Question for those who like to smoke stuff

Dani

Dani

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I'm interested in buying a smoker. I LOVE smoked meat. My uncle has an electric smoker, though I need to find out what kind, and he loves it. An outstanding one. My dad has two smokers. One a little charcoal one and a big oil drum smoker that he predominately uses now, and typically just uses wood to keep the heat at what he wants. I like the idea of the ease of setting an electric smoker at the temp I want to smoke at. The tending of the fire doesn't usually bother me though since I do like to play with fire.

But I am at this point more interested in an electric smoker.

So I guess my question is this. The temperature controlled smokers....are they really that much better than the less expensive ones that from what I understand only have one temperature? Is there some temperature control even on the "one temp" smokers like you can have with a charcoal/wood smoker by adding more or less air?

And what are good brands to look for? From my online browsing it seems like the variable temp smokers will be lots more expensive (which I get), but I don't want to look for a cheapo brand that will break down on me shortly after dropping money on it.

It may be that I'll decide to go the route of a charcoal smoker until I have the funds for an electric smoker that I want....but I'd like to have some idea on what to keep an eye out for on craigslist and sales just in case I stumble across a great deal.

Thanks a lot in advance

Dani
 
Dang Dani, you posted this before I got the chance. You probably proposed it a little more eloquently than I would have anyway. I too love smoke cured meats and cheese's, and I am interested and would like to buy one soon.


I'll be watching this thread too.


Thanks!


Jon
 
I have the Little Cheif electric smoker, I'm happy with the results I get. You can't vary the heat , what I do is smoke when its cooler out, either at night or cooler temps
 
Dani, I have a Cabelas electric smoker and it does a great job. Haven't used it this year but the last venison shoulder that I smoked didn't hardly make it around the table of non venison eaters. I picked up an electric one from the sidewalk estate of an older gentleman that you could have, when do you plan to come to Minnesota? It should get above zero in a month or two. ;-)). One thing I had to add that won't affect you is a jacket for smoking in the winter so it doesn't take days. Whatever you end up with it is another fun part of the outdoor life. I was going to respond with a cigar recommendation.
 
My son smokes quite a bit so I called him. The electric ones are less work. You set the desired temp and wood chips or pellets add meat and come back eight hours later. He uses a Weber Smokey mountain with charcoal which requires more time checking temp and making temp adjustments with the vent. He likes the extra level of flavor that the charcoal adds and having more input into the finished product over an electric model.


Tom.
 
Dani,

Go see Stump from Stumps Smokers in Georgia. Tell him you want a Baby. You will not be disappointed! :) LOL!

I have one of his larger machines. We use it as a smoker, pizza oven and outdoor oven.

Todd
 
Dani, I have a masterchef electric with the digital temp control. I think I paid 150.00 from Cabelas. The digital controller didn't like our cold weather extreme's in the mountains so I just didn't install it to the cabinet. I disconnect it in between uses. I like not having to open the door to check the internal temp of my shoulders and the insulated box makes it usable all winter
 
I have a Cook Shack smoker that I really like. I would start out with a smaller electric or charcoal unit and get the process down. Buy a good book on smoking and experiment. I use alot of different brines [dry and wet] and different woods. Start with small batches and see what your prefer. I find that when I do large batches I give more away.
I use a vacuum sealer to store refrigerated and frozen product, wife doesn't like smoky milk, veggies etc... For wood I go out in the woods and cut a few large limbs and cut them up small, put them in boxes and store in a milk crate [labeled] for future use. Fresh wood can produce a bitter taste. Just soak for a few hours before use.
Try amazon for books. Keep a book on woods, temps, outside temp, brines etc. If you find a good recipe you can reproduce it.
Have fun doing it. My wife helps alot. If you have a extra refrig in the garage, it helps for brine, drying and storage....
 
I have the Bradley 4 rack electric with digital readout. It is the best investment I ever made. I have yet to make anything that didn't come out near perfect. I love the way I can mix the different woods and get hints of several on the same meat, fish or cheese. I recommend 100%
 
I have a Cookshack Amerique. It's electric with timer and probe feature. It goes into a hold temp when the probe reaches temp or the cook time is up. I smoke salmon, pork butts, almonds, chicken and turkeys, and venison jerky this winter.
Cookshack has great service....even replaced my unit with a new one when off warranty. Great website forums and customer service to help with questions and recipes. it isn't cheap...and I call it my glorified oven, but it works great.
The Green Egg smoker has a following. Good luck researching and smoking up some great food.
Louie.
 
My brother in law smokes a lot, he has been very pleased with how easy it became once he got a Bradley Smoker like Blaine described. It does seem to take a little of the art out of smoking but stuff tastes fine out of it.

Tim
 
I'll echo the Bradley recommendations. I absolutely love mine and couldn't imagine getting any better results with anything else and it is very easy to learn and use.
 
I'll add a different twist to this-I personally really like to cold smoke red meats and you can't to that with most smaller smokers so I built my own! I use a single propane burner in the bottom and use apple or hickory logs to smoke everything with. Smokers really aren't complicated and if you are willing to experiment a bit it's really easy to build your own.
 
I am on my 4th type of smoker. All have their pluses and minuses.

First one is what is commonly referred to an "ECB" or El cheap Brinkman. Don't waste anytime on this. It requires many modifications to make it work halfway right and even then it just doesn't cut it. Plus is that it is cheap, there are many minuses.

I then graduated to a Weber Smokey Mountain. This was night and day in quality and usability. Once you learn how to adjust the heat and maintain it, there is not an easier to use charcoal smoker. Having a water bowl inside helps to hide smoking mistakes. This smoker also makes some very very good BBQ. Many teams use this smoker in competitions. Can be had new for $299 I believe. They make 2 sizes, I'd go with the bigger. There is a great website called the Virtual Weber Smokey Mountain or something like that that is very informative on how this smoker works and many tricks and tips. Pluses are that it is an easy to use charcoal smoker that puts out really great BBQ. Minues is that there are pricy compared to the ECB and they require more work than a propane or electric smoker. They are also a pain to move around and to clean.

I then bought a side box wood smoker. Made great smoked food but was more work than I was into . My opinion is that you really have to want to spend the day tending to the smoker if you go this route. Pluses - you can cook lots of food and get really smoked flavor. Minues - too much fiddling with throughout the day to keep temperatures right.

Next I got a Smoke Vault 24" propane smoker. This thing is very easy to use and puts out some good BBQ. I think the flavoring is not the same as using charcoal but it is way easier. Set it and forget about it pretty much. You do have to be aware that there is a common flaw with these Smoke Vaults in that their thermometers may not be accurate out of the box. Pluses - relatively cheap ($200 during sales or online and they do make a smaller 18" model which I think is too small. Males good BBQ, easy t to use - set and forget. Variable temperatures. Minuses - I don't think the smokey flavor is the same as a charcoal smoker. I've only had one summer to play with this so it could just take some more learning.

You ask if having variable temperature control is needed. ABSOLUTELY. Smoking meats requires constant low temperatures to make good BBQ. You want to render the fat and this takes low and slow. To high of heat, the meat is tough, too low and it doesn't cook. A single temp unit, in my opinion, does not do this very well, especially in places like here where we get wild temperature swings. Also wind plays a major roll in the temperature inside the smoker. I don;t know if a single temp unit can adjust to wind of temperature swings in a day.

The other thing, many recipes call for different temperatures. For instance, there are a couple of ways to smoke a brisket - low and slow, and high heat with no water. Both give great results but you have to have a smoker where the temps can be adjusted to be able to do one or the other.

One last thing, invest in a good thermometer. It will make your smoked food, and regular grilled food turn out better. I bought a Thermoworks unit and it has changed the way I cook. I have been over cooking chicken for so long and with the thermometer, I can now pull off the food when it is done properly.

Smoking will become a passion Dani. It really makes some great food.

Mark W
 
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Dani,
You can buy an expensive smoker. But Brinkman makes a great inexpensive charcoal smoker. These do an excellent job and will teach you the basics. Make sure you get one that has a thermometer on it. If you need help let me know.
Frank
 
I have had a basic Brinkman smoker/grill since 1994. First one lasted 15 years, know I use my Dads, who know how old it is???
Works great, just have to keep an eye on the water level and add charcoal.
Only draw back is only one wrack and not much room. Maybe two chickens. A long rack of ribs must be cut.
My neighbor has the basic Brinkman electric. He loves it, load the meat, the water pan & add chips, walk away. Same size drawbacks though.
If I were going charcoal, I would get a side box bq grill/smoker combo. Lots more room and easier to adjust temp by moving the meat or opening/closing vents.
But the basic brinkmans are cheap and will serve you well for a long time too.
 
Thanks a lot for the input guys! I really appreciate it.

Tom.....I'll let you know when I make if up to MN.....and you can bet that it won't be when it's below 0 hahaha....my dad has a wind break that he made from plywood....never thought about needing a jacket for a smoker, but it makes sense when it's frigid outside...

What books do y'all consider "good" for a newbie?
 
I use a regular 22 ½" inch Weber and smoke the heck out of anything. The secret in temperature control with charcoal is using one of two common methods: the Minion method or the "snake method". Of the two, I think the snake method is the easiest to manage To smoke for 5-6 hours at 250 degrees with little attention paid to the smoker, I simply lay out two rows of about 24 coals around the outside edge of the grill. Then another row of two on top of those. Then one row on top of that second row. Then I light about 15 coals in a starter and place them at one end of the "snake". The fire will slowly move around the circumference of the grill at a steady temperature.
Larry
 
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