Hi from Awesomestow, North London

[Darryl]

Hey everyone,

I'm a professional chef with my own catering company who takes meat very seriously (not that seriously hahaha) and I'm after an offset reverse BBQ grill and smoker‏ to do some serious cooking on and was wondering is there any brands/makers/places I should be looking to get something decent without paying crazy prices. I have a small garden so not after a monster BBQ (yet).

Any information would be great.

Cheers
Darryl

[Swindon_Ed]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Sadly decent offset smokers aren't cheap!

But there are a few companies either making them in the UK or importing from the US. Some of the top brands to look at would be:

BBQ Mates http://www.bbqmates.co.uk/
Yoder Smokers http://www.bbqeurope.com/
Meadow Creek http://gocookoutdoors.com/product-categ ... k-smokers/

A good quality stick burner is normally starts at about £1,000

[Darryl]

Thanks for the info.

I had a look about and your right, the cheapest starts at about 1k but I thought there might have been something or someone that I missed.

What would be the best step down from this?

Many thanks
Darryl

[Tiny]

Daryl,
The question is more "what do you want to do?" as this would determine the road you take. Most in the UK favour the bullet smoker like the Weber smokey mountain or the Pro Q . You could build an Ugly drum smoker from an old oil barrel for a fraction of the cost, but as its name suggests it might take some persuading of your significant other. You could start small with a Weber 57cm kettle as this is good entry level will last a lifetime and you will always find a use for it. Personally I have opted for a pellet burner in the Green mountain Grill Daniel boon, it is expensive to buy but cheap to run and knocks out all sorts and tastes fantastic.

Personally if you want all the romance and headache of charcoal and wood I would buy the weber and make an ugly drum......

Hope this helps cheers Tiny

[Darge]

I can only echo what Tiny has said really,

You say you want to do serious cooking, so if you want space the Weber Smokey Mountain goes up to 57cm & is pretty massive, the ProQ elite I believe is about 50cm too. That'll set you back somewhere between £450 / £350 respectively.

I'd say the benefit of a bullet smoker is that they're very common, and as such there is a lot of information on techniques that is easily accessible - but it's all personal choice. Just get the best / most exciting bbq you can with your available budget.

[Darryl]

Hi Tiny and Darge,

Thanks for the information. I was looking at pellet smokers a while back because the realistic side of things is that I work a lot as it is cooking for others and I want to be able to enjoy slow cooking large cuts of meat with ease but full potential of flavour. I've been to Grillstock (a lot) in Walthamstow and the manager asked me if I wanted to see the smokers and they were pellet smokers and do a great job!

I was originally thinking I wanted a wood burner but now i'm thinking otherwise.

I had a look at the Daniel Boone Grill and i'm sold I think and can't think of a reason not to get it. WOuld it be OK in it's cover outside all year round and does it need cover if it rains Tiny?

Cheers again
Darryl