Alternatives to WSM?


 
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I know this site is dedicated to the WSM, but just wanted to get your opinions on alternatives the the WSM?

Would anyone give up their WSM for something else?

I have a crappy water smoker today and a gas grill, but want something real to smoke on.

I've thought about a cookshsack -for ease of use.
or an offset like Pitts&Spitts, Lang, Tejas, klose.

For a small family, tight budget, the WSM seems to be the ticket.... but would the cookshack, P&S be the better choice?

Thanks,
 
If you want a offset let me say that you need to a purchase a unit with at least 1/4" steel, to get more usable grate space it will need to be aprox 20"X48" in size.
CookShake is a nice cooker but there is a big difference in price compared to a WSM.

I know you are using a cheap water cooker but not all water cookers are created equal. Real BBQ is produced everyday with a WSM.

If the budget is tight you can not get a offset or CookShack for under $200.
Jim
 
"small family, tight budget"

WSM for certain. It'll cook more than enough for several small families. It llooks amall until you start loading up the two racks, will surprise you how much you can cook. I also have a Weber kettle for chicken and steaks and a gasser doing nothing now. If I could keep only one, there is no doubt, the WSM stays.

Smokin' Jim in NC
 
Greg-

Would I trade in my WSM for anything else, not likely! It's all about what you need/want out of a cooker. I have three and they are all very different. The WSM is great for versatility, portability, and sleep. My offset has more capacity, and allows me to be more hands on with the pyrotechnics, but I wouldn't want to do an all nighter with it (though I have.) My Kamado blends the qualities of both low/slow cooking with high heat grilling, but would be hard for me to take camping or to a competition.

Guess it comes down to what you want to do with it, and how you want to spend your money. If I had it to do over again, my first smoker would have been a WSM instead of an offset. Though, I did learn ALOT about fire building and maintenance with the offset.

Rich
 
Gregg

I have both a WSM and a Cookshack. The latter is considerably more expensive. If you enjoy the process, I don't believe you'll like the Cookshack. It's basically a set it and forget it unit. I think it does ribs and butts ok, but I still prefer the WSM. I never had any success with chicken on it. If costs is an issue, I'd recommend the WSM. It's more expensive than the cheap water cookers, but it is well worth the difference.

PRG
 
Thanks for All of the quick responses.

So, basically I can sum up all of your wonderful feedback as follows:

-Weber is $180, can cook Q as well as an expensive offset box for 20% of the price.

-Weber is easier to use than an offset (control wise)

-Cookshack can't do poultry (I've heard this from one other person as well- my wife loves the chicken)and less hands on.

- I should order my WSM TODAY!
 
Greg-

Can't comment on offsets, but I did try to Q for many years on an ECB. IMHO, there is flat out no way to compare the WSM to the ECB. With the ECB I tried to use it once in a while because I liked the concept. With the WSM I have smoked just about once a week since I got it, and the family literally fights over who gets the leftovers. In addition, I have found the WSM to be a pretty darn good griller, too.

Tony
 
I can tell you my fishing partner has a Big Green Egg and does very well. He smokes and grills and the food is great! I do as well on the WSM for about half the price. The only differnce is the BGE uses less fuel.Oh! I almost forgot the BGE is very heavy and is best left outside. If you leave it in an area where people do bad things it could come up missing. The WSM can be brought inside very easy. Here is a picture of each.
Cnv0063.jpg
Cnv0062.jpg
 
Greg -

I had a Brinkmann Cimarron off set for 3 years, It was O.K. but You had to baby sit it allot. I sold it and bought a Great Outdoors Smoky Mountain. I've used it for a while but it to needs to be tended and it did not do long burns well(over 8 hrs). I continue to use it, only now I have it setup to do jerky. If I had came across this site sooner I'd of skip the GSM and went straight to the WSM. So to make a long story short, I "bit the bullet" (or the bullet bit me) and ordered a WSM. Have not be sorry and I use it most every weekend.
 
WSM for low and slow. Weber kettle when you are in a hurry. Weber gasser if you need 100 burgers quick.

I kinda like the Weber products.
 
Greg, I too was using a cheap water smoker for several years. I went through a couple of them. I hated how I had to constantly babysit the thing to keep the temp right. I never got a great outcome with either of the cheap-o water smokers that I owned. Then I discovered this web site. I bit the bullet and bought the WSM. I wouldn't trade my WSM for another smoker that cost twice as much!! I can't imagine that you could possibly produce better "Q" from any smoker. Just the other night I fired up the WSM at about 9:00 PM. I put on two 7 lbs pork butts and only got up twice during the night to check on them. The temp stayed constant all night with no intervention from me. I only added some water at about 3:00 AM. At 8:00 AM I had perfect pulled pork. I could never do that with one of my cheap water units. I'll take the WSM over anything else.
 
Now that I have had so many responses, I went back and read smoke and spice book information.

They say water smokers make the meat too moist and can't get crispy skin, and that offsets (top quality of course) are the best.

I know that championship Q has been made on both the WSM and top line offsets, but which in general will give you the better Q.

That's what I'm after, but I keep thinking the WSM is easier to use and maintain temp? Am I right here?
 
Read up on this site about using sand in the water pan, instead of water. That would greatly reduse the amount of ambiant water in the cooker. I've never tried that, because I love the results I get with water in the pan.
 
Greg,

I have a WSM and a good offset smoker. Many, many folks use the WSM to produce top-drawer Q (at home and in competitions). Don't know what currency you use but $180 (WSM cost) is less than $600 (min cost of good offset)here in Tennessee. My suggestions to you would be:

1. Quit readin' so much, buy a WSM and git to cookin'!

2. If you want to learn the ART of Q'n, there is no better place to learn than on a WSM

3. Offsets have there place, but require a bunch more effort in temp control, maintenance,time, and cleanup.

4. Do your own thang......experiment, experiment, experiment.

Good luck at whichever way you go. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
When I was shopping, I looked at a $600 Hasty Bake (considered by many to be the Caddy of charcoal cookers capable of doing both grilling and smoking) and a Good One offset. Instead, I opted for the WSM.

It is:
- the right size (I can smoke a little or a lot).
- easy (EASY) to use.
- very forgiving.
- very portable (wanna go to a friends house and smoke there...not a problem with the WSM. Try that with a big offset).
- flexible (grill or smoke).
- priced right ($179 at my local Ace). You can buy lot's of meat with your savings.
- made by Weber (easy to find replacement parts).

Now...get ye to the Weber store.
 
I have a New Braunfels Black Diamond, a New Braunfels Bandera, an El Cheapo Brinkman, a couple of Weber kettle grills and a WSM. My kettles and the WSM are used all the time, and I love 'em...the others? Not so much. I find that I have to fiddle with them way to much, the results are too inconsistent, and the quality of the final product just never seems to be as good as the WSM. It's not quite "set it an forget it," but it's as close as I want to be. I'm planning on picking up another on the "off season" for next year!
 
I've had New Braunfels off-sets in Texas and picked up the Silver Smoker upon moving to Virginia. (Only off-set type available.)

I was really wanting to get the Bandera but the change over to Char-Broil and the percieved reduction in quality spoiled that.

Then I discovered the WSM. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Now, my NBSS only gets rolled out when I need some extra space to handle what won't fit into my WSM. And I'm thinking about getting another WSM for that.

I still have a fondness for the iron off-sets but it's the WSM that gets used.

Maybe Klose will make me an iron copy of the WSM about 6' tall?
 
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