Difference between smoker vs. charcoal grill?


 
D

DavidD

TVWBB Super Fan
what is the difference betweent these two? I noticed the smoker has water added to it, but i don't know the purpose of the water.

On my charcoal, the hardest part is managing the temp to keep it at or around 225 degrees vs. much higher. What makes a smoker better for bar b quing vs. the charcoal grill?
 
A WSM ("the smoker") is capable of maintaining steady, low temps, around 250, for long periods of time with relatively little attention from the cook. It has this abilility because of its heavy constsruction, tight, well fiting components and the waterpan.

The waterpan acts as a heat sink and takes up the heat from the coals by heating the water to its boiling point. By keeping the waterpan full, the heat sink functions continually throughout the cook.

This article explains the functioning of the WSM.

A charcoal grill is simply not constructed in the same manner as a WSM and cannot function in the same manner without significantly more effort on the part of the cook.

Paul
 
The WSM gives you two racks and a long easy burn.

You can get the same results with a weber 22.5" kettle you'll just need to add fuel a liitle more often. You'll need to add a water pan or pizza stone as a diffuser for low and slow. For Pork Butts I think the kettle does a better job.
 
I did a lot of smoking on my Weber Grill and got very good results. But it is very labor intensive and you have to almost constantly monitor the temp. I found it is not so good for low temps you can get w/ a WSM, and I had to feed the beast every hour or so. I controlled the heat w/ the top vent. As I said the sesults very always good.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Konrad Haskins:
The WSM gives you two racks and a long easy burn.

You can get the same results with a weber 22.5" kettle you'll just need to add fuel a liitle more often. You'll need to add a water pan or pizza stone as a diffuser for low and slow. For Pork Butts I think the kettle does a better job. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Konrad:

Please describe your process for cooking a butt in the 22" kettle because I'm trying to decide getting either the WSM or the kettle.

Thanks
 
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