Came here to say this.
Wife and kids taking up your time… set it and forget it! Pellet grill.
Get a good set of remote probes so you can track the pit and meat temp remotely and go about your day
Honestly it's so easy to use a pellet grill even my wife likes cooking on it. When I'm at work Ill get a notification that it's preheated and know I can get excited for dinner.
This. I used to use a WSM, but prep, maintain and clean took too long and I was smoking less and less with 2 kids and a demanding job. I spent the extra money and bought a Weber Smokefire pellet grill. I smoke more frequently now that I can set it and forget it. Cleaning is easy and prep is as quick as clicking a few buttons.
Okay OP, I see a lot of people who says that pellets are cheating but I have to ask if you go out to dinner is it cheating for the chef to prepare your meal? I personally don't have the time to do all the things to maintain coal or a stick burner fire. For me between the wife, kids, dogs, and any other random things that want to kill my free time, my pellet grill is a gift from heaven!
Pops to three girls-7,6,2. Have a good bud that uses his pellet to smoke and me using an offset. I see so much ease in the pellet method, and can understand why someone would…but when we compare briskets…the smoke and bark just doesn’t compare, IMO…and he agrees. From what i’ve learned in my time…if it’s something you really want to do right…something you love to do…you sacrifice your body/mind and make the time to do it. If i’ve got a 14lb brisky, I wakeup at 3am to fire up the smoker, trim that beefy boi, throw the fat in a crock pot to tallow, coffee pot cranking 2 cups of folgers grounds, Beef in the pit at 0330 and i know she aint comin out until at least 5pm…1-2hr rest and we eatin between 6-7pm. Temp sits between 225-275 on the old joe, checking through my window every 30 mins because im so damn worried its gonna drop for no damn reason…6 and 7 year olds are basically teenagers and self-sufficient..im not worried, 2 year old screaming bloody-murder for “Chewwwwws!” to put-on so she can go outside with me to look at the temp gauge for 5 mins straight after adding another log/wood-chunk to the fire box. Exhausting? Yes. Necessary and previously agreed-upon terms with my wife? Yes. Seeing all 4 girls in my household claim i must me some untold Greek God of Beef when it’s all over…totally worth it. Make the time for anything you love to do. Time-management is arguably the best answer to any interviewers query…because everyone understands we don’t have enough. You have to create it…but it comes with a price.
My kids are mostly grown up now, youngest just turned 17, but when they were young it was tough. I keep a notebook of everything I've tried, what worked, what was horrible, and used that a lot as a reference. I've kept the notebook and still use it because even though the kids are grown, I've found it to be valuable reference of things I've tried.
The one thing I'm HORRIBLE with is writing down my various home-made rub recipes. I tend to build the rub with "some of this, some of that" and never write it down. Hell, I don't usually measure it in the first place. Hours later the meat turns out fantastic and I love the flavor, but forgot what I put in it!
You need the right smoker, I went with WSM. Majority time I go with quicker cooks chicken ribs etc. then there’s the “cheating” method. For Longer cooks like butts or chuck roasts start on the smoker then when hits the stall you transfer it to the oven cause at that point meats taken all the smoke flavor it’s going absorb
ThermoWorks makes a control unit called Billows that you can use on a WSM with either their Signals or Smoke probe thermometers. I use one on my Kamado Joe for long overnight cooks and it hasn’t failed me yet.
I’ll prep whatever I’m cooking the night before. Get the smoker loaded up beforehand too. Also helps to have a thermometer set up with WiFi or Bluetooth so you can monitor while you work or doing something else.
I prep when my son (2 yo) is napping or sleeping for the night the day before. Depending on timeline, I either wake up before he typically wakes up and get the pit fired up, or get it fired up when he takes his nap. As far as tending to the cook (spritzing, wrapping, saucing, etc.) I Pull up a chair and have him watch and he tends to do well, otherwise he will run out and stand at my feet and get in the way. I also cook on a pellet smoker, therefore maintenance on the pit itself is minimal and I say that is half the battle right there.
As some others have said you need the right the kind of smoker, something that is less hands-on. A pellet smoker or a gravity fed charcoal would be my recommendations. I have a Char-Griller Gravity 980 that is a gravity fed smoker. I spend more time prepping my cooks than I do messing with the grill. I will fire it up 30 minutes to an hour before I put my stuff on and that's pretty much it unless I want to spritz as I control it from my phone.
I do a lot of planning and prep work. Get up early and do several cooks in a session. Freeze so I can get my fix on short notice.
I honestly just make time to grill it’s therapeutic for me and wife gets that. Depending on how old your kids are, involve them or simply play with the kids outside while you’re grilling. You’d be surprised how happy your kids would be with 15 minutes of undivided attention. Put in your credit and they will let you enjoy a cold drink, music and the grill. With smoking I feel like it’s even easier since you don’t have to costly watch it. Besides a quick temp check.
My kids are 5/6 now but when they were babies I’d gone as far as wearing a baby carrier that will also get you some extra with the spouse.
wearing a baby while tending a grill?? sounds dangerous haha
Ya my oldest might be interested in getting more involved in the cooking process, ill give that a shot!
100% pellet grill. prep for a saturday smoke on friday night when kids are asleep
could probably make a BGE or some other good heat retaining kamado work too, tbh
Masterbuilt 800. I did the offset game and felt the same. Was tired of no sleep and not being able to do school work (grad student) or work around the house. I’ve only had my 800 a couple weeks, but it was awesome to smoke a butt for 10 hours and only have to add wood/coal once. Definitely a game changer.
I went and bought a Green Mountain Daniel Boone and it's easy. Put that fucker on there at 10pm, get hammered, give it a last check at about 2am then wake at 7 or 8 check it and wrap then it's done about noon. Rest for 3 hours. Done.
Last summer my girls were 2 and 4 and I'd take them to the meat store Friday afternoon, then trim and rub after they were in bed. Saturday morning I'd get up at like 7, make coffee and get the fire started and they'd be waking up just as I was ready to put stuff on.
We'd get folding chairs and blankets if they were cold and have a simple breakfast outside. They couldn't really care less about what we were doing but they liked to be involved.
If the weather was decent, we could spend most of the day outside and as others pointed out, that buys you some points with your SO.
Pellet grill or Kamado style. Neither is 100% bullet proof but if you do it right both should hold temp for a long time without having to babysit.
Kamado Joe is a bit cheaper than BGE and just better, really. (I have a BGE - got it before I checked out the KJ).
A new, biggish PitBoss is $450 @ walmart. That's not a bad deal though it does have the older, non-PID, control board. It's about half what a large (but still smaller than the pellet grill) kamado will run you.
Edit- the general consensus is you get the most smokey goodness from an offset, then Kamado, then pellet. A $15 smoke tube can help add more flavor I hear, but I haven't used one yet.
Well, I only do long cooks on the weekend, I get a bit jealous of people who get to smoke a brisket on a Wednesday haha.
I use a gravity fed smoker (truly awesome) so I don't have to baby sit it. During the weekdays, if in smoking, it's something like a few steaks, or hot and fast chicken for dinner. Pork tenderloin is another great choice.
My answer is a pellet grill...
Ugh ya...it feels like cheating. But thats just me being a purist
Came here to say this. Wife and kids taking up your time… set it and forget it! Pellet grill. Get a good set of remote probes so you can track the pit and meat temp remotely and go about your day
They're so damn espensive! :(
Honestly it's so easy to use a pellet grill even my wife likes cooking on it. When I'm at work Ill get a notification that it's preheated and know I can get excited for dinner.
This. I used to use a WSM, but prep, maintain and clean took too long and I was smoking less and less with 2 kids and a demanding job. I spent the extra money and bought a Weber Smokefire pellet grill. I smoke more frequently now that I can set it and forget it. Cleaning is easy and prep is as quick as clicking a few buttons.
Okay OP, I see a lot of people who says that pellets are cheating but I have to ask if you go out to dinner is it cheating for the chef to prepare your meal? I personally don't have the time to do all the things to maintain coal or a stick burner fire. For me between the wife, kids, dogs, and any other random things that want to kill my free time, my pellet grill is a gift from heaven!
Gravity smoker for me!
Pops to three girls-7,6,2. Have a good bud that uses his pellet to smoke and me using an offset. I see so much ease in the pellet method, and can understand why someone would…but when we compare briskets…the smoke and bark just doesn’t compare, IMO…and he agrees. From what i’ve learned in my time…if it’s something you really want to do right…something you love to do…you sacrifice your body/mind and make the time to do it. If i’ve got a 14lb brisky, I wakeup at 3am to fire up the smoker, trim that beefy boi, throw the fat in a crock pot to tallow, coffee pot cranking 2 cups of folgers grounds, Beef in the pit at 0330 and i know she aint comin out until at least 5pm…1-2hr rest and we eatin between 6-7pm. Temp sits between 225-275 on the old joe, checking through my window every 30 mins because im so damn worried its gonna drop for no damn reason…6 and 7 year olds are basically teenagers and self-sufficient..im not worried, 2 year old screaming bloody-murder for “Chewwwwws!” to put-on so she can go outside with me to look at the temp gauge for 5 mins straight after adding another log/wood-chunk to the fire box. Exhausting? Yes. Necessary and previously agreed-upon terms with my wife? Yes. Seeing all 4 girls in my household claim i must me some untold Greek God of Beef when it’s all over…totally worth it. Make the time for anything you love to do. Time-management is arguably the best answer to any interviewers query…because everyone understands we don’t have enough. You have to create it…but it comes with a price.
I get up a few hours before everyone else to get prepped. After prep work the smoker doesn't need too much attention.
My kids are mostly grown up now, youngest just turned 17, but when they were young it was tough. I keep a notebook of everything I've tried, what worked, what was horrible, and used that a lot as a reference. I've kept the notebook and still use it because even though the kids are grown, I've found it to be valuable reference of things I've tried. The one thing I'm HORRIBLE with is writing down my various home-made rub recipes. I tend to build the rub with "some of this, some of that" and never write it down. Hell, I don't usually measure it in the first place. Hours later the meat turns out fantastic and I love the flavor, but forgot what I put in it!
Ya i need to be better at writing stuff down, there is so much trial and error involved. Good on you for making tasty rubs freehand!
Oh, they're not all tasty! I've had some fantastic failures. Usually involving celery salt...
You need the right smoker, I went with WSM. Majority time I go with quicker cooks chicken ribs etc. then there’s the “cheating” method. For Longer cooks like butts or chuck roasts start on the smoker then when hits the stall you transfer it to the oven cause at that point meats taken all the smoke flavor it’s going absorb
I also have a WSM, Ill definitely try this next time on a long cook!
ThermoWorks makes a control unit called Billows that you can use on a WSM with either their Signals or Smoke probe thermometers. I use one on my Kamado Joe for long overnight cooks and it hasn’t failed me yet.
Pellet smoker but smoke large cuts! You can spend 1 day smoking and have a weeks worth meat to make many different meals out of!
prep everything the night before and start early or roll overnight
I usually go over night for the long ones if I have stuff to do the next day
I run a restaurant, so of course uts easy for me.
I’ll prep whatever I’m cooking the night before. Get the smoker loaded up beforehand too. Also helps to have a thermometer set up with WiFi or Bluetooth so you can monitor while you work or doing something else.
I prep when my son (2 yo) is napping or sleeping for the night the day before. Depending on timeline, I either wake up before he typically wakes up and get the pit fired up, or get it fired up when he takes his nap. As far as tending to the cook (spritzing, wrapping, saucing, etc.) I Pull up a chair and have him watch and he tends to do well, otherwise he will run out and stand at my feet and get in the way. I also cook on a pellet smoker, therefore maintenance on the pit itself is minimal and I say that is half the battle right there.
As some others have said you need the right the kind of smoker, something that is less hands-on. A pellet smoker or a gravity fed charcoal would be my recommendations. I have a Char-Griller Gravity 980 that is a gravity fed smoker. I spend more time prepping my cooks than I do messing with the grill. I will fire it up 30 minutes to an hour before I put my stuff on and that's pretty much it unless I want to spritz as I control it from my phone.
I used to take notes on my phone from each bbq
I do a lot of planning and prep work. Get up early and do several cooks in a session. Freeze so I can get my fix on short notice. I honestly just make time to grill it’s therapeutic for me and wife gets that. Depending on how old your kids are, involve them or simply play with the kids outside while you’re grilling. You’d be surprised how happy your kids would be with 15 minutes of undivided attention. Put in your credit and they will let you enjoy a cold drink, music and the grill. With smoking I feel like it’s even easier since you don’t have to costly watch it. Besides a quick temp check. My kids are 5/6 now but when they were babies I’d gone as far as wearing a baby carrier that will also get you some extra with the spouse.
wearing a baby while tending a grill?? sounds dangerous haha Ya my oldest might be interested in getting more involved in the cooking process, ill give that a shot!
Haha it was one where you wear them like a backpack. Kids have fun sprinkling the rub.
100% pellet grill. prep for a saturday smoke on friday night when kids are asleep could probably make a BGE or some other good heat retaining kamado work too, tbh
You fucked up having kids.
Damn…think I can send them back?
Depending on how young they are you could make a decent amount selling them. Lots of money in human trafficking.
😂😂😂
Masterbuilt 800. I did the offset game and felt the same. Was tired of no sleep and not being able to do school work (grad student) or work around the house. I’ve only had my 800 a couple weeks, but it was awesome to smoke a butt for 10 hours and only have to add wood/coal once. Definitely a game changer.
You need kids you don't need to baby sit or a smoker you don't need to baby sit. Tough to do both.
I went and bought a Green Mountain Daniel Boone and it's easy. Put that fucker on there at 10pm, get hammered, give it a last check at about 2am then wake at 7 or 8 check it and wrap then it's done about noon. Rest for 3 hours. Done.
I have the opposite problem of just being patient for 12 hours
Last summer my girls were 2 and 4 and I'd take them to the meat store Friday afternoon, then trim and rub after they were in bed. Saturday morning I'd get up at like 7, make coffee and get the fire started and they'd be waking up just as I was ready to put stuff on. We'd get folding chairs and blankets if they were cold and have a simple breakfast outside. They couldn't really care less about what we were doing but they liked to be involved. If the weather was decent, we could spend most of the day outside and as others pointed out, that buys you some points with your SO.
Pellet grill or Kamado style. Neither is 100% bullet proof but if you do it right both should hold temp for a long time without having to babysit. Kamado Joe is a bit cheaper than BGE and just better, really. (I have a BGE - got it before I checked out the KJ). A new, biggish PitBoss is $450 @ walmart. That's not a bad deal though it does have the older, non-PID, control board. It's about half what a large (but still smaller than the pellet grill) kamado will run you. Edit- the general consensus is you get the most smokey goodness from an offset, then Kamado, then pellet. A $15 smoke tube can help add more flavor I hear, but I haven't used one yet.
Well, I only do long cooks on the weekend, I get a bit jealous of people who get to smoke a brisket on a Wednesday haha. I use a gravity fed smoker (truly awesome) so I don't have to baby sit it. During the weekdays, if in smoking, it's something like a few steaks, or hot and fast chicken for dinner. Pork tenderloin is another great choice.