Meat Smoker

[DaveS]

I have a small smoke house that I use for my hams and bacons and a Char Broil Grill with external fire box that I use for just about everything. The bottom rusted out of it and it needs replaced.

 

What is everyone's opinion on the Brinkmann Charcoal and Electric Smoker Grills? I'm leaning in that direction right now.

 

Dave

[TripleDigitRide]

With all the smoking you seem to do, have you looked into a decent pellet smoker? I don't own one, but I do know they make smoking much easier.

[TripleDigitRide]

Traeger and MAK are some of the more popular brands, but a friend of mine got one from Costco for about 1/2 the price, and it's been working great for the last couple years. He smokes EVERYTHING.

[DaveS]

With all the smoking you seem to do, have you looked into a decent pellet smoker? I don't own one, but I do know they make smoking much easier.

No, but that's worth looking into. Rural King here has them I believe. Thanks TDR.

 

Dave

[Hiker]

I believe that there are two schools on this topic. Those who are wood guys and those who are gas/electric. I'm a wood/ charcoal guy and a snob about it. That said I received the Brinkman electric smoker as a gift and it is easy to deal with. I smoke small batches and rather infrequently I admit. But I use my Webber kettle grill weekly.

Merry Christmas

[Hozzie]

I just purchased a Masterbuilt 30 electric from TSC since it was on clearance for $129. I like the idea of not having to stoke a fire and not worrying about trying to keep the temp exactly right. I was going to go with the bigger one, but for the price I figured I would give this a try. It is more than enough for me. After a lot of research on smoking meat forums, I also got a AMNPS which is a tray that you put pellets in and just put it in the bottom of the smoker. Using that you don't use chips in the smoker itself and worry about feeding it every 30 minutes. I just did four 6 pound shoulders yesterday for pulled pork and they were fantastic. 12 hours total cook time. A full load if pellets in the AMNPS lasts 11 hrs so no need to worry about the smoke. Almost set it and forget it. I wrapped the shoulders in foil at 165 and then let them go to 195. Took them out of the smoker and wrapped them in a towel (still in foil) and let them rest in a cooler for an hour. They were unbelievably tender. If you haven't checked out smoking meat forum, I highly recommend it.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Hozzie

[mikegideon]

I have a Masterbuilt. I get great results, once I learned a couple of things. I wind up smoking more frequently because you don't have to stay on top of it as much as a real fire. The electrics tend to be a little quicker too, because the temperature is pretty constant. If it ever dies, I'm pretty sure I'll replace it with a Brinkman.

[whiskey]

[quote name="mikegideon" post="1082662" timestamp="1387736598"]I have a Masterbuilt. I get great results, once I learned a couple of things. I wind up smoking more frequently because you don't have to stay on top of it as much as a real fire. The electrics tend to be a little quicker too, because the temperature is pretty constant. If it ever dies, I'm pretty sure I'll replace it with a Brinkman.[/quote] I have had a Masterbuilt for several years now. I love it much more than the round body brinkmann smokers. I had a char-grill side fire box and it was ok, but hard to keep steady. The electric ones are set it and go watch football. Dave, make an Ugly Drum Smoker. I can get you a steel drum if you want to give it a go. Google for plans.

[peejman]

I have the cheapo brinkman, and with a few minor mods, it works fine. I've never had any problems with it.

I do not recommend the pellet type, I'm told they get expensive to feed.

[DaveS]

I've used the smoking pellets on a hot plate in the smoke house and they offer tremendous flavor while cold smoking. Will try them again when I get back into smoke cooking.

 

Dave

Edited December 25, 2013 by DaveS

[Guest Grubbah]

I highly recommend the weber smokey mountain smoker.  I've had mine for 3-4 years now and its produced some good eats!

 

I've tried other cheaper smokers and even with a few mods I always had troubles keeping temps stable.  With the weber I can dial it in to 220-250 degrees and on a single load of charcoal it will hold that temp for 12-14 hours without touching a thing.

[whiskey]

I will probably get a weber next, unless I can convince my wife to get me a Big Green Egg. I have ready up on the Weber's and they always get good reviews. I am about to put a Dr. Chicken's double smoked ham on the master built for Christmas dinner. Good stuff! Sent from my iPhone using [URL=http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1]Tapatalk[/URL]

[I_Like_Pie]

I have been using a cheap brinkman propane for several years and love it.....will never ever go back to using charcoal again after being able to tell no difference at all with ribs and chicken.  May make a slight difference in shoulder or brisket, but not enough to outweigh the extra work.

[DaveS]

I'm really liking the reviews on this one. Then again, I may take whiskey up on his offer and build my own to suit my needs.

 

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/masterbuilt-electric-black-digital-smoker-30-in

 

Dave

Edited December 25, 2013 by DaveS

[mikegideon]

I'm really liking the reviews on this one. Then again, I take whiskey up on his offer and build my own to suit my needs.

 

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/masterbuilt-electric-black-digital-smoker-30-in

 

Dave

 

That's the one I have. 

[DaveS]

That's the one I have. 

I like what I see with that one. All I have to do is figure out how to get one shipped to my local store.

 

Dave

[mikegideon]

It's not that heavy. Mine came from Bass Pro. Even has their logo on it.

 

EDIT: Bass Pro still has Masterbuilt, but that one doesn't show on their site anymore

Edited December 25, 2013 by mikegideon

[Troutburger]

I've got a propane cabinet smoker. Rolling out 3 racks o ribs as I type. Can use propane, wood chips, and even charcoal. Not the fanciest but works for me.

[Vistar]

I believe that there are two schools on this topic. Those who are wood guys and those who are gas/electric. I'm a wood/ charcoal guy and a snob about it. That said I received the Brinkman electric smoker as a gift and it is easy to deal with. I smoke small batches and rather infrequently I admit. But I use my Webber kettle grill weekly.

Merry Christmas

I've had several smokers, traditional charcoal/wood and electric. By far, the best I've had and now own is the Weber Smokey(sic) Mountain Cooker 22.5 It's the size of a small phone booth and uses a water pallet between the charcoal/wood and cooking grids. Output is competitive quality and IMHO far better than Buddy's or Corky's. This is a BIG smoker and will easily do 4 turkeys or a hind quarter of venison and a half dozen racks of ribs. It's not something you'd likely fire up regularly unless you're in the business of smoking. It typically consumes about 20 pounds of charcoal and 2 18" quarter-split hickory logs in an 8 hour session. They retail for about $400 but I found one from an online appliance broker and landed it by motor freight for $180, inclusive.

[Hozzie]

[quote name="DaveS" post="1084026" timestamp="1387982712"]I like what I see with that one. All I have to do is figure out how to get one shipped to my local store. Dave[/quote] That is the one I have as well that I mentioned earlier. Just did a turkey breast for dinner today. Turned out great.

[DaveS]

double post...sorry

 

Dave

Edited December 25, 2013 by DaveS

[DaveS]

That is the one I have as well that I mentioned earlier. Just did a turkey breast for dinner today. Turned out great.

Hozzie/mikegideon; how easy is it to set and stabilize temperatures on the low and high side on your smokers?

 

Dave

[Dustbuster]

When I saw the title of this thread I thought the duck dynasty gay thing was on again...whew....



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling. Edited December 25, 2013 by Dustbuster

[Hozzie]

Hozzie/mikegideon; how easy is it to set and stabilize temperatures on the low and high side on your smokers?

Dave

Very easy to set and it holds temp well for me. The only thing I did was check my temp against what I know to be a good thermometer. Mine was high by about 15 degrees which was ok for me as I can now adjust it. It heats up fairly quickly. Probably 20-25 minutes this morning to reach 275.

I use an IGrill to watch the temps of the meat inside on my iPad.

[DaveS]

When I saw the title of this thread I thought the duck dynasty gay thing was on again...whew....



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

:rofl:

 

Dave

Edited December 25, 2013 by DaveS