Electric Smoker help.
 

I have a vertical charcoal smoker but I am also looking at getting an electric smoker with more room and the convenience it can provide.

I am having family from out of town and plan to do a pork butt and pork ribs next Saturday. However, with the charcoal smoker and the babysitting it requires, I have to be home most of the day to cook like I want. I'd rather set and forget the electric smoker for hours at a time so we can be out doing things rather than hanging around the house.

Anyone have any they like? I'm looking a something similar to the style posted below but not set on size or company.

How do you put the wood in these to smoke? I've read some still just put the chunks in there on the heating element and let it burn as the wood box doesn't allow much wood to be present.

Anyone have any recommendations?


https://masterbuilt.com/images/masterbuilt/20070311.png

They have a small pan above the heating element for wood chips or pellets.
A Weber Smokey Mountain will hold heat for 7-10 hours before you need to stoke it. I'd go that route before I bought an electric one. I'm sure that type does fine as well though

Go to 1:35.

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I have a Brinkmann charcoal smoker but it requires tending too every few hours for the 8-10 hour smokes I do for a pork butt. So I don't want another charcoal smoker even though I do know the Weber one is better. I am just looking for an alternative for when I want to smoke day or night with little to no monitoring.

I've seen these used by a couple of competitive BBQ teams.

http://www.north-america.bradleysmok...l-food-smoker/

Brinkmanship leak lots of heat

I almost bought the one in the pic in the op at sams but read reviews about the heating element failing

I have some digital coupons and perks through work and just saw a Bradley Smoker on there. Original Bradley 4 rack for $269.

Yea I too was looking at Masterbuilt one's but it seems it's very hit or miss on how long that heating element will last.

Also found on Amazon Prime for $267 shipped free!

http://www.amazon.com/Bradley-Smoker.../dp/B007FFYHM0

Dude, it's 85 degrees today. Just throw it in your trunk for like 10 hours

Wow, those wood Bisquettes get great reviews as well with the Bradley Smoker. Self feeds the wood every 20 minutes into the smoker. Looks very easy to use and has pretty decent reviews although it does have complaints of cheap parts and people needing to replace doors and such.

Noted. Would you like to come over when it's done?

I've been using electric smokers for over 15 years. I wore my first Bradley out and bought a new one. The current one is the same model as the one in your link except that its a 4 rack.

You can set it to feed wood, heat up or down as fast or slow as you want. Start it quick, back it down, bring it back up to finish whatever. I set it and forget it. But, that takes practice if you never worked with electric smokers.

You will need to run it once to cure the smoker. I'd suggest another run with some kind of cheap meat like chicken thighs.

There is a thread on here where electric smokers were discussed for hundreds of pages.

The bisqette things you feed into it cost a fortune. $/hr of smoke seems steep, but convenience ain't cheap.

Dinny

I got one of these for free a couple years ago. I don't much care for it.

Good to know. The one in the link is the 4 rack smoker so likely same as yours?

We had a thread last year about smokers but not the electric kind. It was a mixture of both.

Does this Bradley Unit allow anything other than those Bisquettes to be used? Can you also manually insert them instead of auto feed as many mention the auto-feed gets stuck?

Yea I agree. But I don't mind paying for some convenience. I'm looking for the set and forget type unit with this purchase!

Care to elaborate on why FMB?

I have an older masterbuilt and am happy with it. Smoke production is lacking so I added a smoke box, but temp control is great.

I've read that masterbuilt has had recent quality issues so not sure if the new ones are as good.

I have a Bradley and a masterbuilt. The master has moor room but I like the Bradley's auto feed function.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...1f2737eb98.jpg

This is the one I have. Great smoker... only bitch is you have to use their proprietary brisquets. I have not been able to find any generic equivalents...then again I haven't looked in a while either. Been smoking for a couple of years now without problems.... knocking on wood as I type this. ;)

Are Bradley's the one that require the special disks? I didnt like that.

I have a master built like the one in the OP. I like it a lot.

Fire

LMAO dick.

I don't see any generic bisquettes at this time either. I do see a 120 count pack on Amazon for between $35-40 which isn't bad as most cooks you will only use 9-12 bisquettes at a time.

Would you be able to add wood chips or chunks to the inside of the unit if say I ran out of bisquettes but wanted to smoke?

Best product for the money.

Had beat the heck out of this for 5 years.

http://www.amazon.com/Bradley-Smoker.../dp/B000FK09EW

And this has the elctronic controller. Price is great.

I use the bisquettes when I'm not going to be around. Use the automatic feed.

When I'm around I use wood chips. Usually a combination of hickory/Oak/Apple/Cherry chips. Just throw them in the bowl with a little water.

Here's some pics of the last round using the bradley cheater smoker.

Bump got excited when he saw "smoker" in title.

The proprietary briquettes are a drawback, but I'm with gonzo on this one. The convenience is hard to beat.

Is there a problem with the water pan running dry on these electrics? (provided you are using a water pan with your project) An automatic water leveler would probably be too much to ask.

Dinny

Yeah, it is a convenient ****er. Good news is the wood discs are cheaper now.

You must use water. Without it, your meat will dry. Both smokers came with a pan for water. I've never had an issue with the pan running dry.

The problem I've had is the grease off the meat, like when I cook chicken running into the pan of water. Creates a problem with the wood burning evenly.

I've done a 14 hour pork butt with no issues with water running out. Don't know how it would do at higher temps.

Great! I plan to only use the bisquettes if I won't be around but if I am around I plan to use a similar wood chip mixture to yours mentioned.

I know this is a n00b question but you put the chips in the water pan and they give off enough smoke? I guess I've never heard of that?

I usually don't go over 200 degrees. I like to slow cook in the electric smokers. The pan is never close to being out of water.

We don't usually cook for a ton of people so I am hoping the 4-rack is enough to meet our needs. I'm not sure Mrs. Lewdog is ready to drop $500 on a smoker as I need a new grill also. :D

Yep, fill it up to the line in the pan. Throw your hickory/oak in then when it warms up and hits about 150 degrees, throw on the apple/cherry chips. Alternate flavors as needed to keep the smoke going as desired.

Whatever happened to Bump? (sorry Lewdog, not meaning to hijack)

I've considered getting an electric to be able to smoke hotdogs and sausages at lower temperatures consistently.

There are a million ways to set up a lower temp smoking thingy, but the easiest thing to put together is the hardest to control temp.

Does anyone know of an electric that doesn't require proprietary brisquettes? My schedule can usually afford me the time I need to not leave a project unattended for a great deal of time.

Dinny

From what I am reading the Bradley goes about as low temperature wise as an electric will go. I myself am not going to do the brisquettes all the time either so I am glad BRC stated a way to use this smoker with and without them.

Seems like the best of both worlds and gives you options for whatever your schedule allows with this smoker. And if temp control is what you are after, this seems to handle that quite well.

As far as the water thing, I have a Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5. The water pan in it holds a max. 3 gallons. I seem to get ~ 3 hr/gal @ ~225F. If I stuff it full with charcoal/chunks and 3gal water, I can get 8-9ish hours unattended. This is what I do on an overnight project.

Dinny

edit: I love the Weber because you can really control the temp, which is difficult to do when burning wood.

Just use regular wood chips. It's no different. Just make sure you use the thin chips, not the thick ones. They don't burn evenly and to hard to control the smoke. Thin chips work great. Been using them in the Bradley and Madsterbuilt electric smokers for over 10 years. Like these below.
http://www.grillingcompanion.com/wp-.../2008/07/5.jpg

Here's another n00b question. You don't honestly mean to tell me you just throw wood chips in the water pan without doing anything to them first and they ignite enough to smoke? Don't you have to ignite them in a smoke box first and then dump them in there.

Nope. Just throw them in there. Remember its a electric smoker. The wood is about 2-3 inches from the heating element.

Sometimes I soak them in water overnight. But, now I skip that step. I've learned to control the smoke. I used to mix the woods together and cook together but it seems the meat has better flavor when rotating the wood flavors.

Also, if you guess wrong on your smoke just open or close the release valve on top of the unit to correct. When your cooking at low temp like I do, opening the door throws off the temp.

Haha. You know it!

Is that dude still alive? I haven't seen him around for awhile.

I have a master built and I think it goes down to 100 or 150.

I've had a 40" Masterbuilt for a year. Love it. I recently got an Amaz-N-Smoker pellet maze and it is great for long smokes. Otherwise I use wood chips in the chip loader. Just smoked 3 turkeys and a prime rin the last 2 days with it. Easy as can be.

Thanks, you've been a big help.

I think I'll go with the Bradley for the best of both world's. When I am around all day I'll do your method above. If I want to smoke all night or all day and do something else, I'll use the bisquettes.

:thumb:

or do what I do, and not be stuck buying proprietary pucks.

Please fill my n00b self in on how that works? How long does it last once filled?

http://www.amazon.com/A-MAZE-N-A-maz...=amaz-n+smoker

+

http://www.amazon.com/CookinPellets-...B6N6Z8SP252DSE

It kind of depends on airflow, but you can get hours out of it. Like maybe 5+ hours from a full maze.

I usually only fill it halfway. I've only used sawdust so far, but they make pellets also. It's a just a good slow burn that puts out the thin blue smoke that most experts feel is the source of the best flavor.

my vote goes for a traeger lil' tex , best smoker i've ever seen, you pay a bit more but i have neighbors who have had them for over 10 years. you wont believe how moist the meat comes out, and you dont have to screw with it at all.

p.s. you wont have to buy a new grille either, i have a badass one and dont even fire it up anymore, you can even bake on it

That looks a bit over lewdog's price range as I am seeing $600+ for those.

Wonderful thread, Lew. I'm asking for one of these for Christmas. I've been eyeballing them the last few years.

Well when lewdog makes a decision on purchasing something over $100 it's like deciding on your last meal. But in this case buyer's remorse is much worse than dying for me.

I've still been researching but need to order something by tomorrow.....

I've been asking for a smoker for years.
Santa hates me apparently.

Just go buy one. The one I have was like $180. And worth every dollar, especially since I can't get Q locally.

I use this one. It's not expensive, you have to reload the chips, but I'll say this, it's easy and awesome.

As I grow older and want smoked foods, it's not always about the process and the challenge, it's about the results, and this puppy delivers that. Right outside the back door on the wood deck too!

No, it's not huge, it doesn't have temp settings (too hot for smoking fish!), but it sure is awesome for one "normal" brisket, a "normal" turkey, a chicken (or two), or a ham!

Like a Harley, I'll get one of the other once my kid's out of college!
http://0.tqn.com/d/bbq/1/0/V/f/brink...ric_smoker.jpg

Ya know, sometimes ya gotta take matters into your own hands, beat the shit out of that fat ****, and ho-ho-ho your own elf shit! (And get this):

http://0.tqn.com/d/bbq/1/0/V/f/brink...ric_smoker.jpg

I have the charcoal version of that and it works fine but take quite a bit of checking. I'm looking for something easier in my old age here.

Welp, this takes no checking for temp. Yes, you have to load more chips, but that's easy. Water lasts 8-10 hours. So if you can deal with 225 degrees (190 in the dead of winter) for the whole process, this puppy is awesome and is something you can afford to toss if you hate it ($93).

http://www.amazon.com/Brinkmann-810-...lectric+smoker

Well I think I am going with the Bradley Original. I can use the pucks when I am super lazy or can add wood chips if I will be around. Plus I've got the vertical Brinkmann charcoal smoker for another alternative.

http://www.amazon.com/Bradley-Smoker...bradley+smoker

I just purchased the Masterbuilt at Bass Pro on Black Friday. I've always used a firebox on my charcoal grill, so this will be my first experience attempting to use an electric smoker. If I like the results as well as my charcoal smoker, I'll consider spending the cash for a better quality smoker. But, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to purchase one for $189.

You've been repped...

My parents stopped by and I showed them the Bradley Smoker I am going to order. They said they never got us a housewarming gift when we bought in February and they'd gladly buy "us" that. I think I'll gladly take their offer and not tell my wife they offered a housewarming gift as she'd probably want something she could use too.

ROFL

Oh and wife, if you are lurking under my account and read this. **** you, I know you'll love my cooking!

LOL, buy her a carpet cleaner....

I do most of the cleaning around here!

Yea, that's right Mrs. Lewdog, I. JUST. SAID. THAT!

Meh, me too, Mrs. GloryDayz knows I got the skills.

You ever ask your wife if she'd be ok with you adopting me???

That was in my younger days, SR. Randoms at work and me just liking alcohol more have stopped that.

Let me see if she's OK with adopting a high-price call girl first, OK?

ROFL

I've had a master built electric smoker from bass pro for 3 years. I'll throw some ribs or a pork butt in there for 8 hours and take off on the motorcycle for a nice ride, come back and dinner is done!

I just clicked checkout for Original Bradley Smoker along with a 48 pack of the Apple and Cherry Bisquettes for my Pork Butt and Pork ribs.

I spent $250 on a Masterbuilt about 10 years ago. 5 years ago I bought a Bradley for $500. The only differences that I see in electric smokers is the accessories, # or racks and bells and whistles.

I wanted to automatically time my smoke and heat at different levels over the cook period. Willing to pay more for that convenience.

Good idea to go on the cheaper side for a first timer. Be sure you like the cheater smokers. You can always upgrade later.

I'd never smoke with only fruit woods. But to each their own taste.

Agreed. I alternate with hickory and fruit.

So recommendations for pork then?

I always like to add some Oak when smoking. The only exception is with Salmon or Trout and then it is Apple only.