i want to start smoking

[blackmamba]

What would be a good smoker that wont break the bank?

Electric or charcoal?

i have Chargriller side smoker that i use for bbqing but have not been successful with it for smoking. Anyone use one of these?

[BIGJ]

I have an electric smoker and like it. Just set the temp. and leave it along.
Only have to add wood chips every now and then. When you smoke a large brisket for 10-12 hours you dont have to watch the temp. the whole time.

[blackmamba]

I was on smokingmeatforums.com and saw that alot of folks use the Brinkman MES40, including Eman from this site. What kind do you use and how much do they cost?

[eman]

The Mes is not a brinkman but yes it works great,
If you want to sit around an tend a fire all day get a stick burner. If not get a MES and add the AMNS . the Mes requires you to add chips arouind once an hour w/ the AMNS you can get smoke for 8 hrs

[Ray]

I have a big heavy charcoal smoker. I love smoked meat.
I can sit by the smoker, with an ice chest and watch football thru the french doors.
I never tried an electric smoker.

I don't use charcoal lighter, I use a charcoal chimney on a propane burner to get the
charcoal started. Tastes betta. I add wood every 2 to 3 hours. I just use a little charcoal to get the wood started. Once the charcoal is gone, I don't add anymore. Just wood.

[QUACKHEAD]

Go for it BlackMamba, I have a Brinkman Pro smoker at home and am building an industrial size because I feel the need. You have a good smoker, most problems people have with a side fire box is getting the cooking chamber hot enough. I use about 5 lbs of charcoal to get my fire started then add a couple of pieces of wood to it. Oak, Mesquit, pecan or what ever you have that is good for cooking. Get the temp up in the cooking chamber to 275 +- 20 degrees F. Then put your meat on and sit back till its done. You will need to add another piece or two of wood each time the temp starts to fall. There are other little tricks you will learn for your pit, but with time you'll figure it out.

[blackmamba]

This weekend I will try again with the big one I already have but will use more charcoal. I don't think I used 5 pounds and the temp inside was way low. The thermostat on it is broken too. Where can I get a good after market thermostat thSt I can keep in the pit and one that I can keep in the meat?..... So after I start with my charcoal, all I should be adding is my wood chunks. Soaked or not soaked? Thanks for the advice fellas. Keep it coming. I'm gonna try a couple of chickens first

[Ray]

I have an Oklahoma Joe, bought out by New Braunfels Smokers.
Heavy steel, keeps temps between 225 and 250 deg.
Don't have to do much adjusting.

I prefer Pecan or Hickery over Mesquite, with Pecan being my favorite.
You can get big sacks of most smoking wood at Academy pretty cheap.
After Rita, I didn't buy Pecan for 2 years. It was laid down all over Lake Charles.
Just drive up and asked if I can cut it up and haul it off. They don't mind as long
as they don't have to clean it up themselves.

[Ray]

This weekend I will try again with the big one I already have but will use more charcoal. I don't think I used 5 pounds and the temp inside was way low. The thermostat on it is broken too. Where can I get a good after market thermostat thSt I can keep in the pit and one that I can keep in the meat?..... So after I start with my charcoal, all I should be adding is my wood chunks. Soaked or not soaked? Thanks for the advice fellas. Keep it coming. I'm gonna try a couple of chickens first

I have a thermometer on the front of the pit. No meat thermometer.
I just use one chimney of charcoal to get it started. But the steel on my pit is thick. Once it gets hot, it holds heat well. The thin sheet metal pits don't hold heat as well.
I start my charcoal and after the pit reaches temp., I add meat, then wood. I don't like to deal with the smoke when putting the meat on.
I never turn my meat. I smoke chicken leg quarters bone side down. Leg quarters make the best smoke chicken.
Baste every 30 min. or so. Unless you notice it is drying out.

[mikedatiger]

The small gas ones are pretty good, but IMO nothing beats the large woodburning pits. I was close to getting into competition BBQ and the way that I always started out was wood for the 1st 3 hours and then I would gradually switch over to charcoal. After about 3 hours the meat has absorbed just about all of the smoke that it's going to get, so you need the most smoke possible from the get go.

If you are new, you have to buy Smoke & Spice. It is the definitive bible for smoking... It covers everything from rubs, marinades to smoking temps and even desserts.

[Ray]

I like different rubs for different meats.
I don't think there is one that is good for all meats.
Just my opinion.
Gordon's Grub Rub is great for pork ribs and roasts and fantastic on beef tri tip.
It goes on dry, then turns into a brown glaze in about 30 minutes. That is when it is ready to put on the pit.

[eman]

You can get the type of thermometer you want at acadamey. Made by accurite and comes w/ the probe for the meat and a remote so that you can set your high and low
range and it will alarm if it gets to hot or cold.
Buy this one for the meat temp and they have a smaller cheaper one that you can use for the grate temps.
Ray i had the Old heavy new braunfuls pit for years and they do hold the heat alot better than the new crap they put out now.
Like Ray said never use charcoal lighter fluid , use a chimminey.
I have cooked on alot of smokers from a cheap wal mart smoker to a 250 gallon Lang , and what you buy just depends on how much work you want to do to smoke meat.
Low an slow is the key so no matter what smoker you buy the time it takes will on average be the same. For set it an forget it the MES is a great choice. If you like sitting around tending a fire then an offset is the way to go.
Just remember this . A smoker is just like anything else that you buy. You get what you pay for. A cheap smoker will put out good smoked meat but it is alot more work and usually will require a few modifications to make it function properly.
A good offseet like a lang or a bubba can be allmost as easy as the electric to use.
Once you get the wood going they will hold temps to a point to where all you have to do is throw a split on once an hour.

[blackmamba]

I saw a couple of electric smokers at Lowes for around 100.00 but I noticed the MES40 is around 400.00. Is there that much of a difference in the MES40?

[Ray]

After I get the meat on and the first log on, my pit holds the temps steady until the fire starts going out.
I chunk a log or 2 on every 2 hours. I don't watch the pit. It holds temp. just right.