43fan wrote:

> Complete newbie to the group, and somewhat of a newbie to smoking.
> Bought the real inexpensive Brinkman charcoal smoker this past
> spring, used it about 8 times throughout the summer. Tried brisket
> fairly quickly, and although it wasn't as tender as I think it
> should've been, IMO, it was "decent"...
>
> Anyway, I'm hoping that I can get some help here.

Welcome to AFB. This will give you a good start:
http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/toc.html


> What I'm wondering is, is there a grill/smoker combo that I could get
> that would be at least "decent", and here's the kicker... in the
> $300-$500 range?

I use a Kamado, which I consider to be the best pit/grill available. The Big
Green Egg, Primo, and a coupla other ceramic pits are in the same general
category as the Kamado.

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com