The Blue Board

Nice smoker but I am hooked on my Big Green Egg. I have a buddy with the Smoky Mountain and it's real nice though.

I keep it old school and got the largest smoker box for my Chargrill. Use only Hickory and it turns out great every time. But hear nothing but great things about the Green Egg.

I prefer side box smokers. You can get a chargriller smokin pro for 220 or so with all the bells and whistles

http://www.smokershowcase.com/pro-smokergrill-chargriller.htm?utm_medium=cse&utm_source=google-smokershowcase.com&utm_term=19053&sa=X&ei=hIX4T_mCJomo8gTDncHhBg&ved=0CFcQgwgwAg

Buy the grill barrel for 160 at Lowes, the fire box for 79 and put them together yourself. Read bbq forums for tons of mod options.

I have this and a Weber smokey mountain. I have more fun with the side box but of course its too big for tailgates

Also when you learn start with a pork roast. You know the long skinny ones that are normally two for one at the local store. They only take about 3 hours and don't need as consistent temp as pulled pork (shoulder), ribs or brisket

Just rub it down with bbq rub, mop it about every hour, smoke for 3 to 4 hours until internal temp is at least 180, let it ready for 30 min then slice it.

Once you get the hang of that and can keep your temp steady move on to whole chicken, pork butt, brisket, then ribs

Which brings up the advantage of the smoker process. Feed it wood every now and then and stay inside and let it do it's thang.

The big green egg is more than I really want to spend right now. I've been looking into the 18.5 weber smokey mountain. On the chargrill with the offset firebox, how hard is it to keep temp controlled?

doesn't lump charcoal burn too hot? I only use it for pizzas, briquettes for everything else.

It is not the best, but the Char-Broil<>Big Easy Smoker Roaster Grill is a great blend of all and is tailgating friendly. Works great for doing turkeys as well!

http://www.charbroil.com/the-big-easy-smoker-roaster-grill-1.html

http://grillinfools.com/blog/2010/07/14/product-review-charbroil-big-easy-smoker-roaster-and-grill/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA-z2WrYYOk

this is what I use... $160 dollars at Wal-mart... has large cook surface...

I am looking to upgrade before too long, but this is easy to use for a beginner

I use the weber bullet 22.5. The big green egg is awesome, but if you want a smoker I'd go with a weber. The bge is way more expensive and I think from a pure smoke standpoint the weber produces more consistent and better smoky flavor. That said the diversity of the bge sets it apart and makes it a great purchase as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm still trying to decide and going to look at home depot and a few places. Is there a certain place to get would chunks or can you get them at big box stores?

Cowboy brand is a good one you can find at Lowes or Ace Hardware. Stay away from the briquettes they burn hot and fast, the lump burns slow and evenly in the Weber.