Is the Weber Master Touch a okay purchase over the WSM for beginners?


 
JohnnyWawa

JohnnyWawa

New member
This Father’s Day I’ll be joining the smokers club! After a ton of research and watching videos I decided on a 18” Smokey Mountain.

I’ll probably be smoking ribs, chicken, and Mac n Cheese the most, but I want to be able to smoke a turkey, Chuck Roast, ham, etc. WSM seems like a great choice, and from my understanding seems to hold temps really well.

Enter the Weber Master Touch Kettle. I noticed that for a lot of people, this grill is their workhorse. Would this be a better choice over the WSM?

From what I can gather, advantages of the the Master Touch versus the WSM...

- Cheaper price. A Master Touch is over $100 cheaper. Those savings can be put towards the accessories I need.

- Adding charcoal looks to be much easier with the Master Touch Kettle.

- I’m interested in adding a vortex at some point. I’m not sure that’s even an option with the 18” WSM?

- Easier to clean. I plan on using this a lot , so that’ll be a plus in the long run.

Do you feel a Master Touch Kettle would be the better option for someone new to smoking? Or is it more for advanced users, especially when it comes to longer cooks? I’d be cooking for 4-6 people.

I’m still leaning towards the WSM, but I feel like I need to hear from the community most familiar with these products before making a final decision.
 
Welcome to TVWBB!

In my opinion, it depends on what you will be doing more of - smoking or grilling. While both options allow you to smoke AND grill, each is better suited toward one of those tasks. For many of the items you mentioned, the WSM is a better choice (again, in my opinion), as it's easier to control and maintain temps - especially at those sub-300F temps for longer cooks.

When I got my WSM, all I had at the time was a gas grill. After a few months with the WSM, I wanted to grill more over charcoal. While I could do that with the WSM, it wasn't ideal. Ultimately, I added to the arsenal with the Performer. Only my experience, but many find that once in the world of charcoal, it's a place they like to be. ;)
 
My excellent Weber Mastertouch equipped with a SlowNSear Plus and DripNGriddle gave me the ability to BBQ and Grill with ease. I recently gifted it to my good neighbor and friend to make room for my new Weber Performer Deluxe(WPD) Grill. Also, I would recommend spending some extra bucks to purchase the WPD over the Weber Mastertouch as the added Propane Gas Assist and spacious metal table is a game changer IMO.

My WSM 18" "Classic" that I bought new in the year 2008 now sits somewhat sadly due to more effort and concentration is needed from this BBQer in order to obtain a good result. However, I plan to do my first "Hanging Rib" with my GateWay Rib Hanger in the very near future.
 
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JimK said:
Welcome to TVWBB!

In my opinion, it depends on what you will be doing more of - smoking or grilling. While both options allow you to smoke AND grill, each is better suited toward one of those tasks. For many of the items you mentioned, the WSM is a better choice (again, in my opinion), as it's easier to control and maintain temps - especially at those sub-300F temps for longer cooks.

When I got my WSM, all I had at the time was a gas grill. After a few months with the WSM, I wanted to grill more over charcoal. While I could do that with the WSM, it wasn't ideal. Ultimately, I added to the arsenal with the Performer. Only my experience, but many find that once in the world of charcoal, it's a place they like to be. ;)
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I totally agree with JimK.
 
JimK said:
Welcome to TVWBB!

In my opinion, it depends on what you will be doing more of - smoking or grilling. While both options allow you to smoke AND grill, each is better suited toward one of those tasks. For many of the items you mentioned, the WSM is a better choice (again, in my opinion), as it's easier to control and maintain temps - especially at those sub-300F temps for longer cooks.
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Thank you! I'm not sure what I'd be doing more of. I think once I start doing Spatchcock chicken and wings, the family's going to love that and the grilling aspect might dominate.

But my thought process is that it appears to be less hassle to smoke on the Master Touch Kettle, then it is to grill on the WSM.
 
JohnnyWawa said:
Thank you! I'm not sure what I'd be doing more of. I think once I start doing Spatchcock chicken and wings, the family's going to love that and the grilling aspect might dominate.

But my thought process is that it appears to be less hassle to smoke on the Master Touch Kettle, then it is to grill on the WSM.
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I do my chicken wings at a high-heat level around 350F Plus equipped with a Vortex on my Weber Kettle.
 
JohnnyWawa said:
But my thought process is that it appears to be less hassle to smoke on the Master Touch Kettle, then it is to grill on the WSM.
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I'd agree with that thought. And as Richard mentioned, accessories like the Slow-n-Sear make it even easier. The gas assist on the Performer is indeed a game changer and I love having that. But I recently learned that the vents on the MT are 'enhanced' and seem to provide better control of airflow, which may help.
 
Richard Garcia said:
I do my chicken wings at a high-heat level around 350F Plus equipped with a Vortex on my Weber Kettle.
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Is that something I could also do with the 18” WSM? I’ve only noticed the vortex for 22”.

It seems that while WSM may be better equipped for low and slow, the Master Touch is more user friendly.

I think if I wind up getting the WSM, I’m still going to want to add a Master Touch down the road lol
 
JimK said:
I'd agree with that thought. And as Richard mentioned, accessories like the Slow-n-Sear make it even easier. The gas assist on the Performer is indeed a game changer and I love having that. But I recently learned that the vents on the MT are 'enhanced' and seem to provide better control of airflow, which may help.
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Is the Slow and Sear accessory different then the charcoal baskets that come with the MT?
 
JohnnyWawa said:
I think if I wind up getting the WSM, I’m still going to want to add a Master Touch down the road lol
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Highly probable. Weberitiis is highly contagious. I assumed I'd be just fine with my WSM and Kenmore gasser when I bought that WSM 12 years ago. Now I own 4 Webers. :ROFLMAO:
 
JohnnyWawa said:
Is that something I could also do with the 18” WSM? I’ve only noticed the vortex for 22”.

It seems that while WSM may be better equipped for low and slow, the Master Touch is more user friendly.

I think if I wind up getting the WSM, I’m still going to want to add a Master Touch down the road lol
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I have both Small and Medium Size Vortex(s) for my 22" Weber Performer and the small Vortex should be A-OK for the 18" WSM.

Another thought in buying the Weber Mastertouch; I find clean-up less-of-a-hassle especially when equipped with the SlowNSear DripNGriddle Pan which is very important for this 77 year old Griller. Something to consider ONLY when you start reaching this age??
 
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JohnnyWawa said:
Is that something I could also do with the 18” WSM? I’ve only noticed the vortex for 22”.

It seems that while WSM may be better equipped for low and slow, the Master Touch is more user friendly.

I think if I wind up getting the WSM, I’m still going to want to add a Master Touch down the road lol
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I did the same thing... Got WSM 6 weeks ago and loved charcoal so much, a Mastertouch was delivered yesterday. This is addicting!
 
Thank you everyone for the replies. I read up on the Slow and Sear and will watch some Cook videos later on.

It seems like there’s a lot of positives to the MT. Another thought that’s crossed my mind is if I’m cooking on my deck with the WSM, I’m going to need a concrete mat or something underneath of it. I wouldn’t need that with the MT. Just roll it out and go.
I also like the idea of the reverse sear capability of the MT with the Slow and Sear.

Whichever I wind up with I’m stoked!
 
Folks' replies to this thread illustrate my lack of experience compared to y'all; when I do chicken, mac and turkey (I love spinning a bone-in turkey breast in the Kettle), meatloaf, fish, etc. I fire-up the Master Touch or Kettle and do them at higher temps. I don't have any experience with the Vortex in a WSM but, boy, do I love it for wings on the Kettle. I do, however, use the WSM for a chuck roast, brisket, and ribs. And I'm indifferent when it comes to a preference warming a [fully-cooked] ham. But one of these days I'm going to follow others' lead and do HH ribs in the Kettle.

Having said all that--as echoed--I wouldn't want to be without either :)

Welcome here, Johnny, and best of luck! You aren't Johnny West, are you? :p
 
Most if not some of us started smoking with a kettle, drip pan, and charcoal rails.
The WSM just makes it easier on the indirect part, but I do still go back and use the OTG or Performer cause it's also easy when setting up.
So I say buy the kettle first then add a WSM.

Tim
 
I suggest getting a kettle first since it can do both. If you like to smoke then get the WSM later. I have a performer and smoked using it a few times. I recently got a 14 in WSM and it is much more convenient and easier to maintain temperatures.
 
If you are new or just getting back into cooking with charcoal, then the kettle is probably your best best. It's very versatile. Wings are amazing on a kettle, crispy outside with a juicy inside. You can get a griddle grate and start cooking breakfast on it or smash burgers are very fun.
One thing you need to consider, if you want to smoke a lot of meat, the WSM will hold a lot more than a 22" kettle.
Another option for you is to get a bigger 26" kettle. It costs more, but comes with a nice SS cooking grate and has a massive cooking surface.
 
Finally decided on the Master Touch Kettle, and ordered one this morning. I felt like there’s just too many little features that I liked over the WSM that I felt made it a little more user friendly.

Crossing my fingers that the last Ocean Blue in stock wasn’t a boo boo, and it actually shows up this week lol

Can’t wait to get cooking!
 
JohnnyWawa said:
Finally decided on the Master Touch Kettle, and ordered one this morning. I felt like there’s just too many little features that I liked over the WSM that I felt made it a little more user friendly.

Crossing my fingers that the last Ocean Blue in stock wasn’t a boo boo, and it actually shows up this week lol

Can’t wait to get cooking!
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Good Choice; Again, when-you-can recommend fitting-it with a SlowNSear Deluxe and for easy clean-up a DripNGriddle Pan.
 
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