Wife's cheap gas grill outsmoked my expensive offset

I've been running a 20 gallon offset smoker for about 4 years, dropped $700 on it plus a fan controller. Last weekend we had family over in Austin and my wife fired up her $180 propane grill from Home Depot. She put a rack of ribs on with some foil packet of wood chips and they came out with a better smoke ring than most of my brisket flats. I thought it was a fluke, so I tried it myself three times this week with chicken thighs and pork belly. That little grill holds 250 degrees like a champ and the smoke flavor is clean, not bitter. I'm not ready to ditch the offset, but I might start using hers for weekday cooks. Anyone else find that the cheap gear beats the fancy stuff when you actually use it right?

2 comments

2 Comments

evan_burns9521d ago

Man, that hits home. I had a similar thing happen with a cheap bullet smoker my brother gave me after he upgraded. I spent years dialing in my big stick burner and getting fussy with fire management, then that little drum just sits there at 250 all day with zero babysitting. The trick for me was realizing the offset gives me bark and that deep wood flavor, but the little one does the clean smoke thing way easier for weeknight stuff. I still bust out the big one for brisket and pork butts when I want that pit experience, but for ribs and chicken, I grab the cheap one more often than not. Sometimes the simple setup with a good foil packet does exactly what you need without all the fuss.

lane.cameron21d ago

Read a thread on the BBQ Brethren forum last month that said the same thing about those bullet smokers. They had this whole debate about how the vertical design traps moisture better, which is why chicken thighs and ribs come out juicy without you having to spritz every hour. I tried that foil packet trick with apple juice and a couple of wood chunks in mine, and honestly, it nailed the sweet spot for a Tuesday night cook. The flavor is a little lighter for sure, but that clean smoke taste is hard to beat when you just want dinner on the table. Still fire up the offset for a whole packer, but for a rack of baby backs, I'm with you on the cheap one.