Weber Kettle Club Forums
Cooking & Food Talk => Charcoal Grilling & BBQ => Topic started by: WildonionAB on December 15, 2018, 01:17:00 PM
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I'm feeling torn right now. Do I buy a 26" kettle or a 18.5 smoky mountain?
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IMO, go with the 26. More versatile. You can smoke a lot of meat on the 26 using the snake method.
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Hmmm...I have both and they have each earned a spot in the rotation. WSM for much longer cooks - say 12+ hours seems to be foolproof, but also for stacking foods: beans in a CIDO under a butt is so good. I do ribs on the 26er due to it's massive grate - ribs are a tight fit on a 18WSM unless you hang them. If I was faced with either/or I would probably start with the 26er, but long term I would end up with both.
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Sounds like a good idea to end up with both!
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I vote 26” I absolutely love mine . But it’s all what works best for you !
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I was kinda leaning towards a 26 cause I love my 22 so much. Only problem is lack of space when running my S&S.
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Snake or even a half snake will give you plenty of room. Also not that I’ve done it but you could probably invert another grate and stack them.
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26r all the way. Much more versatile IMHO. I put baked beans on the charcoal grate to catch drippings from pork butts. All a matter of personal preference. I enjoy cooking on a kettle. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with whatever your decision.
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26
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26.75 kettle and a 22WSM
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I have a 26" Kettle and the 22.5" WSM. Both are overkill for my day to day use. I usually cook for 2 adults and a toddler and I've been using my 14" Smokey Joe the most. I love that it sips on fuel compared to my bigger cookers. I suppose it winds down to what you'll be cooking and how often. I cook ribs and brisket and don't mind splitting a brisket to fit it in a cooker if I need to. Some people like cooking a piece of meat whole but I don't mind doing what needs to be done to work with what I have. I bought my cookers with the mindset that everything had to be whole, I don't feel the same anymore. I don't feel like I made a mistake but I can do most of what I cook on my Smokey Joe. I can cook a full rack of ribs, a brisket flat or some pulled pork. You might have to cut pieces to fit in the cooker but it can be done.
Now if I was you, given you already have a kettle I'd buy the smokey mountain. It's nice to have a cooker that's really smoking centric and a cooker that's grilling centric and this way you'll have both.
Also, Smokenator makes a "Hover Grate" that's 18". I bought this for my Master Touch and it added a lot of space.
https://www.smokenator.com/product/smokenator-hovergrill-add-cooking-space-to-your-grill/
There's also the "Kettle Zone". It'll let you use the entire 22.5" grate for indirect cooking. If you were to buy this along with the Hover Grate you'd almost have as much cooking space as a 22.5" Smokey Mountain minus the vertical space.
https://auraoutdoorproducts.com/products/kettle-zone
Both of these accessories total out at $140 so this isn't a bad option either.
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I would start with the WSM.
:-)
I am sure you will end up with both one day.
You can’t stop Weberritis!
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I view the 26 as a necessity. It’s my most used grill for a family of 4. It’s also the only grill I have that I would gladly spend full retail to replace it if I had to.
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I appreciate the input! I think the 26 will be my next purchase. I will keep an eye on the buy and sells for a wsm or maybe will make a UDS. Although I'm sure that I will just about be able to do everything with a 26 and a s&s. Plus I still have my 22 and s&s if I need to really cook a huge batch of ribs or something.
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Also, Smokenator makes a "Hover Grate" that's 18". I bought this for my Master Touch and it added a lot of space.
https://www.smokenator.com/product/smokenator-hovergrill-add-cooking-space-to-your-grill/
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I did about the same thing for my 26er with a used 22.5 grate and some hardware from Home Depot.
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2018/01/14/Babyback-02.md.jpg)
BD
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Also, Smokenator makes a "Hover Grate" that's 18". I bought this for my Master Touch and it added a lot of space.
https://www.smokenator.com/product/smokenator-hovergrill-add-cooking-space-to-your-grill/
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I did about the same thing for my 26er with a used 22.5 grate and some hardware from Home Depot.
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2018/01/14/Babyback-02.md.jpg)
BD
That's awesome!
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Yeah, back when I was competing, a guy had a bunch of extra WSM 22.5 top grates. Picked one up for five bucks Then I headed over the Depot for some long bolts and assorted nuts and washers.
BD
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I have both. The 26 is my recommendation. You cannot beat it for size, versatility, and value.
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Tonight is a good example. 2 equal zones. There simply wouldn’t have been enough room for sear and indirect on a 22. An sns would not have worked either in the 26. Not enough sear area.
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I have owned way to many grills over the past 25+ years... some being awfully nice grills. I went for quite a few years with no Weber kettle in my cooker lineup (sad, I know). Well, I bought a 26.75 last year and have come to absolutely LOVE it. I have owned both the 18.5 and 22.5 WSM’s and I much prefer the 26.75 kettle for its ease of use and versatility. I vote kettle! :)
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Big Dawg, good call using the 22.5 grate, I like the looks of that. I’m getting a 26 for Christmas and might just have to borrow your idea. I’ve used the hover grill in the past, but this to me looks to be a more sturdy option. Plus, I think you can get the parts together for it a bit cheaper than a hover grill.
Win win!!
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Not to hijack the thread here...but I like @Big Dawg stacked grate there. I'm wondering if maybe i could do the same on my MT with an 18 or even a 14 in grate from a SJ? Something to contemplate for those cooks when I need more space!
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there are some personal choices to make the decision. Storage space, versatility, cooking space, etc. that comes into play. That's some of my thoughts.
maybe your age, physical abilities may come into play. I sold an 18" wsm and opted for a 22" kettle and spent more on it for a temp controller as your having to play with vents moreso than a wsm, today I set the temp and let it go, no need to play with vents. Of course the well-versed smokers HAS more hands-on experience than I ever did which was not much at all smoking something twice a year.
for me it came down to setup and breakdown of the wsm as I didn't have space for a stationary wsm, maybe could have come up with adding wheels? But then again your still having to breakdown to clean the charcoal bowl and water pan(if used and it was heavy, at my age). Lost smoke cooking space but the kettle offered me less physical work at my age.
seeing some of you adding a 2nd grate on the kettle could get back a little space depending what's cooking
I must say, once you get used to eating smoked meats it gets addicting. The smell of smoking meat in the air and the remnants of it on my fingers just makes me wanting and going back for more. We have smoking joints on wheels in which a couple of years ago didn't exist here and everytime I catch the whiff of the smoking cook it makes me wanting, Addicting stuff
So sorry for the Ramblin
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I'm feeling torn right now. Do I buy a 26" kettle or a 18.5 smoky mountain?
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I have a 26" kettle and a 22.5 smokey mountain plus 3 22.5 kettles. I also am thinking about picking up an 18.5 smokey mountain. Any way you look at it, both or all 4 are a win win situation.
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26
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Not to hijack the thread here...but I like @Big Dawg stacked grate there. I'm wondering if maybe i could do the same on my MT with an 18 or even a 14 in grate from a SJ? Something to contemplate for those cooks when I need more space!
I would think that either the 18 would probably work, I'm sure that a smaller one would work.
One thing to keep in mind, whichever size you end up with, is that the upper deck can get quite a bit hotter than the main grate. So make sure that you have a plan on how to rotate your proteins, or (even better) cook two kinds, with one that can some off earlier - for a snack ! ! !
BD
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You can always get a couple of stackers for your 22 kettle and you'll end up with as much space as a 22 wsm. Extra room for indirect/semi-direct also. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181226/31bce4de69acb3a8885e2f89c5cf4ba8.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181226/5d8c18c1e39c7ee7103d5794dbb3506f.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181226/b381426b468fef8b502acdc33fea881f.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181226/20c44cdb03ebc49f68feda88c166b81a.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181226/ac039bc242c35aae23aaf08b7a923f7e.jpg)
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Jules V.
very nice! A versatile all-in-one kettle