by Tiny » 11 Aug 2015, 09:16
Mr Selecta,
Welcome, sadly after years of buying on an budget and throwing away then I would not be getting an dream set up for £300.
I think you can get a bloody good charcoal smoker for that money, an pro Q or an WSM but if down the charcoal route you will also need an chimney starter, a really decent probe thermometer and you will need to buy some decent charcoal for low and slow so I recon this is another £100 all in.
Then if you want to do long cooks most opt for an pit controller eventually so they can sleep.
So all in all I think you are north of £500.
This isn't to say with an decent weber kettle, the chimney and the Decent probe thermo you cant go really well for under £300 but personally wish I would have bought the GMG Daniel boon I have now, yes it cost me the best part of £1k with cover, shelf, and a load of pellets but it turns out fantastic BBQ every time.
So if you want an dream set up I would stretch the budget, but at this time of year get yourself into the big shops like B and Q and homebase and bid the manager on display models.....I got my weber kettle delivered for £49 a few years back.
Cheers
Tiny