Yea i hear ya. It is more hands on work for sure. Check out Smokin Dads BBQ for videos on the OK offsets.

I also have a cheap offset and I really love it. I can run a mostly wood fire for the whole day. It takes some work but I think you need to learn the cooker first before throwing all your mods at it. If you are really interested in that kind of cooking, do a ton of dry runs.

I have no info to add except that I'm jealous because I never see anything like that around me. I'd jump all over that.

Yea. For me I think its just easier to make NA IPA. I drink leaded and NA, and NA IPA stands up to the leaded counter parts. Other styles seem harder to get right.

For sure. I'd love that.

A yuengling NA would be absolutely amazing. Sam Adam's cherry wheat would be good as an NA.

Just get a grill pan for the stove.

I would not. You want smoke and air circulation. You don't want stale smoke sitting around. If you want more smoke just add a smoke tube.

Just know that you're gonna rock some killer meals and fuck some shit up. Roll and learn what works and doesn't. Think about a smoke tube for extra smoke flavor.

I have one. I've never had great success grilling with it but plenty of others have. To me it's still a smoker despite the marketing. It is a fantastic smoker and I have no complaints there.

A propane grill would be a fine addition. But maybe you should check out the gravity feed charcoal smokers/grills which can get to temp pretty fast.

But that's just my opinion.

Wasn't a fan of the two openings really. And not being able to change temps very easily.

Just food for thought. I had a griddle insert for my kettle and I hated it. The Blackstone is way better.

But it all depends what you want to do. Smoke lots of meat? Drum. Smash burgers, breakfasts, stirfrys, steaks etc? Griddle.

I started with a Cuisinart bullet smoker. Learned a lot. But it took so much work to maintain temp.

Pellet 'grills' are great. Some folks swear by the grill function on them but I think they are way better at smoking. Much lighter smoke flavor than anything charcoal but these still kick out good food. You can amp up the flavor by adding a smoke tube. I have two pellet smokers that I love and my wife prefers the lighter smoke flavor. There are lots of good pellet smokers out there. Check out ZGrills for some good entry level smokers that won't break the bank. A big pro of pellet smokers is they are set and forget.

But like a lot of others have said a 22inch original Weber kettle would be a great entry. Grill and smoke on one affordable piece of equipment. Good wood is a must for smoking and less is more. 90% of the Weber kettle smoke setups you see on the internet use way too much wood. Wood compliments the food and shouldn't overpower.

If you are only concerned with smoking, a used Weber Smokey Mountain is another fantastic choice. Easy to learn on and a beast of a cooker. Takes some fiddling but close to set and forget.

At the end of the day, it's about leaning and enjoying the hobby.

Yea, I will agree with that for sure!

Not struggling with anything just offering a rebuttal that there are plenty of glass front smokers that are good. You don't have to like them but maybe OP would like to know that it's not a terrible downfall bc they're quite common. Do with that what you will.

🤷They work just fine

To be fair there are plenty of smokers with glass fronts in the electric and pellet world.

Just to expand a bit. The spin grate is a gimmick and not necessary. You can do everything the SNS insert does with thr Weber charcoal baskets. You don't even need the insert. Just get a vortex instead.

My SNS kettle is one of the OGs. Only a few years old but it's rusting around all probe points, the legs, and the ash basket. The ash clean out blades already need to be replaced too. Took 10 years on my original Weber to have to replace anything and not a spot of rust anywhere.

I have both. For me Weber is higher quality and you can just add the SNS to it. Not even close.

Honestly grab the blackstone and then look for a used weber kettle on marketplace or something.

I don't have an ok joe but anothet cheaper offset. Keep your exhaust wide open and then open the firebox door a bit. Youre killing the fire there but you'll learn! Check out Steve Gow (Smoke Trials BBQ) or James at Smokin Dad BBQ for good OK joe tips.

It's not the lime or the instapot. 4 hours in high is just too long. I have no idea why all these chicken recipes say that length of time. 2 to 3 hours on low (normal on instapot) is plenty.

Season the chicken however you like and throw it in. Just a tad of broth is all you need. At 2 hours check temp with a therm. It's done between 160-165.