Smoker Purchase

I’m looking at picking up this smoker. I’ll do some small batches of this and that occasionally. It’s not something I’ll use heavily. Well, unless I get hooked on smoking.

Any comments?

Smoker

go to sausagemaker.com i got mine there. i have had it almost 10 years now and it is still smoking strong. i really like their jerky spice also. they sell a book by rytek kutos or something close to that, it is a really good book with everything you will need to know from how to to get started to advanced processes.

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I’m looking at picking up this smoker. I’ll do some small batches of this and that occasionally. It’s not something I’ll use heavily. Well, unless I get hooked on smoking.

Any comments?

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Do you have an old-school Weber kettle-style charcoal grill? If so, that’s all you need. The make great smokers, my father and I have both been doing it for years.

We use a tin bread loaf pan to contain the charcoal (just a few lumps at a time about 10-12) at one side of the grill. Then put the meat on the other side so it’s not directly over the heat.

Soak chunks of smoking wood in water overnight and drop them on top of the coals to keep the smoke going.

The key is vent control. Open the vents just enough to keep the coals going, but use an oven thermo. The sweet spot is to have just enough air coming in for the coals to burn, but at the lowest temp you can maintain before the fire goes out.

Use the bottom vents to control the air intake, the vent on top of the lid should stay closed to keep the smoke in.

Top up both the coal and smoking wood as needed to keep the fire burning and smoking.

Technically speaking, this is “hot” smoking, but I think that statement applies to most small, portable smokers. You need a much greater volume of space to cold smoke and to me the amount of time it would consume would make it a non-starter.

A friend of mine has had good results using the cardboard box method as well. Google it, lots of info out there and a very cheap way to get started.

Grouse

Hey Kooty, I personally think it depends in what you’re smoking, when, & where. I say that because I’ve used different electric units for years, great for jerky in MILD conditions or if you want to use in your garage all night and stink it up for weeks. I purchased a new gas 38″ smoke hollow this past year which works great as I smoke stuff all year (mn winter included) you can do certain mods to them to run it at lower temps for fish, jerky etc. you also have the ability to “let er rip” at 350 for unbelievable veni back straps or chops pretty quickly. Keeping a Boston butt at consistent 250 for 14 hrs is easy even in less than perfect conditions. I kinda like having the option of using gas or elec. that’s just my 2 cents.

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Hey Kooty, I personally think it depends in what you’re smoking, when, & where. I say that because I’ve used different electric units for years, great for jerky in MILD conditions or if you want to use in your garage all night and stink it up for weeks. I purchased a new gas 38″ smoke hollow this past year which works great as I smoke stuff all year (mn winter included) you can do certain mods to them to run it at lower temps for fish, jerky etc. you also have the ability to “let er rip” at 350 for unbelievable veni back straps or chops pretty quickly. Keeping a Boston butt at consistent 250 for 14 hrs is easy even in less than perfect conditions. I kinda like having the option of using gas or elec. that’s just my 2 cents.

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I have a propane smoke hallow and couldn’t be happier, need to learn to get it to run lower temps but can range easily from 170 – 350! I usually don’t start making sausage in it until dec or january and never had an issue on it and do turkeys on it too

Depending on how much you do I find an electric smoker to be much easier to use and easier to control the heat. Personally I think Cabelas smokers are overpriced.My.02

Weber smokey mountain is a great smoker. They even sell a conversion for you older 22inch kettle if you have one1

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Hey Kooty, I personally think it depends in what you’re smoking. . .

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I think a lot of people have asked this question of Kooty over the years. A lot of lot of people.

Somebody had to do it. One cannot just let one hang up in the strike zone like that forever, it’s like an internet law and whatever.

Grouse

Kooty… I have a propane smoker and a Bradley electric smoker. What I have found is that no matter what you decide on Make sure it is INSULATED! with my propane smoker I will easily see a 50 degree change in internal temperature while smoking.Also when trying to get enough smoke I tend to overheat the meat. the Bradley is insulated and you can control how long you want to smoke with or without heat and have found that I can set my temp. and timer for the heat and smoke go to work and come home to a great meal of ribs or anything else you may want to experiment with