Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker - 18.5 inch

After much research and agonizing over which smoker would be best for my family, I decided on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker smoker - 18.5 inch version!

I was debating to get either a Traeger pellet smoker or perhaps a Masterbuilt electric smoker, but decided that to get that real smoke flavor, I needed to go to charcoal smoking with wood chunks added.

My nephew has a Traeger and the quality of his food is top notch!  But I also read that some of the Traegers had issues with the auger not pushing the pellets consistently and that it could clog.  Also, some Traegers were running heat way above the settings on the electronics and causing all sorts of problems.  While this has not happened to those whom I know have one, it has happened to others.

The electric smokers to me seemed more like an outdoor electric oven more than anything else and that the small wood chips used just would not be enough to get that barbecue flavor that we all want.

In the end, after researching the various charcoal smokers out there, the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker smoker made the most sense to me.  Flare ups are controlled by the water pan that separates the coals from the food and maintaining a constant 225 to 250 degree temperature seemed rather easy to do with the three vents on the bottom of the cooker.  In addition, I didn't see any negative reviews from those who owned this smoker compared to the numerous negative reviews I had read about other smokers.

After picking up the smoker at Home Depot, I built the unit (very fast and easy... it's just attaching the legs and the internal rack holders and the top handle) and got to smoking country ribs.  I used a Weber chimney starter to get the briquettes going and within about 45 minutes, I was up and running with a decent temperature in the smoker.  I used the "minion style" of charcoal positioning to guarantee a longer burn if needed.

In the end, the country ribs achieved a nice smoke ring and flavor from the Costco rub and also apple wood chunks (three) on the Kingsford briquettes.

I'm very happy with the flavor and results.  Next?  Brisket!!