Recommendations for first smoker

[Smokin_Weens]

hey everyone, I’m new to smoking and I’m planning to buy my first smoker...I’d like a digital, larger size and I’m going back and forth between the Bradley and the Masterbuilt. I’ve also heard good things about the Weber Smokey Mountain 22”. Price range is $400-$800
What would you all recommend?

 

[SmokinAl]

I'd go with the WSM 22.5.
It's a Weber, well built, holds rock solid temps & you get that charcoal/wood flavor!
Al

 

[gmc2003]

I agree with Al. I'd go with the WSM. The 22" has plenty of room and will last a lifetime.

Chris

 

[tbrtt1]

+ 1 on the WSM. Hands down. You can add a temp controller and smoke while you sleep, lots of room, well made and a ton of assessories available.

 

[Geebs]

Like the 3 previous have said. Go with the WSM, you will be happy you did. I love mine, lots of room, pretty much a set it and forget it grill.

 

[sm0kin]

hey everyone, I’m new to smoking and I’m planning to buy my first smoker...I’d like a digital, larger size and I’m going back and forth between the Bradley and the Masterbuilt. I’ve also heard good things about the Weber Smokey Mountain 22”. Price range is $400-$800
What would you all recommend?

Since you posted this in electric, I’ll give my opinion. I have had 3 different masterbuilt smokers over the last 5 years. They work. My most recent model is the MES 140S which is actually a gen 1.5 and combines the best of the gen 1 and gen 2 configurations. It has no Bluetooth, but does have IR remote control, which works better. Buy a good cover made by Unicook and get an AMAZEN pellet tray. This gives you the digital control, allows smoking of 8 full slabs of ribs. I also recommend buying it from Walmart online. They offer a 3 year warranty that covers wear and tear, power surges and a multitude of other shit for 30 bucks. If they can’t fix it, they refund your original purchase price (including warranty). I have used nearly every type of smoker there is, it doesn’t get any easier than this.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Charcoal and wood chunks work good in the WSM. You only need to shake the ash once or twice and it stays at great smoking temps up to 10 hours..
Electric Masterbuilt is cool though.

 

[gmc2003]

Charcoal and wood chunks work good in the WSM. You only need to shake the ash once or twice and it stays at great smoking temps up to 10 hours..
Electric Masterbuilt is cool though.

Not entirely true Rings, I've gone longer then that on a single load and never had to tap out the ash.
22" WSM. I do have to make vent adjustments later on in the cook.

Chris

 

[Rings Я Us]

You can expect 10 hours of pretty much no touch or worry smoking using a 22 WSM. Longer cooks may require a little adjustment. An out of the box WSM works very well with no electric or mechanical parts that can be flawed.

 

[cornman]

I have a 14.5 WSM and love it! Only wish I bought bigger. WSM gets my vote

 

[sm0kin]

Well it seems there’s a lot of folks here in the electric smoker section that are big fans of the Weber charcoal/wood smokers... I have a Weber 22” premium kettle also...

 

[SonnyE]

In that generous price range, I'd get a Smokin-It.
Done and doner.

 

[myownidaho]

If you’re looking for electric, in your price range I would go with the Smokin-it #2D. It will last you many years and is really hard to beat for the price.

 

[old sarge]

Two links for smokers from Smokin-it. 3 year warranty on the smoker and 1 year on the PID controller; 3 year warranty on the analog controller. Other sizes available. Shipping included in price.

http://www.smokin-it.com/Smoker-p/smkmdl3d-gen2.htm

http://www.smokin-it.com/Smoker-p/smkmdl3.htm

 

[Geebs]

Charcoal and wood chunks work good in the WSM. You only need to shake the ash once or twice and it stays at great smoking temps up to 10 hours..
Electric Masterbuilt is cool though.

What do you mean by shake the ash? I’ve never had to do anything during a smoke with the coals/ash?

 

[SonnyE]

What do you mean by shake the ash? I’ve never had to do anything during a smoke with the coals/ash?

Well, some folks like a little ash in the bark.
Puts more bite in the bark. :confused::D

 

[old sarge]

Everyone has their very own method for smoking meat. Me? I liked the ease of using the Cookshack and now the Smokin-it. Simple and reliable.

 

[Rings Я Us]

What do you mean by shake the ash? I’ve never had to do anything during a smoke with the coals/ash?

There are at least.. at least a dozen threads in here that mention ash build up in the WSM due to charcoal briquetes burning over several hours. The ash sometimes causes temps to drop because it totally covers and chokes out coals toward the later stages of long cooks.
Sometimes it really helps to shake the ash off of the coals and it brings temps right back up.
If you have not done that I guess you are fortunate. Opening dampers doesn't necessarily work every time in everyone's case.

 

[Geebs]

There are at least.. at least a dozen threads in here that mention ash build up in the WSM due to charcoal briquetes burning over several hours. The ash sometimes causes temps to drop because it totally covers and chokes out coals toward the later stages of long cooks.
Sometimes it really helps to shake the ash off of the coals and it brings temps right back up.
If you have not done that I guess you are fortunate. Opening dampers doesn't necessarily work every time in everyone's case.

Oh gotcha, I have not had this issue before. I wonder if its with older vs newer versions of the WSM, though I doubt it. Im sure I will run into this at some point down the road.

 

[jimmyinsd]

I think it really depends on what you want the cooker to do. If you want to make sausages and run in the 120 to 180 range, I dont know that the WSM is what you are looking for. If you are looking to do more higher temp foods then the WSM is likely what you want to target. ( although I would recommend looking at building an UDS myself over the WSM ) I have 2 UDS for all my cooks above 180 and a MES140 gen 2.5 for making sausage products. I dont know that there is one perfect cooker for all occasions, thats why I own about 7 of them.

good luck!