Best Type of Smoker ?

I know this topic has probably been discussed here, but I cant seem to find anything. I’ve decided I want to get a smoker to start smoking some meat and fish. Would a Propane or Electric smoker be best for outdoor use here in Minnesota ( Including Winter ) ?. If it makes a difference I’m probably going to get a smaller one – Not Tiny but smaller. There seems to be a fair # of them available right now on craig’s list and facebook Marketplace. I think a used one is the better way to go till I figure out how much I’m going to like and use it.

You can almost guarantee you will run out of propane on some long smokes. Keep that in mind. Odds of power going out a lot less.

Ford, Chevy, Dodge question.

If you’re talking winter use it’s more about the insulation and construction than the fuel source. I’ll let others chime in for particular models as I don’t use propane or electrics.

ex. Most pellet grills aren’t well regarded in MN winters due to the thin metal and heat loss. Guys will either take a multi-month break or throw welding blankets on them to extend the season.

ex. Kamado grills like the big green egg go year round due to the very thick ceramic walls.

Coals, wood and fire. Weber smokey mountain for this guy.

Winter time smoking with a electric smoker can be very difficult if it’s very cold out and can take forever to cook.

You could go propane and have 2 tanks Incase you run out or personally I would go pellet grill or pellet smoker. I can make almost anything on my pellet grill

What kind of boat is best?
There is a reason there are so many different types.
do you want to set and forget or do you want to tend a fire constantly or somewhere in between. It really depends on how much you want to watch it. What are you going to be smoking etc. I have lots of different smokers on my deck and they all do things some things well others not so much.
It seems like the more work the better the flavor. Plus you will find that everyone’s taste preference is different. the various smokers have different flavor profiles. In Minnesota winters you just go thru more fuel and its less comfortable to babysit the smoker. electric is much easier to use and control temps but I like the flavor of my propane better. look into “ugly Drum smokers”, charcoal fired, made out of a drum, very versatile and cheap to build, or a good old fashioned webber kettle makes really good food, lots of options

JEREMY wrote:

You can almost guarantee you will run out of propane on some long smokes. Keep that in mind. Odds of power going out a lot less.

Typically smoke 18-19 hours on pork butts and briskets and have never ran out with a 20 lb tank. Sometimes it close.

patk wrote:

Ford, Chevy, Dodge question.

If you’re talking winter use it’s more about the insulation and construction than the fuel source. I’ll let others chime in for particular models as I don’t use propane or electrics.

ex. Most pellet grills aren’t well regarded in MN winters due to the thin metal and heat loss. Guys will either take a multi-month break or throw welding blankets on them to extend the season.

ex. Kamado grills like the big green egg go year round due to the very thick ceramic walls.

I don’t agree with that at all. A pellet grill will do just fine in the winter months. Yes it will use more pellets but it’s no different than any other fuel. I’ve never had a problem in winter and I’ve used my pellet grill 8-9 years now

I run my pellet grill in the winter. Works good.

I did buy/make a new one last year.
What I didn’t like about mine and others is not having the ability to turn the smoke off.
I don’t need my meats having smoke the entire time. Usually 2 to 4 hours is plenty and then I shut it off. Jerky is 1 that only gets an hour or 2 of smoke then I shut it off. I can’t do that with a pellet grill.

I have an uninsulated camp chef 24 in smoke vault. it will run for days at usual 225-250 smoking temps. I wouldn’t let that determine your choice.
cold weather and wind make for more difficult temp regulation though.

Im not trying to be a d-bag, but I literally own 9 different grills/smokers etc(kamado and pellet included)…I also live in N. MN so temps are an issue…Hands down and for the $$ you can not go wrong with a weber smokey mountain(bullet style smoker) or for an even cheaper option, roughly 200, you can get a Weber kettle and a slow n sear accessory that will pretty much cover any outdoor cook you wanna attempt

end of the day though-all options will turn out some good food with some time and exp.

The biggest question is budget. I have 4 smokers and they all do something different. My heavy lifter is a dual wall, insulated electric that smokes pinpoint temps even in single digit outside temps. I consider a pellet smoker a great crossover cooker that does lots of things pretty well but not as great as some other smokers for a particular use. I use propane for side dishes for its quick heat recovery.

I know there is a lot of smoker knowledge here waiting to help so give us some more of your thoughts so we can better direct you.

I started with a bullet style smoker and found that the stacked design was a PITA.

I have a few smokers for different purposes.

An insulated electric with a thermostat can do it all. Super easy and dummy proof.

For jerky and fish, nothing beats and old school Big Chief in my opinion. They dehydrate and smoke at the same time. I only burn a few handfuls of chips and then just dehydrate/cook as long as I want.

To fill in some of the ?’s. I don’t want something I have to babysit non stop. I don’t mind keep a eye on it once in awhile. I probably wont use it a ton. It would be nice to do a Pork Butt once in awhile. Maybe a rack of two of ribs a few times a year. and probably smoked fish a few times. To just get started I don’t want to go the Pellet or Charcoal route even though I know they probably are the best for flavor. I did not realize that the propane models went through that much Fuel. If its a near full tank each time I want to do a pork butt, I’m not sure I want to go that route. Most of my smoking would probably be done at home but I liked the ability to use it in remote areas where they may not be electric.

Sounds like your looking at propane then. Why are you discounting charcoal, if I may ask?

Go Spuds wrote:

Im not trying to be a d-bag, but I literally own 9 different grills/smokers etc(kamado and pellet included)…I also live in N. MN so temps are an issue…Hands down and for the $$ you can not go wrong with a weber smokey mountain(bullet style smoker) or for an even cheaper option, roughly 200, you can get a Weber kettle and a slow n sear accessory that will pretty much cover any outdoor cook you wanna attempt

end of the day though-all options will turn out some good food with some time and exp.

exactly what i use right there. WSM and i have a kettle and slow and sear. Both work great, both are a blast to cook on and both turn out terrific food! Sure they require a little more attention but all that means is i get to sit in a chair and drink beer beside them more. Life is better with a weber

Masterbuilt electric ones are insulated ive used mine many times at zero degrees. Has to be kept in a warm garage when not in use or control head would need to be brought in house. Digital readout must get confused when temp is lower then it can recognize. Once its on its fine.

crappie55369 wrote:

Sure they require a little more attention but all that means is i get to sit in a chair and drink beer beside them more. Life is better with a weber

Agreed 100% with Crappie. But if you don’t want to sit around tending a fire drinking beer, just get an easy bake oven (Electric or Pellet) and forget about it. They make tasty food too.

Jeff Gilberg wrote:

Sounds like your looking at propane then. Why are you discounting charcoal, if I may ask?

To me they just seem like a lot more work. I don’t even use Charcoal for my summer grilling because it seems like work always having charcoal around and getting it lit and then needing to keep adding additional charcoal if you are cooking something with a longer grill time. To me charcoal grilling is more of a labor of love thing and not for those who just want to come home with a piece of meat and throw it on the grill right away.

Stick burner. Real authentic BBQ. Most people don’t want to put the time in to learn the nuances of how to do it properly and it’s not for everybody. It’s becoming a lost art with all the set and forget it technology out there. Plenty stories out there of technology failures ruining nice cooks so set and forget is a bit of a misnomer.

It does not take the level of fire tending most think it does. Once it’s up and running and heated up I can mow lawn or make a quick run to the store. I can and have smoked in all sorts of cold weather and wind conditions. Takes more wood than usual but once all that iron is hot it holds heat better than anything out there. I’ve been cooking on this one for many years now. Love it like one of my children!

That is way out of my league. The rim on one tire probably cost more than I want to spend. If you have that kind of a investment into a smoker – You better have it fired up every week. I don’t see where you live but I’d be happy to try a few samples to see if it cooks as good as it looks

Ice cap – Just curious – What does a setup like that cost ???

I purchased this rig from a pit builder down in Texas. It’s completely fabricated and designed by him in his shop a true one off. The only thing he didn’t fabricate was the propane tank. I got it for $5500. Had a LTL carrier from St. Paul haul it up here in a dry van so the smoker never had a wheel on the ground from Texas to St. Paul. That was another $800 if I remember right.

I picked it up there and pulled it home. I’ve catered many weddings, grad parties bachelor and even a couple bachelorette parties out of this rig.
I’ve sure gotten more than enough fun and memories out of it for what I’ve invested.

I couldn’t begin to count the pounds of meat I have prepared on this smoker. I’ll fire it up to do a couple steaks for the wife and I. They go in the smoke chamber until desired temp then reversed seared over the open oak fire in the fire box.

fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Jeff Gilberg wrote:</div>
Sounds like your looking at propane then. Why are you discounting charcoal, if I may ask?

To me they just seem like a lot more work. I don’t even use Charcoal for my summer grilling because it seems like work always having charcoal around and getting it lit and then needing to keep adding additional charcoal if you are cooking something with a longer grill time. To me charcoal grilling is more of a labor of love thing and not for those who just want to come home with a piece of meat and throw it on the grill right away.

From what you’re saying I would recommend electric, Wont have the portability, but it is the easiest to start . If you get into it you can always upgrade. Most people seem to acquire several different types if they like the hobby. For me its getting to be more about the process than the actual results. I still like good food, but I enjoy cooking and serving it to others more.

Pit Boss pellet grill here. I have used it in cold weather, ~ 0 F without issue. It does help to keep it out of the wind, but that is the same with any smoker. Very consistent results, some have told me “best smoked meat I’ve ever had”. Large enough to fit two pork shoulders at a time – Model Pro series 820, paid ~ $500 on sale. I would buy another one.
Had a Masterbuilt electric for many years, it was a good entry level smoker. Pretty much wore it out with weekly use for over 7 years. You can find them on sale for ~ $150.

I have a bradley digital smoker. Had it for five years. I would not recommend it for anything other than target practice. Wood pucks are expensive and must be ordered. Does not keep temp in cold conditions, the pucks are automatically changed every twenty minutes and get stuck quite frequently making me set a timer every twenty minutes to run out and see if it worked right. Also does not produce a very heavy smoke like I like. I put a blanket over it last winter to hold heat in and that allowed moisture into the control box and fryed the circuit board. Customer service said that was my fault and fifty dollars later I had a fixed piece of junk. I’ve been impressed with my neighbors propane pellet smoker.

i have an almost new masterbuilt electric you can have @fishthumper

Ice Cap wrote:

Stick burner. Real authentic BBQ

That’s some next level stuff IceCap!!! #LifeGoalSmoker

crappie55369 wrote:

i have an almost new masterbuilt electric you can have @fishthumper

Thanks for the offer. I may look you up if I get that way any time soon. That may be all I need to get started. I tend to get hooked on things rather easily so this may turn into a obsession once I get started. Next thing you know I’ll be ordering me something like Ice Caps unit.

fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>crappie55369 wrote:</div>
i have an almost new masterbuilt electric you can have @fishthumper

Thanks for the offer. I may look you up if I get that way any time soon. That may be all I need to get started. I tend to get hooked on things rather easily so this may turn into a obsession once I get started. Next thing you know I’ll be ordering me something like Ice Caps unit.

that’s what happened to me. got hooked on webers and once you do the doors of possibility are opened and its loads of fun. As far as the electric masterbuilt i liked it ok. was my first smoker. When i moved it kept popping a fuse which is part of the reason i switched to coals/wood. if you decide you want it just let me know.