Electric Smokers
- Thread starter greg13
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I’ve eaten foods from an electric smoker tasty . My friend did up a few chickens. The wood chips provide the flavor . I was pleasantly surprised at how good the chicken was .
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Huge fan, bought one a few years ago and will never use charcoal or wood again. Sure, those tast marginally more authentic, but same, kids and job makes it way too much hassle. I smoke ribs, wings, turkeys, brisket, the whole 9 yards and always turns out fantastic. I bought a masterbuilt, good product.
I have a master built love it
Food is great
Cleaning it sucks
Food is great
Cleaning it sucks
I just have a Masterbuit from Bass Pro Shops for when I'm not around to babysit my Monolith. It works fine and is fairly cheap. You just put in the wood, set the time and temp then walk away while checking the meat temp toward the end. Lowes, HD, Wallyworld sell them and the chips.
Robot or human?
www.walmart.com
You have to be careful of the recent vintage Masterbilt electrics. They started building them in China and there are numerous instances of the internal wiring frying itself.
I opted for propane
I opted for propane
I have a Kamado Joe. Love it. My sister has an electric masterbuilt. Food is good enough. Seems to work fine for them.
I know you didn't ask, but have you considered a Pellet grill? Almost hassle free and great results.
My dad has a smaller electric smoker, can't remember the brand. It's great for some things, but has it's limitations.
He has problems adjusting the heat at times. He makes a lot of summer sausage and can't get the heat high enough to finish cooking it, so he finishes it in the oven.
I'll stick with my wood/charcoal. I don't mind cooking with it, even with long smoke times. And I don't mind cutting the wood for it either.
He has problems adjusting the heat at times. He makes a lot of summer sausage and can't get the heat high enough to finish cooking it, so he finishes it in the oven.
I'll stick with my wood/charcoal. I don't mind cooking with it, even with long smoke times. And I don't mind cutting the wood for it either.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
My other half got me a Big Green Egg for Christmas... did my first brisket last weekend... delicious!
I have had one for years and really enjoy it. Food is really tasty. Love brisket smoked.
I have two Little Chief electric smokers that were purchased in the 1970's. I use them to smoke shad and venison jerky. Of course they are dinosaurs but they still work and the results are great. Tiny chips are put in a frying pan, for lack of a better description, and that is placed on top of a U-shaped electric coil. It works! I also have a charcoal smoker and my son has a very good Weber charcoal smoker. When all four are put into operation, I can smoke a boatload of shad.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
Does smoking the shad at a low temp for long periods melt the bones or do you just pick them apart and do away with the bones as you eat?
I have a Kamado that I convert into a cold smoker to make Nova lox and smoked cheeses. I used the tube at first but found it burned hot and fast. I switched to the Amaz’n pellet snake and can do a 6 hour smoke no problem. Key is to probe the grate temp and to insert a tray of ice under whatever you are smoking if the temp climbs above 70-80 deg. I also got a blowtorch to light the pellets (cherry is my favorite) let them burn for 5 minutes before blowing out the flame to create the smolder. Fun winter activity and great flavor.
Interesting stuff. Thanks. I have not heard anyone mention a tube smoker burning that hot. I have heard people mention putting a tray of ice in as well. I’ll keep that in mind as I try this out.
The smoke tube is a temporary solution for me anyway. I have an old propane masterbuilt box that no longer works. The burner died. I’m going to line the inside and outside with cedar and use a Bradley smoke machine for the smoke. That’s going to be a spring project.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
I use Flame Boss on my Green Egg and keeps that temp locked in totally on what you set ... yes I agree totally to probe the grate temp and I use a pan of water underneath it as I smoke
No, unfortunately not. Even the oven recipes with milk don't "melt" the bones, and in my opinion those recipes just ruin the fish. Shad is quite tasty when prepared properly, usually broiled. Its Latin name, Alosa sapidissima, means "most delicious fish.".I usually brine the fish overnight, rinse before smoking, towel dry them a bit, and then smoke them for 4-6 hours depending on the thickness of the piece. I also smoke the shad roe but you don't need to keep that in the smoker for more than 2.5-3 hours. Yes, I just pick out the bones as I eat the smoked pieces. By this time - I caught my first shad in 1963 - I know where the bones are. I've watched professional debone shad but I never have been able to do it myself. Quite an art, and a dying one at that.
I have a rec Tec pellet (along with a gateway drum which is my favorite cooker) and I love it for that reason. I just smoked an 18lb prime brisket last weekend. Put it on at 11pm Friday night at 195 and let it roll for 8 hours. Wrapped it in butcher paper, turned the temp up to 250, and let it roll for another 10 hours. Crazy smoke ring and perfect bark. Main point is I didn’t have to worry about monitoring the temp at all.
Gonna try a brisket this weekend on my gateway drum hot and fast. Taste the difference between the two.
Pellet smokers are the way to go if you can fit it into your budget. I had a big green egg for a while and loved it but went with that ease of the pellet a couple years ago. I don’t notice any real difference between the two with what I cook.
My propane burner "died" too - made of cast iron, it finally succumbed to the humidity here in Houston. Since you are overhauling the box, I suggest installing a replacement banjo burner - high pressure if the original wasn't. I made the transplant to smoke turkey for this past Thanksgiving and what a difference from the underpowered unit originally supplied.
Reading up on the subject I learned that all outdoor smokers should use high pressure propane system - didn't know folks would even attempt to use any of these smokers indoors, lol. Before the rehab, I had difficulties reaching temps over 2oo degrees... the gas wasn't all being directed through the burner... some just escaped through the rusted out portion to lazily burn along the floor of the box. Probably lucky the thing didn't blow sky-high. Now the lowest temp I can dial-in is 160... and easily heats to 350 degrees IF I have to cheat and speed things up. Here's what I purchased at Home Depot, but you can get various makes & sizes elsewhere to suit your needs.
GASONE 10 in. Cast Iron Burner Head with Propane Regulator-50270+2109 - The Home Depot
I have a temp controller from BBQ GURU (similar to flame boss) that works well when smoking above 200 deg but I haven’t gotten it to work for cold smoking cheeses or lox where grate temp is room temperature or lower. That’s where the ice has come in handy
Sounds like a plan and please report back on the Bradley when you’ve got your new rig up and running. I think my issue with the smoke tube was unique to my setup because the Kamado is just too good of an insulator. You can burn a candle in that thing and get the grate temp up to 150 deg in an hour or two
I have a Kamado Joe for hot smoking. I'm just going to turn the old box into a cold smoke box. It's rusting in too many places from all the fat drippings and from sitting outside for the last ten or so years mostly uncovered. It's not worth putting too much money into it. But I'm taking notes for when I move again and build an actual outdoor smokehouse.
I have a Kamado Joe, so I should probably have the same issue. Did you leave the vents open at all? I've watched videos using smoke tubes that worked just fine. But I'll definitely follow your advice on the ice tray.
Once I re-clad the old box in wood, I'll try to post a pic.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
Thanks... Yes I have watched every video and tried every way to bone a shad and never got it right. What temp do you smoke them? Thanks for the tip with brining them overnight as well....Been catching them a long time on the Delaware River...
Yes, had vents fully open on a 30 deg winters day and still would have melted the cheeses if I wasn’t swapping in ice. In hindsight I probably could have left the lid open a crack but you lose smoke that way. Also, try some almonds or peanuts - they’re awesome
I’m gonna try a lot of stuff. Whiskey, water (for ice cubes), nuts, cheese, salmon....
This is the guy that sells the BBQ Guru. Good dude. His Instagram page is worth a follow for us BBQ guys. He also is now traveling the US doing classes.
The :Little Chiefs don't have temp. gauges. They are dinosaurs. My charcoal smoker doe not have a gauge with numbers. I keep it about midway between the bottom and top. Yes, I know I run a very antiquated operation. But the results are good. The season isn't that far away. If you need some darts, I'll be happy to send you some. I make my own. I have 1/4, 1/6, and 1/16 ounce molds. I usually go with the 1/16 and the right amount of shot to get them down toward the bottom of the channel. I do't use downriggers; never had a need to go in that direction. My darts are various fluorescent combinations. Let me know if you'd like some. I have lots and always make more to keep myself busy in February and March. By the way, my first name is Dennis.
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