If your like I was before I Bought my first smoker you’ve been reading everything you can find on smokers. So I’m sure by now you know that there’s a few different types of smokers.
The two main types are vertical and offset. Some vertical use a water pan in them. But others might use sand or a stone instead of a water pan. So is there a difference in how the meat turns out in the end.
After doing a side by side smoke with three smokers i can say that as far as the meat is concerned there’s not a noticeable difference. But as far as temperature control and set up goes there is a bit of difference.
So lets take a closer look at how each smoker works. This way you can better understand whats going on in side each one and see what type is going to work best for you.
How They Work
I’ve heard people call smokers that use a water pan water smokers but what does the water pan really do. Some people like to think it’s to add humidity to your smoke and it might add some. But the real reason it’s there is to act as a buffer from the heat source.
Just like the sand or the stone does in some other vertical smokers. If your using a offset smoker then you don’t need a buffer from the heat because it’s a indirect heat. In vertical smokers the meat is directly over the heat source so you need a thermal break to help you control the temperature.
The problem with water smokers is that water starts to boil at 212 degrees Fahrenheit or 100 degrees Celsius. So if your using charcoal as a fuel, like I do, and the temperature starts to run off on you then your smoker can still get over 225 very easily.
So why use water smokers then other dry smokers that don’t have a water pan in them. The answer is cost. A lot of smokers that utilize a water pan are made of thin metal.
This means they lose there heat faster then a better made smoker will. So letting more heat through is needed to help hold the temperature in side the smoker.
Side By Side Test
I own three smokers I have a Weber Smokey Mountain, Char-Griller Akorn Kamado, and Char-Griller duo that I’ve added a side fire box to to make it a offset smoker.
I use a water pan in my smokey mountain to help control the heat. But in my Akorn I have a smoking stone, and my offset i don’t use any thing. So lets compare the three types of smokers. I’m going to look at how the meat taste, how easy it is to use and how well they hold there temperature.
| Criteria | Kamado | WSM | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taste | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Ease Of Use | Excellent | Okay | Okay |
| Temp Control | Excellent | Excellent | Okay |
Now as you can see for me the Kamado style smoker was the best all the way around. So now lets dig in to each of my criteria so you can better understand what I like and What I dislike about each style smoker.
Taste
When it comes to taste I had read that water smokers will give you moisture food. Because your adding humidity to the air in the smoker and that can help keep your food from drying out.
After doing a side by side smoke with all three of my smokers I can say not only can I not taste any difference but neither could 20 other people that I invited over to help me eat everything I had just smoked
I used the same dry rub, and same wood chips, and smoked everything for the same amount of time and nothing came out dry. As long as your picking good cuts of meat then the fat in the meat is going to add the moisture back to the meat.
It will look dry on the out side but there’s plenty of juice on the inside. You just need to get it back out. I wrap everything in aluminum foil for about a hour before I pull it out of the smoker. This brings out all the moisture from inside the meat.
So if your concerned about there being a difference in the taste don’t be. It’s more about the dry rub then anything. As far as it drying out goes smoking meat is all about low and slow so it’s natural for the out side to look dried out. This is known as bark there’s still good juicy meat under the bark.
Ease Of Use
When I’m talking about ease of use I’m talking about how easy it is to set up and then clean up after your done. I don’t like to leave my smokers or grilles out side so I put them in a shed when I’m not using them.
Weber Smokey Mountain
I was given my WSM by a friend and it’s what started me looking in to why you need to use water in a smoker. It’s a vertical smoker and uses a water pan inside of it. It’s a nice smoker and I’ve made a lot of good food on it.
As far as setup goes it can be a little bit of a pane if you plan on keeping it in a shed when your not using it. The WSM is three pieces and they all stack together to make up the smoker. The problem is when you want to move the smoker nothing keeps them together so you need to move it in pieces.
This isn’t that big of a problem because you need it apart to get the charcoal lit and to add the water. The water pan is in the middle section of the smoker and you’ll need to wear a glove to add the water because it needs to be done after the charcoals have been lit.
Then there’s two layers of grates for you to put the meat on. This smoker only opens from the top and that can make it a little harder to use then others. The water pan being right over the charcoals does two things.
First it makes a thermal break from the heat coming off the charcoals. This helps you keep the smoker at the ideal smoking temp of 225 to 250. Second it catches all the drippings from the meat and stops them from causing flareups in the smoker.
This also makes it easy to clean because all the drippings are in the water pan and not burned on the the smoker. I like this smoker the only thing i would change is to have some latches to keep it together. Then I would be able to carry it by the handle on the top when I was moving it around.
You can check it out on Amazon by Clicking Here!
Char-Griller Duo
Now for my Char-Griller duo it’s the first grill I got after I bought my house and it was later turned in to a smoker. I added a side fire box that Char-Griller offers to make it in to a smoker so it’s not like it’s home made or anything like that.
The Char-Griller Duo was a good starting place for me. It’s essentially 2 grilles in one. It has propane on one side and charcoal on the other with the option to add a side fire box and use that side as a smoker.
Before I added the side fire box to it it wasn’t that bad to move around. But in order to add the fire box you have to remove the big handle on the side. After you add the fire box there’s a smaller handle that comes with it for moving the grill around.
The smaller handle made it harder to move and in return I was using the grill and smoker less and less. So I ended up leaving it outside and then I was back to cooking on the grill every week.
As far as cleaning the grill or grilles sins it’s two in one goes it’s not that bad. The drum shape of it makes all the grease run to the middle and on the propane side there’s a tray it runs in to. But on the charcoal side there’s no grease tray.
That’s fine when your cooking over charcoal because the grease burns off in the charcoal. But when your using it as a smoker then it just pools up in the bottom and you’ll need to clean it out later. I like to put aluminum foil down so that I can just lift it out after I’m done and throw it away.
A grill like this is a good place to start if your thinking about learning how to smoke meat. It gives you the option to cook over propane if your in a hurry, or if your like me and prefer the taste of food cooked over charcoal you can use the other side of the grill.
Then by adding the fire box you now have a three in one and can start learning to smoke meat. Even after I got other smokers I still like to use this one because it has more room in it the my other two smokers.
You can check it out on Amazon by Clicking Here!
Char-Griller Akorn Kamado
This is my newest smoker I got it out of curiosity of Kamado style grilles. Normally Kamado style grills are made of thick ceramic and can cost thousands. So when I saw the Akorn and it was only a few hundred I had to get it to try it out and if fast became my go to grill.
Unlike traditional Kamado style grills the Akorn is made of two layers of steel. The layers have insulation sandwiched between them to help it hold the heat in like ceramic would.
The Akorn is a type of vertical smoker/grill but it has a egg shape to it. Unlike the WSM the Akorn has a stone in it for a thermal break. That makes set up easier after you light your charcoal you put the stone in place and your done.
Just put your cooking grates back in place and your ready to add the meat. This smoker is all one piece and has big wheels on it that make it easy to move around. So for someone like me that likes to keep everything indoors when it’s not being used this one was a clear winner.
Now it’s only fair to say that sins the Akorn is a Kamado style grill/smoker is not like any other vertical smoker. It’s shape makes it capable of reaching vary high temperature and holding the heat for a long amount of time.
You can check it out on Amazon by Clicking Here!
Temperature Control
The Next big thing I look at with any smoker is how well they keep there temperature and how often they need attention. You don’t want to have your temperature run off on you or to run out of fuel mid smoke.
Char-Griller Duo
As a grill this is great I never need to add charcoal to it but as a smoker it’s not that great. Like I said above to use this as a smoker you add a fire box to the side of it. It works good as a offset smoker.
But the fire box is small and in my experience if you add to much charcoal your temperature will run away on you. On the other hand to little charcoal and it wont get up to temp. It takes some practice to get the right amount of charcoal in the fire box.
But even when you get the hang of it you need to keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burnout on you. Every half hour to hour I find myself adding charcoal and woodchips to it.
I still think this is a great grill/smoker for some one who isn’t quite sure if there going to enjoy smoking or cooking over charcoal. Sins it’s a duo and has propane you can still cook on that side.
If you have time then you can experiment with cooking over charcoal or smoking meat. So you get a taste of three different ways of cooking.
Weber Smokey Mountain
This is a great smoker whether your just starting out or looking for a new smoker. I’ve had this smoker for a wile now and it holds it’s temperature with no problem at all. Once you get the vents set your good to go and shouldn’t need to touch them again.
The charcoal area is more then large enough to fit enough charcoal for a 10 hour smoke. There’s a side door if you don’t put enough in and need to add more.
My only complaint about this smoker is it doesn’t stay together on it’s own. Moving it piece by piece takes more time. If it had latches to hold the sections together it would be a great smoker.
Char-Griller Akorn Kamado
This smoker/grill is amazing it so easy to move around and holds it’s temperature like nothing I’ve ever used before. Unlike the WSM and most other charcoal smokers there’s only one inlet and one exhaust vent on this smoker.
Both the inlet and the exhaust have numbered marks on them to help you set them. This is a great feature, after you do a few smokes in it you’ll know where you need to set them to get the temperature your looking for. after that you just need to wait for it to heat up.
It holds more then enough charcoal to smoke for as long as you want to. I did a 10 hour smoke the other day and didn’t even use half the charcoal I put in it. I didn’t even need to adjust the vents on it, it kept it’s temperature for the hole 10 hours. This smoker/grill has a stone that goes in when your using it as a smoker.
Like I talked about above stone is a better thermal break then water is. That means you get better heat control then with water smokers. Sins you can also use this as a grill it’s become my go to anymore for smoking and grilling.
Conclusion
When it comes to picking the right smoker for you your going to need to put a lot of thought into what you want out of it. I like having a smoker that doubles as a charcoal grill. If your concerns are how the meat will come out, Well that’s more about technique then it is the smoker.
The bigger concern is how much work is it going to be to set it up or move it around. If you plan on putting it away after your done smoking. I’ve found if it’s a pane to set it up then I’m going to use it less or not at all.
But no matter what your plans are if your smoker can’t hold it’s temperature then your going to over cook or not cook your food. I prefer a smoker with a stone over a water pan. In my experience they hold there temperature much better then water smokers.
If you already have a water smoker you can try putting sand in the water pan. It will give you much better control over the temperature. Hopefully this was helpful remember to have fun.
As Always, Happy Grilling!
