Kettle bbq or smoker?

[K-BBQ]

Hi

This summer I'd like to take my bbqing to the next level. Me and my friends love having bbqs but from a couple of years of looking round the internet, I can't help but feel that there's more to be experienced.

I'd love to be able to cook larger pieces of meat as well as racks of ribs over coals. So I guess my question is, with a budget of up to £200 how can I best strike the balance between the usual need to cook burgers and sausages and my desire for melt in the mouth ribs and pulled pork?

Would something like the weber kettle do this well, or should i be looking in to a dedicated smoker to have good success with the longer cooking times?

Thanks in advance

J

[Vic.]

I'm not an expert, but a Weber smokey mountain would seem to do both functions. Traegers seem to do both too. Other members will come along with more exact info

Welcome to the forum.

[Steve]

Hi, on your budget you've already come up with a great solution. A 57cm kettle will be a good step into slow cooked BBQ. You're not going to get a machine that slow cooks as well as a WSM but you can cook larger cuts on it and it'll still do your grilling.


I own two 57cm Weber kettles as well as two WSM's and a Traeger. If I was only allowed to keep one machine it would be one of my kettles.

[Swindon_Ed]

I'd have to agree with Steve on this one. I started with a Weber kettle which i still use and i'm able to cook great ribs, roasts and most other things on and it's great for cooking burgers and sausages on.

[Steve]

The Weber is great for both but learning fire control for large joints is a steep learning curve.

My dad manages fire control on his 57cm One touch silver and managed to cook some great lamb joints from day one. He's struggled a little with Pro Q Excel I gave him, unfortunately we don't live near each other so I'm not on hand to help him with the fire control.

Personally I have never found there to be a learning curve to basic fire control, it's not voodoo or black magic. Getting precise and able to compensate for different weather conditions does take time and experience with the cooker but to be honest with you, most people don't bother being so precise.

I get the impression grilling is your mainstay but you want to try smoking out, buying a smoker which would be an inferior grill probably isn't the best idea. Don't be afraid of giving smoking a go on a kettle, it isn't hard.

[dajamjar]

I dont have the wealth of experience that the guys who've replied above do, but being in a similar situation i thought i'd chime in.

I just bought a ProQ Frontier smoker that (even brand new) is well within your budget and I couldnt be happier. I can nip down to B&Q and get a BBQ for £30 that will grill just fine, so when it came to spending the money i bought the smoker that gives me room to experiment and grow without being too much of a waste of money if i cant get into it.

Just my tuppence worth.

James.

[British BBQ Society]

or you can kill two brids with one stone, i have the 2009/ 10 model proQ excels for sale at the moment for £150, which leaves you £50 to buy a grill from B & Q

[clairbare]

or you can kill two brids with one stone, i have the 2009/ 10 model proQ excels for sale at the moment for £150, which leaves you £50 to buy a grill from B & Q

nice sales pitch

[British BBQ Society]

I have to sub the competitions somehow talking of which, entry form???

[clairbare]

I have to sub the competitions somehow talking of which, entry form???

Enroute, see PM first