I was mulling over trying to McGuiver a smoker out of my fire pit. The biggest problem is controlling the burn because it would be hard to control air ingress. I was thinking I could arrange charcoal brickets in a snake pattern so the burn is controlled by the diameter of the row. But it's kind of a silly idea given the irregularity of briquettes.

Some people just put coal into a pit and burry the whole thing, and that works, so there is some hope I think.

Pellet cooker/smoker is almost set it and forget it.

That's the point. I can go buy a smoked brisket down the street, that is even less hassle.

Some things only make sense when they bring you an experience. If the char broils are shit then make it better. Or fix the old one. Buy some stainless and rivet yourself a better one.

It will make you think about design, function, mechanics. Controlling the details makes you take everything in. Monitoring the cooking, the temperature, the moisture, the smells... it's an art.

It is no longer economical to buy the cheap cut of meat and BBQ it because they are now so popular that the price is the same as a better cut. The only point now is the art of it.

Maybe that meant something to you once, and now you are just going through the motions by force of habit.