Hi from Western Sydney

  • G'day everyone.

    I bought a gas Weber Family Q March this year to do some steaks and snags. After getting some accessories I managed to pull off a point end brisket on the gasser and fell into the world of smoking low and slow.

    Got fed up with temp management and accessories on the gasser and ended up buying myself a Kettle MTP a month later. I haven't looked back since and have been learning heaps from SFF and YouTube.

    I'm worried I may end up with a pellet grill within the year without any space to put it.

    Nice to meet you all and looking forward to sharing some successful cooks in the future.

  • Welcome to SFaF.

    Before anyone asks, MTP is presumably the Weber Master Touch Pro.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • Welcome aboard Rubit,

    Also welcome to the world of smoky BBQ Meats, sounds as if you're already gone hook, line & sinker :D

    Before you consider a Pellet Grill, I would recommend a bullet smoker as your first smoker.

    You've got the Weber Smokey Mountain cooker which is my favourite and I'm just waiting to move into my next place in January before buying one.

    I want the 22.5 inch (57cm) but you can get them in 18.5 (47cm) or even 14.5 Inch (37cm)

    If you only have a small family the mid sized is more than adequate.

    There's also Pro-Q 18 & 20 Inch bullet smoker or Fornetto.

    You use charcoal with these and they are easy to learn and give great results. :bbq:

    Davo

      Weber Performer (Sage) Weber Jumbo Joe (Black) Weber Master Touch Plus (Deep Ocean Blue)

  • Hi Davo,

    Appreciate the advice.

    For what reason do you recommend a bullet smoker prior to a pellet smoker or kamado?

    What makes it your favourite?

    What advantages would it offer compared to the kettle that I currently have?

    Cheers,

    Rubit

  • Awesome questions Rubit, I used to have a WSM 18.5 a few years back but sold it as I was considering a move in an apartment which never happened, so I've been kicking myself ever since. I've also owned a Pellet grill/smoker but sold it due to lack of storage area.

    Pellet grills today are set n forget and are good for overnight cooks, roasts, some grilling depends on what brand you get, and of course smoking. Their smoking is a lot lighter than one would experience generally with a charcoal with wood chunks smoker.

    Pellet grills usually have good space for meat but some models can experience hotter areas of the grill than another area so heat is not always even.

    This is generally not so with a Bullet smoker as heat travel up, it's more closer in design I guess as a Vertical drum smoker but the WSM uses water to control temperature spikes and the smoke mixes with steam from the water and gets better penetration to the meat which helps with getting you a nice pink smoke ring, it also keeps some moisture in the cooking chamber. It also has 2 equal levels of cooking inside the cooking.

    A WSM will take a bit of learning in controlling the temps with the damper vents but not hard to learn and it's very forgiving as things happen slowly, an Offset Smoker gives probably the best smoked results but it's more hands on where once you light up the fire in the WSM and get it up to temp, it'll stay there for many hours, even overnight with maybe a once check through the night for water and more coals (perhaps)

    A Komado I believe is easy to learn and the results are good, very moist. I have never used a Komado but they are usually good for single level cooking. You can get a higher grate due to the high lid but you can do that with WSM as well as they have a really high lid.

    Do the research, ask many questions, the guys here have extensive experience on more cookers than I have and they'll let you know their experiences on different cookers. I find the Weber products are best for me, they feel more solid that their cheaper competitors. 2 inches overall extra real estate in a cooker makes a heck of a difference.

      Weber Performer (Sage) Weber Jumbo Joe (Black) Weber Master Touch Plus (Deep Ocean Blue)

  • I’ll also weigh in.

    I’ve run webers for 25 years and love them. When I decided I wanted a dedicated smoker I did heaps of research decided that I was going to buy a WSM as I was a big Weber fan. Went to the local dealer and got treated like crap so decided to buy a Pro Q instead and have never looked back.

    My reason for choosing a bullet over other smokers as my first is I love the flavour of food cooked over charcoal. They have a small footprint and you can fit a heap of food on them, not many things can go wrong with them as not many moving parts and they are cheap!

    I still use mine regularly and love the taste of food that comes off it. Got some lamb ribs on the go at the moment!

    weber performer, weber compact with gas conversion, napoleon rodeo, pro q 20", PBC, ziggy portable, ozpig with rotisserie, pro smoke offset, pit boss mini kamado, asmoke portable, master built 560.

  • Thanks all for the welcome and extensive responses.

    I did feel that more cooking space wouldn't hurt after trying to manage both the kettle and Q at the same time yesterday.

    So from what I gather, the WSM and other bullet type smokers offer a lot more cooking space without sacrificing even temperatures or charcoal taste. Also they don't take up much space in the yard which is always good.

    Only disadvantage would be the difficulty in dialing in the temps compared to set and forget pellet smokers or overnight cooks.

    I have only owned Webers after I was put onto them and was looking at a traeger next.

    I had never considered a bullet style before but will definitely look into it now.

    Cheers!

  • Mate, temp control is really easy. Another one of pros of this style of smoker.

    There is also products to control the temps automatically that can be added such as the smartfire and inkbird if you want the added insurance of set and forget.

    weber performer, weber compact with gas conversion, napoleon rodeo, pro q 20", PBC, ziggy portable, ozpig with rotisserie, pro smoke offset, pit boss mini kamado, asmoke portable, master built 560.

  • When I was choosing, I began with a plan to get a drum, changed my mind and wanted to a bullet (Fornetto iirc) and eventually, due to advice from this forum, settled on and bought a cheap kamado.

    My reasons were because I didn't know what I wanted in bbq and these sf&f gentlemen advised me it'd be a good all-rounder, and also the charcoal efficiency was attractive.

    The only downside I've come across (aside from occasionally being a little envious of pellet grills with their temp dials), has been cooking space, and that's only really been a problem a couple of times.

    A bullet smoker, I think, will have several tiers of space (although I guess so would a more exxy kamado). Or vertical pellet smoker!

    The answer is clearly to move to a larger property and then buy all the grills.

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