Recommend a good electric smoker

Yiplong · Mar 21, 2019

As mentioned in my other thread, I will move into a condo, and replace my charcoal smoker and charcoal grill. For the grill I will go with propane and for the smoker I've decided to go electric.

I'm looking for something high quality, big enough to cook a meal for 5 with a bit of leftover but not much bigger than that. 4 racks of ribs or 1 brisket or 1 butt would suffice. I currently use the 18-inch WSM and that's about the right size, maybe something a little smaller could work. Definitely must have good seal so it can keep the smoky flavor in. Prefer smokers that use chunks instead of chips (if such thing exists). With chips I may have to refill, and if I'm going to go electric, I rather maximize convenience.

Any suggestions?

Joshw · Mar 21, 2019

Checkout Cookshack electric models. Personally I would rather have pellet, over electric though.

creek bottom · Mar 21, 2019

I personally use a Masterbuilt 30" electric smoker . It's a cabinet, has 4 racks, digital control, plenty of room to cook in. I can get 2 8# butts in with no problem... Reasonable price at WalMart or Amazon. Just my 2 cents...

Yiplong · Mar 21, 2019

creek bottom said:
I personally use a Masterbuilt 30" electric smoker . It's a cabinet, has 4 racks, digital control, plenty of room to cook in. I can get 2 8# butts in with no problem... Reasonable price at WalMart or Amazon. Just my 2 cents...

The "tube" that holds wood chips look small. How long does the smoke last and how often do you refill? I've only used chunks.

Bacchus2b · Mar 21, 2019

Cookshack for best quality.

- Insulated Stainless Steel
- Built like a tank
- Made in America with easy access to replacement parts if needed
- A smokette elite with two shelves sounds like it would be around the size you need, and while they retail for $899, you can find them used on Craigslist in the $300 range.

https://www.bbqguys.com/cookshack/smokette-elite-electric-bbq-smoker-sm025

Dmakkk · Mar 21, 2019

Pellet Grill...

LYU370 · Mar 21, 2019

I used to have a Cookshack SM020. The non stainless version of their SM025. The main difference in their smokers is basically just the number of shelves. 025 is 2 shelves, 045 is 3 shelves & 066 is 4 shelves. More expensive, but will last a lifetime, uses chunks, but don't use too many as you can easily over smoke things.

KevinJ · Mar 21, 2019

Cookshack is the best of the best, Smokin-it if you want to spend less.

Yiplong · Mar 21, 2019

KevinJ said:
Cookshack is the best of the best, Smokin-it if you want to spend less.

Smokin-It will probably work fine for me. Looks like it's a real small shop, how long have they been around? I am concern about the ability to get spare parts if the heating element etc burn out.

cookingdude555 · Mar 21, 2019

Ive had my smokin-it #3 for 5 years. Its a fantastic smoker. Ive bypassed the rheostat temp controller and added a WiFi controller by auber. Smokin it are basically clones of smokeshacks. Steve, the owner is great to work with and very helpful.

Jason TQ · Mar 21, 2019

Get a pellet if you can. It's electric with no more flame than a gas grill.

cookingdude555 · Mar 21, 2019

I should add, electric removes much chance of a smoke ring, if that is your thing. My pellet grill produces a huge smoke ring, but honestly I think the smokin it produces a better product than my pellet grill.

EyeBurnEverything · Mar 21, 2019

+1 on the pellet. And don't get a vertical if you want to do 4 racks or even a whole brisket. I use my MES30 for tweo things, cold smoking Jerky and Salmon.

JWFokker · Mar 21, 2019

Definitely go pellet over electric. Electric is only good for cold smoking. Pit Boss makes some perfectly good units for about the same price as a Smokin It and they have a five year warranty now.

LYU370 · Mar 21, 2019

JWFokker said:
Definitely go pellet over electric. Electric is only good for cold smoking.

I'm guessing that you've never used a good electric smoker...

patrickd26 · Mar 21, 2019

Pellet over electric any day!!! I had a Bradley (wood pucks). That was not my favorite smoker. Unless it was a screaming hot day, I could NOT keep the chamber at a safe temp. It would struggle to keep 225 on a cool day.

I gave up on that and have purchased about every style of cooker since then. I like them all about 25x better than the electric. But, like someone said... if you HAVE to go electric... go CS.

The Wookiee · Mar 21, 2019

I had a smokin-it ... #3 i think. Held a lot of food and Cooked well. Gifted to friend to clear room for other cookers but it’s still going strong after 7yrs or so. No hesitation recommending them. Pellet tastes better to my pallet but also more can go wrong with pellet...

Yiplong · Mar 22, 2019

Looks like a lot of people are suggesting pellet. I haven't considered it up to this point, I will do now. The rulebook bans charcoal but doesn't say anything about pellet, I will check with the condo management. Charcoal is probably banned for insurance reasons (they claim charcoal is banned because of environmental, global warming, concerns!!). They do allow propane and electric, as long as pellet is deemed as safe as those I don't think they would have an issue.

I've never used a pellet smoker before, in terms of operations and taste, how does it compare to charcoal and electric? I have a WSM, adding fuel is kind of a pain and plus charcoal is dirty. Keeping steady temp is not hard unless on very cold or windy days.
Other than that I'm happy with the results. Electric will be a compromise in terms of taste but much easier to work with. No need to get up in the middle of the night to add fuel for long smoke is a big plus. Where does pellet stand in relation to these two? I don't care about smoke ring, don't think it has any impact on taste.

Yiplong · Mar 22, 2019

Jason TQ said:
Get a pellet if you can. It's electric with no more flame than a gas grill.

I haven't looked into pellet, but I will now. The condo doesn't like charcoal probably for insurance reasons, maybe also because charcoal can be quite dirty, their rule doesn't mention pellet. As long as pellets are deemed as safe as propane I don't see any problems.

How does pellet smoking work? In terms of operations, is it closer to electric or to charcoal? I'm mostly fine with charcoal operation, except it's hard to keep a steady temp on windy/cold days, and refilling charcoal can be a pain on the WSM.

Springram · Mar 22, 2019

Bacchus2b said:
Cookshack for best quality.

- Insulated Stainless Steel
- Built like a tank
- Made in America with easy access to replacement parts if needed
- A smokette elite with two shelves sounds like it would be around the size you need, and while they retail for $899, you can find them used on Craigslist in the $300 range.

https://www.bbqguys.com/cookshack/smokette-elite-electric-bbq-smoker-sm025

I gave my Cookshack to my neighbor after I got into stick burning, etc. It is now 14 years old and still going strong. No repairs, ever. They are tanks.

Recommend a good electric smoker

Is lookin for wood to cook with.

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