Let's Talk BBQ
Welcome Center => New Member Introductions => Topic started by: Jake on October 29, 2013, 01:31:39 PM
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I found this forum while shopping for a new smoker/cooker. I have used nothing but Weber Kettles all my life. I've owned two over the last thirty years. Frankly I've found that I can cook anything from steaks to ribs to turkeys on my kettles. Lately though, after attending a few BBQ cook-offs I've been getting the itch for trying something new. My choices have been narrowed to three options. The safe route, a WSM. The adventure route, build a UDS with the BPS kit (because I need another unfinished project in my garage). I have also been researching the Pit Barrel Cooker.
What do you all think?
-Jake
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Welcome from Minnesota!
You will find some very dedicated Weber kettle folks on this forum (me included) who can help you take your Weber experience to new levels (me not so included... ;) :D ) You'll also find a bunch of folks using a variety of cookers to give you some advice and help whichever way you go.
I have a PBC and love it. It is fantastic for chicken, pulled pork, and ribs. Last night I did a ham on it that came out just the way I imagined it. This is a cooker that is tough to beat, plus the folks at PBC Co. are the best you could ever deal with. They encourage calls and questions and will do whatever they can to help you have a perfect experience with their product. I was considering building a UDS and went this way instead - so glad I did!
Jump in, ask questions and share your experiences - this is the best cooking forum on the interweb... ;D
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Greetings from North Texas. You will find lots of opinion s on your choice of cookers. To some degree it depends on what you want out of it and what your cooking preference is. Given your three options, it sounds like you want something that you can dial in and "ignore" it for a while (in other words, not a stick burner. All three of your options have that covered with minor variations. I think the WSM is the most versatile of the choices in that you can do different arrangements of the water bowl (or removal of) and different fill methods all resulting in different cooking temps and methods. It also has different 3rd part options available for it and is a Weber of course. The PBC is probably the most "set it and forget it" of the bunch. The UDS is the cheapest route if you are mechanically inclined, and can be customized to your liking. You can't really go wrong with any of the options. Did I menion that you could always get a stick burner? :P
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First WELCOME!
And - second... ;D THere are no wrong answers to your question about "which of the 3 would be best"....
But, I own a Weber kettle, have had various UDS's in the past and also own a Pit Barrel Cooker. It is like an automatic power cooker. When my wife wants chicken - there is no prion. I am not allowed to cook it on any of my other cookers ( And - I have 8 different ones...) :D
The simple magic of how evenly it cooks - top to bottom - of a hanging chicken is amazing. Never had anything else work this simply, and satisfying.
T
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dude, welcome from northern cali. 8) hangtown is in between both casa's. were close. your only hour away. I love my webers. yes you can cook anything on a kettle. I have a problem myself. I love my kettles and WSM's. their just fun to cook on but if your thinking of trying something different? what about a pellet grill? a lot of fun they are. I love my mak. ribs off a pellet grill are to die for. i'm thinking about getting a kamado or maybe a meadow creek pr36 or maybe a yoder ys-480 for the cabin. xmas is coming and i'm working and have been a very good boy. I know how to say "yes dear". ::)
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Welcome from Southern California
I too own a PBC and love it. Load the coals in the basket. Fire it up. 20 minutes later hang your meat on the hooks or use the rack for what you cannot hang. Then get the same temps and results each and every time you use it.
Good luck on your decision ;)
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Welcome from Southwest Texas!
Ed
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Welcome from North Carolina. I have a Weber kettle, a PBC and a MAK 2 Star. Each has it's place. I view the PBC as a smaller option to a UDS. This thing is a chicken cooking machine! You can't go wrong with a PBC.
Art
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Welcome from Washington State, The PBC would be my choice.
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Welcome from Southeast Georgia! Choices, choices, choices! I also own a Weber Performer,
a 18.5 WSM, Smokey Joe and sold 2 other Weber Kettles when I bought my 2 pellet grills. I agree
with Sparky that ribs coming off the pellet cooker are fantastic! Of those 3 choices you made my choice
would have to be the WSM. Once dialed in to your temp you can also basically set it and forget it.
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Welcome from Idaho! ;)
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Smoke & Sparky are grillaholics , they have gone through more cookers than anyone I know ::)
They always come back to the weber , a WSM is a GREAT cooker!
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Welcome from Southern California. Pit Barrel Cooker is one of our beloved sponsors here and they make one heck of a cooker. You can't go wrong with a WSM either........hmmmm........what to do.........PBC?.........WSM? You better get both ;)
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Welcome from Manitoba, Canada
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Welcome from NC! I have no first hand experience with any of your 3 choices, but I've read many good things about all of them here. Good luck with your choice.
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Welcome from minnesota
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Welcome from North Alabama.
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Welcome from Ripon ... about 20 miles South 8)
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Thank you everyone for the warm welcomes.
Does anyone have a source for 55 gal drums in northern CA?
-Jake
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yesssss.
roy cowan recycling
9591 elder creek road
sacramento, ca 95829
hm > 916-362-2135
cell > 916-599-0114
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Welcome! Your list contains all good choices, but what do you cook most often? How much of it? Do you like heavy smoke or smoke as just part of the flavor? Do you want a cooker that mainly smokes, mainly grills, or both? How much are you comfortable spending? I've found that I have different answers to these questions at different times, hence my list of cookers owned is long enough to annoy my wife ???
Hub
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Thanks Sparky, Ill give him a call.
Hub, thanks for simplifying things for me.
-Jake
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Welcome from Maine, the northern capital of the Red Sox Nation. That would be the 2013 World Series Champions Red Sox!
You can't go wrong with a WSM; they are so versatile, especially with a couple of mods. The only dilemma is which to buy, the 18.5" or the 22.5". However, you would most likely enjoy any of the options you have mentioned. It's just fun to learn a new cooker.
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Welcome from sw Washington