so since there is not really a place for cooking equipment, and I am in need of recommendations for smokers, I will just put it here.
don, maybe another section in my area for cooking equipment?
?
all right folks, I had a Bradley electric smoker that took the little wood pucks/bisquettes as the fuel for smoke and have since had to give it back to the owner (a friend was storing some stuff at my house after his divorce). there are really 3 BIG issues on why I would not buy one of those as a replacement. those 3 issues are
1. the system only has a 500w capacity and that is split between the heating element that cooks the product and the heating element that burns the wood pucks/bisquettes to generate the smoke. I have called and talked to the company to see if they offer a bigger heating element and they do not?
2. since they use sawdust type pucks/bisquettes, they only place you can find them is either amazon or at an actual cabelas store (the closest store to me is in Lubbock which is 300+ miles)
3. the thing was very temperamental when it came to heat regulation. because the heat capacity was very limited, I had to actually use it in my garage where I could control the environment.
so here are my thoughts on what I am actually looking for and or direction I am wanting to go in.
1. big wood burning smokers: are really nice to look at and can only do a limited amount of meat (depending on the size that you are running). wood burning smokers take a lot of fiddling with to get the temps just right and also to keep them at constant temps ("cant set it and forget it"). being that this area does not really have a lot of trees, I would have to purchase the wood that would be burned/used as fuel. so in reality I am not leaning towards a wood burning smoker unless somebody can give me some information that I may be totally missing. (I have a really nice gas grill with cast brass burners that i have had for something like 8 years and it is still in awesome condition, so i am not looking for another grill?)
2. electric smokers: I really am not opposed to another electric smoker, as long as I could find one that is in a relatively low price range. I have seen a few really nice looking electric smokers that are upwards of 1400w, and are upwards of $600-$2500 cost. another draw back to these models are that you can not "set it and forget it", you have to pay close attention to the level of wood that you have in the hopper and have to constantly be adding more wood for the smoke. the Bradley was convenient in that regards because each puck was rated for 20 minutes and you could just load up the hopper, set the smoke time and the cook time and just walk away and check it every so often to make sure i wasn't burning down my garage.
3. gas powered smokers: now with the gas powered smokers, i would have better regulation of the heat in outdoor environments but would not be able to "set it and forget it" because i would have to monitor the level of the wood chips in the hopper area. now i have seen a few from amazon that have 3 separate compartments (1. product section, 2. water/drip pan section, 3. wood chip hopper section) they are rated at something like 15k BTU and the landmann ones have a cast brass burner. with the 3 different section, i would be able to add more wood chips and not have to open the main compartment and lose smoke and or heat. in reality I would have more control over the "set it and forget it" concept and would also not have to interrupt the smoking/cooking process. here are a few links to the ones I was looking at.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Landmann%20Smoky%20Mountain%20Premium%2038%20in.%20Vertical%20LP%20Gas%20Smoker%20with%20Two%20External%20Drawers%20Wide%20Body"]Amazon.com: Landmann Smoky Mountain Premium 38 in. Vertical LP Gas Smoker with Two External ...@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31k2RU6kosL.@@AMEPARAM@@31k2RU6kosL[/ame]
http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/masterbuilt-extra-large-vertical-propane-smoker/pid-929807?N=578824977&Ntt=smokers&Ntk=All
I am really leaning towards the landmann wide body one and have not really decided positive or negative on the masterbuilt one?
let me also add a few things/stipulations.
1. I am not at a permanent location (I retire in just over a year and will most likely be moving) so building a permanent smoking structure for the long term is out of the question.
2. as stated above, I am not looking for another "grilling" option because I have one of those and am pretty darn set on grilling with gas instead of charcoal.
3. I am very limited at the moment on what fabrication tools / processes I have at my disposal
4. $$$$ is a factor to an extent, but can be over looked for a really good quality product.
so what are your comments and or options that you can offer me?
don, maybe another section in my area for cooking equipment?
all right folks, I had a Bradley electric smoker that took the little wood pucks/bisquettes as the fuel for smoke and have since had to give it back to the owner (a friend was storing some stuff at my house after his divorce). there are really 3 BIG issues on why I would not buy one of those as a replacement. those 3 issues are
1. the system only has a 500w capacity and that is split between the heating element that cooks the product and the heating element that burns the wood pucks/bisquettes to generate the smoke. I have called and talked to the company to see if they offer a bigger heating element and they do not?
2. since they use sawdust type pucks/bisquettes, they only place you can find them is either amazon or at an actual cabelas store (the closest store to me is in Lubbock which is 300+ miles)
3. the thing was very temperamental when it came to heat regulation. because the heat capacity was very limited, I had to actually use it in my garage where I could control the environment.
so here are my thoughts on what I am actually looking for and or direction I am wanting to go in.
1. big wood burning smokers: are really nice to look at and can only do a limited amount of meat (depending on the size that you are running). wood burning smokers take a lot of fiddling with to get the temps just right and also to keep them at constant temps ("cant set it and forget it"). being that this area does not really have a lot of trees, I would have to purchase the wood that would be burned/used as fuel. so in reality I am not leaning towards a wood burning smoker unless somebody can give me some information that I may be totally missing. (I have a really nice gas grill with cast brass burners that i have had for something like 8 years and it is still in awesome condition, so i am not looking for another grill?)
2. electric smokers: I really am not opposed to another electric smoker, as long as I could find one that is in a relatively low price range. I have seen a few really nice looking electric smokers that are upwards of 1400w, and are upwards of $600-$2500 cost. another draw back to these models are that you can not "set it and forget it", you have to pay close attention to the level of wood that you have in the hopper and have to constantly be adding more wood for the smoke. the Bradley was convenient in that regards because each puck was rated for 20 minutes and you could just load up the hopper, set the smoke time and the cook time and just walk away and check it every so often to make sure i wasn't burning down my garage.
3. gas powered smokers: now with the gas powered smokers, i would have better regulation of the heat in outdoor environments but would not be able to "set it and forget it" because i would have to monitor the level of the wood chips in the hopper area. now i have seen a few from amazon that have 3 separate compartments (1. product section, 2. water/drip pan section, 3. wood chip hopper section) they are rated at something like 15k BTU and the landmann ones have a cast brass burner. with the 3 different section, i would be able to add more wood chips and not have to open the main compartment and lose smoke and or heat. in reality I would have more control over the "set it and forget it" concept and would also not have to interrupt the smoking/cooking process. here are a few links to the ones I was looking at.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Landmann%20Smoky%20Mountain%20Premium%2038%20in.%20Vertical%20LP%20Gas%20Smoker%20with%20Two%20External%20Drawers%20Wide%20Body"]Amazon.com: Landmann Smoky Mountain Premium 38 in. Vertical LP Gas Smoker with Two External ...@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31k2RU6kosL.@@AMEPARAM@@31k2RU6kosL[/ame]
http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/masterbuilt-extra-large-vertical-propane-smoker/pid-929807?N=578824977&Ntt=smokers&Ntk=All
I am really leaning towards the landmann wide body one and have not really decided positive or negative on the masterbuilt one?
let me also add a few things/stipulations.
1. I am not at a permanent location (I retire in just over a year and will most likely be moving) so building a permanent smoking structure for the long term is out of the question.
2. as stated above, I am not looking for another "grilling" option because I have one of those and am pretty darn set on grilling with gas instead of charcoal.
3. I am very limited at the moment on what fabrication tools / processes I have at my disposal
4. $$$$ is a factor to an extent, but can be over looked for a really good quality product.
so what are your comments and or options that you can offer me?