Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker 14-Inch Charcoal Smoker – Outdoor BBQ Smoker with Dual Cooking Grates, Porcelain‑Enameled Kettle & Temperature Control Dampers

This is the first smoker I've used/owned. I chose Weber because of my years of experience with their charcoal and propane grills. I decided to get into the realm of smoking after cooking chicken low-and-slow on my Weber kettle with fantastic results. I chose the WSM after reading so many wonderful reviews from novices and experienced users. I honestly didn't compare any other brands so take this review how you will but so far I think this thing is fantastic. I chose the smaller WSM after comparing it to the larger WSM after reading that I can smoke a whole turkey AND a ham on the 18 ½" smoker. Also it's quite a bit less expensive. The WSM arrived intact and in perfect condition. The instructions are simple and assembly a breeze. After reading about the different methods for starting the coals, different recipes, meat prep/trimming etc. (check The Virtual Weber Bullet site) I decided to give the smoker a try by fileting 3 whole chickens. They turned out ok but I was really just testing temperature control and didn't brine my chicken or use wood chunks. The chicken was quite tasty but not what I was after but I felt confident going to my next try, pork butt (shoulder). For this I used an Alton Brown recipe for the brine and rub and it turned out excellent. I didn't add any wood chunks and experienced smokers are probably rolling their eyes at me but it really did turn out great. I wanted to do things in steps so that I could familiarize myself with the temperature control. This pork butt took 11 hours for 2-8 lb butts at around 210 degrees. Amazing how long the charcoal briquettes last in this thing and how steady the temperature runs. For the record I used Kingsford Competition Briquettes (Costco). My third try with the WSM was this past weekend where I did 3 racks of baby back ribs. I used a rib rack and it worked pretty well where nearly all rib parts were exposed to the heat/smoke. I decided to skip the brining and just added a dry rub only and then added bbq sauce and honey mixture during the last hour and smoked them a total of 4 hours. This time I used wood chunks; I didn't have any fruit trees so I grabbed a bag of apple wood chunks packaged by Weber and they definitely helped make a fantastic smoke flavor. After removing the ribs and letting them cool I coated them with another round of sauce/honey glaze and seared them on my Genesis until the glaze bubbled. They turned out very good although I think next time I'll brine them; not that they were dry but I think it might let me smoke them longer. I didn't go for fall-off-the-bone as I kind of prefer to have a little pull left in my rib but let's just say I look forward to experimenting with this terrific smoker all summer long. I couldn't be more pleased with this product after just 3 tries I'm feeling much more confident and have plans to do another double pork butt for a buddy's birthday this weekend. Also I tested the lid's thermometer last night by dipping the end of it (using tongs) in boiling water and it was pretty much spot on at 212F. That's good to know as it gives me some reassurance that the cooking temperature is pretty accurate at least at the lid. Weber got this right. I don't know what I'd do differently on this but I may get lazy later on and invest in a remote thermometer so I can track the kettle and meat temps from inside.

I have probably a dozen cooks on this smoker so far and all have turned out well. I like the small size of this smoker...perfect for smoking 2 slabs of pork spare ribs on the top grill with room on the bottom grill for more. I'm using this smoker with a Maverick digital thermometer I bought from Amazon too...the type of thermometer that shows pit temps and has a probe for food. My advice, buy the Maverick thermometer and forget about using the thermometer that comes in the lid. You want to measure the temp at the food grate where you are cooking and not the temp in the top of the lid, and the Maverick Thermometer has both a transmitter and a receiver so you can view pit and food temps up to 200' away from the smoker. I often use the smoker while I'm inside while it's hot outside, and by having a receiver thermometer, you can keep an eye on your cook w/o standing over it FWIW I also have the 18.5" WSM and I bought a pit blower for it. The pit blower is a fun gadget to use but not really necessary so I don't use the pit blower on my 14.5" WSM. As stated...it just isn't needed. You can keep a fire going at a steady rate (temperature) in this pit without the blower, and by using the Minnion Method of charcoal keeping, you can read about elsewhere, and speaking of which, there is a great online community for the Weber Smokey Mountain smokers (Virtual Weber Bullet). In fact, that forum links to Amazon's website to purchase this pit and other Weber accessories for this smoker I have absolutely no complaints using this smoker, and I felt I did a lot of research before buying it. If you've ever used a Weber grill, then you will realize this smoker will reflect Weber's high quality standards found in their other products. Seriously, if you are looking for an easy to use smoker, then look no further, and buy and use Kingsford charcoal with it (in the blue bag). There's quite a bit of information about what type of charcoal to use and not to use on the Virtual Weber Bullet Forum By adding chunks of specific wood for smoking, you can achieve true wood smoking on this charcoal smoker. I had a horizontal wood fired smoker 14 years ago which was lost through a move, and I wanted to replace it with another smoker of the same type, but I'm glad I bought this smoker instead as it is simpler to use, smaller, less expensive and you can still get the same great wood smoke taste with this one, and use less wood, and the fire is way easier to keep at a constant temperature I'll say this...if you want to smoke packer briskets, you'll need to use the larger Weber Smokey Mountain smokers, and is why I bought the 18.5 WSM smoker, which easily accommodated a 15 lb. packer brisket, after trimming. You could smoke a brisket flat on this 14.5" WSM but if you want to smoke a packer (point and flat) then you'll need the either the 18.5" or the 22" WSM. I think I have the best of both worlds owning two of these (one 14.5" and one 18.5")

Anyone that has ever owned a Weber product knows the quality that is designed into each of their products, this smoker is no different. The 22.5" Smokey Mountain Cooker is built very sturdy and extremely easy to assemble. I was able to un-pack and assemble by myself in about 30 minutes. The most time consuming part of assembling this cooker was unpacking the items from the box, my cooker arrived complete with no damage what-so-ever. Be prepared to spend a little time to adjust the door, I had about 20 minutes tweaking the fit of the door to achieve an air tight seal. Adjusting the door was not difficult and very worth the effort. The instructions that came with the cooker suggest the use of water in the pan, but after my first smoke I decided that the cleanup was too time consuming to continue using the water. I applied a layer of aluminum foil to the water pan and inserted a clay pot base that I also foiled. The clay pot acts as a heat sink, the same purpose as the water. I covered the entire pan and saucer with foil; which I change out after every cook, making sure no drippings have entered the clay pot base or the dry water pan below. I do recommend seasoning the cooker before you first real cook. Creating the buildup on the inside of the cooker helps to seal any small air gaps that might exist. When I seasoned my smoker I dumped about 6 pounds of charcoal into the ring and added about 30 lit pieces of charcoal, dropped a few pieces of smoke wood on, assembled the cooker, put a gallon of water in the pan, opened the top vent and one bottom vent and let it do its work. I left the cooker alone until the fire was out and the smoker was cool, about 14 hours. Seasoning the cooker is extremely important to future cooks to help maintain consistent temperatures. I highly recommend using the water during the seasoning process to help the smoke stick to the inside of the cooker and get into all of the nooks and crannies. I have smoked two briskets, some pork butts, and lots of ribs with successful cooks every time. The temperature for the brisket and butt cooks (three different cooks) were rock steady for 14 hours+. It is nice to be able to sleep through the night while cooking a large chunk of meat and not having to worry about it like I did when I was trying to smoke on my kettle grill. If you enjoy low and slow barbecue without all of the fuss of constantly feeding the cooker charcoal and logs; the Smokey Mountain Cooker is perfect. If you don't like peaceful sleep and consistent temperatures, there are many other cookers out that will suit your needs; but please don't give our beloved Bullet friend a bad name! P.S. - if you are not an Amazon Prime customer, you may want to consider it for this item. I ordered my smoker 2 days before Memorial Day hoping to use it for the holiday party we had planned. I signed up for Amazon Prime, and paid the additional few dollars for next day shipping and the smoker (76 pound shipping weight) arrived the next day! The cost to expedite ship this item was very high, but by using Amazon Prime I reduced the shipping by 60% or more and got free two day shipping on most items for a year and instant movies on my TV. Prime was well worth the cost even for just this one item!

We have gone through three other smokers before deciding to try this model. We had tried side-by-side smokers with the firebox, cheap vertical smokers, and finally the Weber Smokey Mountain (22.5"). We use this smoker at least once a month, and sometimes 2 or 3 times a month. I would say we have probably used this smoker close to 30 times now. The smoker is made of durable material, and there are no signs of rust so far. It took roughly an hour to assemble the smoker, most likely because we had a 1 year old running around the house. It has a large water bowl that works great for keeping the meat moist and the temperature down. The bottom of the smoker can hold a large amount of charcoal and wood, and doesn't interfere with the water bowl as there is plenty of room. Now, onto how well it smokes. We have tried brisket, pork butts, ribs, beer can chicken, sausage, vegetables, pretty much everything. Here is how I set everything up. I fill up a Weber chimney with charcoal to the top and put newspaper underneath the chimney. After it is grey 3/4 of the way up, I take it out and poor some unlit charcoal into the bottom of the smoker. I then poor the lit coals on top and add ONE-THREE SMALL chunks of wood. There is a reason I capitalized the quantity, which I will touch on soon. I then put the water pan on, fill the water pan to the top with a garden hose, and then assemble the rest of the smoker and shut the lid. MAKE SURE that you keep all of the valves open, and never close the top vent. If you want to control temperature, you play with the bottom vents. Following on from that last sentence, I will tie back into the wood quantity. You do not want too much wood and you don't want the top vent closed for one main reason. If smoke cannot escape, it will go through a chemical reaction creating creosote, which will make your meat taste metallic and make your tongue and mouth go numb. If you have ever experienced this, then you have eaten creosote. Creosote will not only ruin your meat, but it will form deposits on the inside of your grill and drop onto your meat in the future. So the key here, is maintain optimal smoke flow, and ensure that the smoke is a thin blue color. You do NOT want thick white smoke, that is how you ruin your meat and your grill. Use a little bit of wood, leave the lid on, and check the temperature as little as possible. If you follow all of these pointers, you will surely fall in love with this smoker as I have. It is very easy to clean and maintain, and can smoke some really great food. This smoker is 5 stars all the way.

WOW! Used mine for the very first time today. After years of use with cheap smokers and combo units, I decided not to replace my prior smoker with another cheapo unit. The price was right, pulled the trigger and choked up the $$$. I'm very glad I did. I'm not going to go into all the technical aspects of this smoker, but I will say this -- set up (excluding the silicone temp probe grommet) took me about 30 minutes. The silicone grommet took far longer. The trick -- use some silicone spray around the opening. Fold the one edge over the through the hole, starting the lip on both sides. While holding the grommet, work your way around from one side, while holding the grommet steady on the back side. A tricky maneuver, but that is the only way to get it in. Don't worry, you will not tear it! Started today with Mesquite Lump Coal (El Diablo brand). After picking through the logs, I had enough to fill the ring and chimney starter. Poured the burning coals on the bottom pot and I was off and running. Setting temp is super easy. Other smokers require constant watching, not this one. Load it up, set the dampers and watch the temp fro afar. In the past 1.5 hours, my temp varied only 4 degrees and that was due to the wind changing direction. The water bowl is a problem. It sticks down way too far into the bottom of the fire pit. Like others, I will get a 14½" pizza pan and stick it in as a heat deflector. Then I will have better access to my fire box to place more charcoal in, when needed. In 2 hours of use, the coals look like they barely burned down. Overall, I have never used a smoker that has been so easy to operate and maintain. I should have purchased this one years ago and foregone the frustration and pain of less expensive smokers. It has brought the joy's of BBQing back to me once again. Looking forward to having Beef Ribs in a few hours. ******* 06/21/2016 - Update Two more months have gone by. More cooks with lump and briquette charcoal. Each cook makes me appreciate the easy of BBQing with this smoker. The joy has definitely returned! I'm happier with my purchase today than I was two months ago. If you are on the fence, jump over and buy this smoker -- you will not be sorry! ******* 01/14/2017 - Update The cooks continue. I'm blessed living in Las Vegas, NV since I can cook BBQ year round, not having the extremes in wind and cold unlike Michigan. I continue to do just that. Brisket, Tri-Tip (a favorite here in the west), Ribs and cured Pork Loins have all been done since I bought this smoker. All turned out great and with far less effort on my part than with cheapo smokers or combo units. One cook was with my son who flew into town for a long weekend. I gave him basic operating instructions and turned him lose to BBQ a 12 lb packer brisket. A second load of charcoal was needed, but in the end, we had excellent results. He is now sold on purchasing this model smoker. Paint still looks great. I have to clean the smoke off the dome this spring when it warms back up. Other than that, not much else has been done. My recommendation still stands. You will not have buyers remorse with this smoker!

The Smokey Mountain Cooker (SMC) is great except: 1) it doesn't seal real well at the access door or around the lid without some help; and, 2) it's a pain to find a good place for the lid when removed to work with the meat. It'll stain whatever you put it on, so I am now setting it on a full-sheet aluminum pan. At $400 weber should have included some way to hang the lid, or a hinge on the back (you can add your own hinge if you don't mind drilling: WSM Stainless Lid Hinge Kit, Weber Smokey Mountain Grill 18.5 22.5 quick release . I have smoked 3 items so far with great reviews from the family: brisket flat, BB Ribs, and Pork Butt, but I made a few mistakes along the way. The only issues I've had revolve around incorrect usage and minor air leaks. It turns out that I was using too many lit coals so with the minor air leaks it was difficult to get and keep the temp down. On my last cook, I used fewer charcoals and lit only part of them so I was able to keep the temp down to 215-225 for the brisket. If you're a pro at smoking, the SMC is a simple to use, relatively inexpensive, and yet a very effective smoker. If you're new like me, there is a learning curve, but worth it. If you're trying to decide between the Weber SMC and the Big Green Egg style, remember that access to the coals with meat on the grill is quite difficult with the Egg. The Weber is easy to use all through the cook and costs a lot less to buy (the Egg is cheaper to run since it uses less fuel). The SMC will never cook pizza at 700° like the egg, but for smoking things, it's just as good or better. The water pan in the SMC stabilizes temperature for even cooking yet can be removed for higher heat smoking of fowl, rib roast, etc. It just isn't designed to handle really high heat. If you're trying to decide which size SMC, this is what I recommend (check Weber's site for capacities): --22" is for big items (full rib racks laying down, etc) or lots of items at once. It requires the most charcoal (Brisket: 150 briquettes). I like my 22" because I like to smoke six racks at once so I have some to share with friends. But cooking a small 5 lb brisket flat was a waste of fuel so I'll cook more items next time. --18" is great for almost all types of smoking and will even fit large butts, but the rib racks will likely need to be cut to size. Less charcoal (Brisket: 100 briquettes). If you don't care about shortening the rib racks and don't need to cook huge amounts at once, the 18" is your prime candidate since it uses less fuel than the 22" while still fitting lots of meat inside. --14" is for those who don't have much room at the house but still want the flavor. Least fuel required (Brisket: 75 briquettes). Some limits on how much it will hold. Hope this helps a little. If the lid was easier to handle (like a hinge) the SMC would easily deserve 5-stars.

This is the one to get. I am very glad I got the 22.5 instead of the 18.5 because it is so nice to be able to lay racks of ribs flat on the top grill instead of having to stand them up and bend them in a special device. If you are a beginner like me you have enough to think about besides how to fit the damn food on the grill surface. Also, it is nice to work on the top grill only and not have to use the bottom grill due to lack of space on the top. Also, I plan on smoking my Thanksgiving turnkey on this thing so the 22.5 is much more appropriate than the 18.5 WSM. With that being said, I just got my unit about a week ago and already have smoked 2 whole chickens (from Costco) and 3 racks of back loin ribs (Costco as well). Both were great. The chicken was my first use of the WSM cooker and I used no water in the pan and used chunks of Apple wood, which provided hours of smoke. Without water, the temp quickly went to well over 300 but then settled down after I partially closed the bottom vents. The ribs were cooked at about 250 the whole time by filling the water pan with water and keeping the bottom vents about 75% closed. It held 250 with just a few minor adjustments here and there. The fit and finish of this smoker is great and it was easy to assemble. Basically, you attach the legs to the charcoal chamber, install the hooks for the grill grates and the water pan, and attach a few handles to the dome-lid and that's about it. All-in-all, this unit is a good solution for those who want something better than the piece-of-crap hundred dollar units you get from Home Depot but don't want to spend a grand on a ceramic kamado smoker or similarly priced offset barrel unit. The fact that lots of competition bar-b-cue teams use this product is fine testament to its ability to crank out good food. It is the real deal. Built to last, reasonably priced, easy to use and assemble, and performs great. Highly recommended. Oh, and if in doubt, get the 22.5.

Having grown up where "BBQ" always meant grilling, I decided to take my outdoor cooking up a notch. After shopping around extensively and doing some digging online, I really wanted to get a Primo or Big Green Egg, but the price was just waaay more than I could justify. For spending less than half of those ceramic style cookers, the WSM does a great job. It's a quality Weber product, and I'm extremely satisfied with the quality and ability of the cooker. A few things that seem to come up in the reviews: I went with the 18-1/2 inch cooker, and it's plenty big to do a turkey or a few pork butts. It can be tricky fitting more than one rack of ribs, but I think the 22" would just eat through more fuel when most of my cooks have been just a few pounds of meat. The aluminum door is quite flimsy, I'm looking into replacing it with a steel door. People complain about the dome thermometer being way off, but I've found it to be quite accurate, you just have to remember it's a good 8" off of your cooking surface - I bought a quality oven thermometer to more accurately adjust the cooker, and the dome seems to run 15 to 25 degrees HOTTER than the grate. But it's still great for knowing if your smoker is running too hot or too cool, and if your adjustments are working. I do lament that there are no handles on the middle ring, that would be very helpful for adding fuel or wood. I really don't like messing with the flimsy door - fortunately, you really shouldn't have to, a full bowl of charcoal will almost get you through a 10 hour cook. Closing off all the vents is enough to kill the coals, so there's great temperature control to get a low and slow cook. As far as getting started, I learned a lot from Wiviott's Low and Slow book, lots from the virtual weber bullet site, and TONS from Meathead's amazing ribs site (it's my go-to guide now). While the price is still a little steep, it's a great no-hassle, easy-to learn, all-in-one smoker. I'm just now finishing some Simon and Garfunkle chicken (from Meathead's site). The smell is amazing, and I think WSM BBQ has become a solid part of my ultimate summer experience - well worth the investment!

Trabaja muy bien, el pavo quedó excelente-

I went for the smaller of the Smokey mountain, I had a big get together and smoked a brisket for over 5 hours along with doing BBQ usuals, the Weber done me proud, didn’t have to faff about with it too much, set it up as per instructions and you can’t go wrong 👍

Edit: June 26th 2015 - I see this smoker is no longer available via amazon.ca (amazon prime) and that the other two stores who sell it have it priced over $500.00. I paid 360.00 for this early January with amazon.ca. Local bbq stores / home depot also sell it for $360.00 still. Do not pay much more than that for it, or at least shop around! What an absolute joy this smoker is. Purchased it off the positive reviews from amazon.ca and the 600+ 5 star reviews from amazon.com. I ordered this from amazon.ca and paid the extra 2 or 3 bucks for next day shipping - hoping to have it arrive before the weekend as a chinook was to be passing through and temps were around 15C. The smoker arrived in time, however, it didn't ship with the 3 grills needed to cook (boo!). Yes I was bummed but I have to say the Weber customer support was *awesome*. Phone support from 7am - 9pm Central time was a nice surprise as I called after work and assumed to get an automated message saying to call back between 9-5 or something. The lady on the phone took my serial number down (on the top lid vent) and said she would expedite the grills to me right away - no questions asked. These arrived 2 business days later via FedEx. Mishaps do happen from time to time at assembly but support was great to get me back in grilling action. Now for the smoking: I read a few tips on the weber and there was a great write up for this unit on amazon.com (it's the top rated review - can't miss it) where the guy is basically a competitor and runs a school on smoking. Follow his tips and you'll be pleased. I did my first smoke with beef ribs. Temp was about 2C and pour cold coals in the smoker. Then you light the coals in your chimney starter: http://www.amazon.ca/Weber-7416-Rapidfire-Chimney-Starter/dp/B000WEOQV8/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1422715633&sr=8-10&keywords=weber+kettle I was new to smoking and didn't quite get you had to prelight coals and use those to get your smoker going. At least that seems to be the most common method. I let that chimney starter sit on my gas BBQ and stuff paper under it (or light it on the coals on bottom rack of smoker). It doesn't take long for the briquettes to start up and go on their own after. Once those are glowing hot you pour them over top the unlit coals in your smoker. Open up all the vents (top and bottom) and let it get to around 200F. Ribs go on and temp was around 225-250. I closed the 3 bottom vents 1/2 way to keep it around that temp. The top vent ALWAYS leave fully open. I was able to manage the temperature quite well by bottom vents. These beef ribs cooked for about 3.5 hrs at 225 and were awesome. Basic seasoning with salt, pepper and some garlic powder. I also used 3 chunks of weber hickory wood. http://www.amazon.ca/Webber-17056-Hickory-Chunks-5-Pound/dp/B000LNY4C6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422715927&sr=8-1&keywords=weber+hickory This really gave the ribs an amazing taste but some find it pretty strong. Over all, I was really pleased with the ribs. Smoke 2 - Pork ribs Same steps above but this time 2 hours into the smoke I took them off and put some sauce on all sides. Wrapped them in foil and put them back on for another hour. Wow - just amazing. Wife and I loved them and had friends over to enjoy too (after initial trial run I felt confident to serve guests :) ) Turned out perfect. I also put on some potatoes, dill, butter and onions in a foil wrap and let them stay on for 3 hours too. Veggies turned out great. (poked a few little holes in foil to let smoke in). On this run I used the weber Applewood chunks. It doesn't take like apple but the smoke taste was a little weaker than hickory. Rib update: For absolute fall off the bone ribs, I have found the key is to cook around 200 - 225 for 3 hours. Then take them off, sauce them up with bbq sauce or even salsa and wrap in foil. Put back on the smoker for another 2-3 hours. Insanely good. Yes you are looking at a 5-6 hour cook but you have *got* to try it. I also would put on a wood chunk every hour for the first 3 hours. Once wrapped in foil I did not bother. I find the smoker easy to use and more importantly - fun!. It's now Feb and I suspect I will do a few more winter smokes but really looking forward to summer and trying a 12 hour smoke on some larger types of meat. Having this simmer all day long giving off smokey goodness ... For the price of this thing, it can't beat. Add to cart and move along! gm Edit: The smokers after 2009 I believe (as shown in the picture) do have a built in thermometer. I bought a second one and inserted in the side cut out for a probe (also built in by design now from weber) to see if the one from weber was accurate. Both read exactly the same so if you buy this newer model, you should be fine with the default weber gauge. Edit 2: I recently did a roast and purchased the igrill mini to monitor inside temps: http://www.amazon.ca/iDevices-IGR0001-iGrill-Mini-Thermometer/dp/B00I25PGZO/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423847806&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=igril+mini This thing is really awesome and for long cooks or meat that you need to monitor temp, it's a breeze and could watch the temp of the meat while inside on my ipad or iphone (also works with android) Edit 3 (Oct 8th): Have used this all summer almost every weekend. Briquette prices seemed best from Walmart or the odd Super store special. Walmart also surprised me with their selection of wood chunks in the bbq section. Very large chunks, inexpensive and wide range of wood.

Es un buen ahumador lo conseguí en una promoción de 8,900 pesos. El gran tamaño de la bandeja de agua ayuda mucho a controlar fácilmente la temperatura. La doble parrilla maximiza el espacio, la escotilla que tiene permite hacer las recargas sin interrupción de la cocción. El único contra, es que consume más carbon de lo que un kamado haría.

Split it trying to fit it