New Member! Question:)

[1879stella]

Hey guys, new to the forum actually found this googling a question.

this sounds like a great place to shoot ideas and recipes around. Glad I found it.

ok here is the deal. I had to move into an apartment with a balcony and had to get rid of my charcoal smoker.

that being said.... i have never looked into electric smokers and have been thinking about getting one. as a side question im wondering how much smoke the emit as there are others units around mine and im not supposed to have a grill on the balcony period so wondering if this might be an issue with management.

Main question: It looks like a lot of these electric smokers are not much different from a regular electric oven... just a box with a heat coil at the bottom... or am i wrong? Can I just set my oven at 170-180-200 degrees and put a foil of some woodchips at the bottom and ventilate the kitchen? Or do i need to spend the money on an electric smoker?

Thanks guys for the responses. Hoping to not get flamed for not using search first but didnt find anything on google and at work so trying not to be on here much lol.

Thanks!

Adam-

 

[daveomak]

Get an AMNS... Burn dust.... One row burns about 4 hours so adjust accordingly.... Duct the ovens exhaust directly to the stove hood.... If you set off the smoke alarm, you could be in DEEP DOO DOO !!!!

 

[1879stella]

Awesome daveomak! thanks for the reply. I see the AMNS tubes... thats pretty awesome. luckily for me my exhaust for the oven is under a stovetop tubed directly under the fan exhaust for the stove.

Does the meat turn out about the same as an electric smoker?

 

[Rings Я Us]

I can't do smoking with my oven. The fan and exhaust only goes through filters. It does not vent out . My bathroom vent does though. lol

 

[TulsaJeff]

Adam, Have you looked into the Masterbuilt smoker? it's electric and yes it works sort of like an oven but I do not recommend smoking inside the oven. It seems risky to me.. fires, smoke damage to the oven components, etc.

The electric type of smoker such as the Masterbuilt works great for apartment dwellers and is small enough to not take up too much room on your balcony.

As Dave mentioned, these work best with a A-Maze-N smoker.. either the tube or the tray will work fine.

They do make special smokers for indoors which are especially designed to reduce air flow so there's no danger of fire and it's just enough smoke to flavor your food inside the stovetop smoker.. I have the Nordic Ware stovetop smoker and it works really well. It sits on top of the heating element on your stove top and you simply adjust the heat to maintain the temperature inside the smoker.

This is best if you have an exhaust fan that vents to the outside.

 

[1879stella]

haha puts a new meaning to Smoking in the Boys Room Rings R Us.

is there a difference between an electric oven and electric smoker though?

 

[1879stella]

Thanks tulsajeff that works! I'll look into it.

my main issue again with the outside smokers is how much smoke it emits. The last thing i want is for smoke to go into my next door neighbors balcony slider or to smoke out the whole courtyard...

or are they pretty smokeless to a degree?

Adam, Have you looked into the Masterbuilt smoker? it's electric and yes it works sort of like an oven but I do not recommend smoking inside the oven. It seems risky to me.. fires, smoke damage to the oven components, etc.

The electric type of smoker such as the Masterbuilt works great for apartment dwellers and is small enough to not take up too much room on your balcony.

As Dave mentioned, these work best with a A-Maze-N smoker.. either the tube or the tray will work fine.

They do make special smokers for indoors which are especially designed to reduce air flow so there's no danger of fire and it's just enough smoke to flavor your food inside the stovetop smoker.. I have the Nordic Ware stovetop smoker and it works really well. It sits on top of the heating element on your stove top and you simply adjust the heat to maintain the temperature inside the smoker.

This is best if you have an exhaust fan that vents to the outside.

 

[TulsaJeff]

It does put out smoke but it doesn't billow out really thick smoke.. your best bet is to feed your neighbors some of your food every time you cook and they'll start associating smoke with great food.. pavlov's dog sort of thing:D

Other apartment dwellers using a Masterbuilt type smoker?

 

[1879stella]

Right... I agree... Pavlov... smart theory

 

[daveomak]

Awesome daveomak! thanks for the reply. I see the AMNS tubes... thats pretty awesome. luckily for me my exhaust for the oven is under a stovetop tubed directly under the fan exhaust for the stove. Does the meat turn out about the same as an electric smoker?

Yep... You want the AMNS maze... it's designed for using AMAZ-N-DUST... puts out less smoke... burns slower... Only thing is, you may have to smoke at the lowest temp possible in the oven... The oven is a pretty small space and you don't want too much smoke... HOWEVER, the AMNPS with pellets may generate enough heat that once the oven is warm, you can maybe turn it off and continue to smoke for an hour or so then crank the heat up and finish the cook without smoke... I often time smoke the meat then finish in the kitchen oven....
Or, with the MES 30, use a 20" box fan to blow the smoke and dilute it... You do want thin blue smoke to smoke meat...

 

[bluewhisper]

I would not use the oven for smoking. First because I doubt you could vent enough exhaust to avoid tripping either a smoke or monoxide sensor. Second your oven will then smell strongly of smoke the next several times you use it for anything else. I learned this lesson by using a cast iron casserole in the smoker then much later using it in the oven. Once the pan got hot it bloomed smoke aroma and it was exactly like a campfire.

If that smell goes through your shared building it might cause a panic - seriously.

Edited to add, ask the property management what their policy is on electric smokers. They might not have a rule against them if they understand it is NOT a grill with flame.

 

[1879stella]

I would not use the oven for smoking. First because I doubt you could vent enough exhaust to avoid tripping either a smoke or monoxide sensor. Second your oven will then smell strongly of smoke the next several times you use it for anything else. I learned this lesson by using a cast iron casserole in the smoker then much later using it in the oven. Once the pan got hot it bloomed smoke aroma and it was exactly like a campfire.

If that smell goes through your shared building it might cause a panic - seriously.

Edited to add, ask the property management what their policy is on electric smokers. They might not have a rule against them if they understand it is NOT a grill with flame.

Thanks man that is a good idea! Im just wondering how much smoke there could actually be if its going directly up into the exhaust fan?

 

[GaryHibbert]

I would definitely NOT use your oven as a smoker. As said you'll never exhaust ALL the smoke. You'll just end up digging your own grave with management.
I have a MES 30. It sits on my patio about 5 feet from the kitchen door. Unless the wind is blowing the wrong way we seldom smell the smoke inside the house.
The MES in combination with a pellet or dust tray puts out a nice light thin blue smoke (TBS) that shouldn't be much of a bither to your neighbors. They'll probably just think they're getting an occasional whiff of somebody's fireplace.
Gary

 

[jond36]

I would stick to Alton Brown's rib method in the oven. It's actually not bad.