Hello all,
I am desperately needing some help making a decision on my next smoker. I recently sold my "traditional smoke" because I was tired of babysitting all day. I have been doing research for months now and have narrowed it down to two smokers. This is where you guys come into play.
The first smoker up is the YS640 with competition cart. The second is the cookshack AmeriQue model SM066.
I know they're both really good but would like your opinions and expertise.
Thanks for your help!
- Joined: May 10th, 2014, 12:33 pm
- Posts: 576
- Location: Sitting Near a Yoder Smoker, Smelling Sweet Blue
Thank you for considering Yoder.
Obviously, since this is the Yoder forum, I think you know the answers you will get. I've never used the CS personally, but I've never been too impressed with food smoked on an electric smoker. I'm all about cooking with wood, be it stick wood, lump charcoal or pellets, I get the best results cooking with wood and wood only.
Also, I don't get all excited about smoke ring size, but some people do. People have a hard time getting a smoke ring with an electric cooker. So if you are looking for an impressive smoke ring, you need to be cooking with wood.
Good luck. Let us know if you have any other questions.
I've cooked with Cookshack smokers. A lot. For almost 15 years I owned a restaurant that served among other things, seriously good barbecue. We had two Cookshack 260 smokers. Pretty much trouble free and when we had to replace parts Cookshack was pretty good about helping us identify the problem and ship the right part.
I've cooked thousands of pounds of dead animals in those cookers.
I've retired from the restaurant business but the passion for good bbq is still part of who I am. For almost two years I've been cooking with Yoder smokers. First with the YS640 and now the YS1500. In my experience the differences between the Yoder and Cookshack are greater than one would expect.
Both keep the cooking temps relatively stable.
Both are a "set it and forget it" experience.
Both are reliable. (The Yoder gets the edge here.)
Both are easy to clean. (a major consideration)
The Yoder "seasons" better. I know this is subjective but seasoning the pit is an important of what finally gets in your mouth. The seasoning is different and I like the Yoder's better. Maybe it's the difference in how the gunk adheres to steel instead of stainless, I don't know. I just know how the two differ in smell. Hot or cold.
The Yoder is a "drier" cook compared to the Cookshack. The Cookshack did very well with heavy cuts but in my opinion was weak with poultry. I could never get nice crispy, caramel colored skin whereas the Yoder produces chicken so beautiful you want to take a picture.
Ribs are better with the Yoder. Period. And I put it down to the wetness factor in the Cookshack. Lots of people like to wrap their ribs and let them braise for a bit before unwrapping to finish them. I don't wrap because I feel it diminishes the flavor of the meat and the rub. The Cookshack cooks like they were wrapped a bit too long. (even though they weren't wrapped at all). This is okay if you don't really care about the bark, but I do and the Yoder works better. For me.
Heavy cuts like prime ribs or pork butts are very good on the Cookshack. Especially the primes where you don't really want bark.
When we catered I used my 500 gallon propane tank homemade smoker. Every time I pulled ribs, or chicken, or butts, or primes, or salmon off of that thing I always, always wished my Cookshacks could produce food that good. They couldn't. My Yoder does.
If I open another restaurant I'd fill it with Yoders. Period.
I hope this helps. If you've got any questions, just let me know.
Bob
I too sold my "traditional smoker" in the transition to a pellet cooker. The way the Yoder burns pellets you'll get smoke at a very wide temp range, 150-300+ however the Yoder will take you all the way to 600 for grilling too. The Cookshack seems capped at 300.
On a non-food related note, I haven't used the Cookshack but I did look at the FE and the YS when shopping for my pellet smoker, showed them to my wife and when she saw the FE her immediate reaction was "Eeww, its boxy". And she was right,the Yoder is not only a beast of a cooker, it looks the part too.
I have both a YS640 and a Amerique electric
I started out with a Smok'n Tex little electric and after finding the Amerique with its temp probe and set and forget. I just had to have one.
Then one day I was looking for a recipe for something I had never made before on YouTube and up popped a Smoking pit .com video with a YS640 as the cooker. I ended up watching every video I could find on the Yoder. I told my wife I need one of these. I spent a couple of weeks going to other forums and reading what other owners had to say. A long 8 weeks later my YS640 showed up and I started making much better BBQ than I ever did on either of my electric smokers! The Amerique is now nothing more than a warming oven on major holidays.
Long story short, buy the Yoder and save your money on the electric. (unless you need an expensive warming oven)
If you would like to talk about it in person PM me and I will give you my phone number and we can talk about both. I'm a better talker then a typists .
Oh yeah I just ordered my 2nd YS640
Mike
2 - YS640 Silver Competition Carts
Thank you all very much for your help and advice. Y'all helped me make my decision and now I have to patiently wait for my YS640 with competition cart to arrive. I ordered it this afternoon and couldn't be more excited!
Once again, thank you for your help. My wife and I truly appreciate everything.
Congratulations! You made the right choice. I'm Positive you'll love it!
Now comes the hard part. The wait! 
2 - YS640 Silver Competition Carts
Yep, great choice! I have made the very best steaks on the 640. It's the one thing besides the very best 'set and forget' smoker on the market, it also does amazing steaks with the grill grates. For a backyard, small comp, small catering, it's the bomb. And very well built. Built so well put it in your will.
What will happen is you make pulled pork sammiches for a party. Everyone rants about how good it is. Next thing you know you'll have 6 Butts on there with 5 for friends and family and they pay for the pellets and rubs! I add $10 to meat cost per butt, pellets cost me about $20, so it's all good. I don't pull other butts, that's just so nasty sounding, they pick them up. Win win all around! At least that's what happens at my house.
And, butts on at 10 PM, 4 AM, foil the butts, check/add pellets. Go back to bed. Off the smoker about 10 to 14 total hours, into a cooler for 2 hours, time for a nap. Then pull the butts and eat. We do 6 chickens at once for long term frozen chicken. Imagine the amount of awesome chicken stock you can make with 6 chicken bones! I make it concentrated and freeze in ice cube trays and bag n freeze.
Turn on the power switch, makes the fans come on, no heat, use a tube pellet smoker, smoke cheese/cured jerky at ambient temps.
Lastly, if you live in a cold climate area,call Yoder up and get the thermal blanket, saves on pellets. I live in Vegas, so in the winter, I use a welding blanket and a movers blanket, cheap at discount places. Yea, we get those terrible 35f nights in the winter, shudders at the 28f we get every few years.
Yep, had mine for over 1.5 years, still going strong.
Ya, I'm super excited! I'm pretty sure I've watched EVERY YS640 video on YouTube there is. Maybe even two or three times. I've been showing pictures to everyone too. I added the expanded metal grates for the first level today.
Is there anything else you guys added or wished you would had?
I'd add at least one probe port. If you use or intend to use temp probes you don't want to run the cable(s) out the door as it mess-up the air flow.
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