So... my cheapo gas bbq finally disintegrated and I'm in the market for something new. The smoking happens at by brother-in-law Rob's (the far away one, not the close one
) and Rob does all the smoking, I just do the eating.
I figure it's time to start pulling my weight. I've pretty much narrowed the selection down to a Weber bullet smoker or a Weber charcoal kettle (either the "Gold" or the "Performer" with propane lighter thingy).
The only argument for the Performer vs. a regular kettle + chimney is that in theory the Weber kettles are sufficiently airtight that you can close all the vents and have the charcoal stop burning, leaving it ready for use next time. If the charcoal is *already* in the kettle then having a built-in lighter seems like a good idea and a real convenience -- but if I had to start from scratch with new charcoal every time then a chimney would really be just as convenient and all I'm getting for the extra $$ is a cart, table and charcoal bin.
Note that in the US a Performer costs almost 3x a regular kettle, while in Canada the prices are closer, more like 2x -- presumably there is a relatively fixed transportation cost applicable to both.
The bigger question, though, is "smoker or kettle ?". I figure maybe 2/3 of my usage will be "low + slow" but it would be nice to be able to grill the occasional burger, sausage or steak.
It sounds like at least a few of you are running charcoal smokers. Is anyone running a Weber bullet (WSM) and if so do you ever use it for occasional grilling ? There is a brief blurb on grilling with a WSM at the virtualweberbullet site but it involves rebuilding the pieces in a different order and I'm not sure how stable their recommended arrangement is.
