Looking for a combo propane grill that is also a decent smoker for ribs.

Should I look for a smoker that is a decent propane grill?
Or a propane grill that is a decent smoker?

Or forget the whole idea?

I don't think I'll smoke enough meat to warrant purchasing a separate high quality smoker like a Big Green Egg. I think I'll get more use out of the grill if anything. But it would be cool if there's a combo unit out there that gives me the choice once in a while.

I've heard good things about HomeDepot Weber grills.

Most grills do no seal well enough or control temps low enough to smoke properly. Some smokers will perform double duty as food dehydrators to make jerky, so that might make it worthy investing in a separate unit.

---

In tha 360. MRF User Map

If you'll rarely smoke meat, buy a used 22.5" Weber kettle from Craigslist. With a rack accessory and proper setup, it can be setup for smoking, not cost a lot and the meat will taste better than anything that uses propane.

Yeah, going old school with a $100 Weber kettle may be the way to go for my infrequent smokes. Since I was in the market for a grill I thought there might've been something new to the market that offers the best of both worlds in a decent combo unit.

Here's one:
[www.webstaurantstore.com]

This one is rated 4.2 with 439 reviews:
[www.lowes.com]

Get a good grill then when you need a smoker build one from a cardboard box

---

“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

I have a Weber Performer that I use to grill and smoke. It would not be good for an unattended 12 hour or overnight session. However, with proper charcoal setup, I can maintain a temp in the 200 to 250 range for 4 hours unattended. Four hours is good for most items to get a good bark and smoke ring. I can finish things like brisket and pork butt in the oven if needed to reach proper internal temperature.

The Performer has a propane burner to light the charcoal. I usually use a charcoal chimney. It is fast and also allows me to light more coals if I need to stoke the fire. The side table on the Performer is also nice although it is a pricey premium over a Weber One-Touch Gold.

Quote
MikeF
Here's one:
[www.webstaurantstore.com]

This one is rated 4.2 with 439 reviews:
[www.lowes.com]

Oooooo that side smoker box looks sweet!

My dad and I each have Performers with gas-assist, but yeah, any of their lesser kettles can do this. And I agree that at about the 4 hour mark you're looking to add charcoal. But a "snake" charcoal setup might go a bit longer. If you can wake up early enough to get everything going and be around all day, dinner should be ready by dinner time.

3G, if you go the Weber route, get a cooking grill you can add charcoal to without removing such as the hinged one.

So the Weber Performer is a supercharged Weber Kettle with bells, whistles, and side table? Looks like a nice set-up for sure. The propane charcoal lighter makes it well worth the premium. But I was hoping for the ease of a propane grill for the random quick weekday dinner after work when it's not a full blown BBQ with all the fixins. So if I'm looking at separate units I can't justify purchasing a Performer

In my experience there are two main issues related to charcoal's inconvenience.

The first, lighting it/waiting for heat is largely related to time, and in my opinion is easily overcome with planning to account for the 20-30 minutes (or less, if using a chimney).

The other, dealing with ash afterwards, is where the Gold and Performers are really great, since they come with ashcans, which can be retrofitted to any 22.5" "Silver" model.

The ashcan is worth more to me than the gas-assist or side table features, and is a big reason that lets it be the "random quick weekday dinner after work".

Performers don't have to cost $350. My dad and I each got ours used for less than half that, although I've got some extra money in mine. I wanted the older, stainless steel version and so, had to refurbish one.

Not necessarily smoking, but a good discussion related to that (low and slow cooking) , with several successful examples for pork shoulder: [weberkettleclub.com]

One more thing -- the ubiquitous Kingsford "blue" bags have so much filler and junk that the resulting ash will choke the fire after a while unless you run the "one touch" sweeper a few times. Gotta find some Stubbs or some other lump briquets (maybe even Royal Oak, also widely available) that produce less ash/waste, especially for longer cooks.

We use a Treager Smoker, It will go to about 400 degrees so we use it for grilling but it is on the lower end of grilling.
It uses wood pellets

Doesn't propane generate too much water vapor as a result of the combustion, to truly dry smoke properly?

Quote
deckeda
One more thing -- the ubiquitous Kingsford "blue" bags have so much filler and junk that the resulting ash will choke the fire after a while unless you run the "one touch" sweeper a few times. Gotta find some Stubbs or some other lump briquets (maybe even Royal Oak, also widely available) that produce less ash/waste, especially for longer cooks.

After trying hardwood charcoal, I'd never go back to the regular briquettes.

It burns hotter, though quicker, and doesn't leave you with a pile of "sand" to dispose of afterward.

And a chimney is an essential to any charcoal grilling.

I haven't gotten into smoking yet, but there's a segmented insert that supposedly turns a typical Weber kettle into a decent smoker.

People like Alton Brown don't like unitaskers, but I'm of the mind that any sort of combo grill/smoker would result in compromises for both functions. I've got a gas grill that will hit the high temps for searing, and the quick and dirty stuff, and a kettle for the rest.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/2014 05:54PM by Bimwad.

Quote
3d

Quote
MikeF
Here's one:
[www.webstaurantstore.com]

This one is rated 4.2 with 439 reviews:
[www.lowes.com]

Oooooo that side smoker box looks sweet!

I have one of these (Char-Griller Duo), modded (by me) to add the firebox to the charcoal side. Works great, very easy to use and clean up. Not at all difficult to maintain a steady 225-250 in smoker mode, and the gas side is always there to throw on a steak after work.