Ribs,Brisket,Butts,& Birds?

Hi John and "welcome" to the forum. The CS models are good for everything you mentioned and more (take a look at this gorgeous piece of meat! !) I don't do many briskets but ribs, butts and birds are my favorites. One of the main draws to the CS is its ease of use. No sense in slaving over a log burner when you can set it and forget it! The log burners and water smokers all have to be tended to make sure that the temp stays fairly consistent during your smoke. You can use the CS with consistence any time of year including the dead of winter. You use 2-4 oz (generally) of wood for your entire smoke.

Others will chime in here and give you their opinions. My opinion always has been that this is money very well spent - if you like good BBQ.

You might want to give a little more info, like how many you intend to feed, how often you cook, etc. This will help people suggest which model would best suit your needs.

Good luck & God bless...

I LIKE TO COOK ON THE WEEKENDS , AND HAVE FOOD LEFT OVER FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK, TO HELP MY WIFE "NOT" HAVE TO COOK (AT LEAST THE MEAT) DURING THE WEEK,WE BOTH WORK AND HAVE KIDS,SO IT REALLY HELPS OUT TO JUST REHEAT THINGS DURING THE WEEK. SOMETIMES WE LIKE TO HAVE, SAY 2-10 PEOPLE OVER FOR A SAT/OR A SUN. AFTERNOON FAMILY /FRIENDS GETOGETHER. NOT A FAMILY REUNION OR ANTTHING LIKE THAT.
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP,JOHN

The CS is definately for you. For brisket, butts, ribs you'll find no better!

And if you stick around this forum long enough, you'll start using it for a lot more as well. These folks come up with some good stuff. You have people anywhere from us amatuers to restaurant owners and competition cooks.

Read Smokin' Okie Barbecue Guides (link at the top of page) to find out how to use the CS to get brisket, ribs, and butts to die for!

So, first question about buying a smoker is what do you want to cook and you provided that.

One question I have is do you have any experience with Q or not?

And of course, price range. Some have a range. We can discuss pretty much any smoker out there, CS or not, so we try to be helpful.

For some photos, like Geiyser said, click on the link at the top of the page "Smokin' Okie barbecue guide" and there are some good brisket photos in the brisket 101 and some photos in ribs 101. I need to add photos for pork butt 101, but there are some recent posts with good pictures of those.

And I don't have a chicken 101, but I have a turkey 101 with photos. Turkey 101

The CS does great with the birds, but it's limitation is that it only gets to 250 and doesn't crisp up the skin "pretty" without some assistance (finish on the grill for crisp skin) but it smokes them beautifully.

I'd also suggest a read through the owners forum and the owners archive. You'll see a number of posts indicating new owners and their comments. They can convince you the best.

Here to help

John,

I think you have to ask yourself HOW you like to cook BBQ and what can you afford.

Some individuals seem to love to tend fire and fiddle with their pit smokers. They like to stay up all night drinking beverages of choice while smoking a brisket. Personally, I love cooking of all types but I do not want to spend time tweeking a smoker and I like my sleep. The Cookshack electric is a foolproof way to excellent BBQ. I threw a brisket in before work last week, came home, foiled it for 2 hrs and had an awesome dinner. No tending and no worry that my house would burn down while I'm gone. They are not cheap.

Many smokers are cheaper but require a lot of tending. Also, pit type smokers may use a lot of charcoal and wood during a long smoke which adds to cost if you don't have easy access. I had a $60 Charbroil electric but even that was a pain to use compared to the Cookshack.

Great Outdoors makes a "Smoky Mountain" propane smoker in a couple of sizes for under $200. These have more room than a Cookshack 008/009. More like a CS 50. I have heard good things about them on other forums. Of course they still have the "fire" factor to think about when leaving them untended but do require less work than woodburners. They seem to offer a lot of cooking capacity for the price.

John

One thing to consiter in the cost of a smoker, is how long is it going to last!!! If you want to buy a smoker that will be working when the rest of the, "so called cheaper grills " are in the landfield, buy a
Cookshack. I have only had my cookshack a short time but, and you will see what I am talking about when you look at one, they are built like a tank. Stainless steel inside, insulated to 1000 degrees, and, between the Cookshack company and this form the best costomer service and support anywhere. Cheaper is not always the least expensive.

GMUSSER's post was a good one.

I debated between the little Smokette and moving up one notch.

My smart bride says "always buy the next size up,dummy".

We had been through lots of cookers before.

We bought the smokette about six years ago ,it sets here at the beach in a salt shower every night,gets worked like a borrowed mule,works perfectly,and has yet to have its first problem.

Needless to say we also moved up a few notches.

In your area brisket is a major consideration and the CS was designed to cook briskets.

If you cook packer briskets,about 9-10 lbs is best size for the little smokette.

We cook 14-16 lbs as practice for competition and find the larger racks ,in the bigger cookers suit our needs.

Thanks guys you all are very friendly and helpfull. I have been looking at the CS and the Bradley. Ive been doing BBQ all my life frist on charcole grills then on to propane, then on the Brinkmann electrie smokers all with good results. Now Iam ready to move up and I dont want to tend a fire all night.At 46 I want to do things the easy way,relax ,without many worries!

About the Bradley.

Click on the search button and type in Bradley and then in the drop down select "all open forums" and you'll get some comments about them that might help.

John - I looked at the Bradley too. Ask yourself if you want to be limited to using their "biscuits" as fuel forever after you fork over the cash. With the CS you can take a walk in the woods and and usually find enough good dry hardwood for a few smokes.

Nothing against the Bradley. Just throwing out sometthing else to chew on before you make a purchase.

Thank you all for your help! john