Best smoker?

L

limblips

Well-Known Member
PREMO Member
Larry Gude said:
Recommendations?

Electric? Gas? Charcoal?

Brand name? Features?

:yum:
Click to expand...

Larry, I have had all 3. Each has it's own pros and cons.

Electric: Good heat control
Minimal mess
Minimal tending
Lacking in flavor (IMO)

Gas: Best heat control
Not much mess
Minimal tending
Decent flavor if used with good wood chunks (not chips)
Propane is getting pricey

Charcoal: Great flavor (the best)
Usually lower cost
Temperature control is a *****
Messy
Taste can be off if you use charcoal lighter fluid (Use a starter chimney instead)

Overall gas gets my vote but any of them can do great things. There are a ton of reviews and recipes online. I bought my current smoker (gas) from Cabelas, a bit pricey at slightly over $300 but it is well built and troublefree after almost 5 years of heavy use.

These are only my opinions forumites so no flaming me!
 
sparkyaclown

sparkyaclown

Active Member
Personally. hands down charcoal wins. You're not going to get the flavor out of the other options that you get from charcoal. I'd go for one with an offset firebox made from a pretty heavy gauge of steel. Avoid the bullet ones, they usually are pretty thin sheet metal and don't do well in colder temperatures. I can smoke year round in the Char-Broil one I got several years ago. Some of the offset smokers even have options to add a propane charcoal starter so there is no need for lighter fluid or a chimney. Mine has this option and I really like it. You just hook a tank up and fire the starter up for a couple of minutes then turn it off and disconnect it. As limblips stated temperature can be a pain, but after you've used it a few times you learn how to easily maintain yours. I would suggest pairing it with a Maverick ET-73 wireless thermometer to help maintain temperature without having to constantly babysit it. Also if you use hard lump charcoal, the mess is minimal as it produces substantially less ash than conventional briquets. It's a little more work than the others but in the end you get a better pay off.

I've also hear Big Green Eggs make great smokers but I don't have any experience with those as of yet.
 
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desertrat

desertrat

0_0
Larry Gude said:
Recommendations?

Electric? Gas? Charcoal?

Brand name? Features?

:yum:
Click to expand...

Gas worked best for me. I think a window would be nice, an external temp gauge with a probe that goes in the meat too. Some have timers which might be useful. Some auto feed pellets and control the amount of smoke. I think the last two are a bit much and take some of the "hands on" off of it, which is part of the fun. As far as brand, no recommendations there. Masterbuilt? They are in Cabellas.
 
Chris0nllyn

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
SMOKER OF THE YEAR! :diva:

Larry, be extravagant and pop the money for a Big Green Egg. This is the one I drool over and covet. It is a smoker, but it will also replace your dilapidated grill. At least go look at them.
 
Pete

Pete

Repete
My electric which was given to me by Christy kicked the bucket last weekend in the middle of a smoked turkey. I had to improvise with my Webber to finish it off.
 
itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
sparkyaclown said:
I've also hear Big Green Eggs make great smokers but I don't have any experience with those as of yet.
Click to expand...

Watched Alton Brown make one on his show, made it out of oversized Terra Cotta flower pots (like ones you'd plant small bushes in)..

Took a hot plate burner put it in the bottom of the flower pot, covered the pot with another terra cotta pot and fixed a thermometer to the drain hole on the top pot.

Can't remember is he used the electric burner for heat or for a starter for the charcoal, I think heat (and smoke) as I remember him mentioning temp control with the electric.
 
ylexot

ylexot

Super Genius
itsbob said:
Watched Alton Brown make one on his show, made it out of oversized Terra Cotta flower pots (like ones you'd plant small bushes in)..

Took a hot plate burner put it in the bottom of the flower pot, covered the pot with another terra cotta pot and fixed a thermometer to the drain hole on the top pot.

Can't remember is he used the electric burner for heat or for a starter for the charcoal, I think heat (and smoke) as I remember him mentioning temp control with the electric.
Click to expand...

Yes, he used the electric for heat. He also put a pie tin on it with soaked wood chips for the smoke. I've thought about building one, but picked up an electric smoker for $15 at a yard sale this summer. It works. I'd like to put together a PID temperature controller for it though.

BTW, the comment about gas being the best for temperature control surprises me. A good temperature controller on an electric should be unbeatable.
 
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desertrat

desertrat

0_0
ylexot said:
Yes, he used the electric for heat. He also put a pie tin on it with soaked wood chips for the smoke. I've thought about building one, but picked up an electric smoker for $15 at a yard sale this summer. It works. I'd like to put together a PID temperature controller for it though.

BTW, the comment about gas being the best for temperature control surprises me. A good temperature controller on an electric should be unbeatable.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but all you need to control the temp on gas is the thermometer and the valve.
 
sparkyaclown

sparkyaclown

Active Member
vraiblonde said:
SMOKER OF THE YEAR! :diva:

Larry, be extravagant and pop the money for a Big Green Egg. This is the one I drool over and covet. It is a smoker, but it will also replace your dilapidated grill. At least go look at them.
Click to expand...
:yay:


I actually just picked a large one of these up Monday to replace my grill but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I'll try it out as a smoker once I pick up a plate setter for it. The only drawback I see as a smoker is capacity. My smoker has probably more than double the capacity of the egg, which for most of my smoking is sufficient, but there are those times when I'm doing multiple things that the egg isn't going to cut it. The XL Egg would've probably been able to handle the full capacity I have ever needed. However, given that it would've lived in the garage I didn't want to wrestle that beast in and out every time I was grilling or smoking (which ends up being at least once a week on average). It is pricey, but it does have a lifetime warranty.
 
Larry Gude

Larry Gude

Strung Out
vraiblonde said:
SMOKER OF THE YEAR! :diva:

Larry, be extravagant and pop the money for a Big Green Egg. This is the one I drool over and covet. It is a smoker, but it will also replace your dilapidated grill. At least go look at them.
Click to expand...

Have you used one or know of someone who has? They do sound like THE way to go.
 
sparkyaclown

sparkyaclown

Active Member
Larry Gude said:
Have you used one or know of someone who has? They do sound like THE way to go.
Click to expand...

While I won't have a final verdict on smoking with it, I can post an update on temperature control as soon as I use mine, which will be possibly tomorrow. I've seen quite a few youtube videos of people smoking with them though and I would guess the flavor would be on par with other charcoal smokers.
 
sparkyaclown

sparkyaclown

Active Member
Cranked up the Big Green Egg a couple of times this past weekend and have been pretty impressed. Temperature was super easy to control and start up was somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 minutes from lighting it to ready to cook. I could definitely see the potential in it as a smoker. Did a spatchcocked chicken on it last night and it turned out perfect. Actually got better results than I ever did on the gas grill.
 
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