master built or cook shack?

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motsco

Fire Starter
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Jul 18, 2012
56
12
olney maryland
howdy gang,

looking into getting a set it and forget it electric smoker - I missed out on a cookshack 025 this weekend for a super low price.

I do have an option of getting a master built Home Depot 30 for 269.00. or a cookshack 009. for 350 nib,

after reading a lot of reviews on both. I really like the cookshack unit, but it is smaller, I realy don't do a lot of large meats, I mainly do ribs, but I will do a couple of prime ribs for the holidays.

I will be using the smoker in the summer and winter, wind and rain, rain I put the unit in carport,

for price size and reliability which way would you go?

also side not I can't find rib racks for the cs009 anywhere, but looks like I could do multiple racks on the mb.

thanks
Tom
 
Although I have two, an 009-2 and a 0-66 Amerique, if you buy the best Cookshack you can afford, it will be the only one you will ever need, as it will last a lifetime.

Tom
 
The Cook Shack at that price is a steal! Jump on it...JJ
 
thanks all,
I picked up a pretty damaged sm009 2 yesterday, guy didn't want it because the box was so off square that the door wouldn't shut, and it was missing the top plastic piece that holds the temputure controller,.

well after some time on figuring angles and a little help from a wheel lift on a tow truck I got the box pretty square without causing other damage, got the door shutting pretty darn good and it sits nice and level.

I had the plastic temp controller piece overnighted,

did some wings and sausage on it last night after I broke it in, and they turned out pretty good.

door leaks on top left facing the unit, which I have seen on the net is pretty normal, but it also leaks on the top right of the door so I may have to make some small adjustments to it but I will do a few smoke to see if it will seal itself.

gave the guy 100.00 for it.

for being a damaged unit I am very impressed with it.

Saturday the ribs go on.

I will post pics of the sm009 2 in the next couple of days,

thanks
Tom
 
How do you like the igrill?

so far I like it , the app crashes a little bit on my ipad 4, I haven't tested ito see how accurate it is, I have been dropping the probe throughout the top of the 009 to keep an eye on the box temp, the best feature I like is the timer that is easy to set.

I just took some ribs off the 009, I tossed in a couple more chips to let it season some more so I will drop my green egg thermometer in there to check how close they are.

tom
 
Looks like you got a pretty good deal there. Cookshacks are fantastic units I love my little 025 but a bit on the small size at times.
 
Looks like you got a pretty good deal there. Cookshacks are fantastic units I love my little 025 but a bit on the small size at times.


thanks, it's sure is fun to set and forget,

so far I'm liking this little SMS did some ribs tonight, trile run temp set to full , a rack on each rack, 3 hours, I think the ribs where a bit under cooked I will go 4 hours at full temp next run.

the ribs on the lower rack cooked the best, I think because the temp was high and they got most of the heat from the smoker box with the wood chips smoldering. I also think lowering the temp might even out the box temp top to bottom, maybe not, it's trail and error.

Tom
 
The igrill pro app doesn't update. The igrill classic works great

thanks, downloading classic now.

so far the igrill and the big green egg thermometer are side by side, I would say the I grill probe is a little more sensitive maybe because the smaller size of the probe, both sitting at 246*.

Tom
 
My racks are only 14x14 for ribs and I usually do spares and they are the easiest to find around here, I picked up a couple of rib racks and use them. I have to cut them in half but I have done 4 full racks cut in half in mine, and have stuffed 32 pounds of butt in it.

For ribs I usually dry rub the night before and leave in the fridge, take them out to warm a bit and touch up with more rub and into the smoker at 225 for 5 - 6 hours i don't check mine until after at least 5 hours. They always come out great. Butts for me are a 12-13 hour thing normally.

 
 
My racks are only 14x14 for ribs and I usually do spares and they are the easiest to find around here, I picked up a couple of rib racks and use them. I have to cut them in half but I have done 4 full racks cut in half in mine, and have stuffed 32 pounds of butt in it.

For ribs I usually dry rub the night before and leave in the fridge, take them out to warm a bit and touch up with more rub and into the smoker at 225 for 5 - 6 hours i don't check mine until after at least 5 hours. They always come out great. Butts for me are a 12-13 hour thing normally.


 

thanks,

when you say temp of 225 do you mean just setting the dail to 225 or measuring inside of the box temps?

will def try your way, but o open my door every hour to brush on some tiger sauce and stuff.

Tom.
 
Yes I just set the dial and and leave it, I do not open the door usually. It takes time to recover the temp and you are leaving some of the humidity out of the box, which is good at times.
 
thanks,

when you say temp of 225 do you mean just setting the dail to 225 or measuring inside of the box temps?

will def try your way, but o open my door every hour to brush on some tiger sauce and stuff.

Tom.
You need to verify that the Smoker Dial Temp and the Actual Temp are the same at least once. With many smokers there is frequently a 10+ degree difference between the two. Additionally many smokers don't measure the cabinet temp at the racks and there can be variation from the sensor to the racks and even from rack to rack. You want your 225°F at the meat. I would suggest a Maverick 732 Dual Probe Thermometer. One probe measures the smoker temp " at " the meat and the second probe monitors the Internal Temp (IT) " of  " the meat. You can get them here at a good price and if any issues Todd's Customer Service is second to none!...http://www.amazenproducts.com/Default.asp  Good Luck...JJ 
 
You need to verify that the Smoker Dial Temp and the Actual Temp are the same at least once. With many smokers there is frequently a 10+ degree difference between the two. Additionally many smokers don't measure the cabinet temp at the racks and there can be variation from the sensor to the racks and even from rack to rack. You want your 225°F at the meat. I would suggest a Maverick 732 Dual Probe Thermometer. One probe measures the smoker temp " at " the meat and the second probe monitors the Internal Temp (IT) " of  " the meat. You can get them here at a good price and if any issues Todd's Customer Service is second to none!...http://www.amazenproducts.com/Default.asp Good Luck...JJ 

thanks running temp test right now. have bge grate probe on lower rack and itemp on upper rack. will post temps.

thanks
Tom
 
I absolutely agree. I don't know how anyone smokes meat without the Maverick dual probe. Those smoker thermometers are a good 30 to 40 deg hotter than my actual measured temp at meat level. The Mav is worth every dime. If you are serious about smokin'; get the Mav a pair of good gloves and enjoy.
 
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