Looking for smoker

[moneymaker]

Been thinking about getting a smoker for smoking all the meat my wife tends to buy. Here’s my criteria, a window would be nice,30″ minimum,electric(my wife wants this, i could go for propane just as easily),would like to have it by Sunday, American made would be a big plus. Beginner here so don’t really know what else is important, someone says it should go up to 350 degrees for poultry, is that true?

[SD Realtor]

Hmmm.. the smoker we have is not electric. Simply put coal or wood in it to boil the water. It kicks ass but requires a fair amount of attention.

[Rich Toscano]

For electric I used to have a Bradley Smoker. It was cool because you could put these wood pellet things in a feeder, and it kept the temp at a set level, so you didn’t have to tend to it at all.

Downsides:
– It was hard to get it up to temp… when full it would take a long time, and every time you opened the door it would cool down a lot.
– It’s harder to baste (or “mop” in the bbq vernacular) because everything is stacked up.
– It’s not all weather, it needs to be kept out of the rain (even if you use the cover that comes with it). This is why I don’t have it any more.

I switched over to a Big Steel Keg (since it can be both a smoker and a grill) which I love but that’s charcoal and requires more babysitting.

A friend of mine has a simpler one that’s bullet shaped and just has a pan of water in the bottom, and you put wood chips next to the heating elements. That seems to work fine too. Don’t know the brand.

The beauty of smoking is that it is very error tolerant… all kinds of stuff works.

On that note, 350 is not necessary for poultry. Maybe it works fine, but I’ve never gone above 250 for low and slow.

[Hobie]

You are a king if you wife lets you smoke everything!! She will still want to roast stuff when she sees the pink meat from the smoker.

That said. You are the man! You will love the smoker. Can’t miss. I’ve had natural gas, charcoal, wood and my suggestion is charcoal or the side box wood ( larger footprint ). The simple, cheap, 2 pan water smoker ($40) will work is as Rich says, can’t miss. Really. Slow and low is the trick. Add soaked wood chips or blocks of hickory, apple, maple, etc. and you will be living large!

Don’t need the window. Electric will work but use the larger blocks of hickory in between the element to create the smoke.

The one thing is that smoked meat looks like it is not done. ie… the meat is pink. If you put a thermometer in it, it will cook at 170-200 which is perfect.

Really can’t overcook with a water smoker. When you want to get fancy, go with the side box burner to create smoke.. they call it cold smoking. This how you do cheese. Either way, you really can miss.

Try a whole turkey. Full pan of charcoal, 12-14lb turkey about 4-6 hours and you are golden. Remember to add a little water and extra charcoal after a few hours. Other than that, you don’t need much seasonings or marinade as the smoker does it for you.

Give us a full report. You will become addicted. It really is fun and very easy. Oh, and spray the grades with cooking oil to make cleanup easier.

[moneymaker]

Just bought an 40″ electric (with window)today. Seasoned it tonight and am ready to go in the morning. I’m pretty sure I can do ribs, it’s the chicken I’m not so confident about. Anyway the thing is really cool looking even though the reviews are mixed. Got some ranchers reserve baby back beef ribs at Vons for a smoking price! Not sure why meats are so cheap when on sale but I’m going to take advantage.P.S.-it is made in China and goes up to 275 degrees.

[desmond]

I like to first cook poultry and meats in the oven on low for a period of time and then when the smoker is blasting finish cooking and smoking. If your cooking beef ribs, that tend to be tuff, put them first in in a tray with beef broth at the bottom cover with foil and then in the oven on low before smoking. Season before putting them in the oven then if you like sauce do that in the smoker.

[Rich Toscano]

Tsk tsk… that’s cheating.

[desmond]

[quote=Rich Toscano]Tsk tsk… that’s cheating.[/quote]

I have found out that I can put more attention to drinking beer cooking this way……….oh yea and spending time with the wife…….

[Rich Toscano]

Probably a wise strategy… 😉

[desmond]

Okay you can call me the short cut smoker. I smoked a Farmer John Spiral Cut pre-cooked ham yesterday for around 5 hours. So today, I just put it in the oven to get the temp up and it will be used for sandwiches. I have some Tyson Cooked Frozen Buffalo Wings, I’ll put them in the smoker for an hour or two. I can then spend time on the Kona Brewing Co. Variety Pack I have on ice. Have a great and safe Memorial Day/Weekend and I will have a couple cold ones to all the real smokers!

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