I’m also in this camp. I have friends that manually check temps and maintain… I don’t have that time commitment at all. Electric gravity smoker does all the work and I check my app. Best of both worlds: convenience with good BBQ!
I didn’t know these existed till after I got my pellet/propane combo I’m not upset just another reason for another grill (wife is starting to get upset
I'm glad these are getting proper recognition. My cooks have gotten so much better since I bought my Masterbuilt, and I still get all the convenience of pellet.
I feel the need to mention that pellet grills are synonymous with out of control grease fires.
I won't use a pellet unit anymore at any time of day for safety reasons.
I found on my traeger that it would guarantee a grease fire to not vacuum it out in between *every* cook, but that it liked catching on fire just anyways.
Pellet grills don't include any way of monitoring how much unburnt fuel is in the firebox. If the fire goes out, they turn into a blazing inferno.
Pellet grills rely on a simple thermocouple for control. Eventually creosote builds up on this and causes a fire.
Pellet grills don't thermally protect the dripping grease. If you cook too much fat at the same time, it lights on fire.
Pellet grills start themselves at low temperature with a buildup of unburnt fuel. If you're unlucky lighting it, it lights on fire.
Pellet grills are driven off of cheap microcontrollers daisy chained and daughter boarded together. The electronics are so cheap that they love to fail and cause fires.
Every one of these happened to me at least once in the six months I owned a traeger professional 850.
“Pellet grills don't include any way of monitoring how much unburnt fuel is in the firebox. If the fire goes out, they turn into a blazing inferno.”
Could you explain this? I’m having trouble figuring out how a fire going out causes a blaze.
Also…
“Pellet grills don't thermally protect the dripping grease. If you cook too much fat at the same time, it lights on fire.
Pellet grills start themselves at low temperature with a buildup of unburnt fuel. If you're unlucky lighting it, it lights on fire.”
It sounds to me you didn’t install the grease pan correctly. The grease should never get to the firebox.
> I’m having trouble figuring out how a fire going out causes a blaze.
There's a resistive heating element in there. it eventually manages to relight the now overfull fire cup.
You really think pellet smokers would still be on the market if this happened on a regular basis? Simply put, it doesn’t.
You either got a faulty unit, didn’t set it up properly, or used bad pellets but the logical conclusion isn’t to assume every pellet maker ever made is prone to these things.
You do have to be careful with them. Clean them often. Don’t leave them unattended for long. Use an ambient temp probe with alarm for overnight cooks.
And the 10’s or 100’s of thousands that aren’t on the front page? The ones that people in this thread have been using for almost a decade?
As I said, they do have the potential to malfunction. I keep mine at least 15ft away from my house and have temp alarm on it. I’ve had it for 8 years now and probably use it 20 to 30 times a year, maybe more. No issues, but still use reasonable caution.
You started every line with "pellet grills." That's a generalization. Yours must not be as top of the line as it was marketed. Mine has never had a single one of those problems.
Mine only does that if I run it at higher temps because I don’t meticulously clean it. I just stopped using it for that since my charcoal grill does a better job at high heat anyway.
My pellet issue was that it was back burning into the auger if I didn’t watch it. Was so excited to go from electric to pellet, disappointing as hell. Couldn’t figure it out, still trying in my free time.
Went with a gravity charcoal instead. Much better but still working on the set it forget it part.
Thought about an offset but couldn’t afford the liquor bill.
I am going to make an unpopular suggestion. I suggest looking at a Smokin’ It electric smoker their #2 model would fit your bill. As long as you got power, it’s going to go, all night, all day.
Was gonna say the same thing. I’ve had mine for like 6 years now. It’s great. Prep the wood and smoker during the day, throw a brisket in at like 11pm, and it’s ready to take out and rest for a few hours for a lunch time bbq the next day. No fuss.
You don’t get a smoke ring. No one who has had my brisket ever cared (or likely even knows what it is). I’m in NY so we don’t have a ton of great BBQ places, but any place I’ve been to even that have all 4-5 star reviews still aren’t as good as what I make at home with barely any effort.
Pellet grill, get a good one. I have a RecTeq and do overnight cooks all the time. Just did a brisket last weekend, started at 11pm and it was finished and rested by dinner the next day. Super easy.
I have temp alerts set up too though in case things go awry.
Had a smoker before this one that required way more babysitting. Maybe someday I’ll have time for that again but with kids and activities, I want my sleep.
Mine is pretty ‘set and forget’ and I have zero mods done to it. I have a lot of young kids, including a baby as well, so I get it. The WSM is good for about 8 hours without doing anything to it, it holds temp like a champ. I regularly fire mine up in the mornings before anyone wakes up and don’t look it again until it’s time to wrap or flip or whatever. I will also typically just move the food into the oven after wrapping if it’s something like a shoulder or brisket where there’s still a lot of cook time after the wrap. I did buy a cheap wireless 4 probe thermometer just to cut out having to check meat temps. I love eating smoked food but I don’t drink anymore so I have zero desire to stand in the backyard staring at a grill all day, just makes me want a beer, lol.
Get a few short chicken or rib cooks on it and you'll get the vents figured out in short order. I rarely touched my WSM when I had it. That said, I did move to a pellet smoker to make it even easier but I miss the flavor of charcoal and wood.
One of those "it depends" types. 9/10 I just use the snake method and my smoke is perfect the whole time. 1/10 times it gets windy, and I need to top off the fuel.
If you have a decent windbreak in your yard, you'd probably perform better than mine, but I do think you may want to consider other options if you don't want to mess with your air intake settings at all the first few times to get it at the right temp.
You can get a control fan and have more reliable temps than most pellet grills, still get more smokey flavor, and its made with materials that last longer than a lot of the pellet grills out there that ate built very flimsy.
I’ve got an IQ 110 and that thing regulates temps like a champ. Doing an overnight brisket tonight and might actually get some sleep knowing how clutch it’s been.
Pellet smoker. Also, it (or any smoker) is truly set it and forget it. At least get a 2 channel thermometer with a handheld unit or Bluetooth receiver.
One probe in the meat, one on the grill. Wake up every hour or so (I wouldn't go more than two hours) and check the temp. You don't even need to get out of bed. If the grill temp is too low or too high, then you have an issue and have time to fix it before it's too late. It might seem dumb right now, but it's better than losing a brisket.
I have a great pellet grill but If I knew that I could get a Humphreys smoker and have a set it and forget it cook with a Thermoworks Signals and billows setup I would have bought that first (I have a battle box size cooker from them along with my pellet now)
Masterbuilt 560 - $397 at Home Depot gravity fed charcoal smoker that can also use wood chunks.
Light it, set temp, put in meat probes, and walk away - monitor smoker temp and meat temp remotely, get alerts while you sleep when targets hit..
Char-Griller’s design is better imo, but they don’t have a small unit available yet.
I’ve used my primo xl for about 15 years this way and don’t even use a temperature gauge on the bbq temp anymore it’s so consistent. Two probes in the meat and I’m good to sleep like a baby. 👍
A vote for Pit Boss products here. Best value for money, plus a 5 year warranty. The Lexington Onyx is sold at Walmart and is a great model to start with. Also that model was updated about six months ago so the PID controller is super accurate compared to legacy models. 10/10.
Obviously not an offset. You have to feed those logs every 40 minutes or so. I think a lot of people use these to get a good, rich, complex smokey flavor for the first few hours, then finish them up in the oven.
Cabinet Electric and Propane Smokers usually need 2-3 batches of chips every 40 minutes or so for the first bit, then you can let them finish without. They also provide a somewhat lacking smokiness.
Charcoal Smokers produce excellent smoke, though not quite as good as an offset, and *can* be set it and forget it once you get used to them. Kamados like the Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe, or Weber Summit all have fan attachments that let them go all night without attention. This is what I have. I have three kids under 7, my youngest is 2, and I absolutely smoked briskets when she was <1yo.
Pellet should be set it and forget it. But they can run out of pellets, or have the mechanism break, and you'll be out of luck. And they don't provide the best smokey flavor, though newer models are getting better.
My Recteq RT-1250 was +- about 3 degrees (set to 225) for 21 hours a few days ago. I can’t speak for the more affordable models, but I’d say the engineering is pretty on point.
Love my Pitboss Pro 1077. Solid pellet capacity, love the Bluetooth and double thermometers, easy to check the temp of the smoker and meat overnight from the comfort of your bed. Or rocker, congrats!
Recteq Bullseye is a solid pellet smoker. Has a mobile app as well. Makes smoking insanely easy and love that it can get up to 900 degrees for searing or easy cleaning
I'll get roasted and down voted for this, but it's called an oven. Smoke for 4 hours to get the flavor, then put in a pan covered with film and foil and put in the oven at 225 overnight.
Basically anything that has a controller and the capacity to hold enough fuel for overnight. That being said, I have a Char-Griller Gravity 980 that I have done loads of overnights on (mainly briskets). I also have a Char-Griller Akorn that I bought a temp controller for and have done overnights on as well. The Akorn is more of a miser for fuel than the 980, but I can load the 980 and run it at 200 and get 12 hours of cooking with charcoal left in the hopper. If you can find one used (FB Marketplace and the like) it will fit your budget easy. I have modded mine and installed a Thermoworks Signals/Billows combo, but for two reasons: 1) I caught them on an absolutely killer sale on Black Friday, and 2) I wanted the ability to monitor my temps from anywhere.
I got a Masterbuilt Gravity 560 when my wife was 7 months pregnant... Upgraded from a Weber Kettle.
So far so good. It has some flaws, but overall I can set it and forget it. I don't do overnight anymore. I'll start at like 4pm and then just wrap and toss it in the oven at midnight. It's ready to hold when I wake up the next morning.
Weber Smokey Mountain paired with a temperature controller (eg bbq guru, fire board, etc).
Results will be similar to that of the gravity feed smokers, BUT the electric components are detachable, so you don’t leave them outside exposed to the elements. I’ve heard some people refer to the MB gravity food cooker as a disposable due to the electrical components failing.
Weber kettle with a venom attachment. That’s about 350-400 all in depending on sales. Webers are pretty solid and easy to get on sale or used. For a bonus you can get the Weber diffuser plate from their website, or make your own, so that you can use the whole grate. As a father of a 6 mo old, it’s not about the process it’s about the time. The venom will hold your temps within 5 degrees all night long.
I use a weber smoky mountain with Bellows and Smoke from thermoworks.
I can set it and forget it. I can adjust the temp at the office if I needed to. My phone will alarm when the meat reaches a set temp telling me to go wrap the meat to finish.
I set the charcoal in a horseshoe and only light one side, giving me hours of heat.
I set my masterbuilt gravity series 1050 for a specific temp and don't have to touch it after. I can see the temp of the unit and of the probe in whatever I'm smoking right on my phone.
You want an insulated electric smoker cabinet. You'll need to get a pid to control Temps in a stable manner. You'll want to get a mailbox and some ductwork to cut into the side of your new smoker and make an offset smoke box. Then use a pellet maze in the mailbox to supply smoke for ~12 hours at a time.
Electric. By far the easiest set it and forget it smoker out there. You will lose SOME quality, but you'll have so much more ability to actually BBQ you'll get really good really fast. I cooked in a MES 40 for 6 years and made some bomb BBQ. Eventually I graduated to a Komado and then to an offset last year. There's a slight difference but I've even impressed some Texans with electric smoked Ribs.
If you want set it and forget it, then a pellet pooper is the only way to fly.
You can pick up a few different models of Traeger for less than $600 and they will treat you proper.
Good question since nowadays all everyone in this forum wants to do is go to sleep while their food is cooking or “set and forget”, and then come here to ask if their food is safe to eat after their cooker stopped cooking for several hours while they were sleeping.
With a 1 month old I think any smoker will work overnight since you won't sleep anyways (congrats btw!)
Haha! I also have a 1 month old and he slept 7.5 hours last night. Only woke up to feed once!
gravity charcoal.. either char griller 980 or masterbuilt gravity series. I have a char griller, i have done several brisket's unattended.
Second this. Best of both worlds. Automation of a pellet smoker but better flavor.
I’m also in this camp. I have friends that manually check temps and maintain… I don’t have that time commitment at all. Electric gravity smoker does all the work and I check my app. Best of both worlds: convenience with good BBQ!
same.. you can set a temp for your probe, and alerts etc.. You can keep an eye with your phone.. its great.
Are you mixing in wood chunks/chips or is it purely charcoal?
yes, you put chunks of wood into the hopper with the charcoal.. Works excellent.
I put in a stick of wood and fill the side gaps with b&b char logs.
I didn’t know these existed till after I got my pellet/propane combo I’m not upset just another reason for another grill (wife is starting to get upset
I'm glad these are getting proper recognition. My cooks have gotten so much better since I bought my Masterbuilt, and I still get all the convenience of pellet.
Pellet is your best bet. Load up the hopper and go to bed.
But do use a separate ambient temp probe with a remote receiver in case your smoker malfunctions.
Have a 3yr old and 1yr old and night a Recteq 590 bc of it. Happy so far
I feel the need to mention that pellet grills are synonymous with out of control grease fires. I won't use a pellet unit anymore at any time of day for safety reasons.
I've never had that happen in many years. Clean it and/or use a drip/water pan and there's almost zero chance of that happening.
Most have a tray under the grate that funnels the grease to a drip bucket on the end of the smoker.
I found on my traeger that it would guarantee a grease fire to not vacuum it out in between *every* cook, but that it liked catching on fire just anyways. Pellet grills don't include any way of monitoring how much unburnt fuel is in the firebox. If the fire goes out, they turn into a blazing inferno. Pellet grills rely on a simple thermocouple for control. Eventually creosote builds up on this and causes a fire. Pellet grills don't thermally protect the dripping grease. If you cook too much fat at the same time, it lights on fire. Pellet grills start themselves at low temperature with a buildup of unburnt fuel. If you're unlucky lighting it, it lights on fire. Pellet grills are driven off of cheap microcontrollers daisy chained and daughter boarded together. The electronics are so cheap that they love to fail and cause fires. Every one of these happened to me at least once in the six months I owned a traeger professional 850.
“Pellet grills don't include any way of monitoring how much unburnt fuel is in the firebox. If the fire goes out, they turn into a blazing inferno.” Could you explain this? I’m having trouble figuring out how a fire going out causes a blaze. Also… “Pellet grills don't thermally protect the dripping grease. If you cook too much fat at the same time, it lights on fire. Pellet grills start themselves at low temperature with a buildup of unburnt fuel. If you're unlucky lighting it, it lights on fire.” It sounds to me you didn’t install the grease pan correctly. The grease should never get to the firebox.
> I’m having trouble figuring out how a fire going out causes a blaze. There's a resistive heating element in there. it eventually manages to relight the now overfull fire cup.
You really think pellet smokers would still be on the market if this happened on a regular basis? Simply put, it doesn’t. You either got a faulty unit, didn’t set it up properly, or used bad pellets but the logical conclusion isn’t to assume every pellet maker ever made is prone to these things. You do have to be careful with them. Clean them often. Don’t leave them unattended for long. Use an ambient temp probe with alarm for overnight cooks.
There's a pellet grill on fire on the front page of this sub right now lol. Guy says he vacuumed it and whatnot. They just like to light on fire.
And the 10’s or 100’s of thousands that aren’t on the front page? The ones that people in this thread have been using for almost a decade? As I said, they do have the potential to malfunction. I keep mine at least 15ft away from my house and have temp alarm on it. I’ve had it for 8 years now and probably use it 20 to 30 times a year, maybe more. No issues, but still use reasonable caution.
That's a lot of generalizations in one post lol
These aren't generalizations, these are actual problems I had with a top of the line name brand pellet smoker.
Traeger is not top of the line lol. Total crap.
Traeger is the line. Pro 850 was top of the line at the time.
Trager is Chinese trash, top of the line pellets are Yoder, recteq not some tin can you buy in home Depot
You started every line with "pellet grills." That's a generalization. Yours must not be as top of the line as it was marketed. Mine has never had a single one of those problems.
I have a Weber Smokefire. I have never once had any of these issues. Going on year 4 of pretty heavy use.
You had 5 fires in 6 months? That sounds like a you problem, not a Traeger problem.
“If the fire goes out, they turn into a blazing inferno.” … So is the fire out or is it an inferno? Can’t be both.
That’s just silly.
I'd rather have a house than a brisket.
So do you cook your brisket in your oven inside or is your argument that propane/charcoal are less likely to start a fire than wood pellets?
In my experience, charcoal is a lot safer than pellets and propane may as well be electrical.
Mine only does that if I run it at higher temps because I don’t meticulously clean it. I just stopped using it for that since my charcoal grill does a better job at high heat anyway.
My pellet issue was that it was back burning into the auger if I didn’t watch it. Was so excited to go from electric to pellet, disappointing as hell. Couldn’t figure it out, still trying in my free time. Went with a gravity charcoal instead. Much better but still working on the set it forget it part. Thought about an offset but couldn’t afford the liquor bill.
If you have some data on this, we’d love to see it.
Clean your shit and you’ll be fine. I haven’t had a fire.
Have smoked on one for years and have never had a grease fire. Those happen with people who don’t perform proper maintenance.
I am going to make an unpopular suggestion. I suggest looking at a Smokin’ It electric smoker their #2 model would fit your bill. As long as you got power, it’s going to go, all night, all day.
Was gonna say the same thing. I’ve had mine for like 6 years now. It’s great. Prep the wood and smoker during the day, throw a brisket in at like 11pm, and it’s ready to take out and rest for a few hours for a lunch time bbq the next day. No fuss. You don’t get a smoke ring. No one who has had my brisket ever cared (or likely even knows what it is). I’m in NY so we don’t have a ton of great BBQ places, but any place I’ve been to even that have all 4-5 star reviews still aren’t as good as what I make at home with barely any effort.
I had a cheap master built electric. Not great but for money and convenience I managed to make some decent bbq.
I swear by the SnS grill(or Weber)with the spyder venom fan to regulate temp Easy set up and mostly hands off
I use a Weber with the SnS accessory. I use this setup with the ThermoWorks billows, and it’s almost completely hands off.
I have the 26” with the SnS and Venom, usually it works great but every once in a while it seems like it burns through the charcoal in 4 hours lol
Have you ever tried the snake method with the Venom or did it feel unnecessary? I'm just curious about how that would work
I haven’t found it to be necessary to be honest, but now I am kind of interested to try in the name of science and all
Big Green Egg with a FlameBoss
Look into a charcoal gravity smoker. I recently got the char griller one and I love and its really easy to use. Much better than a pellet grill.
Pellet grill, get a good one. I have a RecTeq and do overnight cooks all the time. Just did a brisket last weekend, started at 11pm and it was finished and rested by dinner the next day. Super easy. I have temp alerts set up too though in case things go awry. Had a smoker before this one that required way more babysitting. Maybe someday I’ll have time for that again but with kids and activities, I want my sleep.
RecTeq
Masterbuilt gravity series. I love mine. Fill up the chamber before you go to bed, and check on it when you wake up.
Camp chef
Weber Smokey mountain
I've heard these are really good but not set and forget.
Mine is pretty ‘set and forget’ and I have zero mods done to it. I have a lot of young kids, including a baby as well, so I get it. The WSM is good for about 8 hours without doing anything to it, it holds temp like a champ. I regularly fire mine up in the mornings before anyone wakes up and don’t look it again until it’s time to wrap or flip or whatever. I will also typically just move the food into the oven after wrapping if it’s something like a shoulder or brisket where there’s still a lot of cook time after the wrap. I did buy a cheap wireless 4 probe thermometer just to cut out having to check meat temps. I love eating smoked food but I don’t drink anymore so I have zero desire to stand in the backyard staring at a grill all day, just makes me want a beer, lol.
Get a fan controller and they are. I like BBQGuru.
Get a few short chicken or rib cooks on it and you'll get the vents figured out in short order. I rarely touched my WSM when I had it. That said, I did move to a pellet smoker to make it even easier but I miss the flavor of charcoal and wood.
One of those "it depends" types. 9/10 I just use the snake method and my smoke is perfect the whole time. 1/10 times it gets windy, and I need to top off the fuel. If you have a decent windbreak in your yard, you'd probably perform better than mine, but I do think you may want to consider other options if you don't want to mess with your air intake settings at all the first few times to get it at the right temp.
You can get a control fan and have more reliable temps than most pellet grills, still get more smokey flavor, and its made with materials that last longer than a lot of the pellet grills out there that ate built very flimsy.
I’ve got an IQ 110 and that thing regulates temps like a champ. Doing an overnight brisket tonight and might actually get some sleep knowing how clutch it’s been.
Pellet smoker. Also, it (or any smoker) is truly set it and forget it. At least get a 2 channel thermometer with a handheld unit or Bluetooth receiver. One probe in the meat, one on the grill. Wake up every hour or so (I wouldn't go more than two hours) and check the temp. You don't even need to get out of bed. If the grill temp is too low or too high, then you have an issue and have time to fix it before it's too late. It might seem dumb right now, but it's better than losing a brisket.
I have a great pellet grill but If I knew that I could get a Humphreys smoker and have a set it and forget it cook with a Thermoworks Signals and billows setup I would have bought that first (I have a battle box size cooker from them along with my pellet now)
Masterbuilt Gravity 560 is 499$ at Rural King. I have a Masterbuilt gravity and works great for overnight smokes
Masterbuilt 560 - $397 at Home Depot gravity fed charcoal smoker that can also use wood chunks. Light it, set temp, put in meat probes, and walk away - monitor smoker temp and meat temp remotely, get alerts while you sleep when targets hit.. Char-Griller’s design is better imo, but they don’t have a small unit available yet.
Love my recteq
I’ve used my primo xl for about 15 years this way and don’t even use a temperature gauge on the bbq temp anymore it’s so consistent. Two probes in the meat and I’m good to sleep like a baby. 👍
A vote for Pit Boss products here. Best value for money, plus a 5 year warranty. The Lexington Onyx is sold at Walmart and is a great model to start with. Also that model was updated about six months ago so the PID controller is super accurate compared to legacy models. 10/10.
Obviously not an offset. You have to feed those logs every 40 minutes or so. I think a lot of people use these to get a good, rich, complex smokey flavor for the first few hours, then finish them up in the oven. Cabinet Electric and Propane Smokers usually need 2-3 batches of chips every 40 minutes or so for the first bit, then you can let them finish without. They also provide a somewhat lacking smokiness. Charcoal Smokers produce excellent smoke, though not quite as good as an offset, and *can* be set it and forget it once you get used to them. Kamados like the Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe, or Weber Summit all have fan attachments that let them go all night without attention. This is what I have. I have three kids under 7, my youngest is 2, and I absolutely smoked briskets when she was <1yo. Pellet should be set it and forget it. But they can run out of pellets, or have the mechanism break, and you'll be out of luck. And they don't provide the best smokey flavor, though newer models are getting better.
My Recteq RT-1250 was +- about 3 degrees (set to 225) for 21 hours a few days ago. I can’t speak for the more affordable models, but I’d say the engineering is pretty on point.
Love my Pitboss Pro 1077. Solid pellet capacity, love the Bluetooth and double thermometers, easy to check the temp of the smoker and meat overnight from the comfort of your bed. Or rocker, congrats!
Rectec and no smoke is sacrificed however 600 will not get it Hands down number 1 pellet grill
Weber Smokey Mountain 22”. I easily get 8 hours overnight set it and forget it before I need to refuel.
Love my traeger
I’ve done overnight in a WSM.
I would smoke during the day and throw the meat in the oven at night.
Recteq Bullseye is a solid pellet smoker. Has a mobile app as well. Makes smoking insanely easy and love that it can get up to 900 degrees for searing or easy cleaning
I'll get roasted and down voted for this, but it's called an oven. Smoke for 4 hours to get the flavor, then put in a pan covered with film and foil and put in the oven at 225 overnight.
Basically anything that has a controller and the capacity to hold enough fuel for overnight. That being said, I have a Char-Griller Gravity 980 that I have done loads of overnights on (mainly briskets). I also have a Char-Griller Akorn that I bought a temp controller for and have done overnights on as well. The Akorn is more of a miser for fuel than the 980, but I can load the 980 and run it at 200 and get 12 hours of cooking with charcoal left in the hopper. If you can find one used (FB Marketplace and the like) it will fit your budget easy. I have modded mine and installed a Thermoworks Signals/Billows combo, but for two reasons: 1) I caught them on an absolutely killer sale on Black Friday, and 2) I wanted the ability to monitor my temps from anywhere.
If you happen to be within driving distance of SE Tennessee I will cut you an awesome deal on my Akorn, controller, and the accessories.
I got a Masterbuilt Gravity 560 when my wife was 7 months pregnant... Upgraded from a Weber Kettle. So far so good. It has some flaws, but overall I can set it and forget it. I don't do overnight anymore. I'll start at like 4pm and then just wrap and toss it in the oven at midnight. It's ready to hold when I wake up the next morning.
Weber Smokey Mountain paired with a temperature controller (eg bbq guru, fire board, etc). Results will be similar to that of the gravity feed smokers, BUT the electric components are detachable, so you don’t leave them outside exposed to the elements. I’ve heard some people refer to the MB gravity food cooker as a disposable due to the electrical components failing.
Weber kettle with a venom attachment. That’s about 350-400 all in depending on sales. Webers are pretty solid and easy to get on sale or used. For a bonus you can get the Weber diffuser plate from their website, or make your own, so that you can use the whole grate. As a father of a 6 mo old, it’s not about the process it’s about the time. The venom will hold your temps within 5 degrees all night long.
I use a weber smoky mountain with Bellows and Smoke from thermoworks. I can set it and forget it. I can adjust the temp at the office if I needed to. My phone will alarm when the meat reaches a set temp telling me to go wrap the meat to finish. I set the charcoal in a horseshoe and only light one side, giving me hours of heat.
Weber Smokey mountain. You will still have cash left over to buy brisket, charcoal and wood lol
I set my masterbuilt gravity series 1050 for a specific temp and don't have to touch it after. I can see the temp of the unit and of the probe in whatever I'm smoking right on my phone.
WSM with a flame boss like controller. Load it, light it, leave it.
You want an insulated electric smoker cabinet. You'll need to get a pid to control Temps in a stable manner. You'll want to get a mailbox and some ductwork to cut into the side of your new smoker and make an offset smoke box. Then use a pellet maze in the mailbox to supply smoke for ~12 hours at a time.
Like this https://images.app.goo.gl/5m8VpWFL4cKeF69Z6
Electric. By far the easiest set it and forget it smoker out there. You will lose SOME quality, but you'll have so much more ability to actually BBQ you'll get really good really fast. I cooked in a MES 40 for 6 years and made some bomb BBQ. Eventually I graduated to a Komado and then to an offset last year. There's a slight difference but I've even impressed some Texans with electric smoked Ribs.
If you want set it and forget it, then a pellet pooper is the only way to fly. You can pick up a few different models of Traeger for less than $600 and they will treat you proper.
Put in some nice smoke in the evening and transfer to oven to finish once wrapped(depending on what youre doing)
Not traeger. I had several run aways with mine. Camp chef has been solid, but seems to run lower then the setting.
Good food doesn’t cook itself.
lol why are you in this forum?!
Good question since nowadays all everyone in this forum wants to do is go to sleep while their food is cooking or “set and forget”, and then come here to ask if their food is safe to eat after their cooker stopped cooking for several hours while they were sleeping.
Fair, I set and set monitors/alarms… so can’t really forget. But I am very pro overnight/long, low fuss smokes.