What smoker should I get?

[C-Money]

Smoked a turkey. Was a tad dry, has excellent flavor. Dont notice its a little dry with gravy. Was on a fire, and that prevented me from pulling the bird on time...First pic is 4 hours in, second pic is finished.

[Blacklab]

That looks great C-Money great color. Did you brine?

[GameHunter1959]

Smoked a turkey. Was a tad dry, has excellent flavor. Dont notice its a little dry with gravy. Was on a fire, and that prevented me from pulling the bird on time...First pic is 4 hours in, second pic is finished.

Brine well will help eliminate the dryness, but I prefer to inject throughout the process. The only issue with injecting is that it takes a few minutes each time you open the smoker door; hence you lose a lot of your heat and it can take awhile for your unit to heat back up to the correct temperature (pending the type of unit your using).

[C-Money]

We did not brine or inject, just tossed it in. Rubbed some butter on it once in a while. Need to try one of those suggestions next time. Loving the turkey sandwiches!!

[Alchase]

I brine my birds, after smoke, I then put them on the hot grill or in the oven for the last 15 - 20 minutes to crisp up the skin.

[n_mathews13]

These seem cheap. Are they worth it for a beginner?

[lamrith]

If you were closer I would sell you mine for $50.  It is what I started with, they can put out good smoke.  They can be tempermental in getting temp where you want it, least mine was.  That said I ran mine a year, and made some great food.

[C-Money]

These seem cheap. Are they worth it for a beginner?

Thats what I use. Works really good for me. Propane lasts a long time. Have made some excellent meals on ours!!

[n_mathews13]

Well, finally got a smoker. Traeger  Jr elite 20.  Might put it together tomorrow.  Any of you have the same one?

[Mossyoak]

I have a Primo ceramic grill/smoker. With the ceramic plates I can control the temp pretty well with lump charcoal. The really nice thing is it’s both my main grill and smoker. The downside is it’s a small cooking surface.

[CAMPMEAT]

I've had a few smokers and the best one for me was, the round Weber, charcoal BBQ/smoker. It's not for huge quantities, but more for a family dinners. I left it in Curlew when we moved........

[n_mathews13]

Now I'm on the hunt for a meat probe reader. Any suggestions?

[KFhunter]

Now I'm on the hunt for a meat probe reader. Any suggestions?

I had this one I got cheap off Amazon lightening deal.  It went bad, one probe read higher than the other probe and I could never remember which probe read high, so I tied a knot in the probe wire.  Eventually the whole unit went bad and I tossed it. 




I got a new thermopro, same kind of deal amazon lightening deal


It looks like the one in the picture, but it's got the newer style probes like the one below here.  It's not wireless but so far it seems to be working good. 
It was cheap enough that if it fails NBD

[Fireb@ll]

All,

Answering the latest question regarding thermometers, I have an older version of the Maverick ET-732 Redi-Check.  It has been reliable and trouble free for over 5 years.  I have had to replace thermal probes but the sending unit and receiver work fine.  I installed probes in both the smoker and grill through silicone grommets and leave them there.  When I grill/smoke I hook up the sending unit and the meat probe and take the receiver back in the house.

Regarding the original question about smokers, I have owned the Bradley 4 rack (pre-digital), a 7-in-1 from Cabelas, and a Char Broil propane vertical.  A previous response mentioned something along the lines of "its not rocket science: build smoke, manage heat."  I absolutely agree, that is all there is to it and I have gotten great food out all three smokers and my Weber Kettle set up to smoke.

The points of departure occur when discussing effort, time, and consistency. The Bradley was by far the easiest to use, took the least amount of my time to check on and maintain, and provide consistent results that were repeatable time and time again. I gave it to a buddy when I moved overseas because it was 110V and I was going to 220V Europe.

Both the 7-in-1, the Weber Kettle, and the propane Char Broil have made great tasting food, but they take considerable effort to manage and the process varies wildly based on atmospheric conditions. 

I have sealed the Char Broil with a gasket and was going to use a light weight vermiculite concrete to insulate the door and walls, but am moving again so will be gifting this one to another buddy.  A couple moving blankets draped over it have served well in the past. Although it is very difficult to maintain low temps (180-220) with any consistency with the propane burner.  Turning down the flame usually results in it getting blown out.

When I retire and finally settle in one house, I will build a smokehouse.  Until then I'll get by with whatever I scrounge where I am.  If I stay in the U.S. this move, I'll go back to the Bradley.  It worked great, was easy to use, and provided consistent results.

[C-Money]

I use a $10 thermometer I bought at Winco, works well...