Best Food Truck/catering smoker

I'm confused. At first you say that you chose an electric smoker because you can't use other types of smokers while the truck is moving and then you ask for recommendations on non-electric smokers. Is cooking while moving no longer a concern for you or are you still going to rely on your electric smoker for that and use the new smoker only for onsite cooks?

Old hickory or Southern Pride. A few options to choose from.

Most of the restaurants here in Memphis use Southern Prides, but some also use Ole Hickory smokers. I don't think you could go wrong with either one. You can get a lot of smoke flavor in your meat with both of those smokers if you use enough wood in addition to the gas. I am not aware of any commercial operations here that use pellet smokers, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

I would look at the models that Southern Pride and Ole Hickory have available that fit your capacity needs and budget to see which one would work best for you. I would also keep a lookout on eBay and Craigslist since a used one in good shape could save you a lot of money, even if you have to drive a long way to pick it up. The seller might even agree to deliver the smoker or at least meet you halfway.

Real Urban Barbecue in Chicago uses a FEC Pellet Cooker.

GottaQ said:

OK, So I'll expand on the Question, FEC 500 Pellets OR Southern Pride or Ole Hickory Equivelent LP/Wood??? Best for Smoke Flavor, Smoke Ring, Authentic BBQ. I Use Apple so I struggle with smoke sometimes depending on the wood i get!!

Click to expand...

SO this might be going the opposite route, but might make more sense. Why not sell the food truck and just upgrade to a porch trailer that have enough room to do what you need. Mount a southern pride or ole hickory on the porch with the opening inside the trailer. Just a thought.

GottaQ said:

OK, So I'll expand on the Question, FEC 500 Pellets OR Southern Pride or Ole Hickory Equivelent LP/Wood??? Best for Smoke Flavor, Smoke Ring, Authentic BBQ. I Use Apple so I struggle with smoke sometimes depending on the wood i get!!

Click to expand...

As a disclaimer, I have an FEC120 and LOVE FECs. Now, having said that....

Smoke flavor is subjective. As an example, I took my brother and father to a place tonight that has 3 oylers, which many would agree are probably the gold standard in restaurant BBQ smokers, as authentic as you usually can get in a commercial setting. I loved the food. My father and brother though did not care for it as much as I did. They enjoyed it, but both felt the smoke flavor was too overpowering. Looking at yelp, the have lots of great reviews, but there were some that felt the same way about the smoke being too much. My point is not any ding against the place as I think the food was awesome, but that smoke flavor and how intense it is is definitely subjective.

The FEC does give a little lighter smoke flavor, but I do not view that as a negative. Also, it is easy to add a little more smoke with simple accessories.

I like that they are super easy to run by any staff, its much easier and cleaner to store pellets than wood splits, no need for any gas or special electrical hookup, and virtually no chance of fire in the cook chamber as all models other than the 100 have a seperate furnace outside the cook chamber. I would have much less of an issue running an FEC all night than a gas assisted pit like a SP or OH.

Old Hickory CTO or CTODW