I'm bored and want to get into learning how to smoke brisket. I tried and failed with my weber as I couldn't really get consistent temps and I'm a super novice at this. I've looked at Traeger, Zgrills, and pit boss. No idea what I'm doing with any of it but the temp controls on zgrills looks nice. Never used a pellet smoker and folks have complained it doesn't put out enough smoke? Again, no idea. Hell, if yall had a cheap one around Aggieland that'd be alright too.

Ive got a pitboss pellet smoker (was 400 or 500 at Lowe's, dont remember the model) and ive done brisket, pork shoulder, ribs, chicken, turkey (whole and pieces) plus stuff I've cured myself and I've never had a problem with getting smoke flavor and smokr rings. The pitboss app sucks...id recommend using a 3rd party to measure ambient temp instead of relying on the pitboss internal sensor. But it's been by far worth every penny as far as putting out bbq.

I learned on an Old Country Pecos smoker before I got my Mill Scale. I did modify the smokestack a bit by adding some aluminum duct vent pipe that was laying around my house. Worked great!

I have a Z Grill and our weekend place and a Pit Boss at home. They are both good for the money so just pick the one you like. You can always get a smoke tube to put out more smoke. I have a 48" custom offset that rarely gets used because the pellet smokers make great BBQ and require so little work

HTownAg98 said:

---

A Weber can hold consistent temperatures IF the lid has a good seal and the ash cleaner is working properly. If smoke is coming through the lid seal, you can't hold a constant temperature. If your lid is leaking, put some metal binder clips on the edge, and that will get you a tighter seal.

My Weber will stabilize at 260 with the bottom vent open 1/8" and the top vent half closed. It will stay there until it runs out of charcoal.

---

I installed nomex gaskets around the lid and the side door and that did a great job in helping to seal it up tight. I also purchased a BBQ Guru years ago which is great for setting and maintaining a specific temperature. I'd love to have an offset to play with but a WSM is all I need to cook for my family.

I smoked very good brisket using a braunfels smoker. I got rid of it when I bought a Primo. But it had good air flow and a fire box that can take enough wood that you don't need to keep adding to it. Can't really grill on it, but great for low and slow.

Bought it in 1990 when I got married and used the hell out of it until 2016.

It's still readily available for about $200 - $250

A little more money than your price range, but I have a Masterbuilt Gravity smoker and have loved it so far. For someone that has always grilled/smoked on Webers and charcoal grills, it feels familiar but I can still add wood chunks to get solid smoke flavor. The grill has held up well so far and the app is better than some of the other ones.

I am also a recent purchaser of the pitboss 850 sold through Lowes. Sells for $550 but they had a sale and i had a coupon so got it for $380. Very easy to use and works great, but agree that the probe that comes with it probably isnt the best.

I would buy a used big green egg on Facebook marketplace, a large BGE can be found for less than $600.

ApacheAg15 said:

---

A little more money than your price range, but I have a Masterbuilt Gravity smoker and have loved it so far. For someone that has always grilled/smoked on Webers and charcoal grills, it feels familiar but I can still add wood chunks to get solid smoke flavor. The grill has held up well so far and the app is better than some of the other ones.

---

I have a WSM and have been able to smoke a pretty decent brisket. That said, I'd like to check that out.

Do you put unlit coals in the bottom and then lit coals on top of them?

aggiesherpa said:

---

Do you put unlit coals in the bottom and then lit coals on top of them?

---

Not meaning to steal this thread, but that's what I do. I have a Weber Chimney that I use to get the hot coals (I use paraffin cubes to keep the fire going). I also put wood chunks in the unlit coals. That said, I've had to re-load hot coals about half-way into smoking a brisket to keep the temperatures around 250 degrees

Thanks for the responses, I have never tried to do a long smoke on my Weber, but my coals get so hot when I do 3/4-full chimney, I wasn't sure how to get the temp low enough to smoke

I love my Recteq.

This board is slippin. Or maybe the OB would have the proper response:

$35 at Walmart

You will laugh - if you are not smoking a huge brisket the Ninja XL pellet smoker does a great job. Really easy and easy to adjust smoke. Our son has smoked some fantastic meals on the Ninja.

Weber smokie mountain is what I use at the beach house. Perfect for smoking.

At the main house I have a Weber summit kamado and a workhorse 1975.

The Akorn smoker has been my go-to for 15 years. I should get a discount from Chargriller, for the number I have helped them sell, via my experience.
Akorn smoker-Home Depot $297

I have a 600lb offset smoker. 3/8" thick. Its a heat sink no matter ambient temp. That's at my Central Texas house. I need something lighter for another house. Thought about a drum smoker, but am watching this thread!