egg VS barrel smoker

Unknown

Could someone who has had experience with both the egg and horizontal barrel smokers(heavy iron type)with offset firebox tell me why the egg is better. It looks like it would not be as good for frequent basting in a slow cook situation. Just trying to decide which to buy. Help Please

Wise One

undecided, you're absolutely right. If you like to baste frequently the barrel smoker is for you. Personally, I'm pretty lazy and like to get moist meat without basting.

Strmn2Smoke

undecided,
Others will respond, however for starters, you do not have to baste in the "Egg" very often,as I said some of the "old timers" will respond more thoroughly and passionately...nde

Unknown

undecided,
I have an offset, pellet cooker, WSMs, and 5 ceramic cookers, they all have strong points and weak ones, so the question becomes what do you like to do and what do you want to accomplish.
You want to be able to cook whole hogs?
You just cooking for you and family?
You like playing with fires?
Answer those kind of questions and you will be able to decide on the style of pit you should get.
Jim
PS: It's a lot cheaper to decide sooner than I did!!

Shelby

undecided,
You should have very little reason to baste. In fact, the best thing to do with the egg, is to close the dome and let the food cook. The ceramic will retain any natural moisture. I haven't basted anything in almost 2 years; also, no need for a 'water pan' when smoking those upcoming Thanksgiving turkeys.

Unknown

Jim Minion,
FIVE ceramic cookers! I got kamado envy. [p]

BlueSmoke

undecided,
Jim Minion's questions put it well. I've got both a ceramic and a steel offset. With the offset, I sprayed down ribs and shoulder with apple juice for the moistness. Now I put a little juice in the drip pan for the flavor; no worries about moistness at all. If you want to baste, you can - there's just no pressing reason for it.
With the offset, turkeys and chickens always had one side (or end) towards the firebox and had to be turned so they'd cook evenly. With the Egg, cooking indirect, all surfaces cook evenly.
Finally, I can go from low-and-slow to grill by doing nothing more than opening the draft door. (Real handy if the adults want pulled pork and the kids want hot dogs or burgers. By the time the pork is ready to pull, the cooker's ready for the grill work.)
Ken

Prof Dan

undecided,[p]Remember that basting lets the smoke out and changes the temp. The Egg retains the moisture in the meat so well that when you open the Egg to take out the meat, you are often greeted by a gust of steam.[p]But if basting is part of the fun for you, that's a different story!

Unknown

BlueSmoke,
As you know when you put a rub together it may taste good but you don't what you have until you cook with it.
Mopping can help you achieve a flavor print you are looking for and applying it at different times during the cook will change the final outcome. My point is that you may not need to mop to keep Q moist but you may need to get the results that you want.
Jim

BlueSmoke

Jim Minion,
Point well taken: I couldn't agree more. Part of the "ceramic learning curve" is when and how much to mop (if at all) to get the results you want.
Ken