St Louis Ribs Green Egg vs KBQ vs Lang Reverse Flow Offset vs Gravity Fed Unit

Money_Hillbilly

I got my first egg about 15 years ago and I currently have 3 eggs.  On average I cook on an egg 3-4 nights a week.  I have experimented with other cookers/smokers for years searching for a better mousetrap.  

The egg is a great universal tool that does many tasks pretty well however the smoldering fire and slow airflow often come up short when compared to other tools for smoking.

I have found the gravity unit to be excellent at smoking butts and briskets rendering a moist product with great bark.  I have posted a number of cooks here with the results.  It is super easy to use since I can fill it with lump and wood chunks and the Flame Boss 500 runs it flawlessly for 12 hours. 

The KBQ has been my go to unit for ribs.  I have won 2 competitions with ribs smoked on the KBQ.  It does require babysitting adding wood every 30 minutes or so but it is easy to operate with a thermostat and fans it makes blue smoke with minimal effort.

I always wanted a stick burner so about 4 weeks ago I found a used Lang offset stick burner so why not give it a try.  To date I have cooked wings, a pork butt, double smoked ham and St Louis ribs.   It is a lot of work cutting and splitting wood plus the learning curve for fire management takes quite an effort.  Today’s cook, ribs and a double smoked ham.  I feel these ribs may be a personal best.  I can see why folks have been winning competitions on Langs for years.  I have to give the nod to the Lang for ribs.  More testing ahead.

JohnInCarolina

yep, those look great

buzd504

Useful information!

lkapigian

Can’t beat a stick burner, great looking ribs 

lousubcap

Like you I wanted to take on the challenge of a stick burner.  I went down a Lang 36" road over six years ago.  The small cook chamber makes it labor intensive as fire management on the small side means frequent small sticks to keep the fire hot but also lots of fun.  I find it really nails ribs (as you note) and chix cooks. 
It also does a great job with brisket and pork butts.  When I roll with those it means I don't have a target delivery time (so not rolling at zero dark thirty) as the level of effort/time does a number on my beer locker.  FWIW-

Money_Hillbilly

@lousubcap Agree 100% it is much more difficult than it looks.  I built what I thought was a nice fire at 9AM and it was too small to get up to 300 so it could settle down in the 250-275 range.  I struggled with it getting up to temp for 2 hours before it was up to temp.  It is work but I love the challenge and the smoke profile and texture of the ribs were incredible.

caliking

Money_Hillbilly said:

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These look downright pretty!

Money_Hillbilly

Another rib and chicken cook on the Lang today.  I am comfortable now operating it but I just don’t think there is a big enough difference in results compared to my gravity unit or the KBQ.  Don’t get me wrong the ribs were excellent but it is a lot of work getting them to the finish line.

lousubcap

@Money_Hillbilly - you nailed the challenge with a true stick burner.  I have a Lang 36" patio smoker (since 2016) as I wanted to learn a stick burner cooker.  The small foot-print contributes to the constant wood feed demand.

But every time I decide to go that route I am rewarded.

It is extremely rare that I will venture into butts or brisket cooks on it anymore due to the effort.  But it nails ribs and chix in a reasonable time-frame for me.

caliking

@Money_Hillbilly the first cook in this thread great, but the ribs you posted today look even better! Nicely done

loco_engr

I applaud your energy for your efforts for experimenting on different smokers

dbCooper

@Money_Hillbilly - Thanks for sharing your journey.  Looks to be great effort and results all around. 

Money_Hillbilly

@lousubcap My chicken on the Lang came out with leather skin.  Can you share your process and temps?

lousubcap

@Money_Hillbilly - about the chix, I air dry in the fridge overnight (same as if cooking on BGE).  Run the Lang at around 250-275*F on the Lang thermo which translates to about 300-325*F on the top rack where I cook the chix.  Hope this helps. 

Money_Hillbilly

@lousubcap I ran about the same temps but I placed the chicken all the way to the right bottom shelf near the fire box thinking the additional heat would help crisp up the skin. I normally cook chicken raised direct high in the egg dome 400-425.  The Lang chicken skin was shoe leather. 

CPFC1905

Award for best thread title.  Basically code for 'if you know, you know' 

Oh, great looking cook too.