Electric smokers

[WNYBuckHunter]

Last year my electric cabinet smoker gave up the ghost after quite a few years of use. Now it’s time to find a replacement, and I wanted to see if anyone on here had ideas about what’s out there now. I’m figuring that I’ll stay with electric, as I’ve had good results with my old one, and I’d like it to be as large of a capacity as I can. I would love to be able to fit full racks of ribs and briskets in it. Built in temperature probes would be great, but aren’t completely necessary. 
 

What do you all use and recommend?

[bruno1]

I have a Pitboss 820 Pro and does everything you asked. I have a few buddies that have the Pitboss Austin XL and love them. I believe both run right around $400

[CharlieNY]

I bought this Char Broil electric a few years ago and it does a great job. If it ever dies on me I will buy another one. Friends and family love the smoked wild game I have done in it.    valoroutdoors.com.  https://www.charbroil.com/analog-electric-smoker-18202077

Edited November 23, 2022 by CharlieNY

[wolc123]

My father in law has had this pitboss pro series a couple years and he likes it.  It’s easy to use and has been trouble free.  He’s done a few racks of ribs, when we were up there, and they turned out great.

 

[SuperMag]

What's your budget? I have two green mountain pellet smokers and absolutely love them. One is the size of a normal grill, and the other one is a small portable. I have nothing but good to say about the bigger one, i use it a couple times per week. I just bought the small one last week and have yet to use it. I got the smaller one so i can bring it back and forth to camp and i figured it would be easier to use in the winter months. If you look into them the two models i have are the Daniel Boone and Trek. Both are wifi compatible so you can control the smoker from your phone if you want. They're running a black Friday sale on them right now.

[WNYBuckHunter]

2 hours ago, SuperMag said:

What's your budget? I have two green mountain pellet smokers and absolutely love them. One is the size of a normal grill, and the other one is a small portable. I have nothing but good to say about the bigger one, i use it a couple times per week. I just bought the small one last week and have yet to use it. I got the smaller one so i can bring it back and forth to camp and i figured it would be easier to use in the winter months. If you look into them the two models i have are the Daniel Boone and Trek. Both are wifi compatible so you can control the smoker from your phone if you want. They're running a black Friday sale on them right now.

I’d like to stay around 300, 400 would be my max. I already have 2 grills (gas and charcoal) so I’m not looking for another grill. I want a set it and forget it type smoker, I don’t have time to babysit one. My old one was a Cajun Injector brand, which I think was a rebranded Masterbuilt, and it did great for me. The only thing I didn’t like was that it wasn’t wide enough to do a full rack of ribs without cutting it in half. 

[moog5050]

I have the30” masterbuilt.   Works fine and does the job.   Less than $300.  

[chrisw]

I also have the 30" masterbuilt. It works good, I had to replace the heating element once but it's a decent smoker, I believe I got it on sale for $180. Hard to go wrong for that price.

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[knehrke]

x2 - x3 since Chris just posted at the same time as me lol - on the Masterbuilt. I believe that modern pellet smokers are also set and forget, but don't own one.

Edited November 24, 2022 by knehrke

[SuperMag]

16 hours ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

I’d like to stay around 300, 400 would be my max. I already have 2 grills (gas and charcoal) so I’m not looking for another grill. I want a set it and forget it type smoker, I don’t have time to babysit one. My old one was a Cajun Injector brand, which I think was a rebranded Masterbuilt, and it did great for me. The only thing I didn’t like was that it wasn’t wide enough to do a full rack of ribs without cutting it in half. 

They don't get much more set it and forget it than these. It is a smoker, but can go all the way to 550 degrees if you want. The small one is $350 right now.

[Robby]

https://pitbarrel.us.com

Probably not what your looking for but it is so simple and easy we don't even use our electric smoker anymore. My wife and I both believe the food tastes fresher and cleaner.

Robby

[airedale]

Still smoking fish in my old stone age "Little Chief" which it seems I have had forever, it has held up well.

Al

[SuperMag]

Just used my new one for the first time tonight. Obviously not where I took this picture though!


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[Wildcat]

On 11/23/2022 at 10:12 PM, moog5050 said:

I have the30” masterbuilt.   Works fine and does the job.   Less than $300.  

Do you have any problem with it getting to 225 when it is below 35 degrees out? I have a similar one and love it but have given up trying to use it in the winter..

[Bolt action]

I had a Bradley Original electric smoker. Won it in a raffle a few years back. It was the style that used the wood pucks that would feed in to create the smoke. It worked great sometimes. But if the outside temp dropped below 75ish, it had a hard time maintaining a proper cooking temp. I've since moved on to a Pitboss vertical smoker. The control panel is electric, but it feeds pellets in for heat and smoke. I love it. I've had no trouble getting to temp and holding it even in poor weather. 

[SuperMag]

I’m not too familiar with the tower smokers, but for the guys who are having issues with keeping temps in cold weather, see if they make a winter blanket for your model. I’ve got one I put on my smoker for the winter and it holds temps very steady and lowers pellet consumption. If they don’t make one for the smoker you have, a welding blanket works just as good.


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[Wildcat]

23 minutes ago, SuperMag said:

I’m not too familiar with the tower smokers, but for the guys who are having issues with keeping temps in cold weather, see if they make a winter blanket for your model. I’ve got one I put on my smoker for the winter and it holds temps very steady and lowers pellet consumption. If they don’t make one for the smoker you have, a welding blanket works just as good.


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I was almost thinking about getting a blanket that would be used to wrap a hot water tank and cutting it down to size..   I will give it a try

[moog5050]

16 hours ago, Wildcat said:

Do you have any problem with it getting to 225 when it is below 35 degrees out? I have a similar one and love it but have given up trying to use it in the winter..

Honestly no idea - I am not likely using it when it drops to 35 out.

[SuperMag]

I was almost thinking about getting a blanket that would be used to wrap a hot water tank and cutting it down to size..   I will give it a try

That’s not a bad idea. The blanket doesn’t have to be form fit to the smoker to work, all you really need to do is drape it over it. It makes a world of difference. Before I bought the blanket that is made specifically for my smoker I went to harbor freight and bought the cheapest welding blanket they had. It worked really well. This is the blanket I have on my bigger smoker now. I like that it has grommets that the handle bolts through so I can just leave it on.


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[bruno1]

I’ve used a welders blanket many of times to maintain temps during the winter

[WNYBuckHunter]

On 11/28/2022 at 9:58 PM, Bolt action said:

I had a Bradley Original electric smoker. Won it in a raffle a few years back. It was the style that used the wood pucks that would feed in to create the smoke. It worked great sometimes. But if the outside temp dropped below 75ish, it had a hard time maintaining a proper cooking temp. I've since moved on to a Pitboss vertical smoker. The control panel is electric, but it feeds pellets in for heat and smoke. I love it. I've had no trouble getting to temp and holding it even in poor weather. 

The uninsulated ones are a pain in cold weather. Thats when i usually do the majority of my smoking though lol. 

[WNYBuckHunter]

My girlfriend bought me a smoker for Christmas. She noticed I was looking at the Masterbuilts and got me the 40” one. This thing is huge! I’m gonna clean and season it tomorrow, then I’ll break it in smoking a prime rib on New Years. Venison snack sticks will be happening soon!

 

[knehrke]

Very nice! You will notice that if you're trying to smoke fish at 180F, you may need to use a small torch to get the chips started burning - but at 225F, it should rock. 

[fasteddie]

I have the MasterBuilt Elite electric and it works fine . Due to me not getting around too well I didn't use it this past summer . I put it on 3"thick patio blocks in case it rains and have a cover for it .After talking to my neighbor , I went with Electric . My neighbor was doing ribs on his propane smoker and when he went out to check , he discovered he had run out of propane and didn't know how long the flame had been out . He borrowed my electric smoker to finish up . 

[WNYBuckHunter]

Yesterday I broke it in by smoking a prime rib, shrimp and smoked baked potatoes. Everything turned out great!