Just Got an Electric Smoker -HELP

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

smokeysue72

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 5, 2019
5
3
I was given a Pit-Boss 2-Series electric smoker- I know I know, not the best one out there.. but it was free and I want to give it a fair attempt. Im wondering if this is going to be too small to make brisket, turkey, or multiple things at once for its size. Is it going to take longer because its fairly small? Am I wasting my time? :emoji_anguished::emoji_anguished:
 
You will be able to turn out lots of good Q with that. There are many on here using electric smokers making killer good food. Only limit you might face is on larger briskets. Cut em in half :). Welcome aboard.
 
  • Like
Reactions: smokeysue72
I was given a Pit-Boss 2-Series electric smoker- I know I know, not the best one out there.. but it was free and I want to give it a fair attempt. Im wondering if this is going to be too small to make brisket, turkey, or multiple things at once for its size. Is it going to take longer because its fairly small? Am I wasting my time? :emoji_anguished::emoji_anguished:

Hi there and welcome!

I'm guessing your smoker size is fine but understand that you can't just cram it full and expect it to be super efficient and the more you put in it the longer any/all of it will take. How will it perform? Only trying some things will let you know but I suggest you crank the heat all the way up when full or working with big items like briskets since they don't care what temp they get smoked at :)

Well there are a few things you can do with a big brisket in a small vertical smoker.

1. Trim the brisket so that you remove the thin part of the flat and you then repurpose that meat. This will cut down on the size of the brisket. I always tell people to do it like this:
full

This thread will explain a bit about triming the brisket this way and what to do with with the meat if you want to still smoke it along with the brisket :)


2. Check out this thread where the guy leans his brisket upwards on an angled rack:

I hope this info helps! :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: jcam222
wow this is great info! thank you!

No problem!

If you are new to smoking and are going to tackle a brisket just understand that you are going right after the one cut of meat that takes the most research, preparation, and execution to get right.

I would highly recommend you start off with some simpler smokes first to learn what your smoker/system is doing so that you can be better prepared and know what to expect when it comes time to tackle the additional unknowns when smoking your first brisket.

Almost all smokers here use a wireless digital thermometer that has 2 more temp probes (I like 4+ probes) to accurrately smoke our meat. The meat temp probes and the smoker temp probes that come with many of these electrical or pellet smokers are just plain bad and incorrect all the time.
Having a dual probe (or more) thermometer means you can put one temp probe in the meat and the other at smoker rack level (with the clip holding it in place) so that you know what temp your smoker actually is hitting at meat level and what your meat temp is. Having more probes means more probes in meat and in other areas on the rack or different rack levels since temp is different all over the place inside a smoker hahaha.

The easiest smoke in the world is to do Boneless Skinless Chicken thighs! You just season them up (I recommend Salt, Pepper, Garlic, and Onion) and throw them in the smoker.
With chicken thighs they are cooked at an internal temp (IT) of 165F but thighs and drumsticks have a better texture at about 170F-175F.
Just as an FYI, with chicken breast you want to hit a meat IT of 165F without exceeding that temp because chicken breast dries out on you (same for whole smoked chickens in the breast).

If you have a little bit of time but have to come up to speed quickly on using your smoker and getting to a brisket I would suggest you do the following smokes:

1. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs - should be an easy win and will allow you to learn a little bit about your smoker's heat generation, smoke output, and about using a wireless digital thermometer. These guys are so easy because you just season and throw them on until they are done, no fuss.

2. A 10 pound Pork Butt or Pork Shoulder (not Picnic Shoulder cut) - this is big hunk of meat however Pork Butts are known to be super forgiving so they are hard to mess up. Doing this smoke will let you know how your smoker is working with bigger hunks of meat and gives you some experience on checking for tenderness, correctly placing the meat temp probe, and estimating/understanding how long a 10 pound hunk of meat takes because all begining smokers GREATLY underestimate the time it takes. It will also teach you how a large hunk of meat behaves while being smoked. It always seems that the temp is rising much faster than expected then you hit the stall and that takes WAY longer than expected and then things get going again and by the time the meat is tender and ready a 10 pound pork butt has taken 11-17 hours to smoke/cook and you are well into the next day.

3. Tackle anything else or try your 1st brisket. Just really really read up on how to know if a brisket is ready/tender. How to trim one. How to properly temp probe one. How to property TIME ESTIMATE a brisket smoke (this is probably the most common cause of brisket failures). Etc. etc.

You are in a good place so ask away and you will get your answers but only you can take the info and make it happen. Oh and have fun with it all, mistakes happen and usually they can be saved and turned into great eating as well :emoji_blush:
 
  • Like
Reactions: fivetricks
I pretty much always run my MB at the max 275 , you have to add chips or chunks every 45 -60 minutes, don't wet the wood you only slow down the smoke, after 3 hrs or so no need to add more wood as it probably wont take any or much more. have read 140 is the temp where it stops, good luck hard to make bad food on it.
 
No problem!

If you are new to smoking and are going to tackle a brisket just understand that you are going right after the one cut of meat that takes the most research, preparation, and execution to get right.

I would highly recommend you start off with some simpler smokes first to learn what your smoker/system is doing so that you can be better prepared and know what to expect when it comes time to tackle the additional unknowns when smoking your first brisket.

Almost all smokers here use a wireless digital thermometer that has 2 more temp probes (I like 4+ probes) to accurrately smoke our meat. The meat temp probes and the smoker temp probes that come with many of these electrical or pellet smokers are just plain bad and incorrect all the time.
Having a dual probe (or more) thermometer means you can put one temp probe in the meat and the other at smoker rack level (with the clip holding it in place) so that you know what temp your smoker actually is hitting at meat level and what your meat temp is. Having more probes means more probes in meat and in other areas on the rack or different rack levels since temp is different all over the place inside a smoker hahaha.

The easiest smoke in the world is to do Boneless Skinless Chicken thighs! You just season them up (I recommend Salt, Pepper, Garlic, and Onion) and throw them in the smoker.
With chicken thighs they are cooked at an internal temp (IT) of 165F but thighs and drumsticks have a better texture at about 170F-175F.
Just as an FYI, with chicken breast you want to hit a meat IT of 165F without exceeding that temp because chicken breast dries out on you (same for whole smoked chickens in the breast).

If you have a little bit of time but have to come up to speed quickly on using your smoker and getting to a brisket I would suggest you do the following smokes:

1. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs - should be an easy win and will allow you to learn a little bit about your smoker's heat generation, smoke output, and about using a wireless digital thermometer. These guys are so easy because you just season and throw them on until they are done, no fuss.

2. A 10 pound Pork Butt or Pork Shoulder (not Picnic Shoulder cut) - this is big hunk of meat however Pork Butts are known to be super forgiving so they are hard to mess up. Doing this smoke will let you know how your smoker is working with bigger hunks of meat and gives you some experience on checking for tenderness, correctly placing the meat temp probe, and estimating/understanding how long a 10 pound hunk of meat takes because all begining smokers GREATLY underestimate the time it takes. It will also teach you how a large hunk of meat behaves while being smoked. It always seems that the temp is rising much faster than expected then you hit the stall and that takes WAY longer than expected and then things get going again and by the time the meat is tender and ready a 10 pound pork butt has taken 11-17 hours to smoke/cook and you are well into the next day.

3. Tackle anything else or try your 1st brisket. Just really really read up on how to know if a brisket is ready/tender. How to trim one. How to properly temp probe one. How to property TIME ESTIMATE a brisket smoke (this is probably the most common cause of brisket failures). Etc. etc.

You are in a good place so ask away and you will get your answers but only you can take the info and make it happen. Oh and have fun with it all, mistakes happen and usually they can be saved and turned into great eating as well :emoji_blush:
Thank you for taking the time to give me such detailed information. This is GOLD! can't wait to share my results with you all!
 
  • Like
Reactions: tallbm
I pretty much always run my MB at the max 275 , you have to add chips or chunks every 45 -60 minutes, don't wet the wood you only slow down the smoke, after 3 hrs or so no need to add more wood as it probably wont take any or much more. have read 140 is the temp where it stops, good luck hard to make bad food on it.
Thank for the tips- I wondered about wetting the wood. Do you use the A MAZE N pellet tray for extra smoke?
 
Thank for the tips- I wondered about wetting the wood. Do you use the A MAZE N pellet tray for extra smoke?

I’m not familiar with your smoker but if you can get sufficient air flow then I highly recommend the Amazen tube or 5x8 tray. I used the tray in my old MES and use the tube in my Rec Tec for additional smoke. The tray will be my sole source for smoke in my current electric smoker build. Can’t say enough good things about them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: smokeysue72
Thank you for taking the time to give me such detailed information. This is GOLD! can't wait to share my results with you all!

I look forward to seeing what you make and don't ever hesitate to ask questions. We have one of the best online communities you can find here on SMF :)
 
Thank for the tips- I wondered about wetting the wood. Do you use the A MAZE N pellet tray for extra smoke?


I don't know where you live, but if you are at a high altitude the Tube would be best (2,000' or more). At normal altitudes the Tray is best with a small Electric Smoker.

Bear
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Hot Threads

Clicky