Smoker opinions

[vortex]

Hi all. I am looking at getting am electric smoker soon. Just wanted to see what people have and what they like and dislike about them. I am most likely going to go with the master built 40" digital with the window from cables. What do you all think?

[^rotohead^]

Hey long time lurker here. I recently bought a masterbuilt digital smoker as well. One with the window in the door and the controls at the back on the top. I've been told this is a 'gen 1' and is better then the 'gen 2' version. I bought it at home depot with free shipping to my door last summer. Made brisket, ribs and turkey in it so far. Love it.

[Xbolt7mm]

Originally Posted by vortex

Hi all. I am looking at getting am electric smoker soon. Just wanted to see what people have and what they like and dislike about them. I am most likely going to go with the master built 40" digital with the window from cables. What do you all think?

What is your primary goal. ie what do you plan to smoke. The "fridge" type Bradly, master built are perfect jerky machines but can do larger stuff too like briskets, smaller turkeys, pork shoulder but these can be overwhelmed with too much meat as there needs to be room for the heat/smoke to get around the meat. They are also a smoke only. No searing. The masterbuilts, I believe need to have the chips loaded regularly and the Bradley will load by itself for over four hours and heat for over nine hours without a reset. Bradley's can be a little on the cold side during winter smokes unless you insulate or add an element, not sure about the masterbuilts in this regard. I ran three briskets in my 6 rack bradley and blew out the fusible link so I lost my factory element but the second one kept working. Bradley told me that it was way too much for the smoker and said if I want a commercial smoker I should get one lol, but they did send me the part for free. Now I do that and more on a gmg with no trouble
The electric pellet smokers are certainly not ideal for jerky but excel at the larger cuts, multiple briskets, shoulders and bigger turkeys or combinations of each, traigers reach 450 degrees which is a bit low for searing steaks unless you have grillgrates. Gmg's hit 550 and will sear but that temp is about the minimum for steaks if you want sear marks on the meat. Pellet grills are about twice the cost of the fridge style and they are kind off both different tools. There are other types of both kinds of smokers out there so maybe others who have used them will contribute. Just all my humble opinions from my own experiences so the haters don't jump all over me.

[bat119]

I have a Bradley digital, it only has a 500 watt heater element works great in the summer not so good when its cold or windy. The pucks can get pricey too when smoking for long periods. I have been thinking about upgrading the element to a little chief type 1200 watt in the bottom just haven't got around to it.

[sharpstick]

I would suggest goggling smoker reviews. I spent a few months reviewing smokers before I bought mine. I wanted simple, set it and forget it, went with a RecTec pellet smoker.
I'm very happy with it and have ordered 31 more of them for friends and family.
You just need to figure out what you want to use it for and how much time you have to play with them. A charcoal/stickburner will consume more time as you are tending a fire and controlling air/vent flow to get your desired temps. I would recommend staying away from propane as there is nothing worse than running out of propane in the middle of a cook. If you plan on using it for grilling as well, not sure you will get the temps required with the Master Built. There are so many styles, makes and models out there so make sure you do your homework. If you go on many smoking forums, you will see what most guys are using. Have fun searching, I learned a whole lot about BBQ'ing and its my new hobby...

Cheers,

SS

[tirebob]

I am a stick burner when it comes to smoking so I can't really say one brand is better than another, but you need to absolutely consider what it is you plan on smoking as many of the cheaper smaller options will not really have the space to do larger amounts of meat nor the juice to heat enough in certain situations. If you plan on being pretty serious about it and smoke for more people, I would consider saving up for a better unit, or scour kijiji. There are some great deals that come up on smokers as many people want to do it but find out they just are not into doing it and sell their gear off...

[silver]

I have a Masterbuilt smoker and I am happy with it. This is my second one, got 8 or 9 years out of my first one, was happy so I bought another. The thermostat only goes up to 275f I think, but it will make that temp in the winter.

[A-Baum]

For electric smokers, I would highly recommend getting a traeger. Easy set it and forget it. It's a little pricey, but it makes some great food. I had it for years before getting my Big Green Egg, which I would recommend if you ever graduate to charcoal cooking.