Smoked Brisket

[panteragstk]

I really like my Pit Barrel Cooker for smoking but if I had to pick just one grilling device, it would be my 22" Weber. It's really versatile and not really that much less convenient than my gas grill.

I have considered getting a kamado for pizza and a pellet smoker but I really have enough grilling devices.

Love my Weber. Best grill I've ever owned. Just need to get some new parts and clean it. The outside still looks new, but dirty. Most grills I've owned rust out at this point. No hint of rust anywhere on this thing.

 

[2channel lover]

My friend has an egg, and while it's nice I wouldn't buy one.

The main reason is as a grill, I don't see it being any better than the Weber I currently have. As a smoker, once it's up to temp, you're not getting it down easily. That makes for a bad smoker. I don't want to get the temp up to 350 in error only to have to wait hours for it to cool down. Would ruin the meat.

That said, I'd LOVE to use one for a pizza oven. I've read the comados are fantastic for that.

I have a Primo XL...also a ceramic grill/smoker.

Grill...I've owned a Weber kettle for many many years, and it's no contest. Moisture retention in the food is better with the primo, the ability to get 500+ easily it sears much better. You can get restaurant quality off this thing.

Bake...they are great...we've done pizza parties where everyone gets their own mini, we've done many large pizzas, deep dish, thin crust, etc...we really don't buy pizza anymore....it's pretty quick too....depending on the time of yr...8 to 10 mins.

Smoker...temp control has a learning curve but it's not difficult. The main thing is once you get the fire established and close the lid, you can't go away for 10- 15 mins if you want a 225 to 250 cooking temp. But let's say you do, and you're at 350...it won't take hours to get you back down to a smoking temp, about 35 mins or so depending on outside temps. Now if you're at 500+, yes, it might take you an hour to get it back down.

I just watched a new Traeger Timberline 1300 in action this past weekend. New out of the box, he was just taking it thru the paces and it took a good 45 mins to get down to 250 from running at 500 for 20 mins.

Strictly as a smoker, the Traeger is hard to beat. As a general outdoor cooking appliance...I like my primo.

I know I sound like a fanboy and I guess I am, but it's so much better than my Weber kettle and that prompted my response...

 

[panteragstk]

I have a Primo XL...also a ceramic grill/smoker.

Grill...I've owned a Weber kettle for many many years, and it's no contest. Moisture retention in the food is better with the primo, the ability to get 500+ easily it sears much better. You can get restaurant quality off this thing.

Bake...they are great...we've done pizza parties where everyone gets their own mini, we've done many large pizzas, deep dish, thin crust, etc...we really don't buy pizza anymore....it's pretty quick too....depending on the time of yr...8 to 10 mins.

Smoker...temp control has a learning curve but it's not difficult. The main thing is once you get the fire established and close the lid, you can't go away for 10- 15 mins if you want a 225 to 250 cooking temp. But let's say you do, and you're at 350...it won't take hours to get you back down to a smoking temp, about 35 mins or so depending on outside temps. Now if you're at 500+, yes, it might take you an hour to get it back down.

I just watched a new Traeger Timberline 1300 in action this past weekend. New out of the box, he was just taking it thru the paces and it took a good 45 mins to get down to 250 from running at 500 for 20 mins.

Strictly as a smoker, the Traeger is hard to beat. As a general outdoor cooking appliance...I like my primo.

I know I sound like a fanboy and I guess I am, but it's so much better than my Weber kettle and that prompted my response...

Fwiw the primos are supposedly better than the eggs. I wanted one for a bit, but I smoke too much at a time so I needed something bigger.

My Webber can get hot as hell. No issue there. I've used an egg to grill, but it was my friends and just hamburgers. I'll research the primos again if my Weber ever dies, but I'm not in a hurry.

 

[2channel lover]

Fwiw the primos are supposedly better than the eggs. I wanted one for a bit, but I smoke too much at a time so I needed something bigger.

My Webber can get hot as hell. No issue there. I've used an egg to grill, but it was my friends and just hamburgers. I'll research the primos again if my Weber ever dies, but I'm not in a hurry.

Yeah if you’re primarily smoking, there are certainly smokers out there that are more convenient than a ceramic Kamado style grill/smoker. Given that I’ve had smoked food off most of the popular smokers, I might raise a debate that they at least equal in quality/taste.

My wife is not heavily into smoked food so it’s not my staple, but there are some smoked dishes she likes. She loves my smoked salmon, everyone likes the ribs. I’m more of an outdoor cook than anything, I grill, roast, bake pizza, stirfry, smoke....I use both my gas and Primo.

Best ceramic…I did a lot of research and cooked on my brother in law’s BGE, and I have another friend with a Kamado Joe. They all cook similar so I wouldn’t say one is better than the other in that regard. It’s really the operating function that vary. If you had a check off list, the Kamado Joe would likely check off more boxes than either the BGE or the Primo Oval…it has the best hinge system, best gasket (although they all will need to be replaced at some point) it comes with more accessories (making it less expensive). It’s made in China. The BGE was the 1st recognized ceramic grill on the market, widest distribution, most aftermarket accessory options…made in Mexico.

There’s a handful of advantages that Primo markets over the Eggs, but imo the main one is the shape itself, the Primo Oval design allows for true dual zone cooking from the firebox up to the grate. You can do dual zone cooking on a BGE or KJ, but they’re not as good.

Pic when they were new.

 

[2channel lover]

Direct turf

Indirect surf, filets seared and now cooking thru on the indirect side

 

[2channel lover]

 

[herbu]

As a smoker, once it's up to temp, you're not getting it down easily. That makes for a bad smoker.

Well, my post was about the Big Green Egg forum for smoking tips and recipes. But as a smoker, your statement is curious to me. Every serious smoker has a lot of mass to make holding a steady temp easier as the fire itself fluctuates. Look at Klose, Lang, GatorPit, etc. All are VERY thick steel and VERY heavy for that reason. And all the big stick smokers require near constant attention to the fire and temp, with regular feeding of the fire box and adjusting of the air flow. This is where the Egg excels. It will maintain a constant temp long enough to do a brisket or butt without tending to the fire or air vents. That is convenience, and allows one to cook overnight while you sleep, or during the day while you do something else.

Yes, it takes some knowledge and experience to do it right, but so does every other smoker. If you let it get up to 700deg it will take a while for all the mass to cool down, just like every other real smoker. In other words, it is not foolproof. (This is where I would insert the snarky comment if we were talking about politics. ) But when used well, it will grill as well or better than a regular grill, and it will do low-and-slow as well or better than any smoker plus it won't require your attention throughout the cook.

To each his own, and I'll not criticize a fellow griller/smoker for his choices. It's ALL good. For me, the Egg has been a huge step up in convenience with the same results as my big traditional GatorPit offset smoker. But it may not be for you.

 

[2channel lover]

Well, my post was about the Big Green Egg forum for smoking tips and recipes. But as a smoker, your statement is curious to me. Every serious smoker has a lot of mass to make holding a steady temp easier as the fire itself fluctuates. Look at Klose, Lang, GatorPit, etc. All are VERY thick steel and VERY heavy for that reason. And all the big stick smokers require near constant attention to the fire and temp, with regular feeding of the fire box and adjusting of the air flow. This is where the Egg excels. It will maintain a constant temp long enough to do a brisket or butt without tending to the fire or air vents. That is convenience, and allows one to cook overnight while you sleep, or during the day while you do something else.

Yes, it takes some knowledge and experience to do it right, but so does every other smoker. If you let it get up to 700deg it will take a while for all the mass to cool down, just like every other real smoker. In other words, it is not foolproof. (This is where I would insert the snarky comment if we were talking about politics. ) But when used well, it will grill as well or better than a regular grill, and it will do low-and-slow as well or better than any smoker plus it won't require your attention throughout the cook.

To each his own, and I'll not criticize a fellow griller/smoker for his choices. It's ALL good. For me, the Egg has been a huge step up in convenience with the same results as my big traditional GatorPit offset smoker. But it may not be for you.

Most people I've run into that say they would not buy one (like my boss) have not owned or used one very much. I was that guy at one time as well.

The truth is, the top 3 ceramic grill/smokers will smoke as good as the best smokers, but there are better smokers from a convenience standpoint...the Trager Timberline 1300 is one of them. But the ceramic also grill as well as the best grills.

 

[Swerd]

Yes, it takes some knowledge and experience to do it right, but so does every other smoker. If you let it get up to 700deg it will take a while for all the mass to cool down, just like every other real smoker.

You got that right. There's a learning curve for every grill and smoker. Once someone learns how to manage his smoker or grill, he happily recommends it to others, as if it's the only solution. It's one solution, but far from the only one.

 

[panteragstk]

Yeah if you’re primarily smoking, there are certainly smokers out there that are more convenient than a ceramic Kamado style grill/smoker. Given that I’ve had smoked food off most of the popular smokers, I might raise a debate that they at least equal in quality/taste.

My wife is not heavily into smoked food so it’s not my staple, but there are some smoked dishes she likes. She loves my smoked salmon, everyone likes the ribs. I’m more of an outdoor cook than anything, I grill, roast, bake pizza, stirfry, smoke....I use both my gas and Primo.

Best ceramic…I did a lot of research and cooked on my brother in law’s BGE, and I have another friend with a Kamado Joe. They all cook similar so I wouldn’t say one is better than the other in that regard. It’s really the operating function that vary. If you had a check off list, the Kamado Joe would likely check off more boxes than either the BGE or the Primo Oval…it has the best hinge system, best gasket (although they all will need to be replaced at some point) it comes with more accessories (making it less expensive). It’s made in China. The BGE was the 1st recognized ceramic grill on the market, widest distribution, most aftermarket accessory options…made in Mexico.

There’s a handful of advantages that Primo markets over the Eggs, but imo the main one is the shape itself, the Primo Oval design allows for true dual zone cooking from the firebox up to the grate. You can do dual zone cooking on a BGE or KJ, but they’re not as good.

Pic when they were new.

True. I use a smoker from a local company where I live. It's one of the best I've ever used. It's also huge (and heavy).

This is from last year. This is the model I have. Love this thing.

 

[2channel lover]

True. I use a smoker from a local company where I live. It's one of the best I've ever used. It's also huge (and heavy).

This is from last year. This is the model I have. Love this thing.

View attachment 30180

It's close to lunch time...Salivating!

 

[panteragstk]

Well, my post was about the Big Green Egg forum for smoking tips and recipes. But as a smoker, your statement is curious to me. Every serious smoker has a lot of mass to make holding a steady temp easier as the fire itself fluctuates. Look at Klose, Lang, GatorPit, etc. All are VERY thick steel and VERY heavy for that reason. And all the big stick smokers require near constant attention to the fire and temp, with regular feeding of the fire box and adjusting of the air flow. This is where the Egg excels. It will maintain a constant temp long enough to do a brisket or butt without tending to the fire or air vents. That is convenience, and allows one to cook overnight while you sleep, or during the day while you do something else.

Yes, it takes some knowledge and experience to do it right, but so does every other smoker. If you let it get up to 700deg it will take a while for all the mass to cool down, just like every other real smoker. In other words, it is not foolproof. (This is where I would insert the snarky comment if we were talking about politics. ) But when used well, it will grill as well or better than a regular grill, and it will do low-and-slow as well or better than any smoker plus it won't require your attention throughout the cook.

To each his own, and I'll not criticize a fellow griller/smoker for his choices. It's ALL good. For me, the Egg has been a huge step up in convenience with the same results as my big traditional GatorPit offset smoker. But it may not be for you.

I agree that if you are used to it that they can be excellent. I've even seen attachment for the egg that automate temperature control.

I can get my large smoker back down in temp VERY quickly just by opening things up. Normally, when I smoke at 225 I have all the vents pretty much closed. TINY adjustments to the vent make the temp more very quickly. One of the reasons I like it so much.

I'm not saying the komado type smokers are bad, but they just aren't what I prefer.

 

[2channel lover]

I agree that if you are used to it that they can be excellent. I've even seen attachment for the egg that automate temperature control.

I can get my large smoker back down in temp VERY quickly just by opening things up. Normally, when I smoke at 225 I have all the vents pretty much closed. TINY adjustments to the vent make the temp more very quickly. One of the reasons I like it so much.

I'm not saying the komado type smokers are bad, but they just aren't what I prefer.

For smoking typically I'm not looking for large temps swings, up or down, but that's a nice feature. My drawback with smokers like those...you're smoking, or you're smoking.

 

[panteragstk]

For smoking typically I'm not looking for large temps swings, up or down, but that's a nice feature. My drawback with smokers like those...you're smoking, or you're smoking.

I'm not looking for it either, but sometimes I'll build a fire and it will be slow to get the smoker up to temp (wet wood or something else) and I'll open up the vents to try to get things going only to find that in a few minutes I'm at 400 degrees. All I typically have to do is close everything up and it'll come back down pretty quickly.

This is usually before any meat is on so it's not a big deal, but with my friend's egg, we had meat on and it got too hot and never cooled back down. It was just a small pork loin so cook time was pretty low to begin with. I hadn't ever used a komado to smoke before so I relied on him. He usually uses it for grilling so I guess he had too much charcoal in it or something. He actually has a large smoker he uses to smoke (just because it holds more meat) so I guess his egg wasn't really intended for smoking.

 

[2channel lover]

You got that right. There's a learning curve for every grill and smoker. Once someone learns how to manage his smoker or grill, he happily recommends it to others, as if it's the only solution. It's one solution, but far from the only one.

Very true, of the big 3 Kamado brands, I think dual zone cooking is easier/better with the Primo, but I routinely recommend the Kamado Joe if one is looking for the best value.

 

[2channel lover]

I'm not looking for it either, but sometimes I'll build a fire and it will be slow to get the smoker up to temp (wet wood or something else) and I'll open up the vents to try to get things going only to find that in a few minutes I'm at 400 degrees. All I typically have to do is close everything up and it'll come back down pretty quickly.

This is usually before any meat is on so it's not a big deal, but with my friend's egg, we had meat on and it got too hot and never cooled back down. It was just a small pork loin so cook time was pretty low to begin with. I hadn't ever used a komado to smoke before so I relied on him. He usually uses it for grilling so I guess he had too much charcoal in it or something. He actually has a large smoker he uses to smoke (just because it holds more meat) so I guess his egg wasn't really intended for smoking.

Yeah, that's the difference between a smoker, and a grill/smoker, especially a ceramic one...by design it's supposed to hold heat so going down drastically is not going to happen fast.

Not being there, it's hard to say, but it sounds like maybe grease drippings were agitating the fire if it got that hot....been there, done that. Generally speaking if I'm smoking at 225, I choke the air intake off at about 190-200 and use the top vent to dial in my desired smoking temp. Your friend is probably more used to smoking on the big boy...understandable.

 

[panteragstk]

Yeah, that's the difference between a smoker, and a grill/smoker, especially a ceramic one...by design it's supposed to hold heat so going down drastically is not going to happen fast.

Not being there, it's hard to say, but it sounds like maybe grease drippings were agitating the fire if it got that hot....been there, done that. Generally speaking if I'm smoking at 225, I choke the air intake off at about 190-200 and use the top vent to dial in my desired smoking temp. Your friend is probably more used to smoking on the big boy...understandable.

Yep. I think you probably hit the nail on the head.

I think if I were to ever do an outdoor kitchen like yours I'd do a komado just because they're more "permanent" than I think a Weber would be. Plus, I've always wanted to try to cook pizza on one. You actually have the one I looked at before finding my current smoker.

 

[2channel lover]

Yep. I think you probably hit the nail on the head.

I think if I were to ever do an outdoor kitchen like yours I'd do a komado just because they're more "permanent" than I think a Weber would be. Plus, I've always wanted to try to cook pizza on one. You actually have the one I looked at before finding my current smoker.

From the time we built the house, I knew I wanted a grilling pad so I ran a natural gas line out there...the Weber commanded that space until funds allowed me to forward with the Primo and Blaze grills. The stainless steel I use more than I expected, but I rarely ever cook directly on the grates...I have a cast iron griddle, and wok...fajitas are done in no time. The Primo does all the heavy lifting.

 

[herbu]

You got that right. There's a learning curve for every grill and smoker. Once someone learns how to manage his smoker or grill, he happily recommends it to others, as if it's the only solution. It's one solution, but far from the only one.

Are we still talking about smokers, or did we move back into home theater stuff?

 

[Swerd]

Are we still talking about smokers, or did we move back into home theater stuff?

At audio shows, in the high-priced rooms, I've seen amplifiers that could double as hot dog grills or marshmallow toasters. Maybe D'Agostino could get together with BGE to produce the first high-end electric grill/smoker. You'd need two for stereo smoking, and with surround smoke and bi-amping, the sky's the limit.