- Sep 27, 2015
- 8
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If I were to buy an Electric smoker should I get? I see Charbroil has some new models? Masterbuilt? I think the Bluetooth and temp monitoring would be nice. Looking for advice.
Thanks!
Thanks!
I've enjoyed my Masterbuilt electric digital smoker for over four years. It's a 30" Generation 1 model, which you can sometimes find for under $130-140 but more often around $170-180. That makes it the best electric smoker in its price range. I'm not a fan of any Charbroil products because I think the quality of construction is lacking across the board. Masterbuilt has a new Bluetooth model in both 30" and 40" sizes which has been very popular but they're also a little pricey. It depends on how much you plan to spend. Masterbuilt also has an excellent customer service department.
If I were to buy an Electric smoker should I get? I see Charbroil has some new models? Masterbuilt? I think the Bluetooth and temp monitoring would be nice. Looking for advice.
Thanks!
I forgot about the MES 40 Gen 1. Had I had the money that would have been my choice instead of the MES 30. Don't know why but you can find an abundance of MES 30 Gen 1's on Amazon but not one MES 40 Gen 1. At least I haven't seen one in a couple of years.
I love my MES40 Gen 1 smoker. It caused my two Big Chief's to go into retirement.
Well! This is news to me. You forsook your Cookshack Amerique for a Smokin-It? What happened to motivate you to make the change? But I tell you, if I had it in my budget and wanted to stick with electric smokers I'd be looking at a Cookshack or a Smokin-It. Some people like the Smokin-Tex, which looks very similar to a SI smoker. But from what I've read SI has the better line of smokers and their prices are better as well. AI know that Cookshack is made in the USA whereas SI is made in China. That's the primary reason why CS smokers are higher-priced than SI because the both seem to be about the same in quality. SI has the better warranty: parts are covered for 3 years instead of two.
Focus - Welcome to the forum.
You can get a smoke ring if your heat source is wood. Combustion of the wood produces the gasses that produce the smoke ring. You will not get the smoke ring with electric. The wood chips or chunks used are for smoke flavor.
TBS is thin blue smoke. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I do not. I use a Smokin-it electric smoker and prior to that a Cookshack Amerique. My smokers use chunks; 3 to 5 ounces total at the beginning of the smoke with no reloading needed. I can use tree branches from fruit trees in the wood box to save on money.
The AMNPS is an after market accessory that burns pellets or sawdust that a lot of master built owners use to avoid having to make repeated trips to fill the chip tray. From what I have read, you will need a torch to light the pellets/sawdust.
You need a quality temperature probe for monitoring the smoker temperature and when doing large pieces of meat, the internal temperature of the meat. Check out the ThermaQ and the Maverick.
Besides the smokers you are looking at in the stores, do not overlook smokers from Smokin-it. All stainless steel, inside and out; no plastic or painted parts, no gaskets, no windows, 3 year warranty on the smoker and if you get the digital version, the controller is covered by a 1 year warranty.
I am including a link to the SI smoker site and also a link to an article that explains smoke. Very helpful in understanding the science.
I hope this helps. It is very tempting when starting out to buy what looks good in a store but do some more reading and research. A smoker, a good one, is an investment.
Dave
http://www.smokin-it.com
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/zen_of_wood.html
Going to share a post I already made with you, for a very affordable yet nice unit from Master Built.
If I were to buy an Electric smoker should I get? I see Charbroil has some new models? Masterbuilt? I think the Bluetooth and temp monitoring would be nice. Looking for advice.
Thanks!
If you're looking to spend no more than $300, I think Masterbuilt is your best bet. You'll be limited to either one of their analog smokers or the https://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-20070910-30-Inch-Electric-Controller/dp/B00104WRCY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1470417734&sr=8-3&keywords=masterbuilt+smoker, which is what I own. It's a Generation 1 design that's several years old but remains a good one. Mine is the 30" model which means I'm limited to what I can put in there. A rack of pork ribs may squeeze up against the walls as well a beef brisket flat. I recently bought a whole packer brisket and have to plan how to fit that sucker in there and how many racks it will take. The smoker can also come with a half moon shaped controller (which was a redesign) but it's the same smoker. The price on Amazon right now is $189, what I paid for mine over 4 years ago, but I've seen it as low as $129 at Ace Hardware including meat probe and some other accessories. Mine didn't come with a meat probe or a window and I don't miss either one.
I've recently made the decision to go electric myself. I have loved my char-griller with side fire box for many years, but my life demands a more set-and-forget option. Plus the New England winters have taken their toll on the Char Griller.
My 2 whole hours of research turned up the Masterbuilt and Bradley models. Stopping by Lowes and Home Depot and I was relatively pleased. Although the models they had on the floor (the 30" Masterbuilt and 40" with window and remote control) had some plusses and minuses. the notable minus being the chip/ash holder looked really small for a long smoke session - like about 1.5 cups. Ditto for the water basin - maybe two cups there. I've seen a video through the Lowes/HD website that shows a model with a larger water basin. However, the model in the video didn't have a meat thermoprobe - which I really liked in the floor models I've seen.
As to the Bradley models, I'm very interested in the automatic feed system, but I'm not crazy about being wedded to Bradley bisquetts forever. But from what I can tell, you can get a longer smoke session using the Masterbuilt cold smoke accessory so you're not refilling the chips every few minutes. Any experience with this out there?
Couple more questions:
- Someone said that you can't get a smoke ring with a Masterbuilt. What gives there?
- What is TBS and AMNPS?
- Should I get hung up over the meat probe? I read another post here that says it's not accurate anyway. I think I can just use another remote probe thermometer and thread it through the exhaust valve, right?
I haven't mentioned yet that I'm looking to spend $200-$300, maybe a little more if it's really worth it.
Thanks for the advice.
From what I've read, the ones who get smoke rings add a lump of charcoal to the wood chips under the heating element. Wood chips/pellets alone never burn hot enough nor generate enough of the gases needed to generate a smoke ring. It's all cosmetic anyway. I've chosen not to try it because I don't feel like experimenting with a burning charcoal lump inside my electric smoker.
"#2 From what I understand, you cannot get a smoke ring with the Masterbuilt. But he claims he can get a smoke ring every time"
--> Check out the thread and Qview I put up last night for my first butt on my MES 30 - it has a smoke ring.
"#3 It can get hot enough to sear steaks and cook pizza; the MES can only get to 240F or so. Being a Massachusetts resident, if I could have a smoker AND a outside oven, that would be huge (no a/c during the summer makes cooking inside nearly impossible.)"
--> Not sure about the searing part but MES are good for 275F as far as I know.
I've done four smokes on my MES 30 (Gen 1) since July 4th weekend and really like it. I had done smoking on my Weber kettle for several years and really enjoy the ease of using the MES (again, have a look at my first pork butt thread - that's about as easy of smoking as I could imagine). I've read a lot about the AMNPS gadget and various other modifications/upgrades but decided to use the MES stock for some smokes to get accustomed to it and see how it performs out of the box, then see where I want to go from there. So far I have not been disappointed!
I just ran it on the higher end of the smoking scale (275F) with few modest sized hand fulls of mesquite/apple chips and had a decent looking ring - at least in some areas but possibly not all throughout.
From what I've read, the ones who get smoke rings add a lump of charcoal to the wood chips under the heating element. Wood chips/pellets alone never burn hot enough nor generate enough of the gases needed to generate a smoke ring. It's all cosmetic anyway. I've chosen not to try it because I don't feel like experimenting with a burning charcoal lump inside my electric smoker.