Weber 721001 Cooker Review

We have a son who has taken a real interest in cooking since he married, so long as it’s outdoors, & and he can have a beer in his hand! He’s become a real bbq expert, and his latest passion is creating wonderful meals on an outdoor smoker.

However, his choice of smoker was based on price rather than quality, & we’ve seen him really struggling to maintain temperatures for the duration of his “smoke” with the low end smoker he ended up with.

We decided his next birthday present would be a top quality smoker, as he really puts it to good use. Of course, enjoying making reviews as I do, these were a delight to delve into, so with some help from Amazon I’m happy to share my findings and where I found the best prices.
Brought to market in 2008, the Weber 721001 Smokey Mountain Cooker is a charcoal fuelled hot-smoker that smokes and cooks fish, meat and game beautifully and honours an age-old tradition of outdoor smoking.

The tradition of smoking foods goes back many millenia, since before records began, in fact. Smoking has been used across the globe, in all cultures and civilizations, and it still used today to both preserve and add texture to foods.

Cold smoking especially was used to preserve perishable foods such as meat, fish and game in times before refrigeration as a technology didn’t exist. Many people still use this technique as their forefathers have done for generations, in places where modern infrastructure doesn’t exist - readily available electricity, refrigeration appliances, for example.

However, over the past few decades the process of smoking food to add texture and flavouring to foods is on the rise, and quickly becoming a popular way of cooking and barbecuing foods.

Models such as the Weber 721001 Cooker make hot-smoking easy for the consumer, and enables anybody to hot-smoke foods right in their back yards, and, due to the small size and portability of these units, you can hot-smoke anywhere you wish too really, you are certainly not restricted to your backyard.

Whether you are having a family get-together, just having a few friends round for a laid back, chilled-out evening, or even if you’re hosting a social event; smoking your food at the event is a sure-fire way of serving up hot, cooked, delicious, succulent food every time.

You can bet you’ll attract quite an audience as your finished product emerges, and will appreciate finding this Weber 21001 Cooker review.

Product features that appealed to me:

• Built in thermometer on the lid; enables you to check the temperature quickly and easily.
• A two gallon capacity water pan; perfect for water smoking.
• The latching mechanism on the door indicates whether the door is locked or unlocked; allowing you to find out without having to touch the smoker; no burnt fingers with this feature!
• The latch pulls the door tight to the middle section of the cooker section of the smoker.
• Heat shielded bottom; this protects your patio or decking, or any other surface you place your Weber smokey mountain cooker on.
• High capacity cooking; you can smoke a whole turkey and a whole ham at the same time.
• Constructed from porcelain-enamelled steel, and has sturdy legs; built for durability and is long lasting.
• 10 Year limited manufacturers warranty. Think about this; for the cost of the 721001, even if it broke after 8 years and didn’t even have a warranty – you’d still have got your money’s worth, and then some. Definitely excellent value for money. See More Here

Weber have created this excellent, stylish looking hot-smoker with usability in mind. It is easy to use. Built from rigid and strong materials, the porcelain-enamelled steel shell is built for durability, and built to be long lasting.

Standing at 41-inches high, and 19-inches wide, the 721001 Smokey Mountain Cooker has two grills inside for cooking your foods, and a water bowl allowing you to water-smoke your food.

The 2 gallon capacity water bowl acts as a barrier between the fire and the food, and is a great feature if you want to water-smoke your food. The steam created will create a humid cooking environment within your smoker, stopping your food from drying out, and making it remarkably succulent and downright delicious.

Let’s recap for our Weber 721001 Cooker Review:

• Sturdy design, with built in heat-shield to protect the ground surface from heat damage.
• Allows for water-smoking, keeping your food succulent and mouthwatering.
• High capacity; allowing you to smoke more food at once.
• Portable; easy to take anywhere and smoke food wherever you want.

Any problems?

• According to one review I found, the curved bottom of the water bowl makes it hard to service the charcoal. Actually not much of an issue in my opinion.
• No handles on the smoker body, according to the same reviewer; this makes it hard to lift the smoker unit out. Again, not a biggie!

What other reviewers have said:

• After reading what other reviewers have written, and what purchasers of this smoker have said about it, it appears some significant modifications were made from the original model sold. These improvements that Weber made to the 721001 model were greatly received by those who already own / have already owned a Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker, and for those who haven’t, many of the features Weber have included in their Smokey Mountain models make is a very appealing purchase.

• One of the additions that many spoke of was the wider door, allowing easy service of the burning charcoal, as well as making it easier to add charcoal and wood to the unit.

• Another great addition is the thermometer on the hood of the unit. Many bought thermometers for their older smokers, but the 721001 comes with a quality unit built right in. A nice feature indeed.
• The increased water capacity (up to 2 gallons) was mentioned several times.

Many buyers like that fact that it was easy to assemble, and pretty much fool proof. If you are unfamiliar with the assembly of smokers, or are new to the whole concept, the easy to follow instructions make the assembly of the unit something even clutzes such as myself can handle with ease.

We also found the following comments:

“two major improvements I noticed were increased water pan capacity, and the new, larger door, which makes adding charcoal and water easier. I recommend this smoker.”

“it took about 15 minutes to assemble. A snap. And since it was in 3 major pieces, it was easy to get from the assembly area, the living room, to the smoking area outside.”

“the thermometer and the ease of use in adding charcoal made it very easy” I received rave reviews for my meat at the BBQ the next day!”

“this smoker is a big one. It has enough space to fit a ham and a turkey, and can also do a full rack of ribs. It was really easy to put together, and feels nice and sturdy when put together.”

So how much can you expect to pay for a 721001 Smoker?

Though you will find these beauties at specialty BBQ stores, & even at the big box stores such as Home Depot and the like, I’ve always found Amazon has the best pricing. In fact a quick check of pricing in my town saw prices as high as $349, but today’s Amazon price was well under $300

My final thoughts for the Weber 721001 Cooker Review:

Overall, the Weber 721001 Smokey Mountain Smoker is excellent for both entry level and more experienced enthusiasts. It’s easy to assemble out of the box, with easy to follow instructions.

It’s got a large enough capacity to smoke both a whole turkey AND a whole ham at the same time, and it produces superbly smoked meats and poultry without very much effort at all.

Just to top it off, my Weber 721001 Cooker Review found it comes with a 10-year limited warranty. This in itself proves Weber believe in, and are proud of their products.

Easy to use. Delicious food. Well made, with durability in mind. Performs well, season after season – definitely good value for money.

Where Can I Buy One?

Click Here for the best pricing and free shipping at Amazon

My son and I will have one more interest in common now, as after spending time researching smoker models I became quite a smoking enthusiast myself, and ended up ordering two from Amazon, one for him & one for me!