.

As a grille it works pretty well. I do miss the real coals catching the dripping fat that you get from a proper grille but you'd get that from your gas one anyway

Edited by witten on Thursday 6th April 17:01

[mattyn1]

witten said:

I have a Masterbuilt 1050. Get that one. You can run it on charcoal or even wood splits but you still get the convenience of the 'set and forget' approach. I got mine from Prosmoke BBQ in Banbury and they seem to always have a deal on to throw in a load of fuel. I probably end up using 1/3 a bag of lumpwood charcoal for a 12 hour cook so it is pretty efficient. Plus the 1050 is large. There is some temp differences around the grille and the high up shelves are mostly just for warming but I love mine. I would get an offset but not sure I can invest the time versus using the Master built and just going to get on with some work.

I wouldn't bother with the 560. It's too small. The 1050 takes 17 chickens which some find excessive (man maths gets me through it) but as the top is mostly warming its good for a Brisket, a pork shoulder and 2 racks of ribs or a Turkey Breast. That's cooking for 15 or so people.

As a grille it works pretty well. I do miss the real coals catching the dripping fat that you get from a proper grille but you'd get that from your gas one anyway

Edited by witten on Thursday 6th April 17:01

Thanks She is gonna kill me!

[fttm]

Masterbuilt quality is poor , they’re cheap for a reason. Pit Boss or Traeger must be the weapon of choice , read the reviews. I changed from a WSM to Pit Boss and after initial concerns regards the smokeyness it’s an awesome piece ok kit .

[mattyn1]

Thread revival time!

Never did get a new smoker - two summers and I have made do with he offset.

However - now looking more seriously - has anyone tried one of these? Was suggested this today - but not one I have heard of...

https://prosmokebbq.co.uk/products/super-55-uds-ki...

The other option is a Smoky Mountain 57cm.

Or are there others? A Kamado of significant size but similar price?

I want something relatively easy to maintain temperature, doing ribs, brisket, etc, and I am assured (by Oliver at Pro Smoke) that the Super 55 is perfect.

Any gems of thoughts would be graciously received!

[vladcjelli]

I've been doing a lot of thinking about a smoker for quite some time and have looked into all the above pellet smokers.

Up to now, for reasons, I've not got round to committing to one.

So I made a home made test smoker out of a beer barrel. It does the job and is giving me a chance to have a play, learn a bit about smoking. Half the fun was building it.

My next one will probably be made out of a 45 gallon drum like your UDS (Ugly Drum Smoker). You can buy the parts kits to make your own, or cobble it together with whatever you can buy/scavenge. Plenty of youtube direction on how to go about it. Certainly £599 looks steep when you can DIY.

When I have a couple of quid spare, I am going for a Traeger or similar though.

[AndyTR]

The super 55 looks really good and has great reviews. There seem to be issues with the master built build quality from reading reviews, so I'm steering clear. Not that I need a new smoker as I've just had a Franklin delivered from ProSmoke which is exceeding my expectations already!