Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

Any of these out on the market worth a damn? Was in KC this past weekend and found several grills with a combination of a propane grill, charcoal grill and a smoke box. I currently only have a Weber dome charcoal that I really like, but sometimes cooling for 1 person it's too time consuming and I just want propane to fire up and get cooking.

So I got to thinking, if I am going to buy a propane grill, but also want to dip my toes in the smoking world, why not look into a 3 in 1 unit? Before thinking about a propane I was eyeballing an electric pellet smoker.

As with anything, a lot depends on your budget - you get what you pay for. Cheaper ones are made from uninsulated thin metal - lots of heat loss and the lids don't sealed very well either - so you will lose a lot of smoke. Just means that they aren't efficient - you'll burn more fuel and smoking wood to do the job. Probably limited lifetime, too, as they tend to rust out in a couple of years.

Since you already have a Weber, consider adding on a Smokenator box to do your low & slow smoking and pick up a decent separate gas grill for your quick cooks, rather than a 3-n-1 unit.

https://www.amazon.com/Smokenator-1000- ... B000HI3I68

Or for a few more bucks, the Slow 'n Sear.

https://smile.amazon.com/Adrenaline-Bar ... B014O9YB6G

I've never owned a gas grill, so I'm not a good source for what's good out there.

Have several friends that have electric pellet smokers, who all like them a lot. Several good companies to choose from and they all do a very nice job and are simple to operate.

Thanks Tony, most every gas grill is garbage and why I have not bought one yet and left the 2 year old propane with the ex. I hated it more often than not.

One big plus for propane is I sous vide a fair amount and it works great for a quick searing. Probably money ahead just buying some used one off CL, junk it as needed.

If you just need it for the quick sear after sous vide, consider that Slow & Sear for your Weber - kill 2 birds with one stone and will be a lot cheaper than a gasser, for sure.

Another option for searing after sous vide is to use a handheld torch and a cast iron pan just sitting on your stove.

fargo41 wrote:Another option for searing after sous vide is to use a handheld torch and a cast iron pan just sitting on your stove.

That's what I do now Craig and it works fine as well. Engineers....we tend to overthink things

czubak wrote:That's what I do now Craig and it works fine as well. Engineers....we tend to overthink things

What!? never

Thought of a pellet grill?

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czubak wrote: Engineers....we tend to overthink things

GUILTY!!

whitedj wrote:Thought of a pellet grill?

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Nope, mainly because charcoal can be had so dang cheap when Lowes has their sale.

Resurrecting this thread for more information....

What would you recommend for a Smokers, that has some level of automated temperature control?

I like the idea of electric for that feature along. But there are others the use automation with propane.

I would like the option of using my choice of wood for the smoking portion.

I am indifferent if the actual low-heat is provided by electricity, charcoal, propane, wood....whatever, but I want to be able to set it up and forget it until it is time the process is complete.

Not looking for fancy or expensive....just functional, and fairly easy to use.

I will mainly use it mainly to smoke fish and jerky....and then an occasional turkey/chicken, pork beef, hot dogs/brats, etc.

Depends on what you mean by "low" temp. Pellet smokers are a great option for being pretty automated. Newer models are even programmable and you can monitor them from a smartphone or tablet. Pellets come in blends and many specific woods. They can also be used for grilling. The downside is that they are only really able to go from around 200F to 500F (discounting expensive professional level ones that have 2 zone setups). Several advertise temps as low as 150F but in my experience they don't give good results that low.

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Also check out amazingribs.com. It's a great resource site and they review a lot of smokers and more.

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I have a Green Mountain pellet smoker and it does really well. But, as Randy points out, temperature fluctuates some when set really low and the minimum temperature of the smoke chamber is about 175 degrees F.

That would be too warm for fish or cool smoking. But, one could take a tube from the stack to another box for cool smoking. Alton Brown did something like this when Good Eats made bacon.

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Just thinking out loud here...

You could get some surplus lockers, add a hot plate, a Ranco temperature control, a small fan, and with a little sheet metal work you would have a DIY multiple chamber smoker.

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