About to purchase first smoker

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Any advice or previous experiences are appreciated....

I'm about to buy my first smoker. I'm never going to cook for more than 10 people and most of the time for no more than five...so just a brisket and some ribs most of the time.

I don't want to spend a lot of money on one right now, so the ones I'm looking at are the Weber Smoky Mountain and the New Braunfels Hondo. I can get the Hondo at Academy for less than $150 right now, so it's cheaper. I'm a relative newbie to smoking so ease of use is a factor as well. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
 
I don't know anything about bullet smokers but I can vouch for my cheapo offset smoker... Char-Griller

It's thin steel but plenty big. Good construction, cast iron grates, great as a charcoal grill as well.
 
I've got a Brinkman bullet smoker (bought it in LA off Craigslist for $15) and while it's served me well, it's a pain in the *** keeping that temperature consistent. Damn near impossible, actually.
 
Yeah the Brinkmann bullet smokers require too many mods in order to make it a decent smoker. The WSM is hard to beat as a starter smoker especially in the under $300 price range. You might be able to pick up a quality used smoker cheap on craigslist if you are a deal hunter.
 
My advice- spend $200 and get a WSM and a $5 Brinkman water pan for overnight/ extended cooks. You won't regret it.

It will get you started- and serve as a good portable unit if you ever decide to get a bigger smoker.
 
H.E.B. has an offset unit for about $ 140.00 & while the metal might be a bit thin, I'd suggest making it last a bit longer by getting a new piece of half round metal & laying it in the base of the fire box. That will keep the unit for about as long as the metal will last & then you can simply get new metal to supplant the one that burned through.

Not a perfect solution, but it will get you a true offset unit (I'd also suggest avoiding any grilling in the smoke box side soas to not burn through this or get too many ashes over there).

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www.tejassmokers.com

I have had this brand for about 8 years now. It is 1/4 inch steel all around, has a water pan built in, and keep the temp very consistent with minimal effort. It is fairly pricey no doubt, but for me it has been worth every penny.
 
Thanks for all the good advice. Will it be harder to maintain the temp in the offset smoker?
 
I use a NB Hondo type smoker that I have had for 13+ years. It ain't fancy, but it works mi-tee fine. And maintaining temp is not that big a challenge. Once you figure out the wood you are using and the flow (how much you need to open the intake), it's just a matter of adding wood when appropriate.

If you can go better quality (1/4 inch steel), I'd do it. I have gotten by with my thin one, and make a kickass brisket with it -- but a 1/4 inch steel one will hold temp even better and be even easier to use and maintain.
 
Maintaining a constant temperature difficult to do in a NB type smoker. Not impossible, but you have to know what you are doing. The WSM has a shorter learning curve, but you will likely be able to make great que in either device. From my experience, the WSMis very easy to maintain a constant temp, even for 12+ hours while you sleep. I have a Klose (1/4" steel) as well, and it will maintain temp but not as long since it loses more heat due to the size of the smoker compared to the size of the heat source.

When I am cooking one brisket overnight, I will still fire up the WSM to make my life easy. If I am cooking during the day I will use the Klose since it is easier to get to the meat, has storage space, and can cook more stuff at one time. So, they both have their place.
 
I'm thinking about getting a smoker for Xmas and the Weber intrigues me. But it looks small. How big of a brisket can you do on that one? I'm looking in the $200-ish range before I go nuts in a few years and get a Big Green Egg.
 
I've got a Walmart cheapo sidebox...

It works pretty well...

But, I'm getting my Dad's real Japanese kamado grill. They got it when they lived in Japan in the 60s (where I came along)...

It's the same thing as a BGE...only authentic...
 
You can fit plenty of meat in the WSM. I've cooked three 12-15lb briskets on there at the same time on an overnight cook. They may touch the sides when you put them in, but they shrink during cooking.
 
i like my offset smoker that i got from academy a lot. i made these last weekend.
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thats right. the cheese is on the INSIDE.
 
I had a NB offset and it was pretty tough keeping a constant temp even after I modded it. Now, I have a Weber Smoky Mountain and it is amazing. There is no comparison.
 
I have the Weber Smokey Mountain, and am really enjoying it. Once you figure out the basics, it's really easy to keep a constant temperature. I think it requires less hand-holding than the offset smokers. It can fit plenty of meat, too.
 
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