Best cheapo smoker?

20stone

Howdy -

I am running into the boonies for the 4th with my mom. I don't have capacity to haul my LBGE, and am looking for advice for a cheapie for doing a brisket and leaving behind.

Weber kettle?

TIA

Ozzie_Isaac

This sounds sketchy.  Any more details on your plans?

I generally frown on leaving trash in the wilderness.  If you bring it in then you best bring it out.

ksmyrl

I think he means (I hope) leave it at Mom's house?? If so, then a Weber Kettle should be fine. I'm no brisket expert but I know before I got my eggs the Weber Kettle was working hard most every weekend for me and did great. Good luck.

nolaegghead

bring your grill grate, a few bricks and a bag of lump. 

SmokeyPitt

There are probably better smokers out there than the kettle, but for a good versatile cooker at a good price I think that would be a good choice.  It might take a little more baby sitting than something like a WSM...but the WSM aren't that cheap any more.  Also for a brisky the size of a kettle will be nice.  Many cheapo smokers are on the small side. 

Here is the first thing I found on smoking on a kettle.  You will probably have to fiddle with the dampers to keep the temp up and likely reload on coals. 
http://www.weber.com/weber-nation/blog/smoking-on-a-kettle

Skiddymarker

If rarely used, the silver without the ash catcher is good, if used more often, the Gold, 18.5" will do for most cooks and you have choice of Jumbo Joe or regular kettle for under $100. 

TexanOfTheNorth

You can do the Travis method in an oven. Just substitute a bottle of liquid smoke for the real thing. 

fishlessman

why brisket, i used to do a leg of lamb with just a fire and a flat rock next to it to place the roast (sear roast caveman style then use flat rock as an indirect setup)   no way would i do brisket. most i ever camped with was a cooking grid and a piece of plate that i kept in the back of the truck

Foghorn

I used a Weber kettle plus a Smokenator for a couple of years. It can produce some excellent Q but it is a lot of work. The 22.5 does have a lot of grilling surface and it would be a great option if you just want to grill. However, because you specifically mentioned brisket, for my money the CharGriller Kamado (Akorn) would be the choice. It only costs a little more than a kettle plus a Smokenator and it will hold temps for long times like an egg. You can't get it as hot as an egg for searing because some of the plastic parts start to melt at about 600 degrees but it comes with side shelves, a filling nest, and a swing grate for $299. You'll need to buy a Chargiller platesetter equivalent for $40 to do a proper indirect low and slow. 

20stone

fishlessman said:

why brisket, i used to do a leg of lamb with just a fire and a flat rock next to it to place the roast (sear roast caveman style then use flat rock as an indirect setup)   no way would i do brisket. most i ever camped with was a cooking grid and a piece of plate that i kept in the back of the truck

For the record, I will be cooking in my mom's backyard, not in the wilderness. It does happen to be an 8 hour drive from Houston, though. 

nolaegghead

@280pounds - look at those cheap New Braunfels stick burners.  They're cheaper than WSMs and you can grill huge amounts on them as well as smoke.  Get lots of fuel.

luckyboy

Cook it before you go and warm it up when ready to eat.

Photo Egg

Be more specific on where you are going. Another Member might be able to help you out that lives near your Mom.
This can be a very friendly/helpful place at times.lol

Grillin_beers

Webber smokey mountain. 

Ozzie_Isaac

Ah ok, Grill for moms place.  That makes more sense.

I would get a jumbo joe.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

nolaegghead said:

@280pounds - look at those cheap New Braunfels stick burners.  They're cheaper than WSMs and you can grill huge amounts on them as well as smoke.  Get lots of fuel.

he's either in a mini cooper or a vintage BMW 2002. That smoker is bigger than his car.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

The WSM is a good idea. That's what I would do if you can fit it.

cazzy

Pull it off before you leave and hold it in a Yeti or Cambro!

Good advice above.  The New Braunsfels Smokers are good options...they run a couple hundo tho.  In that price range, you can get a WSM.

SGH

If it's just for a one time use, there are several WSM knockoffs out there for less than 100 bucks. Some of them around 50 bucks. I wouldn't pay for a WSM if I was going to abandon it. Go with one of these elcheapos. They will work fine for limited use.  
 

20stone

Photo Egg said:

Be more specific on where you are going. Another Member might be able to help you out that lives near your Mom.
This can be a very friendly/helpful place at times.lol

Mom is in Haskell, TX, about an hour N of Abilene. 

I'd be surprised if that is around the corner from anyone, and wouldn't want to hog someone's smoker on the 4th (unless an @SGH or @caliking wannabe with 5 smokers is out there)  

SGH

20stone said:

I'd be surprised if that is around the corner from anyone, and wouldn't want to hog someone's smoker on the 4th (unless an @SGH or @caliking wannabe with 5 smokers is out there)  

I would sure loan you one my friend if you were in my area. 

20stone

cazzy said:

Pull it off before you leave and hold it in a Yeti or Cambro!

Now that would have taken some planning. The 44 Farms brisket (minus the uncovered flat portion that we turned into tandoori flat) is still frozen.  I was thawing it in a Yeti in the back of the car, and realized it wouldn't thaw until Labor day in there and pulled it out. 

I also just picked up three racks of Berkie short ribs at Revival Market, just because, and will put some of my goodies from @shucker on them. 

Should be fun.... if I can find a way to cook it all.  

Foghorn

Yeah, if you're passing through San Antonio you can have my ProQ. It's like a WSM and travels well. You can take one section out of it and stand it up in a van or SUV. Leave the section at my house or take it with you for multilevel cooking. 

They are now sold under the Naploeon brand. 

http://www.napoleongrills.com/grills/product-details/productid/23/ccd/en-ca/apollo-300-charcoal-grill-and-water-smoker

Botch

SGH said:

If it's just for a one time use, there are several WSM knockoffs out there for less than 100 bucks. Some of them around 50 bucks. I wouldn't pay for a WSM if I was going to abandon it. Go with one of these elcheapos. They will work fine for limited use.  
 

I used one of the above, electric for $50, for many years and many briskets, they work fine.  They DO make a noticeable dent in your electric bill.   

Photo Egg

20stone said:

Photo Egg said:

Be more specific on where you are going. Another Member might be able to help you out that lives near your Mom.
This can be a very friendly/helpful place at times.lol

Mom is in Haskell, TX, about an hour N of Abilene. 

I'd be surprised if that is around the corner from anyone, and wouldn't want to hog someone's smoker on the 4th (unless an @SGH or @caliking wannabe with 5 smokers is out there)  

You never know. Even if I only had one Egg you could still borrow one of the 2 WSM grill in my garage that I have not used in almost 10 years.lol
Or my Weber 26" kettle. There are lots of us multi grill BBQ freaks out there.Ha...Ha
Check the closest city on Craigs List...

nolaegghead

@Botch 1 pound of charcoal is 9000 btu.  3400 btu of electric heat is about $0.10.  You are hard pressed to find lump for $0.25/lb. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

cazzy said:

Pull it off before you leave and hold it in a Yeti or Cambro!

Good advice above.  The New Braunsfels Smokers are good options...they run a couple hundo tho.  In that price range, you can get a WSM.

he's on the road.. This deal is being put together on the fly. Can't wait.

20stone

Foghorn said:

Yeah, if you're passing through San Antonio you can have my ProQ. It's like a WSM and travels well. 

Thanks, but SA is not on the flight path. 

Thanks all for the good advice 

Foghorn

20stone said:

Foghorn said:

Yeah, if you're passing through San Antonio you can have my ProQ. It's like a WSM and travels well. 

Thanks, but SA is not on the flight path. 

Thanks all for the good advice 

Any time. 

cazzy

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

cazzy said:

Pull it off before you leave and hold it in a Yeti or Cambro!

Good advice above.  The New Braunsfels Smokers are good options...they run a couple hundo tho.  In that price range, you can get a WSM.

he's on the road.. This deal is being put together on the fly. Can't wait.

Ahh...I missed that.

caliking

@20stone. Get a weber OTG. You can smoke for several hours by setting the lump up in a ring along the circumference and cracking top and bottom vents just a smidge. After the weekend, your may still find the grill useful. The OTG has a thermometer in the lid. You may need to reload with lump midway. Also google bludawg brisket and you'll be good to go.