It's time to suck it up and learn to smoke...

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Bruce B

Master Chef
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
6,759
Location
Utica, MI
As the owner of 2 WSM's, I am a little biased. Having said that though, for the money you can't buy a better smoker than the WSM. The Brinkman you have will eventually get the job done with some modifications and a steep learning curve.

Having just got back from the Jack Daniels comp I can tell you that I saw no fewer than 15 teams cooking on WSM's. They will produce some great BBQ.

Further there is a website devoted just to WSM's; www.virtualweberbullet.com and there is everything you would ever want to know about the WSM.

Good luck with whatever decision you finally make.
 
Fryar, I truly believe that many folks turn away from bbq because of inferior product. They are hard to control the temp and produce below average results...leading you to stick the smoker in the corner and curse it! ;)

As Bruce stated, for the $$ you can't buy a better smoker that the WSM...and you will be able to really hone your skills on this unit as well. I have two and the success on those units helped build my confidence to move on to other cookers.

If you can make the mods to the Brinkman then it will help, but between the original cost and then the additional parts and labor to make it an ok cooker, it might be a wash in cost overall.

The good news is that everyone here is willing to help whatever you decide to do!! Good luck!! :D :D
 
Here: http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/85230444qwxKGC is a link to some photos of mods I made to a Gourmet smoker I had a few years ago. Basically I added a charcoal grate inside the Gourmet's charcoal pan, so that the buildup of ashes wouldn't put the fire out, and a sliding piece over the vent hole so I had a way to control air flow (and thus temperature). With those two changes I was able to get the smoker to run for about 6 hours on one filling of charcoal, with no attention from me, and hold a steady temperature around 250 degrees. (This still required me to dump ashes and refill with charcoal in the middle of a long cook, such as pork butts). Adding the candy thermometer was also necessary since the built-in gauge on the Gourmet is useless, in my opinion. I was able to cook some pretty good bbq on the modified Gourmet, but I eventually bought a WSM and have never looked back. :)
 
I own 3 WSMs....they are the best bang for the buck...A brinkman almost made me swear off bullet smokers...
 
I started on a Brinkman... It made me wonder if all the hassle was worth the prize. I had a lot of issues with temp control and keeping the fire lit. If you can swing it, make the move to WSM and never look back...
 
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