charcoal smokers

[pike79]

Looking for a charcoal smoker under $100. The two I was looking at are the Brinkman split door smoker and the Brinkman smoke and grill. The reviews on the split door say good after modifications. Wondering if anyone could give some input on these two smokers? Kinda leaning toward the split door but don't know if its worth the extra money if you have to modify it.

[McGurk]

Are you handy enough to do the mods? How confident are you in your scrounging and repurposing abilities? If you are up to a new challenge I have 3 letters for you: U D S. The ugly drum smoker. I built one from scratch for anbout $75 withwas paint and have used it for a couple of years. You eill need a 55 gallon drum and an old weber kettle grill for parts, plus a quick trip to Menards. Look it up and you eill be amazed at the smoked meat some scrap metal and $50 can turn out.

[thirdeye]

Your budget is tight, but I would agree with McGurk about building a UDS. You don't need any welding, just some drilling, bolting and a grate or two. I've been cooking on drum smokers for 7 years and you can't beat the flavor or the volume of meat you can cook.

If you are not into building something like this, at least go to a store that sells Weber cookers and look at a Weber Smokey Mountain. They are NOT close to your budget at all, but they are wonderful smokers and have good quality.

[McGurk]

Sorry for the grammar mistakes. My smartphone likes to insert words unnecessarily when i type fast.

[hoggs222]

Check c.list under household. You'll find some there.

[pike79]

Thanks for the suggestions. My buddy has a smoke and grill that he said I can borrow and try out. I will see if it is something that would work for me. Otherwise I may have to engineer something like the U.D.S.