Smokers?

[leebee]

For meat, not cigarettes, hahaha! We are thinking of getting DH a smoker for Father's Day, as he is very interested in trying to smoke turkey, brisket, etc. I had no idea there were so many options!! It seems there are electric smokers, charcoal smokers, wood smokers, pit smokers- it's mind-boggling! What do you use, like, or recommend? I"d like to keep the cost to under $200. Thanks for your help!

 

[BrianL]

Many years ago I bought my mom an electric smoker - it was pretty basic but for entry-leveI I thought it was okay. It worked great and she made some good stuff in it! It was a present for her, but really it was a present for me and my step-dad! I can't remember how much it was, but it wasn't too expensive. I believe it was a Masterbuilt. The electric ones aren't too much so I'd recommend starting with that.

Also, I shoud note I probably bought it a little less than 10 years ago and it still works, though the numbers on the temperature control have worn off. It has lasted a good long while though.

 

[loves to dive]

Caveat - I'm from Georgia so we take our smoking seriously here. Hubby has one that his father made for him out of cast iron (he is a welder by trade). It uses both propane and wood, the propane is actually just an easy way to light the wood. He tends to use a mix of wood in it, some of it is actually old hickory branches that have fallen in our yard and he buys other wood at places like Lowes. He soaks his wood before he fires up the smoker and it normally takes at least 5 or 6 hours to smoke anything. It's indirect heat, which from what I understand, means the wood and heat are to the side and not directly under the food. According to him and his family, if you are smoking the only way to do it is with wood but you could use charcoal in a pinch. When he smokes he generally does a couple of butts, about 6 racks of ribs and about 4 or 5 packages of sausages (a mix of mild and hot) at one time. We then pull the butt. He does not put any kind of sauce on it when he smokes it and we have sauces you can add if you want to. Before his Daddy made the one he has, I offered to buy him one of the electric ones and the words that came out of his mouth can not be repeated, evidently one does not smoke with electric or gas.

 

[NYCgrrl]

For meat, not cigarettes, hahaha! We are thinking of getting DH a smoker for Father's Day, as he is very interested in trying to smoke turkey, brisket, etc. I had no idea there were so many options!! It seems there are electric smokers, charcoal smokers, wood smokers, pit smokers- it's mind-boggling! What do you use, like, or recommend? I"d like to keep the cost to under $200. Thanks for your help!

I've used several types of smokers but never purchased one since it just doesn't fit apartment life much. Still, I think this might be of interest to your DH in that price range:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ZL182I?linkCode=ogiNot great for dense cuts of meats like a beef roast but pretty simple to use and the price is right. It only smokes at one set temperature.

 

[BrianL]

Caveat - I'm from Georgia so we take our smoking seriously here. Hubby has one that his father made for him out of cast iron (he is a welder by trade). It uses both propane and wood, the propane is actually just an easy way to light the wood. He tends to use a mix of wood in it, some of it is actually old hickory branches that have fallen in our yard and he buys other wood at places like Lowes. He soaks his wood before he fires up the smoker and it normally takes at least 5 or 6 hours to smoke anything. It's indirect heat, which from what I understand, means the wood and heat are to the side and not directly under the food. According to him and his family, if you are smoking the only way to do it is with wood but you could use charcoal in a pinch. When he smokes he generally does a couple of butts, about 6 racks of ribs and about 4 or 5 packages of sausages (a mix of mild and hot) at one time. We then pull the butt. He does not put any kind of sauce on it when he smokes it and we have sauces you can add if you want to. Before his Daddy made the one he has, I offered to buy him one of the electric ones and the words that came out of his mouth can not be repeated, evidently one does not smoke with electric or gas.

I get that some people are purists, but the electric smokers use wood too. You have to use wood to get the smokey flavor and you can buy the flavored chips or use your own. I don't think using electric to heat the wood affects the flavor much at all. I would think gas might as I know anything cooked on propane can get that taste on it. I think for a beginner electric is a perfect way to start.

 

[wfloyd]

One thing when smoking meat is you want to keep the temperature at a fairly constant level. Some of the cheaper smokers don't do this very well and it means more work for you to keep the temperature from getting to high or low.

I am a fan of the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker (wore out my first one after 12 years (18 inch) and am working on my second one (22 inch) now). They have different sizes depending on how much you want to do at a time. A decent size turkey will easily fit on the 18 inch model. I like that I can get the temperature set around 11 at night and it will stay within 5 degrees throughout the night so that I don't have to keep getting up and monitoring it all night.

The Big Green Egg is another good one but those are much more expensive and probably out of your budget.

 

[wenrob]

Just, if he gets one, remind him not EVERYTHING needs to be smoked. Man, that was a long two weeks.

Can’t recommend DH’s as it’s not in your price range. He uses Mesquite Pellets though and let me tell you on the right things the flavor can’t be beat.

 

[2goofycampers]

DH has this one and loves it.

https://www.masterbuilt.com/collections/smokers/products/analog-electric-smoker
Be sure if you get an electric one it has a minimum of 1500 watts.

 

[Kae]

We have a Z grill (like a Treager) we love it. Most of my friends have Pit Boss brand

 

[fly girl]

My husband has a Bradley smoker I bought for him 9 years ago so the price point is now too high. I think back then it was $250, now it's $400. YOWSA! He does love it, and it works well, but it isn't for the purists as it is electric.

For meat, not cigarettes, hahaha!

I laughed at that because yes, at first I thought this post was about cigarettes! LOL. But seriously, my husbands first meat smoke he got overzealous trying to infuse the smoke flavor. O-M-G, it literally was like eating a cigarette. If only I had a video of our faces taking that first bite.

Just, if he gets one, remind him not EVERYTHING needs to be smoked. Man, that was a long two weeks.

Ha ha ha ... been there, done that. And the answer is no. I don't want smoked peaches.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Along those lines.... DS15's foods instructor posted this video link for the kids to watch on how to smoke chicken wings... apparently Jesse Pryles does a bunch of "how to" on smoking meats.

 

[wenrob]

My husband has a Bradley smoker I bought for him 9 years ago so the price point is now too high. I think back then it was $250, now it's $400. YOWSA! He does love it, and it works well, but it isn't for the purists as it is electric.



I laughed at that because yes, at first I thought this post was about cigarettes! LOL. But seriously, my husbands first meat smoke he got overzealous trying to infuse the smoke flavor. O-M-G, it literally was like eating a cigarette. If only I had a video of our faces taking that first bite.




Ha ha ha ... been there, done that. And the answer is no. I don't want smoked peaches.

I like it but a little goes a long way and not every night with every blessed thing. His smoked burgers have spoiled me though. I have been disappointed every time I’ve ordered a burger somewhere since he got it.

 

[fly girl]

I like it but a little goes a long way and not every night with every blessed thing. His smoked burgers have spoiled me though. I have been disappointed every time I’ve ordered a burger somewhere since he got it.

Oh! Do I dare tell my husband to smoke a burger?

 

[wenrob]

Oh! Do I dare tell my husband to smoke a burger?

I’m telling you what, it’ll change your life. Just be forewarned getting them anywhere else will be a bummer after.

edit: Oh he says they’re not really smoked just grilled on the smoker. Apparently it’s the mesquite.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

For meat, not cigarettes, hahaha! We are thinking of getting DH a smoker for Father's Day, as he is very interested in trying to smoke turkey, brisket, etc. I had no idea there were so many options!! It seems there are electric smokers, charcoal smokers, wood smokers, pit smokers- it's mind-boggling! What do you use, like, or recommend? I"d like to keep the cost to under $200. Thanks for your help!

The key to good slow smoking is controlling your temperature and controlling your smoke. If you cannot do that, you're hosed. So you'll need a good rig that doesn't leak and has good venting when you need it. And you'll need a good temperature probe. Don't rely on the one in the unit if there is one. Just don't. In the real cheap range my suggestion is the Weber Kettle. It's decent right out of the box. You can pile all the fuel to one side when you're smoking. But even better, there are after market inserts you can buy that will help you do this even better. It's great for two zone grilling (a necessity) It has vents properly situation so as to control your fire and your smoke. And it doesn't leak like a sieve.

Also Weber makes a vertical smoker called the smokey mountain smoker. It's a pretty nice rig for $200. A couple of caveats. One. It's not all that convenient for long smoking that requires any reload. The fuel door is small and it is inconvenient. I would not try any sort of hot load using it. Two. I'm not a big fan of having what I am smoking directly over the fire. It makes it harder to truly control temp that way. But still, for $200 its quite the handy rig imo if you're doing ribs or the like or anything that can smoke in one load.

Above all don't get one of those cheap horizontal offset smokers. Now there are some mighty fine versions of these and I've worked with them. But you're not going to get one of the good ones for less than $500. And maybe even more than that. They look cool but the cheap ones leak like a sieve, air flow control across the smoker is nearly non existent and as a result you flat out can't control temperature or smoke in them. You'll end up frustrated and quit and your rig will turn into something you use just to grill. Or as one commentator put it, they are a pain in the pork butt.

Now these rigs do have a learning curve. So don't invite the Boss and her husband you want to impress over the first time out. Also, they take babying. These are by no means set it and forget it type rigs. For $200 you're just not going to get a rig capable of that. You're going to be out with the rig while you're doing it.

 

[RangerPooh]

You'll want to read lots of recent reviews. IMO you get what you pay for, so reading reviews will be important to ensure you get a decent product. Sorry I don't have any recommendations int hat price range.

The first smoker that DH got was by PitBoss and purchased from Lowes. It was ok, but something burned out and stopped working within the first six months. I recently got him a new one at Costco by Louisiana Grills that he likes a lot more. Both are electric and use pellets. I believe both have temperature sensor probes that can be inserted into the meat to monitor while cooking. This has been the gadget that we didn't know we needed, lol. Our new Webber grill has it too and has saved us from making trips to the back porch to continuously open the grill and smoker to take temp readings.

 

[easyas123]

Well I'm no expert, but my husband has a electric (like others have noted, still uses wood or pellets for seasoning purposes) one that is fairly large, and he loves it. It's his second one in about 20 years or so, he mostly smokes fish and venison, and the odd rack of ribs.
I have no idea of the make/brand/model but it is big...tall, really. Like 3/4 the size of a standard fridge tall. Anyway - It's a middle of the road type smoker, probably from Lowes or Home Depot.
I think it's a great idea for a gift - as WENROB alluded to, they will try to smoke everything for a while! Do yourself a favor and pick up a few types of meats for him to smoke as he gets a feel for it, and maybe some of the pellets or wood.

Enjoy & have fun!