* Smoker *

Dutchman · Mar 20, 2014

Wondering how many of you have a " smoker " ?
I'm thinking of getting a smaller one , and was wondering . What should I look at / for in a smoker ??
Should I look at electric , charcoal , gas or one that's charcoal & gas combine ..
I think I would like one that has a door for the bottom where the water and chips are and another door for the meat { top } what's your opinion ??
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Is it true a fruit or nut tree makes the wood for chips ...??
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THANKS for any advice , your willing to share...
... mark

supergrumpy · Mar 20, 2014

23C

ask Tony

Anonymous-0 · Mar 20, 2014

I have an ECB...an "El Cheapo" Brinkmann charcoal smoker.

It works...but it's hard to maintain temperatures, because you can't regulate the intake air. My advice is to step up to something that has some sort of intake air control...and a REAL temperature gauge, instead of a guessing gauge.

Better advice is available here:
The Smoke Ring forums

Anonymous-0 · Mar 20, 2014

I have 2--a charcoal water smoker--Brinkman brand that i use for turkeys and ribs. I also have a propane water smoker--Grillpro brand that I use mostly for fish and some roasts. Like them both but the brinkman would be less cost to start with. As far as wood, any hardwood will work. I use oak, maple, hickory, apple, and pecan--and of all things for fish I use some clean corn cobs--with the corn shelled off of course.

Anonymous-0 · Mar 20, 2014

cant beat smokin with fruit wood - my op. Thisis my smoker (sil is grillin)firebox down to the left.

meanmtn · Mar 20, 2014

I have a weber "bullet" easy to use and the best $275.00 I ever spent.

PeterE · Mar 20, 2014

I have a Weber Smokey Mountain and have been very happy with it. It is charcoal. There is a good internet community around it, which was a great help to me because I had no experience with barbeque (other than eating it).
Weber smoker

Ron Anderson · Mar 20, 2014

I have had all three and like a gas one because you can compensate for cold weather. The electric ones are fine until it gets cold then they loose a lot of heat to the point you have to finish the meat in a oven. Normally the meat will get enough smoke in the first couple hours but it depends on how people like the meat.
Charcoal is ok but once again you need to add charcoal so make sure you have room to do that. Apple wood or most fruit trees work well. You can get Mesquite which has a distinct flavor. Also some meats need brine or inject with flavoring.
Some people even use corn cobs.
I prefer steam smoking as it doesn't dry the meat out and you can add the left over brine to the water and add flavor that way.

donjr · Mar 20, 2014

We had a smoker once. Did it in the neighbor's garage. Things were OK until the neighbors wife and her girlfriend walked into the garage. Couple of gasps and a shriek or two and we were banned from going over there to play anymore......

dahlin · Mar 20, 2014

We have a Bradley Smoker and have made venison summer sausage and smoked fish. We like it a lot. I started out smoking in an old refrigerator with an electric hot plate. It worked well for smoking suckers and red horse in the spring. For smoking sausage where you need to control your temperature it was difficult. That's where the Bradley works well, you can make a quality sausage. The down side is you need to use the Bradley wood biscuits and that can get expensive, but there a lot of different woods. They all will work if you practice but some are easier to use. We have smoked in the winter with my Bradley but not when it is 20 below.

retired farmer · Mar 20, 2014

Looks like you might be overwatering your grass a little.

da.bees · Mar 20, 2014

Which is best might be different for you but I burn wood excclusivly on a simple smoker I built using the desighn similar to the Weber Smoky Mountain. Each type has advantages and draw backs. Propane is quick to get started,electric requires little to no experience,charcoal offers consistancy in the way it burns when compared to wood,wood alows experimenting with wood you run across( I am excited about trying some large grape vines I cut recently). Wood is hands on until you learn your pit but offers sense of acomplishment once mastered. Check out that link someone posted to Smoke Ring for a bunch of insite to the subject.

Rick Kr · Mar 20, 2014

After years of smoking with my buddy and using his wood smoker. He talked me into a propane smoker.

I fill the cast iron chip box, light the propane on low (in the summer) and walk away. It will go 5 hours with touching nothing. Maintains 175-180F. In the winter I can turn it up to medium depending on outside temperature. Chip box will last 3 hours or so. Which is plenty of smoke flavor.

I bought the biggest one from Gander Mountain. Was $180 on sale normal $220.

Very happy with it.

Rick

Steve@Advance · Mar 20, 2014

http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608039190189704807&w=263&h=188&c=7&rs=1&pid=1.7

Gathering materials to build one like this.

Always been a wood purest myself, oak, pecan or mesquite. No water, gas or electric, just smoke from a separate firebox.

Chuck (CA) · Mar 20, 2014

My kids bought me a Traeger when I turned 64 and I love it. You fill the box with wood pellets and set the temp. An auger feeds the pellets as needed and maintains a very constant temperature. But, since the heat is indirect, like most smokers, It's not good for burgers or steaks. (No searing). Then, when I retired, my boss gave me a Big Green Egg, which uses lump oak charcoal. I'm still new with it, so I have to finagle a bit with the vents to get the temperature where I want it. It's made out of thick ceramic and I think it adds to the flavor, (less loss thru the walls). It's way more versatile because you can also use it as a grill. Both brands have very loyal followers and there are great forums for both of them.

waltdavies · Mar 20, 2014

Best smoked fish I ever had was from an old frig that my friend used to smoke just about everything. Just remember its not the smoker it's the wood hat you use to smoke with.
Walt

Brent in IA · Mar 21, 2014

I asked this question a few years ago at work and everyone told me to go with wood pellets - I hadn't been happy with my electric smoker and my grill was shot too so I bought the Traeger "Texas" which is one of their larger units, I think around $800 back then. I have since added the "cold smoker" attachment on the end of it so I can smoke hot or cold now. And it is also the best grill I have ever used. I was so impressed that I bought both of my sons a Traeger for Christmas last year. Ours is either grilling, smoking, or making beef jerky 3 days a week year round, even when -20 degrees. Just set the digital dial and go inside the house....

ohiojim · Mar 21, 2014

kornfused,..looks like you should be smoking a gator there in that swamp !!!! but to the point I have a propane smoker and wished I had gotten an electric, I can't smoke outside very good if there is any wind as the fire gets blown out or the temperature can't be regulated very well, but what ever you get make sure the firebox is shielded from the wind

Brent in IA · Mar 21, 2014

I have had my Traeger Texas model for years and grill a couple times a week with it. I actually read the owner's manual when I got it (a first for me...) and it said when grilling you should run it at 450 degrees for the first few minutes when doing steak/burgers and that will sear the outside and then you can dial down to whatever you want for the rest of the time. Works perfect for me everytime I use it. I also found you can do a couple pounds of bacon on it in 15 minutes and not get the whole inside of the house all greased up which is a use for it that my wife is really a fan of - plus you can just throw the bacon on it, set the temp, and come back in 15 minutes and you have perfect flat uniform non-greasy bacon all the way across the grill!

Donald Lehman · Mar 21, 2014

Man you guys make me feel old. We have a real smokehoue here. Can hang several hundred pounds of bacon, hams and sausage in it at one time. I was the one designated to tend the smoke fire. We used maple, ash and oak for the fire and had a big bin full of hardwood sawdust to meter onto the fire to keep the thing making smoke instead of flaring up. Used water to control the fire and keep it smoking, too. Wooden walls and a dirt floor. Usually smoked for a week. Not hard to build and does a great job, but labor intensive and brings a lot of passer-bys off the highway screaming FIRE!, FIRE! Takes a minute or so to calm em down and explain. (smile)

Chuck (CA) · Mar 21, 2014

Brent, I'll try that. Thanks. I gotta say that I can open the vents open on the Egg and in a couple of minutes it's 700 degrees and I got a serious sear going on.
I will try the bacon tomorrow, though. What temp do you set it to?

mkirsch · Mar 21, 2014

I've been seasoning a midsize propane box smoker for at least 4 years now.

Propane is nice because you don't have to sit there and tend the fire the entire time, and you can run it where there isn't any electricity.

Some people say you don't get the same flavor with propane, but the people I cook for say my BBQ is better than what the local BBQ joints put out. Mind you I said *LOCAL* not chain restaurants.

I mainly do briskets, pork shoulders and turkeys. Haven't done ribs yet.

T in NE · Mar 21, 2014

I keep hearing how good a Treager is (never heard of them back east) but I cannot in any way figure out how to come close to justifying dropping 10 Franklins, two McKinley's, or a Cleveland on a grill!

Dean Olson · Mar 21, 2014

I have 3.

A gas grill/smoker that I use for small cuts and general grilling. This is one you can put a small cup of wood chips to get smoke flavor. Works but not my favorite.

A small charcoal or wood smoker/grill that I use for a couple hours at a time for beer but chickens ribs etc. Any cut that will cook in less than a couple hours and still be tender. This works better.

My favorite. A true smoker. 2'x2'x2' fire box welded to a 24"diameter x 4' pipe with dual level racks. This is what I use to smoke briskets,pork shoulder roasts etc. Cuts are typically large and need a lot of cooking time to get tender. I use our native pecan and will smoke 8-14 hours depending on how much meat I put in. This is the best smoke flavor and tenderness. I enjoy the time spent messing with it and can check for tenderness,flavor & moisture. I serve when it's perfect. Most restaurant BBQ is too dry or tough for my taste.

Brent in IA · Mar 22, 2014

I set it on about 250 usually for the bacon and I have the Texas model with the cold smoker on the end which may change the heat pattern....my son's each have the "lil Tex model and they use the same setting so it should be pretty consistent.

I have heard great things about the Green Egg units too...I may have bought one of those if I had heard of them before the Traegers...but I have no complaints at all with my Traeger. I should probably get a commission from them as I have probably sold quite a few by word of mouth

Brent in IA · Mar 22, 2014

I thought the same thing when I first priced them - and a month after I got mine I was telling people I would have paid 2X that amount if I had known how good they were and how easy to use. Never burn meat or have a flare up, digital temp control automatically feeds pellets and holds temp, smells awesome, and stays clean all by itself. Between that and using my own home-raised beef I look like a damn good cook! (Which is priceless on it's own!)

Brent in IA · Mar 22, 2014

Oh yeah...and I was smoking a rolled/netted roast today and two of our kids showed up to do some trap shooting so I cranked it up to 450 for 15 minutes to do 4 ribeyes and then set it back to 160 to finish smoking the roast...can't get any simpler!

VicS · Mar 22, 2014

I built a big one out of a 300 gallon gas tank, Wood fire in 1/3 of baffle then other 2/3 to grill on. Complete with counter balanced lid. Was great if you wanted to spend 10 hrs cooking a whole hog. Not to bad if there was 3 or 4 guys sitting around tending it. My son got a Traeger Grill wood pellet burner. Had ribs from it last weekend. Hard to beat.

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