Its not burned
Senior Cook
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2015
- Messages
- 106
I've been poking around the BBQ world for some time, and have smoked on grills both gas and coal as well as offset, vertical, electric, etc. smokers. From what I've experienced you can get good quality BBQ out of most anything, the biggest difference is the level of attention and coaxing the unit takes. My old COS's were like newborns in a nursery, you couldn't leave them alone for more than a minute. My current smoker mostly runs itself once I get it tuned in to atmospheric conditions.
I have never cooked on a WSM, so maybe that's the missing link. I have been around them up close and personal, and have eaten food off of them. They seem to produce good BBQ with a minimal amount of tending, a huge plus. Someday I want to try one. But I cannot understand for the life of me where the cost comes from.
I can still buy a 22.5" Weber Grill for $100. How does the 22.5" WSM warrant four times the cost? We add a cylinder with a door and some brackets, a couple more grates, and a water pan. The legs are probably about the same, the bowl and lid about the same. I could see double the price, maybe even 2-1/2 times, but $400 seems like it is priced solely on popularity.
A couple years a go I bought a Cabela's branded electric smoker made by Masterbuilt. Cabela's, purveyor's of all things overpriced. I bought it to experience electric smoking to see if I like it. I don't, so I sold it. But the point here is that the roughly 14 or 15 inch smoker cost $129 with essentially the same components as a WSM plus a set of legs, a work table, and an electric element. It had the same type of tough baked on enamel finish, etc.
So, what is it in your opinion that makes them worth the cost?
I have never cooked on a WSM, so maybe that's the missing link. I have been around them up close and personal, and have eaten food off of them. They seem to produce good BBQ with a minimal amount of tending, a huge plus. Someday I want to try one. But I cannot understand for the life of me where the cost comes from.
I can still buy a 22.5" Weber Grill for $100. How does the 22.5" WSM warrant four times the cost? We add a cylinder with a door and some brackets, a couple more grates, and a water pan. The legs are probably about the same, the bowl and lid about the same. I could see double the price, maybe even 2-1/2 times, but $400 seems like it is priced solely on popularity.
A couple years a go I bought a Cabela's branded electric smoker made by Masterbuilt. Cabela's, purveyor's of all things overpriced. I bought it to experience electric smoking to see if I like it. I don't, so I sold it. But the point here is that the roughly 14 or 15 inch smoker cost $129 with essentially the same components as a WSM plus a set of legs, a work table, and an electric element. It had the same type of tough baked on enamel finish, etc.
So, what is it in your opinion that makes them worth the cost?