Favorite Smoker

[dbHunterNY]

I'm sure it's been asked here, but what's your favorite smoker (plug-in).  Pro and cons?  I've been thinking if I should get one.  Charcoal smoker seems to be a PITA to maintain temp versus a plug-in electric one I need to baby sit less.

[tuckersdaddy]

just my opinion... yes wood (charcoal) fired smokers are a pita to maintain temp but thats where all the flavor comes from. if your get an electric might as well use your oven. i have a direct heat (which i use charcoal) and an offset which i use wood. yep its an all day affair to fire them up but hey its makes the end result more rewarding.

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[Napping in the woods]

I have a Smokey Mountain propane smoker; 5 racks and sausage hooks; you can find them for about $250. Once I dial in the temp and get the food in, it's pretty steady; gets a bit more challenging when temps drop and wind picks up.  wood chip box and water pan drawers are great and I generally only need to add chips once every 3-4 hours.  I love it, when combined with a remote thermometer.  We have an igrill which runs, via bluetooth, into my phone (it was a gift), but I prefer the set from cabela's that has a base and a dedicated receiver.

I'm not a fan of the electric units, but I know folks that swear by them. 

Smoking food is a commitment, I tend to grab a six or twelve pack (depending on what I'm smoking) and plan to sit in a camp chair or on the couch all day.  LOVE IT...and the wife, baby and dog all encourage it!  

Oh, smoked turkey on Thanksgiving is awesome!  You don't stuff them so it only takes 3-4 hours and leaves the oven open for the wife and guests to cook/heat up all the sides; I get brownie points because of this little nugget which usually get used up the by the weekend for hunting purposes, of course.

Buy one!! Smoked venison backstraps are incredible...melts in your mouth better than an M&M!

[DirtTime]

I asked something like this a few months ago. I will not buy an electric, to many reviews of ( as said ) not getting a true 'smoked' flavor. I have used my propane grill to smoke a few things, a beef roast, some chicken, and even some pork chops. It was a process, but, worth it as I did get to maintain the true flavor. I used a couple tin pans from the dollar store to cook the meat and to hold the wood. Don't even remember what wood chips I bought.

I did learn one thing, make sure you turn off the grill when you are done. When I did the beef roast, I forgot to turn off the grill. 4 hours later, the g/f took the dog out and notices a blue flame coming from the grill. She turned it off. She still busts my chops about that one.

 

I have not tried ribs yet to smoke on propane. But, seeing when I do ribs fully on even the propane, they are done low and slow on the indirect heat side of the grill. Next Spring/Summer I am going to try using a tin pan with some cherry wood chips over the low burning side of the grill.

Edited October 26, 2016 by ....rob

[tuckersdaddy]

once again just my opinion... propane is very clean burning. you end up with Co2 and water, a very moist heat, with the exception of the chemical they use as an oder identifier... both of which can impart there own forces on the meat. There is a differance with burgers cooked on my gas grill vs. my charcoal. on a rushed dinner night you cant beat the propane but the taste off the charcoal is different (better in my opinion). With my smokers i rarely use the water box, it seems to poach the meat rather then dry cook it, plus it has a tendancy to grey the meat. Its cool your experimenting with what you have. This time of year you can pick up a direct heat vertical smoker (looks like r2d2) from 50 to 100 bucks, and will take you to a whole nother world of smoking, like fish preserves or smoked mac and cheese, both of which like a dry heat.

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[river]

Chargriller Acorn lump charcoal I love this thing!!!

[turkeyfeathers]

I have a Masterforge that looks like the Weber green egg I got for Father's Day a bunch of years ago. It costs about $60 and the Weber almost identical is $300.

Maintaining a temp is not difficult at all. One full chimney of charcoal gets me 200-225 almost every time if I got the coals going properly before dumping them in the smoker. I shovel around it in the winter and use it almost every week of the year. Wind, rain, cold doesn't matter. You can't over smoke anything and smoker doesn't need to be watched at all.

I'm either smoking wings or beer can chicken tomorrow or Friday

Go charcoal and not electric IMO.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

On 10/27/2016 at 0:52 PM, tuckersdaddy said:

 With my smokers i rarely use the water box, it seems to poach the meat rather then dry cook it, plus it has a tendancy to grey the meat. Its cool your experimenting with what you have. 

I have never had a problem with the graying of the meat once i maintained at least 4" between the  water bath and meat. I use the bath on meats that i want to be very juicy like a turkey or roast. It also is a great collector for soup stock. When I do a Turkey i put in celery, onions, carrots and spices. I switch out my normal oval pan for an aluminum throw away one and leave about a 2" gap to the smoker sides around it. It catches all the drippings in the water and once cooled it actually gels and needs to be cut by 50-75% with water to make the stock for the carcass to go in for the soup.