Is barbecuing better than smoking?

Mark (Smoker)

If you like to prepare tasty and tender meat with loads of flavor all year long—not just during summer cookouts—then a smoker is the way to go. A smoker is a wonderful device designed for advanced backyard chefs who wish to capture that delicious wood-smoke aroma when cooking meats or even sides, like veggies or macaroni and cheese. With its slow cook time and low temperatures, a smoker is guaranteed to produce perfectly cooked meats. It’s a process that allows the food to properly marinate and cook more thoroughly and over a longer period of time than virtually any other method. Upon sampling the finished product, a smoker is sure to produce that wow factor for any grill-out.  

Likewise, smoking your meat is essentially the most organic way to prepare it. It’s a committed and deliberate process requiring patience and focus, yielding amazing results. It’s an almost exclusive way to prepare your food that isn’t exactly common but is growing in popularity. Considering that a smoker uses wood chips, you can use a variety of them, including hickory and apple, to produce a taste and texture that a standard barbecue never could. It’s a unique preparation that has delicious results. 

Whenever you’re using the smoker, you may be cooking for a small crowd. Therefore, the process is optimal for large portions of meat, such as slabs of ribs, pork shoulder or large portions of brisket. You can slow-cook a feast and produce enough food to last for days. It also has a multipurpose instrument that allows for roasting, baking, and broiling—a whole variety of meat-preparing features in one device! A smoker is worth every penny of its cost and is simply a step up in concept and taste when compared to a barbecue. 

Takashi (BBQ)

When looking for the best way to cook during sunny holidays or throughout those hot summer months, your best bet is still the simple yet tried and true barbecue. At cookouts, people are hungry and want to eat quickly. A smoker can take hours to fully cook your food. A barbecue, on the other hand, boasts a much shorter cook time. This can be crucial when you’ve got young and hungry kids in the house or are hosting a gathering. Plus, barbecues allow you to tend to other tasks as you cook your food—just don't forget to set your timer. 

The smoker requires not only your time, but in many ways, your uninterrupted presence as well. Contrary to the smoker, a barbecue does most of the work for you. You won’t be hovering over the smoker, painfully observing every subtle detail, like constantly measuring the temperature. This is because your standard barbecue is a relatively simple device in concept. A smoker is a complex and harder-to-learn product that is typically reserved for smoker specialists. 

It’s also important to point out that a smoker is quite literal in name. It’s going to give your meats a smoky flavor when some might simply prefer the sweet and tangy flavor of good old-fashioned barbecue sauce. It's an approach to cooking meat that isn’t necessarily for everyone. In contrast, a barbecue is likely something you’ve enjoyed since childhood and can get at many stores for a reasonable price (whereas smokers are generally far more expensive). A barbecue brings the whole family together, while a smoker will have everyone asking where Dad is. So, keep the holidays simple, and fire up that charcoal.