Smoker reviews (for the meat sweats)

[T Bone]

A couple weeks ago, my trusty 14 year old smoker (electric) shorted out, caught fire, and ruined 30 pounds of ribs and chicken.....I cried some.

So here I am perusing smokers...in price shock.

I did not realize a person could spend $800 on a smoker.....

My old Masterbuilt smoker was good, but evidently the old brand was bought out and the new manufacturing is junk.

Looking for electric, not propane or charcoal, must be insulated. I don't mind spending $, but it needs to be well worth it.

What say you? What kind of experiences and recommendations can you share with me?

 

[Deleted member 38069]

A couple weeks ago, my trusty 14 year old smoker (electric) shorted out, caught fire, and ruined 30 pounds of ribs and chicken.....I cried some.

So here I am perusing smokers...in price shock.

I did not realize a person could spend $800 on a smoker.....

My old Masterbuilt smoker was good, but evidently the old brand was bought out and the new manufacturing is junk.

Looking for electric, not propane or charcoal, must be insulated. I don't mind spending $, but it needs to be well worth it.

What say you? What kind of experiences and recommendations can you share with me?

I have a 30" masterbuilt vertical smoker and a pitt boss pellet grill. I have been transitioning to mainly using the pitt boss! Worth looking into.

 

[Treeshark]

Masterbuilt Charcoal

Was just talking to my neighbor yesterday about this gravity-fed charcoal Masterbuilt, interesting idea but not many reviews yet. (T-Bone I know you said electric, this one would be a hybrid and I don’t mean to divert from your thread).

 

[T Bone]

I have a 30" masterbuilt vertical smoker and a pitt boss pellet grill. I have been transitioning to mainly using the pitt boss! Worth looking into.

Boomer,

What model of the Pit Boss brand did you go with?

 

[elkantlers]

I got a little chief out in the out in the shed. It will smoke fish nicely if the ambient temperature is close to 100deg.

 

[Nick87]

I just gitba bradley a couple months ago. Not what I was hoping for. It will hold temp just fine getting it up to temperature doesnt go well if at all sometimes.

 

[Deleted member 38069]

Boomer,

What model of the Pit Boss brand did you go with?

I got the pro series 820. I liked the ability to sear. I'm no expert but that grill is forgiving and makes me look good when normally I wouldn't.

 

[MO Betta]

I've got a Bradley as well, picked it up for 50 bucks on craigslist thinking I could upgrade it for curing Cerakote if it didnt work all that well but I was pleasantly surprised.

Mine is an old non-digital version, the pucks work great but aren't the cheapest.

@nick87 you can upgrade to a 900 watt element or run a second element in the Bradley, there are quite a few write ups on the process in their forum. Gets up to temp a lot faster, and helps with the heat loss when you open the door.

 

[Nick87]

@JeffJ thank you I'll look into that!

 

[BearFoot]

I have a Cabelas branded, 30" masterbuilt vertical smoker. Bought it a couple of years ago at $400. Gets the job done.
Yesterdays 14 lb brisket

 

[T Bone]

Bearfoot,

That looks amazing! I always get brisket too dry. Obviously, you have it figured out!

Regarding my comments that current production Masterbuilt brand are lesser quality than older models.....I was going off of what the salesman at the local Ace Hardware told me. After interweb research it appears that may not be correct.

 

[ID_deerslayer]

I just bit the bullet and purchased a Traeger after using a cabela's green cylinder smoker that finally crapped out after about the same amount of time as yours, I have used it 4 times in the last 7 days for pizza, queso, chicken and ribs and everything turned out wonderfully. Buy once, cry once on the price tag but it can reach 500 degrees for grilling purposes quickly and has a cool down setting programmed into the hardware which is convenient. The newer ironwood series has a double walled body to help hold heat better and doesn't require a thermal blanket like the older models do.

 

[1_pointer]

I'm a bit of a homer for the cermic, kamado style grills/smokers. Wife surprised me with one a few years back for a birthday gift. It does wonderful on long, slow cooks like brisket and pork butts. Also nice to be able to get it roaring to over 600º for searing a steak or baking a pizza. The only thing I don't like about it is it's a bit inconvenient for short, spur of the moment things like burgers/brats/hotdogs.

Just another option.

 

[roravetz]

I bought the Pit Boss Pro 820 from Lowes last year. I think Wal Mart or Lowes end up having slightly different models so that you can't price match. Up to that point I was primarily using a charcoal Weber Kettle grill. The Pit Boss has become more of my day to day grill and I really like it. If I remember my research correctly the Pro series addressed a few issues where maybe the quality was lacking on the regular Pit Boss and had a longer 5 year warranty. Plus if you can find it on sale in the Spring and if you have ability to use the 10% veteran discount you really can't beat the final price. The option to slide the grate away and access the open flame is nice. The one thing I noticed and this might be the case for all pellet grills with an exposed flame is that it seems to really kick some ash up around the grill when I do that (I use the pit boss pellets). I have zero regrets getting the Pit Boss Pro and probably use it for 75% of my grilling now. If i am doing steaks or have a little extra time I still like to bust out the Weber to. Plus it gives me a chance to hang outside a little longer and have an extra beer tending the coals!

SORRY THAT'S GETTING A LITTLE OFF SMOKER TOPIC AND MORE GRILL. ITS GREAT FOR SMOKING!! A LOT EASIER THEN USING THE WEBER KETTLE GRILL.

 

[406LIFE]

I have a Master built electric and it works fine. After 3 years and a lot of use the hearting element went out. Took near 3 months to get a new one. Customer service is non-existent. I would look to a different brand. But I wouldn't shy away from an electric again. I'm not gonna win points for style or awards at cook offs, but my taste buds like it just fine.

 

[JEL]

I just gitba bradley a couple months ago. Not what I was hoping for. It will hold temp just fine getting it up to temperature doesnt go well if at all sometimes.

I have had the same experience with my Bradley. Takes forever to get up to temp especially if you want to use it in the winter. My puck delivery system quite working correctly as well.

 

[Western Traveler1]

I used an electric smoker for years. After seeing the results of a friends Traeger I was walking through Costco and saw one for a great price (that still stung).
I haven’t regretted the purchase since. It is almost idiot proof (don’t run out of pellets halfway through).

 

[TheBenHoyle]

I bought a masterbuilt 30" electric/digital smoker. It was not terribly expensive, around $200 I think. I didn't opt for wifi or any of that stuff. I have a probe thermometer that I can use and not have to open the door. You can refill the chips from a side hatch. I've been very happy with it. Worth a look.

 

[midwesthunter]

I have a Bradly,

What I like:
I like the auto feed for the smoking disk, they have there own heater. You can choose how much smoke this way or when to add smoke without effecting the temp in the box. there is a drip tray in the bottom that does a good job collecting and transferring to the water bowl. This bowl also catches the spent smoking disk.

Dislikes:
Seems to take longer to get up to temp, but that could just be me? Not sure on newer models but mine for the temp setting its from low to high. I wish I could pick a target temp and it would hold that temp. If you open the door to flip or baste meat you loose heat fast.

Overall I like it and am happy with it.

 

[Jape]

I just bit the bullet and purchased a Traeger after using a cabela's green cylinder smoker that finally crapped out after about the same amount of time as yours, I have used it 4 times in the last 7 days for pizza, queso, chicken and ribs and everything turned out wonderfully. Buy once, cry once on the price tag but it can reach 500 degrees for grilling purposes quickly and has a cool down setting programmed into the hardware which is convenient. The newer ironwood series has a double walled body to help hold heat better and doesn't require a thermal blanket like the older models do.

That’s what I got as well. Love the thermometer probes so I don’t overcook the meat. If you go that route, or any other route, I also highly recommend getting the attached shelf.