Taking up smoking

['bout time]

I know there are several people on here that BBQ and smoke meat. I use my Weber to do it now with the Smokeinator, but and looking at buying one of two smokers. The first is the Treagor Texas and the other is The Good One. I know one is pellet fed and the other is chunk charcoal. ( I was told by the salesman that the Treagor does not taste like the wood flavor. Any thoughts would be appreciated before I drop a grand for one of these.

[osageid]

I am sure that Bajatender or Christian will have something to say on the subject

[DaNinja]

I know there are several people on here that BBQ and smoke meat. I use my Weber to do it now with the Smokeinator, but and looking at buying one of two smokers. The first is the Treagor Texas and the other is The Good One. I know one is pellet fed and the other is chunk charcoal. ( I was told by the salesman that the Treagor does not taste like the wood flavor. Any thoughts would be appreciated before I drop a grand for one of these.
From what I've seen, the folks over in the "Brats & Beer" section have some pretty good input, too. They don't mess around when it comes to their cooking. I gain weight just reading the posts there.

[wdsm]

That salesman is full of cr*p! I have had a Traeger for 8 years. So have the neighbors on either side of us. I have also had the other type.

The pellets are made from pure, compressed wood. When you smoke you don't want to see the smoke. If you see smoke you have unburned creosote that can make your meat with an off taste. Thats whe the pros using the other type have a fire box they tend, to burn the chunks down to coals before feeding the smoker. Very labor intensive. When cooking a brisket or pork but it takes around 10 to 14 hours depending. Its nice to put it on in the morning and spend all day on the lake and have it done for super. You set the temp to say 220 and the Traeger maintains this within 10 degrees all day. Lots of work on the othe kind to maintain a constant temp. I have a friend in DM that is a dealer and comes to the lake. I would think he would beat the KC dealer. His pellets are 1/2 what Treager charges and he delivers. Let me know.

[TFLB]

You can make good BBQ in anything I had an Aunt that used to own a bar in KCK and smoked in an old refrigerator. Like anything it has to do with your preperation and technics. Traegers are great, don't have one but they sound pretty simple to use, you don't need to worry about stoking it to maintain a good temperature.

[Baja Tender]

My thoughts and only my thoughts. I have the Big green Egg and smoke on it all the time. Lump charcoal of course. I have done everything from small chickens, ribs to butts that can take 12-16hrs to do. It appears that people now days like to put meat on a smoker and walk away and come back when its all done. One reason I like the egg is that you can use it to smoke and grill. I have pretty much figured mine out on how much charcoal I need and adjusting the vents. Even with mine I can load it up and after about 1 hour of making sure its dialed in, walk away from it. Practice & Patience is the key. I dont know much about the other but I would guess you get the most bang from your buck with an egg. Come on Christain lets hear your side of things.

[Baja Tender]

24lbs of butts and pork ribs. You be the judge!!!!!!!!!!!:mrgreen:

[derekpfeiffer]

I've had my Smokin Tex for around 5 yrs and love it....Its so hassle free. I can do brisket or turkey all night while i'm sleeping or all day while i'm at work. It's great not having to babysit it and you can use any wood...you don't need to buy special pellets or biscuits. Which is esspecially handy when you live in neb city plenty of apple wood to use.

http://www.amazon.com/Smokin-Tex-Pro-1400-Stainless/dp/B000NCX5NY

Good luck

[Christian]

The good one and the traeger are both great cookers, I would go for the traeger (or any quality pellet grill) simply due ott he fact that you cna do more consistent Q on them in any weather.

I Q year round and would not give up my pellet for anything. the thing I love about it si if I am doing large meats I can set it for low and slow when I leave for the office, Laura can go out and up it to 220 (after baout 140 degrees meat quits takin on smoke, for the most part) and after a few hours at 220 she can up it to 250 to finish it and I can deal with it when I get home.

The smoker doesnt care about temp changes, weather, etc, the thermostat keeps the cooking chamber at a consisten t temp

I also have a BGE and a couple of commercial gas grills and I use the gas on the docks, and the BGE will make the best steaks you have ever had :)

good luck, and it is a very addicting "hobby" :mrgreen: