Weber Bullet Smokey Mountain Smoker
The Weber Bullet Smokey Mountain Smoker model reviewed here is the 721001 18.5 charcoal smoker.
If you are new to smoking, then the Weber Bullet is for you. Start with the right equipment, and your experience will be positive, your food will be delicious, and you will be the envy of the neighborhood. People will be talking, and salivating, about your last BBQ for weeks.
If you are an experienced smoker, well – you know what I’m talking about. You are familiar with the Weber Bullet and its reputation. You are probably either replacing your older, well-used Weber Bullet, or upgrading from another smoker.
The Weber Bullet is able to maintain low cooking temperatures – a definite benefit if you like that lovely smoked meat flavor that comes from slow smoking over long periods at 200-220F rather than hotter burners that cook the meat too quickly. It might take a while to get used to it, but it’s well worth the learning curve – you get that beautiful pink smoke ring that you only get with properly smoked meat.
The Weber Bullet Smokey Mountain Smoker can also be used to cook quickly if you’re in a hurry, because the temperature control is excellent. But if a quick cook all you want, then you can find cheaper smokers that will do that. The Weber Bullet is designed to give you REAL, PRO-QUALITY smoked meats, fish and chicken.
If you want real barbecue flavor, and fall-off-the-bone ribs that are truly out of this world, then the Weber is worth the extra cost. It’s airtight, and features adjustable vents that are used to control the cooking temperature. Sometimes the thermometer might seem not to be working, but that’s just because the Weber Bullet holds its temperature so well that the thermometer just stays at one number.
The Weber Smokey Mountain features two cooking grates, and is big enough to handle a turkey and a large brisket at the same time. Maybe one tiny fault is if you want to smoke a rack of ribs it can get a bit tight, but slabs are easy enough – you can in even put in more if you roll them and pin them with a skewer. The Weber Bullet 721001 Smokey Mountain Cooker 18 1/2 Inch Smoker (at Amazon.com)
The charcoal chamber holds a lot of fuel and it burns all your favorite smoke woods. It’s also easy to restock if needed, but it will burn for a long time on one charge of charcoal. If you want to add extra smoke wood, then a hinged door makes that an easy job. Some folks report getting up to 20 hours from a single loading of charcoal! That’s long enough for even the slowest cooking.
Maybe one criticism of the Weber Smokey Mountain would be the water pan – it’s pretty small, and some owners replace it with a larger one. This is particularly needed so as to keep the meat moist when cooking for longer periods, but be careful not to cook too hot or the water will boil and you might end up with steamed meat!
The Weber Bullet Smokey Mountain 18.5 inch charcoal smoker is an excellent family smoker barbeque, and about the best bullet smoker on the market for its price.
The Weber Bullet can be viewed as consisting of three sections:
- Bottom Section: The bottom holds the fuel, and has three vents to feed in the air and control the temperature.
- Middle Section: The middle section has the hinged door to feed in fuel, and also holds the water pan and cooking grids.
- Top Section: The top section contains more food and another adjustable vent that can be opened to reduce the temperature. You can also drop a thermocouple down this for more temperature measurement.
If you have both sets of vents open, top and bottom, you get a fair amount of air movement through the whole system, and it’s very important to keep the water tray filled to prevent the food becoming too dry. The smoker is well constructed and very stable with a good weight, unlike some tinny machines that are easily knocked about.
All in all, the Weber Bullet Smokey Mountain is an excellent charcoal smoker and the 18.5 inch model is suitable for the typical family and a few extra friends. However, if you regularly entertain or have parties then you should consider the 22.5 inch machine. The extra cost is worth the extra capacity. No real complaints except the thermometer might be slightly more accurate and the water pan could likely do with beefing up, but other than that it’s a winner.
