The Texas BBQ Forum

Who makes the best pit to use for cookoff s. And water pan or not? ( stick burner no pellet)

This is so incredibly subjective, there is no answer to it. It's not a matter of the best pit, but how you run the pit you have. Ultimately, it comes down to you.

Good point, W.V. - - - the Winners of the Comps are the ones that have that Knowledge and I doubt they all use the same Equipment

OldUsedParts wrote:Good point, W.V. - - - the Winners of the Comps are the ones that have that Knowledge and I doubt they all use the same Equipment

Lol, I think you mixed me up with Txd

woodenvisions wrote:

OldUsedParts wrote:Good point, W.V. - - - the Winners of the Comps are the ones that have that Knowledge and I doubt they all use the same Equipment

Lol, I think you mixed me up with Txd

OOPS, sorry T-Dragon

Maybe reword: what type and brand do you use and why. Looking for one that’s better insulated to hold temp steady throughout.

40 different answers or more. Best answer is which cooker fits your personality and lifestyle best that you can really learn and dial in on mentally.

One suggestion: Pitmakers are expensive but really well made and well insulated and portable. I would love to have one.

I’ve seen one Rec Tec, very well made looks portable. Traeger has improved their sturdiness w stronger legs than mine, but I don’t think it strong enough as a smoke generator for serious compingJMHO. There are other pellet cooker’s as well that operated on virtually the same principles, but I don’t know them specifically.

An ugly drum burning lump is actually a great cooker and many guys are very successful with them. A gentleman named Big Ed here on the blog occasionally terrorizes a number of the North Texas cooks with his drum. I’ve met him and seeing his stuff, and he cooks amazing barbecue out of a single steel drum. Not insulated, but cheap, easy to use and develop expertise with, and produces great flavor because of the lump. You do have to learn your cooker well, and in windy or cold conditions May need to use a water heater blanket around it to offset the heat loss from the elements.

But the most common comp cooker is some form of offset stick burner either trailer mounted or not, including mine, a shop built Craigslist special. There are tons of options here, starting with more economical mass-produced cokers like in Oklahoma Joe, Lyfetime, etc., through semi customs like Big Hat, through full customs like Gator Pits and Jambos. Personally, I think stick burners have an advantage because they produce a volume and quality of true hardwood smoke, but lump burners do very well too

But guys win with all kinds, it really boils down to how serious you want to get and how hard you dial yourself in with your cooker.

A David Klose built pit.

https://bbqpits.com/

My bad, No pellets. And plus one with Greg on the Klose, I loved the one I had and the quality was impeccable. One simple note – if you happen to call there and talk to David Klose himself, set aside a day or two for the conversation, he’s an encyclopedia and has enough stories to fill the time.

Its ok Boots, your post covered everything that needed to be said in regards to sourcing something to cook comps with. There is a lot of diversity out there when it comes to comps. And those guys cooking on other units besides offsets do there fair share of winning. When it comes to traditional steel offsets there are a handful of top notch builders out there. But if it comes down to doing comps in general, you may end up with an offset, a weber kettle, and who knows what else, just to do a single comp, so then the skys the limit. And the question needs to be, what are your pit needs overall, not just what you need for comps. Because if you buy something to just do comps, then you may not be meeting your overall pit needs. Like mine, I can do comps, or I can cook volume and do 25 or 30 briskets if I need to, Either for myself, or to help out some charity that may need it.

Comps and other cooking. Hold at least 8 or more briskets, maybe whole hog. Was looking at a Myron Mixon but getting other opinions

When considering an offset comp cooker bare in mind that most of the upper end builders do not have a lot of real estate area that is because you are mostly just cooking one brisket a couple of racks of ribs and a couple of chickens. They also usually have two doors which kinda hurts on the whole hog. Pitmakers sniper is a nice cooker but if you like low and slow it will test your patience as it likes to hum along in the 300°or higher range. In the offset world "Even temps" is not really there if you map out the cooker with digital probes. I map out the cooker and learn where the grate temps average at and use different areas to my advantage. Myron Mixon cookers are nice and would probably fit your needs in my opinion.

If you have the money Jambo offset. That is the Cadillac of pits. But on any day a can cooker can beat any of the high dollar rigs.