A friend of mine is asking me for a suggestion on an electric smoker. I know nothing about them. I read the reviews on AR site. But looking for some suggestions from you guys. His appeal is set it and forget it, low maintenance, etc. he is going to use it to smoke a turkey, and will see if he likes smoking enough to try out more meats.
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Head him towards a pellet-pooperl -
... but if for some reason a pellet pooper isn't an option, then steer him toward the reviews on the free part of the amazingribs.com site. For instance, I've had one of these ( https://amazingribs.com/smoker/old-s...-smoker-review ) for many years and, although it can't come very close to what pellets, charcoal, or wood can do, it still cranked out some pretty tasty food when I was still actively using it (and you can't argue with the price).Comment
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There are a ton of options. First question: How much does he want to spend. He could get away with a value model at around $100, which may more may not work for very long. Or you can go in the other direction and look at something awesome like the Smokin' Tex, which is about $700.
My point is there are electric smokers at pretty much any price range. Find out how much he wants to spend, and we can dial this in for you.
I started on a Brinkmann Electric smoker. I would not say I was impressed with it. Needless to say, I was pumped when I got a serious upgrade. If I were you, I would do what EdF suggested and look at pellet smokers. Better flavor, more versatile and more fun.Comment
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I have an electric smoker, but was never satisfied with the flavor. It hasn't been used since I bought a Slow N Sear for the Weber kettle.Comment
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CampChef PG24DLX looks like a winner and is $499 on Amazon. He is leaning towards that based on my recommendation of AR review and some quick research based on my current smoking knowledge.Comment
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Tell him to reconsider. I had an electric smoker. Still have it actually. It is ok for pulled pork and actually not bad for fish. But for poultry it is........admittedly not great. It doesn't get hot enough to crisp the skin.
electric is better than nothing. And like I said the dry heat it can achieve is good for jerky. I made some good smoked fish in it, as well as pulled pork.
Bit my charcoal cooker beats it in all regards. It really is just as "set and forget" with the cybercue.
If that is beyond the budget a kettle with a slow and sear and controller may fit better. Otherwise a pellet smoker is a good easy to use option.Comment
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I have a L'il Harry electric, bought over 15 years ago from a place in Wisconsin. It's about 4' tall and 18" deep and wide. I still use it, at least once a month, but for very specific applications where temperature control in the lower range is critical.It has a 2 stage 115V burner, that is underpowered for the size of the smoker. If I try to use it for temps over 180, the burner never shuts off, which is why I've rewired and replaced the burner 8 times in 15 years at $60 a pop. Some of the reason is that in addition to smoking, I'm also dehydrating the meat, with upper and lower dampers wide open to maximize airflow, but giving up heat retention. This causes the casings to crisp up, turn that nice mahogany color that gives you that "snap" when you bite them. Otherwise, all you'll get is rubbery casings, in pale gray and not very appetizing.I use it to smoke sausage (Andouille, Kielbasa (20 lbs max)) where the max smoker ambient is around 180. I smoke for about 3-5 hours for color and temp to about 130, then add a pan of water to steam finish to a safe 152 degrees. I also smoke salmon (15 lbs cut up max), at 120-135 (need to replace my thermostat) for 10-12 hours. I finish by feel, not temp on fish. The only other things I'll smoke is jerky (venison my favorite), and salt. In all applications, smoke is generated using a stainless dog bowl, filled with moistened hickory sawdust and placed atop the burner. In the past, I have successfully smoked pork (18-24 hours) and ribs (6-8 hours), but again, the smoker at 225 never shuts off. All other smoking is done on my Yoder YS640.Comment
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I have an electric smoker as my only apparatus right now. I liked it for about the first two cooks. Then I realized what my limitations were. Please, try to steer him in another direction. I will be purchasing a new smoker after the first of the year to replace my electric one. I would listen to EdF and have him look at a pellet machine.Comment
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I bought a Masterbuilt 40 inch last January. Don't like the 275 F limit on cooking and I don't expect to get a lot of flavor out of what I smoke. It is really handy as a food dryer and keeping things warm for a big event. It smokes peppers and dries them really well. I like that it can be used when snow is flying. If I want flavor, however, I go with wood.Comment
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Chicken is pretty decent, but at 275 F the skin turns out leathery and your only alternative is to "pull" the chicken and make sandwiches. I've finished off racks of ribs in there when it was too cold to use my off set. The tenderness was spot on, and the texture was there, but seriously lacking smoke flavor. I did some corned beef pastrami in there last March and no one complained about that.
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He got the campchef PG24DLX. I’m going to his house this weekend to help him learn how to use it before Thanksgiving. Will be practicing with spatchcocked chickens.Comment
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That's a cool looking pellet smoker! You guys enjoy that! I have a buddy who recently got a Traeger and he smoked five days in a row. He's really happy with his purchase. -
Great choice. My electric smoker never got hot enough for skin on poultry. If I didn’t blast the chicken or turkey in the oven (broiler setting) the skin was just mushy and not good. Like chewing fat.
But with a pellet grill you can get hot enough to crisp skin.
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I got a basic Masterbuilt years ago that was on sale on QVC. It's the only time I've ever bought anything from tv, lol. I had been asked to do the meat for a wedding rehearsal and it was before I had the arsenal I have now. It hasn't been used in years and is sitting in the garage. I will agree with others here about poultry: not so hot. Pulled pork: ok. Smoked bologna: ok. I actually used it more for sides like mac n cheese and such. The tray/box does ok but not great with the smoke from the wood chips. If he wants set it and forget it, I'd tell him to go with the PBC. I am very impressed with that cooker and have two. It is great for chicken and turkey and does a darn good job with everything else. I can't comment on the pellet machines because I don't have any. As they say, just my two cents.Comment
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I use an electric smoker recently. it was a very great experience. you guys enjoy that! i will surely recommend everyone to use Masterbuilt electric smoker.Comment
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My first smoker was a Cookshack. That’s how I cut my teeth on BBQ and I have fond memories of that smoker. It is manufactured in Oklahoma and is a quality insulated stainless steel smoker, built like a tank. It does a great job of holding the temps you set and has a built-in food thermometer. It actually makes very good pulled pork and ribs, as well as fish. Chicken is good too but you won’t get bite-through skin as max temp on an electric is only 300 degrees (at least on the one I had, which was over 10 years ago). I still prefer BBQ cooked over charcoal and/or wood but if you are in a situation where an electric is all you can get, then you won’t be disappointed with a Cookshack. They are more pricey than other electric smokers but their customer service is second to none and they stand behind their products. Plus, their smokers last a long time. Their forums are excellent too.Comment
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