Chose the $80 offset smoker over the $400 gas grill back in 2016

My buddy kept telling me to just get the gas grill for convenience, said I'd never have the patience for tending a fire. But I grew up watching my grandpa babysit his smoker all day in Memphis, so I went with the cheap offset. First few cooks were rough, temps all over the place, almost gave up after a brisket came out like shoe leather. But once I learned to manage the coal bed and wood splits, that thing turns out better Q than half the places charging $20 a plate. Guy at the hardware store in Nashville said I was wasting my money. Six years later he still asks me for tips when we run into each other. Anyone else stick with the grumpy old school method over the easy button? How long did it take before you felt like you actually had it dialed in?

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tyler_bell8d ago

Been running a cheap offset myself since around 2015, so I feel you. But gotta push back on one thing: the gas grill isn't really the "easy button" people make it out to be, at least not for real BBQ. A gas grill is just an outdoor oven with a lid, it's a whole different tool for a whole different job. You can't get that bark and smoke ring off propane no matter how long you leave it on there. Took me about two years and a lot of ruined pork butts before I could hold 225 steady without checking every five minutes. The trick for me was building a small coal bed off to one side and feeding it one split at a time instead of dumping a whole chimney in. Once that clicked, it was night and day. Sounds like your grandpa knew what he was doing.

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