I’m in the market for an electric smoker and I’m looking for any recommendations. Id like something pretty versatile so I can smoke jerky, ribs, pork butts and would like to try smoking my own sausages. I want a good unit but also don’t want to break the bank on a real fancy one.
If you are looking to use this outdoors in the winter months I’d stay away from electric and go with Propane. It will be much easier to keep the temp up and regulated in winter.
I’ve been happy with my Masterbuilt electric. Mine is the opposite. I have more problems when its warmer out because the heating element wont stay on long enough to get the wood chips smoking. One of these days I will be buying a cold smoke tube to eliminate that issue. Otherwise it works well and will heat up enough to cook a chicken as well as make very good jerky.
I bought a Green Mountain Grill pellet grill. Love it. bought the Daniel Boone model. have burned thru 100 lbs of hardwood pellets. electric, wi fi and runs from an app on iphone.
gets up to 500 degrees and I can smoke ribs and pork low and slow at 225 without a problem. I think I was $800.00 for all including cover and a cpl of bags of pellets. really good deal for the money.
Had a masterbuilt, now have a smokin-it. The smokin-it is a pretty good knock off of the cookshack, which is one of the best electrics on the market. The smokin-it works fantastic, but does take a bit long to get up to temp. I smoke a lot of salmon and propane does not allow you to smoke at a low enough temp without use of a cold plate. Electrics tend to allow for a lower temp than a propane. Just my opinion.
I have a Masterbuilt 30-inch digital electric. I also use an IGrill Mini thermometer. It allows me to check temp and trends from my phone while sitting on the couch. I know when to add more chips without going outside. That may sound lazy to some of you, but its really nice if you’re working on something. It has a temp alarm you can set. It is great for smoking jerkey or salmon, as it helps you ensure the temps stay low at all times.
My biggest regret is I didn’t buy a bigger unit. If you smoke lots of jerkey and salmon, you need a lot of rack space.
I’ve had a Masterbuilt 30-inch digital electric for a few years now. Mine came with a remote I can bring with me to monitor the temp of both meat and smoker, plus make temp adjustments. My initial concern was that the digital control panel wouldn’t last. I keep mine in our screen room all year long, subjecting it to humidity swings. So far so good, but I still worry that control panel will be the death of it. Reviews of these units show this is the most common failure.
When I do it again, I think I’ll get a non-digital electric and buy a separate remote for monitoring smoker and meat temps. This way if the smoker craps out, I only have to replace the smoker; if the remote craps out, I only have to replace the remote. Once the temp is right, I never make temp adjustments with my remote anyway. I just monitor temps.
It won’t be as easy as setting the temp on a digital, but I think it’ll last longer.
Another vote for a Smokin-It. Double wall stainless steel, insulated and now comes with an option for a digital controller for +/- 2 degree accuracy and no temperature swings. You can find many testimonials where they are spot on even in 0 degree weather. These are set it and forget it smokers. Load the smoker and go fishing for the day and come home to great smoked meat.
I bought a Green Mountain Grill pellet grill. Love it. bought the Daniel Boone model. have burned thru 100 lbs of hardwood pellets. electric, wi fi and runs from an app on iphone.
gets up to 500 degrees and I can smoke ribs and pork low and slow at 225 without a problem. I think I was $800.00 for all including cover and a cpl of bags of pellets. really good deal for the money.
I am in the same boat, a GMG Boone model. The Wi-fi control is awesome!
I’ve used it non stop since picking it up a couple of weeks ago.
One of my complaints with pellet grills is the fact that they only have one rack, just not enough space.
One of my complaints with pellet grills is the fact that they only have one rack, just not enough space.
I added this to mine
http://greenmountaingrills.com/products/accessories/gmg-smoke-shelf-upper-rack/
I’ve used electric(friends), Kamado style cookers(my house), and the above mentioned Green Mountain w/o wireless(cabin).
They all have their pros/cons and can turn into the Chevy vs Ford debate.
I don’t know brands in the electric and will defer. I do know that I much prefer digital control. Agreed that this is a failure point. However until it fails I want to have great control on temp so I can do repeatable cooks. Insulation matters if you want to use it 12 months a year
Big pro to electric – Simplicity and ease of use. Was my preferred option for a while. Cost is lower
Biggest con to electric – no versatility, it’s a smoker only.
Pellet grills – plus 3 on the Green Mountain on bang for the buck.
Biggest pro to pellet – Simplicity, easy to use, and decent versatility(smoking and grilling but not high heat searing/pizza cooking).
Con to pellet – must keep pellets handy, moving parts and control units as potential failure points, higher price than dedicated electric smokers.
Kamado cookers – I could go on here for a long time but already straying from the original post
I have a Memphis Pellett Girll and it has 3 sets of racks plus I have jerky trays for doing that. The grill is awsome ccan sear a steak at 650 deg or smoke at 160. Best of both worlds. It is insulated so it also works well in the winter. I have had tragers as well and still have my original fo rsmoking fish but use the Memphis for everything else. Made in Minnesota of all Stainless Steel. Now not cheap but you get what you pay for.
The grill is awsome ccan sear a steak at 650 deg or smoke at 160.
This is correct and the exception to my general statement about pellet grills not searing.
Made in Minnesota of all Stainless Steel. Now not cheap but you get what you pay for.
Yep, everything about them is truly awesome but the price.
Any reviews on Bradley smokers? My concern is wondering if they will get to a high enough temperature for bigger cuts of meat.
My concern is wondering if they will get to a high enough temperature for bigger cuts of meat.
Not sure I understand this. Smoking temps are generally considered 225-275 for the most part. The variable is time not temp.
Ex. Most of my briskets are done at 275. A 10# will take much longer in time than a 5#. If you want both done at 5pm then the larger cut needs to start multiple hours earlier than the smaller cut.
By physics you could try a 10# chunk at 375 and the 5# at 275 to have both take the same amount of time. However by cooking at 375 you’ve violated the low and slow principle of smoking.
Ive just read that bradleys dont keep a temp around 250 well and was wondering if anyone had any experience with them regarding that.
I have a cookshack SM-25. Love it. It’s completely stainless steel inside and out, has electronic temperature control and probe. The heating element is replaceable in the event it quits. It uses just a couple small chunks of wood. I’ve stopped eating smoked food when I go out to eat because I’m disappointed with the restaurant food now. I’ve done brisket, whole chicken, turkeys, pork butts, ribs, pork loins, and pheasants. Everything comes out VERY moist and it has been VERY consistent regardless of the weather outside. I would highly recommend it.
I have a Bradley, about 4 years old now. Works well in summer, does not work in cold whether other than to cold smoke stuff (which I do a lot, then “cook” meat in oven afterward). I’m not sure details of other smokers mentioned here, but to clarify, this one has a heat plate for the wood chip “puck” (which you can find at Gander mountain easily) and a separate element for temp/cooking control. It seems this unit would work better if insulated/sealed better in winter.
I bought a Bradly digital 4 rack smoker last fall and I was somewhat concerned about smoking in the winter. well this past winter I did a lot of smoking and I couldn’t be happier with it. had no problem getting to temp and maintaining temp.
I went to Costco this weekend and saw they have a sale on Traeger smoker grills. Anyone have one of these units? Im also in the market for a new grill and this seems like it would be a nice all in one unit.
I have a treager, it works great for smoking and not the price of the Memphis grill. I would say that the memphis is a better grill as it gets hotter for grilling steaks and searing but the treager does fine too. I did two 8lb pork butts on sat. on smoke the temp was 160. Easy to clean, parts are easy to get if the auger motor goes out or the heat rod. I have had mine for 5 years and still love it, have a few friends that have them and they are more than happy with it, worth every penny.
I looked at both a GMG and a Treager and went with the GMG> I really liked the WI-FI temp control app for my phone.
GMG has answered their phone on a sunday at 4pm to help me with a grill question.
Tony’s appliance has both grills on display and you can compare them both first hand.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
