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mediocre

mediocre

Red Skull Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2020
Member Number
1948
Messages
42
Loc
Utah
What do you have for your outdoor cooking experiences?

What are the pros and cons? Or regrets, room for improvement, etc.
 
Kamado Ceramic cooker is the most versitle cooking unit that lasts forever,. I run a Primo Brand but others are pretty much just as good.

I have had mine outdoors in the elements for 7 years, it still looks brand new.

I smoke on it (16 hours no troubles), grill on it.

it just works.
 
I've got an Okalhoma Joe's stick burner that I started with which has since become the lake grill.

I have a Kamado Joe at the house that I use quite regularly. I would say the $400 (used) price tag has probably paid for itself in lump coal savings in the past 2-3 years.
 
Camp Chef 2 burner camp stove with a pizza maker on top, electric smoker, and a Weber charcoal all set up in the shop. All get used constantly.

If I had the $$ for a Traeger I’d have one too. Everything works perfect for me.
 
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Camp Chef Explorer 2 burner with pizza oven, flat top and grill box. Camp Chef 6 burner flat top for when we need to feed a bunch of people. Camp Chef Smoker. all pro's, no con's.
 
Weber 26 inch for grilling also have a kettle pizza attachment for it that is amazing. No cons about a Weber. Plus lump charcoal adds amazing flavor

Weber Ranch kettle when cooking for a large crowd.

Gateway drum smoker for amazing BBQ. No cons for the Gateway. Cooks ribs in 2 1/2 hrs and pork butts or briskets in 5 hrs
 
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15 year old Cosco branded Nexgrill Stainless, converted from Propane to natural gas. I've probably refurbished it 5 times and keep swearing its the last time. 3 burner, Side burner, and rotisserie.

Burgers, Steaks, Chickens, small roasts.

Just built a UDS, learning on it.

tri tip, brisket, ribs, chicken
 
I have a Smokey Mountain propane smoker, Weber propane grill, and a Weber kettle (for those evenings I have time for charcoal :smokin:​​​​​​)

We usually prepare some type of meat outside every evening :homer:
(unless it’s too windy, but I’m going to build a wind screen to fix that :grinpimp:)
 
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The local Walmart had this guy on clearance for $250. I snagged the last one this morning.
 
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I've got a Large BGE and a Trager. Had the BGE for years, and its pretty good. Only issue I have is the hinge is somehow misaligned and gives it an overbite. Adjust it correct, 4-5 lid opens later and its messed up again.

The trager was a Home Depot clearance purchase. Wanted something easier for when i'm cooking meat for the week. Its been a bit more of a headache. First it had temp control issues due to the wrong start up instructions being included and the muppets at HD assemling the fire box wrong. Thats all fixed, but their CS was useless. Some guy on reddit figured out the issue in 5 minutes vs 6 calls to trager. Now it works, but can't run more than 6 hours without the pellets sticking in the hopper, much like a blast cabinet. Going to make some new feed ramps out of slicker material and see if that fixes it. If I hadn't paid $200 I would have returned it.

For camping I have a Cobb grill - https://www.cobbgrillamerica.com/shop/portable-grills/cobb-premier-grill Its small, but pretty amazing what it can do. I can put the griddle on it to make bacon and eggs in the morning, grill burgers or steaks for dinner and use the wok the next day to make stir fry or similar. Since the bottom stays cool you can use it on a wood or plastic table. Also only uses 6-10 charcoal briquettes at a time, so a tiny bag lasts for several trips.

Next I want a flat griddle for home, propane powered. Thinking about finding a big chunk of metal and DIY one, the ones I have looked at either have too thin a top or are out of my price range.
 
The homoghey is strong in this thread with the variation of pellet smokers.


I’ve enjoyed the current challenge of smoking without a firebox or thermometer using real pecan, apple, and mesquite logs. On the menu today is a Dino rib, spare ribs, chicken, sausage, fajitas (“tri tip” for you west coasters), poppers, bacon wrapped Oreos, and plenty of beer for you wine snobs


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Large Big Green Egg. I’ve had it for a couple of years, it’s the best smoker I’ve owned. Previously had an electric one and another point had a propane one.
 
The first smoker I bought was propane fueled. It was shitty and didn’t maintain a consistent temperature. It was a good learning experience because I didn’t know fuck about smoking.

Next I bought an electric smoker. Because it was simple, could control the specific smoker I bought via bluetooth. And my buddy from Texas recommended it. I was like fuck it. That smoker was good for a bit. But I think it didn’t allow the food to pick up enough smoke flavor.

Then finally upgraded to a legit charcoal smoker, BGE. No regrets, still very much learning how to tweak or perfect smoking different foods. Especially with different types of woods. From softer to harder types of wood.
 
I have a Pitboss Austin XL. It's very similar to the Trager probably because the creator of the Trager went to work for Dansons which makes Pitboss. The LCD on my controller has flaked out but it still heats and maintains temp very well. We just completed my first smoked turkey yesterday and it was phenomenal. It took some getting use to coming from an offset charcoal smoker/grill but if you treat it like a smoky oven you will be pleased. I use it more than the stove/oven now and use it probably 3-4 times per week for the past 3 years.

I am in the market for a more traditional offset smoker just because I do miss tending the fire. Also wanting a blackstone griddle. But for grilling convince and utility I'd highly recommend the Pitboss.
 
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I have a Pitboss Austin XL. It's very similar to the Trager probably because the creator of the Trager went to work for Dansons which makes Pitboss. The LCD on my controller has flaked out but it still heats and maintains temp very well. We just completed my first smoked turkey yesterday and it was phenomenal. It took some getting use to coming from an offset charcoal smoker/grill but if you treat it like a smoky oven you will be pleased. I use it more than the stove/oven now and use it probably 3-4 times per week for the past 3 years.

I am in the market for a more traditional offset smoker just because I do miss tending the fire. Also wanting a blackstone griddle. But for grilling convince and utility I'd highly recommend the Pitboss.
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I just used my Austin XL for the first time Saturday with brisket and ribs. It’s definitely a simple unit to use. The meat turned out great.
 
Heat and salty air is killing the fire box door on mine. My plan is to build a offset fire box, cut the old box off and weld on the new one. Probably won’t happen for a while though.
 
Have a GMG, pellet smokers are the easy bake oven of smokers. It makes a lot of stuff so easy you can't hardly screw it up. I smoke the turkey for Thanksgiving every year and had to start smoking 2, since no leftovers kinda sucks.

Can't do a true cold smoke, and it doesn't get hot enough for a good sear. But for 90% of stuff it's awesome.
 
VG SERE said:
Have a GMG, pellet smokers are the easy bake oven of smokers. It makes a lot of stuff so easy you can't hardly screw it up. I smoke the turkey for Thanksgiving every year and had to start smoking 2, since no leftovers kinda sucks.

Can't do a true cold smoke, and it doesn't get hot enough for a good sear. But for 90% of stuff it's awesome.
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Get some Grill Grates and you can get a good sear with it.
 
I have an Ok Joes longhorn 3 in 1 combo and love it.

I did a poor mans Brisket for my first smoke and it came out fantastic.


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I run a Traeger Pro 34 for a handful of years now. I got it for free, so i'm going to complain. It works well and is super easy to use. If i was going to pay full pop for it I may have gone with another brand, the Traeger is thin sheet metal and there are better options.

I started with a $150 propane smoker and used that for 10 years and got awesome results too. the trager just has a ton more surface area.

My favorite smoker is a gravity fed. pretty mucha set it and forget it system, they're just a bit out of my price range. I found some plans to build one, but my welding skills are mediocre and the materials ae about $600 so its an expensive project to learn on.
 
Just bought an electric smoker, tried slow smoking some buckboard bacon with apple chips, after 6 hours at a 105* meat never reached 100* temp and chips still look like I pulled them out of the bag!

Like I said first time so some experimentation is called for and a book, can't believe they will sell you a smoker without some sort of cook book other than which meats to pair with what chips.
Going to try pellets this next time I read they smoke better that chips.
Picking up some beef Friday and see what I can do.
 
If it has an insulated cabinet it will hardly ever turn on at that low of a temp setting especially if it is hot outside.

What was the temp outside?
 
I run a Pit Boss. I know it's cheating and pellet smokers are not the same as doing an actual hardwood smoke. But that thing is so easy and so consistent that I don't care. Cook at least 3 times a week with it and never had a problem, going on 3 years use. Including when it is -20 degrees outside. Just turn the knob and it maintains temp.

Traegers don't seem to be any better quality. You are paying for name recognition.

Green Mountain Grills make a really nice portable unit, but my brother has had problems with the control board in his.
 
quarters_ninja said:
I run a Pit Boss. I know it's cheating and pellet smokers are not the same as doing an actual hardwood smoke. But that thing is so easy and so consistent that I don't care.
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I don't understand the underlined part.

Is a gravity fed smoker cheating because if you start the fire correctly it just keeps going? Are wifi thermometers cheating because you don't have to sit there and babysit the meat? is the BBQ Guru Pit Viper fan cheating because it regulates the temps?


personally, i don't give a shit what anyone uses to cook. For me, the final product is all that matters
 
midwestzj said:
I don't understand the underlined part.

Is a gravity fed smoker cheating because if you start the fire correctly it just keeps going? Are wifi thermometers cheating because you don't have to sit there and babysit the meat? is the BBQ Guru Pit Viper fan cheating because it regulates the temps?


personally, i don't give a shit what anyone uses to cook. For me, the final product is all that matters
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You have a good point. And really only the snobs can tell a difference (just like most people couldn't tell what flavor of pellets I am using).

I say it's cheating because it feels like I am cheating. For example, a lot of people comment on how good the pulled pork I make is. What they don't know is I spend about 10 minutes actually making it. Season meat, add to grill, go to bed. Check pellet level when I wake up. Pull it off the smoker just before lunch. Shred after resting. Then serve. It may not actually be cheating, but the entire process is so easy it feels that way.
 
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