Smokers (meat)

• justincredible

  

  Anyone out in chatter land do any smoking? I've been wanting to get one for a while but haven't really had the space for one. Now that we're moving soon and have a little more space for stuff like this I'll probably pull the trigger on something in early June. Any recommendations?
  
  I like the reviews I'm seeing for this one:
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-20070910-30-Inch-Electric-Controller/dp/B00104WRCY/
• like_that

  

  My fiancé bought me one of the beginner smokers from brinkman a couple years ago for my bday. I love smoked meat, but overall was not a fan of the smoker she got me. It is very hard to control the temperature and it doesn't come with a thermometer. I am not a fan of propane/electric grills/smokers, so I can't really say much about your link.
  
  I have couple friends who use this one and they love it. https://www.amazon.com/Weber-721001-Mountain-18-Inch-Charcoal/dp/B001I8ZTJ0/ref=sr_1_2?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1493743667&sr=1-2&keywords=weber+smoker
• QuakerOats

  Old-fashioned round Weber smoker - charcoal / water bowl etc... would be nice if it was a little larger because when I go through all the effort I like to smoke a lot of stuff. It all starts with the dry-rubbing the night before and then takes all day the following day: brisket, pork butt, ribs, maybe a chicken etc...... and at the end of the day, after all of that is pulled off, I usually throw on a crock of artichoke dip and a tray of olives and smoke them for about 45 minutes. Always enjoy it, and it usually requires at least an 8-pack
• mcburg93

  

  I built my own. It has more of a grill design with a offset smoke box. It does a great job. I will like to know how others like the electric boxes or the gas/propane type. I am in the process of building a cold smoker so I can do bacon and ham.
  
  I use hardwood charcoal and cut my own chunks of wood to smoke with. Use mainly hickory and apple but have tried oak, maple, cherry, mesquite, and pear wood to smoke with. I want to get some pecan and lemon wood. I hear they give off a great flavor.
• iclfan2

  

  I would prefer an Akorn (which I have) over the Weber Smokey Mountain (my neighbor has). Mainly because I prefer lump to briquettes, although you might be able to use lump. The akorn is basically a knock off Big Green Egg. I have had it for at least 2 years and keep it in the garage and it has held up extremely well. In the summer I usually smoke something once a weekend or so. It is tricky to get the temp to stay where you want at first, but it is trial and error. I have cooked 9 hour pork butts at between 220-260 the whole time. If you go charcoal, a dual probe Maverick 732 thermometer is a must. They actually have miniature Akorns at Walmart for $150, but I've never used it, sometimes I wish the Akorn was larger when I do ribs or chicken wings. Check out the Kamado Guru forum for all things Kamado (dome shaped) smokers.
  
  For my bday my wife bought me a Masterbuilt travel electric smoker b/c sometimes you don't want to have to babysit charcoal, but I haven't used it yet to give a review. My other neighbor has an electric smoker and although not the same bark as charcoal, still tastes damn good with little babysitting, He would spend 3 hours at the pool and drive home in the middle to add wood chips, but that was about it.
• justincredible

  

  ^^This is why I like the idea of the electric smoker. I'll be more inclined to actually use it if I don't need to babysit it the entire time.
• QuakerOats

  for me, 'babysitting' is checking it once an hour or so, for charcoal and wood chip replenishing ..........and having another beer. Always an upside.
• iclfan2

  

  I technically don't have to babysit the Akorn, the bowl is filled to the top with Charcoal and some wood chunks and I don't need to open it for 5 hours ribs or 9 hours pork butt. But I don't trust the temperature not to gradually keep going up without making slight adjustments to the vents every couple of hours. I would trust it to go to the store to grab some stuff real quick but not to sit out there for 4 hours by itself. With the Maverick thermometer, you can be inside doing stuff and look at the portable thermometer portion which has alarms to alert you if it goes above or below preset temperatures.
• j_crazy

  

  I have about $2,000 tied up in smokers/barbecue pits. You can get whatever is suited to you and your needs. I'm really big on smoking meat. To the point that i'm looking to maybe pull the trigger on this and go into a competitive circuit.
  
  Here are the 2 that I currently have:
  
  Rec Tec - Pellet Smoker, very versatile, I used it to grill up some chicken last night, I've used it in the same way I have used a gas grill in the past (but you must use Grill Grates to use it as a true grill). I also use it to regularly prepare a 14 hour brisket, 18 hour pork shoulders, 4 hour turkey breasts, etc.
  
  Kamado Joe - Truly its a charcoal bbq pit. It's really hard to use as a smoker as the grate sits so close to the coals, and the fire ring is pretty small (to the point that setting up an indirect cook is a challenge). However I put a meatloaf and have done several roasts on that grill at 275-325 degrees and they have turned out phenomenal - I swear this grill puts out the best steaks I have ever cooked.
  
  What I would also suggest is either spend some time on Amazingribs.com or buy the guy's book and review it. It is a huge help to getting an understanding of what you're actually doing at a scientific level when you are preparing meat and/or barbecuing.
  
  Either way, have fun. It's a really tasty way to get your food prepared.
• Spock

  

  I have 2 smokers. Use them all the time. Just smoked some salmon last weekend
• justincredible

  

  j_crazy;1851213 wrote:I have about $2,000 tied up in smokers/barbecue pits. You can get whatever is suited to you and your needs. I'm really big on smoking meat. To the point that i'm looking to maybe pull the trigger on this and go into a competitive circuit.
  
  Here are the 2 that I currently have:
  
  Rec Tec - Pellet Smoker, very versatile, I used it to grill up some chicken last night, I've used it in the same way I have used a gas grill in the past (but you must use Grill Grates to use it as a true grill). I also use it to regularly prepare a 14 hour brisket, 18 hour pork shoulders, 4 hour turkey breasts, etc.
  
  Kamado Joe - Truly its a charcoal bbq pit. It's really hard to use as a smoker as the grate sits so close to the coals, and the fire ring is pretty small (to the point that setting up an indirect cook is a challenge). However I put a meatloaf and have done several roasts on that grill at 275-325 degrees and they have turned out phenomenal - I swear this grill puts out the best steaks I have ever cooked.
  
  What I would also suggest is either spend some time on Amazingribs.com or buy the guy's book and review it. It is a huge help to getting an understanding of what you're actually doing at a scientific level when you are preparing meat and/or barbecuing.
  
  Either way, have fun. It's a really tasty way to get your food prepared.

  Thanks for the info, I added that book to my Amazon cart.
• kizer permanente

  I have the Traeger pro 34. I got it after have a cheap charcoal one from home depot. Its pretty easy to use unlike the small one I had. It's pellet style so it auto feeds. Does a good job at maintaining temps. Id have huge swings with my old one and had to babysit it. The only negative is if water gets in the pellet hopper at all, it ruins the pellets and clogs up the auger. I have a cover on it and it still got in once (not sure how) and i had to take the auger off and clean it out since it stop putting pellets into the burner. Other than that its been awesome.
• Spock

  

  Just bought a whole brisket to smoke
• iclfan2

  

  I haven’t used the smoker this year as much as I’d have like. My wife is prego n has an aversion right now. I did get some pork belly the other day that I am interested in trying to skoke
  
  
  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
• kizer permanente

  Spock;1880072 wrote:Just bought a whole brisket to smoke

  I’ve only done a brisket once but it didn’t come out the way I wanted it. What temp do you take it too?
• MontyBrunswick

  

  smoking a doobie right now!!!!
• Spock

  

  MontyBrunswick;1880085 wrote:smoking a doobie right now!!!!

  Shocker
• ppaw1999

  
• justincredible

  

  My brother-in-law got an electric smoker a few weeks ago ($300 Masterbuilt) and has us all over last night to break it in. He did a pork shoulder and it turned out pretty damn good.