Quote:
Originally Posted by tooge
Just my $.02, but if you are sticking with charcoal, you are already using the best smoker out there. I"ve used offsets, including the original Oklahoma Joes, which is our comp team party cooker on a trailer, and they just don't have the same ability to hold even temps for long times. I have a WSM and it outcooks every other charcoal cooker I've used.
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A good cook on an offset is just a little bit better, IMO. I don't know why exactly, but if you can peg a cook on an offset, it's amazing. The problem is the amount of care/monitoring that has to go into it. If you have the time you need to closely watch that smoker and feed it right, you can create spectacular barbecue.
But most of us just don't have that kind of time. We're doing other stuff when the cook is happening and we need to be able to leave it alone for a few hours (for me, usually overnight). And for that cook, the WSM is just the tits. It creates food that's 90% as good as the off-set with FAR less risk.
Gimme 20 cooks on each style of smoker and I'll give you 19 very good meals and a mediocre one on the WSM. Put me on the offset and I'll give you 10 amazing ones on the offset, 5 mediocre ones and 5 shitty ones.
As you noted - for a competition when you have a team that can multi-task and monitor, there's no substitute. But when you're talking about a one-man band that has lawns to mow, children to entertain, beer to drink and baseball to watch...well, the WSM is the way to go.