Smokers?

[WapitiTalk1]

Gonna head up and pick up a new smoker this weekend. My antique big chief has died. What do u cats recommend that will get er done for jerky, fish, "etc"?  Electric, propane, charcoal?  Will something much less than a brazillion dollar traeger serve the purpose at hand? 

[wadu1]

Bradley would be my first choice. On the other hand you can rebuild your Jenson. I still run three Little Chiefs, two are getting tired but the parts are easy to get. I can get most of them at Sportco, older burners can be purchased from Jenson in Oregon.
https://www.smokehouseproducts.com/collections/parts-accessories

[lamrith]

Gonna head up and pick up a new smoker this weekend. My antique big chief has died. What do u cats recommend that will get er done for jerky, fish, "etc"?  Electric, propane, charcoal?  Will something much less than a brazillion dollar traeger serve the purpose at hand? 

Always great to fix what you already have.  Those hooves RJ has I know can get it done.

2 questions to help folks guide you better.

• Do you plan to start doing other things beyond just jerky and fish?  Those if I recall are both lower temp smokes, <=150*?
• How heavy of a smoke profile do you like in your jerky, fish etc?

Temps - If you were wanting to consider doing ribs, pulled pork etc, you would want to look into a unit that could get up into the mid 200's or even 300+* consistently and easily.  That is where a classic stick burner, some of the propane smokers and the pellet smokers come in handy.  They can reach those higher temps and higher so they can be used to bake with (Think smoked turkey for Thanksgiving etc).  Electric smokers typically struggle to get higher temps from I have heard.

Smoke profile - Stick, propane and electric can give a stronger smoke profile depending on how you set them.  Pellet smokers are a lighter smoke flavor.  There are some supplemental devices that can be added to a pellet rig to increase smoke, but I do not think they get to the point they rival the max output of the other three.

All the new units regardless of format are getting more expensive of late, so If you were not looking to expand or change anything, just wanting to cook like always, then I would fix the one you have I think you will be net $ ahead.

[WapitiTalk1]

My Big Chief has actually gone onto that big smoker resting place in the sky earlier this year (via the Rainier refuse/dump site) so its a new smoker vs. a fix er' up mission.  Ya, I'll be interested in smoking some larger meat/foul so it sounds like I'll need something that'll produce higher temps.  Guess I should offer that I'm not interested in a big ol' unit to compete for space on my back deck with my normal grill.  Probably just one of the 40" high jobs are about the size I'm looking at.         

[Russ McDonald]

My  .  If you looking for not to big a 30" Bradley or Masterbuilt.  I had a Masterbuilt and loved it but the problem was I couldn't do a full rack of ribs.  Now I have a double door Cajun Injector.   So with propane it is really hard to control the temp.  Electric and stick smokers are really good.  Here is my question.  I never clean my smoker and have never done fish.  I would think if you do fish that you would have a fish taste or smell if you did meat like jerkey?

[Jason]

I have a Smoke Hollow electric smoker that has been very good to me for about 4yrs now. I would buy another.

[lamrith]

My  .  If you looking for not to big a 30" Bradley or Masterbuilt.  I had a Masterbuilt and loved it but the problem was I couldn't do a full rack of ribs.  Now I have a double door Cajun Injector.   So with propane it is really hard to control the temp.  Electric and stick smokers are really good.  Here is my question.  I never clean my smoker and have never done fish.  I would think if you do fish that you would have a fish taste or smell if you did meat like jerkey?

Great point on the propane Russ!  I recall my propane was a PITA in regards to temp, usually it was going ot be whatever it was going to be that day and adjusting flame/air only made a 50* difference....  My propane also was narrower, so I had to cut racks of ribs down to fit.

As too fish, I do not do a ton of it, done a few smoked salmon.  I did not have a fish smell afterwards.  Way I did it had a dry brine, then sit in open air for a while till petecia (spelling?) formed, then into smoker, so it was pretty sealed up and fresh so did not smell even before cooking.

I think Russ has it nailed Rory, a bradley or masterbuilt will probably serve you very well.  I hear great things about both, I think the bradley uses pucks for fuel/smoke, the masterbuilt uses chunks, chips, pellets??  Worth checking on fuels for both so you have flexibilty and options. 

Since you want to maybe expand horizons, check reviews on whatever you are thinking about and make sure that it can hold 225* (not according to mfg, but by real people in real world).  If you want to do pulled pork or burnt ends like we had @ Elk camp, you will need it to be able to reach and hold 225*, most people will cook ribs around that temp too.

[Dbow]

I have an Oklahoma Joe's and I love it for cooking and smoking. That said I have to ride herd on the heat, charcoal, and draft. I would like to have one that automatically controls temps. Family loves the briskets, turkeys, ribs and other goodies that come out of that offset smoker.

[Blacklab]

Never had issues with my propane. Been using GOSM big block 15yrs or so. Electric is easier set and for get. Just make sure you buy enough to grow into not grow out of.   

[Russ McDonald]

Never had issues with my propane. Been using GOSM big block 15yrs or so. Electric is easier set and for get. Just make sure you buy enough to grow into not grow out of.   

Totally agree.  I did exactly that started small and had to go bigger.

[dscubame]

Bradley for sure.

[Russ McDonald]

Saw a 30" Bradley four sale at Wal-Mart for $168.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Mudman]

I have a cabelas/Camp chef pellet smoker.  It will smoke at 155-158 degrees.  Great jerky and fish and a mean whole chicken.  $ yes but well worth it to us!

[WapitiTalk1]

Ended up grabbing a 40" Masterbuilt Smoker yesterday.  Seems pretty decent and I think it'll do the job(s) at hand.  Burnt it off (seasoned it) today per manufacturer recommendations (3 hours @275, one load of wood chips) and no issues.  Probably gonna really break it in next weekend and make up a batch of jerky.  Thanks for the discussion and recommendations folks!  RJ

[KFhunter]

how do these electric smokers do in the cold?  like zero degrees?

[Russ McDonald]

how do these electric smokers do in the cold?  like zero degrees?

used mine in the 30's and 40's with no problem.

[Alchase]

Better than on a 100 degree day, LOL

They work fine in cold weather. Wind can be a pain, never had any problem with cold temps.

[SneekY]

 

[Blacklab]

The new Mes 40 have 1200 watt element. Weather should not be an issue. Have fun and good eating.

[quadrafire]

Ended up grabbing a 40" Masterbuilt Smoker yesterday.  Seems pretty decent and I think it'll do the job(s) at hand.  Burnt it off (seasoned it) today per manufacturer recommendations (3 hours @275, one load of wood chips) and no issues.  Probably gonna really break it in next weekend and make up a batch of jerky.  Thanks for the discussion and recommendations folks!  RJ

You'll love it. I have that size in black, no glass door. Perfect size for me. I frequently do 4 pork shoulders at a time in it.

[WapitiTalk1]

Anxious to put it to work.  Gonna defrost some chunks o' meat towards the end of the week and I'll be "smoking it up here boss" this weekend 

[KFhunter]

pulled the trigger on a masterbuilt 40" and the cold smoker side box for good measure


amazon, I didn't get a great deal, but I saved 4-5 hours of driving to the nearest Cabela's and Sportsman warehouse.  I got 30lbs of bacon in the brine and 6 half hams in brine. 

The treager ain't cutting it, it flamed out and piled up a big mound of pellets in the firebox.  Can't do any cold smoking with it, can't grill with it, just hot smoke which it does fine at that but it's limited at everything else.

[lokidog]

Glad to see you went electric.  From my experience, propane is just too hot for delicate smoking like fish.  I have a Smokevault (I think) propane one and even with half of the jets plugged, it is too hot for smoking salmon.  Turkey, on the other hand, is awesome.

I've always liked my Little Chiefs for doing fish but have temperature controlled ones now that are great as well.

[Alchase]

Cold smoke is my favorite way to do fish, unless I am doing Squaw candy. Then I turn it up the Bradley just a bit.

If I want to smoke/cook a slab of salmon for dinner, I use a cheap Brinkman tall charcoal grill loaded with Apple, Cherry, etc... takes 10-15 minutes.

Grilling is done on Weber Summit, ready in a couple minutes

[NRA4LIFE]

I also have that same model.  You will love it.

[C-Money]

I went propane, and it is to hot for salmon/trout. Still tastes pretty good, but hard to keep under 200deg. Tri Tip, ribs, turkeys, the propane is awesome.

[KFhunter]

On the masterbuilt I got that little side box and it works good.  I did put some lava tape smoker sealer (amazon) around the inlet spout and that stopped any leaks there.  It was pouring out smoke for 4 hours straight out of the main unit smoking about 20lbs of bacon.

They have a cheesy J hook to secure the side box to the main smoker unit, but the inside of the main smoker unit is too thin and flimsy, so you'll screw up the tube flange inside so I got that all straitened out and looking to come up with a better way to secure the little side smoker unit. 

[Chase2008]

Never had a smoker and looking at trying one out. Black Friday ad for a masterbuilt 30" for $99. Is this something to purchase to try out a smoker?

[Twispriver]

Lots of people really seem to like the Masterbuilt smokers. I have one that I was never really happy with and now just use it as a hot-box / warming oven when I am making a bunch of stuff on my offset charcoal and wood smoker.

[bigjohn98591]

I picked up a 40" Masterbuilt at Sportsman's Warehouse yesterday. $179 I thought was a good deal. Can't wait to start using it, anybody have any must try recipes for it?

Sent from my QTASUN1 using Tapatalk

[quadrafire]

I picked up a 40" Masterbuilt at Sportsman's Warehouse yesterday. $179 I thought was a good deal. Can't wait to start using it, anybody have any must try recipes for it?

Sent from my QTASUN1 using Tapatalk

i think that is a good price. Love my 40 in MES. Did a thanksgiving bird in it. Perfect. Do pork shoulders and ribs all the time. Use an AMAZN smoker to do cheese.

[WapitiTalk1]

Did a prime rib in mine yesterday. Epic! .

[Blacklab]

Did a prime rib in mine yesterday. Epic! .

I bet!