Had to choose between a stick burner and a pellet smoker for my competition rig in Memphis

I went with the stick burner because I thought it'd give me better bark (and ego, honestly) but after 16 hours of babysitting it at my first comp, I'm wondering if I should have just grabbed the pellet smoker. Anyone else regret their choice after their first big cook?

2 comments

2 Comments

anderson.piper1mo agoMost Upvoted

Competition judges really don't care about the heat source as much as they care about consistency, and a pellet smoker gives you that round after round. Stick burners can produce incredible flavor but if you're losing sleep and focus over fire management every hour, your meat quality takes a hit when it counts. A lot of top teams in Memphis actually run pellet rigs now and still take home hardware, so don't let the ego trick you into working harder than you have to.

michaeld481mo ago

Didn't I read somewhere that some of the top guys in KCBS have even switched over to gravity feeds for that same reason? It makes sense when you think about it - the judges are only tasting the final product, not watching you sweat over a firebox all night. Consistency wins every time when the turn-in window is that tight.