SMOKIN-IT SMOKER

[kelvinator]

I recommend getting the largest model you can afford.
I regret buying the #1 rather than the #3.
You won't regret buying a bigger smoker.


~Martin

Thank you for the advice, on average how many people are you smoking for?

 

[diggingdogfarm]

WIth the #1, no more than two 99% of the time.
It's not that the #1 can't handle what's required for two or even several more, it's just that working with a larger smoker suits me better.
You're making a long term investment...even if it takes time to save up the extra money I definitely recommend going with a bigger smoker.
That's just my personal feelings.





~Martin

 

[diggingdogfarm]

I've heard several folks say they wish they'd gone with a bigger smoker....I don't think I've heard anyone say they wish they'd bought a smaller one.




~Martin

 

[kelvinator]

WIth the #1, no more than two 99% of the time.
It's not that the #1 can't handle what's required for two or even several more, it's just that working with a larger smoker suits me better.
You're making a long term investment...even if it takes time to save up the extra money I definitely recommend going with a bigger smoker.
That's just my personal feelings.





~Martin

Fair enough. Smokers definitely don't seem like easy things to sell if you find they don't work for you so probably better safe than sorry.

 

[fvbountyhunter]

Hello, I am new to the site but not smoking, go big.. big is good bigger is better biggest is best. I bought a # 3 and wish I had bought the 4. you will find your friends will be asking if you could smoke there turkeys or what ever. I smoke five or six birds in November and December for friends my #3 will do 4 if they are not to big.

 good luck in your decision

 

[801driver]

I have a #2 and happy with it for our needs.  Two 8 lb pork butts, or two briskets, or 4 racks of ribs, or 4 fatties fit comfortabally. I usually do not cook that much at a time  We live in the country and do not have a lot of frequent guests.  When we do, 16lbs of meat is a lot of meat, and we can prepare more ahead of time if needed..  Depends on how much you might need to smoke at a time. 

Oh yes, I can put my #2 in the back of my pick-up by my self if desired, and I am an old guy. 

Good luck at making the right decision.   

 

[kelvinator]

Thanks for the advice guys, it sounds like a #2 is the best bet. 16lbs of meat is probably more than enough, and if I am smoking like once a week I probably don't need to be eating several pounds of meat at once haha.

 

[marauder]

i have a #1  and have done 1 8-10 butt   1 roast at a  time     10 lb brisket, a whole chicken i usually  just cook for 2- 4 people when i use the  electric.Inside dimensions are 12-1/2" wide x 13-1/2" deep x 17-1/4" tall....   the #2 would be practical if you have just one option to smoke with.

 

[kelvinator]

Yeah so the #1 is ~2900 cubic inches while the #2 is 4500 cubic inches. So about a 1600 difference. 

Yeah I definitely want to get a smoker and hopefully not have to get another anytime soon.

8-10 pounds of meat at one time in the #1 is a pretty good amount though.

 

[ndkoze]

The only way I would go with a #1 would be if I wanted to travel with it a lot (easy to load/unload) and didn't need to smoke much meat.

If it is an issue with the money, I think it would be worth it to wait until you can save up the extra money.

This is a long-term investment. So, think about the future when you are out of school, married and have a couple rugrats running around that you want to smoke for. I know that may seem like a ways off, but these smokers are built to last.

I have a #3 and love that I can put my meat up higher in the smoker further away from the element. The further away from the element, the more even the temperature will be in the smoker. I would think that if you put a pork butt or a turkey in the #1, that the bottom of the meat is going to be pretty close to the heating element and may cause the meat to cook unevenly. I have never seen a #1, so this is just speculation.

 

[kelvinator]

Thanks for the info NDKoze! You make good points about longevity.

I am on page 32 of this thread now and the issues that came up regarding temp fluctuations and some units not heating up to the proper temp has me worried now. A big reason I am getting an electric smoker is for a more hands off approach. But not having reliable times for when the meat is done because of temperature fluctuations and potential units not heating up enough is a big concern as myself, family, and friends don't have the time to sit around waiting an extra few hours because something is taking longer than usual to finish. It makes me wonder if I should try and save up for a cookshack with the digital control...but I would rather not spend the extra money.

However, the cookshack after shipping with the current 10% savings would come out to $749

 

[ndkoze]

The Temperature fluctuations are overblown and almost always unrelated to the smoker. It is usually user error.

For example:

* Many times people try to put a drip pan under the meat - Do NOT do this.

* They place their smoker probe right next to the meat - Do NOT do this. The cool temp of the meat relative to the smoker temp will give false readings.

* Some users expect the temps to stay within too close of a temp range. Temps ranging from 15-30 degrees will not alter the outcome of the product.

If you are really worried about the temp fluctuations, you could get an Auber (1-2 degree temp swings) and buy-pass the analog controller (not necessary in my book) and still be cheaper than the CookShack. Plus with the analog you can actually program steps. For example, you can smoke at 150 for two hours, then have a step that bumps the temp up to 225 and smokes until the meat hits your desired internal temperature, and then goes down to 140 in warming mode until you take the meat out. You can't get this programmability with the CookShack. I haven't bothered with the Auber yet, because while it is nice to have for the programmability, I just haven't felt the need to get one yet. I have put out some pretty damn good food with my 20-30 degree swing analog controller that averages out to my desired temperature.

Lastly, expecting uniform times for smoked meats is not really a reasonable expectation for any smoker. Other than maybe ribs and poultry, most pieces of meat have their own unique characteristics and this will effect the finish time. You can definitely have a reasonable guess, but I have had some stubborn pieces of meat that just didn't fall in line with the norm and it had nothing to do with the smoker.

My 2 cents.

 

[jond36]

I never had an issue. Just like an oven, it may have issues if you put too much mass in the smoker, but even then mine was good.

Also read the posts about making a homemade PID. I made mine for 20 bucks.

-Jon

 

[rajones19]

 
Thanks for the advice guys, it sounds like a #2 is the best bet. 16lbs of meat is probably more than enough, and if I am smoking like once a week I probably don't need to be eating several pounds of meat at once haha.

I have the #2, and often wish I'd bought the #3. If you are like me, your next purchase will be a FoodSaver or other vacuum device, so you can freeze that extra food for later. Since I bought mine, I always smoke way more than I need, and vacuum pack the rest into dinner-for-two sized packets. I can thaw a half-slab of ribs in hot water in about 10 minutes, nuke 'em for 2 minutes, and have a 'right out of the smoker' dinner in less than half an hour after work. We've got dinner packs of ribs, pulled pork, sirloin tip, all ready to go. It's like magic :)

 

[ndkoze]

 
I have the #2, and often wish I'd bought the #3. If you are like me, your next purchase will be a FoodSaver or other vacuum device, so you can freeze that extra food for later. Since I bought mine, I always smoke way more than I need, and vacuum pack the rest into dinner-for-two sized packets. I can thaw a half-slab of ribs in hot water in about 10 minutes, nuke 'em for 2 minutes, and have a 'right out of the smoker' dinner in less than half an hour after work. We've got dinner packs of ribs, pulled pork, sirloin tip, all ready to go. It's like magic :)

I use a Food Saver too and the meals are almost as good out of the freezer as they were when I first smoked them.

The other thing is that you can reheat them by simply placing the vacuum sealed bag of meat in a pot of boiling water. This reheats them and saves all of that precious juice that may escape if nuked or baked.

If your bags are too big for the pot, reheating them in a crock pot provides really good results too, especially with ribs. Just place the ribs in the crock pot sideways with a cup or so of water and within minutes you will have a rib meal that tastes just like they came out of the smoker.

If you haven't already done so, check out the www.smokinitforums.com  community. We have a very active community over there with some of the most helpful people you will ever know.

Good luck with whatever decision you make. Hopefully we are helping make it just a bit easier. :)

 

[daricksta]

 
The Temperature fluctuations are overblown and almost always unrelated to the smoker. It is usually user error.

For example:

* Many times people try to put a drip pan under the meat - Do NOT do this.

* They place their smoker probe right next to the meat - Do NOT do this. The cool temp of the meat relative to the smoker temp will give false readings.

* Some users expect the temps to stay within too close of a temp range. Temps ranging from 15-30 degrees will not alter the outcome of the product.

If you are really worried about the temp fluctuations, you could get an Auber (1-2 degree temp swings) and buy-pass the analog controller (not necessary in my book) and still be cheaper than the CookShack. Plus with the analog you can actually program steps. For example, you can smoke at 150 for two hours, then have a step that bumps the temp up to 225 and smokes until the meat hits your desired internal temperature, and then goes down to 140 in warming mode until you take the meat out. You can't get this programmability with the CookShack. I haven't bothered with the Auber yet, because while it is nice to have for the programmability, I just haven't felt the need to get one yet. I have put out some pretty damn good food with my 20-30 degree swing analog controller that averages out to my desired temperature.

Lastly, expecting uniform times for smoked meats is not really a reasonable expectation for any smoker. Other than maybe ribs and poultry, most pieces of meat have their own unique characteristics and this will effect the finish time. You can definitely have a reasonable guess, but I have had some stubborn pieces of meat that just didn't fall in line with the norm and it had nothing to do with the smoker.

My 2 cents.

NDKoze, you've accurately described how the controller on the Masterbuilt electric digital smokers work. I see those same fluctuations every time but I also figure it all averages out to cooking at the set point that I chose, or I make minor adjustments to the set point or the cooking time, or both. Still, whatever I'm smoking gets perfectly cooked so all is well.

 

[jjrolex]

I've had a #1 now for 2 years. Since user guides from smokin it are pretty slim, I refer to the Cook Shack and the Smoke Tex manuals. One of them states that max weight in a #1 would be 20#s of meat. I'm currently smoking 3 butts total weight of 16#s, and expect no worries at all. Set at 225 degrees, 2 hours ago, smoker at 208 and climbing and meat at 84. Temp outside is 28 deg here in Iowa. Probably looking at a 15 hour smoke, depending the length of the stall. # 1's will do quite a bit of meat, especially if you purchase an extra rack, making a total of 3.

 

[wingzofsteel]

I have a SI1 now going over 3 years. I purchased an extra rack and it had served me and my wife well and will continue, I'm sure, for many years to come. I just finished a 11lb maple glazed ham and it was like a piece of smokey heaven. Like someone else said, it's easy to move or haul around if you need to. I once had a large Big Green Egg and that wasn't so easy to do.
If you like ease of use, then electric is the way to go, but if I had to do it again, I think I would go with the 26.75" Weber. Why? For a couple of reasons, First, I miss cooking with fire and with the large Weber, you can do it all. Second, I like finishing off things like ABT's or Chicken with a crispy skin, which you can't do with my smoker. Or at least I haven't figured out out except for popping it in the oven for a few minutes.
But this isn't about me. It's about you.
The SI is a great electric smoker that will last you for years. As others said, buy the biggest one you can afford,but if you move around a lot, the 1 or 2 may be all that you need. Also, don't worry about the temperature fluctuation as it is normal. My unit set at 210 degrees will adjust itself between 190-228 degrees over a 16 hour smoke, and in doing so, gives my greatest honor to our humble pig. It and elevates his standing to well beyond opulent, maybe all the way to divine.
Good luck.

 

[kelvinator]

 
The Temperature fluctuations are overblown and almost always unrelated to the smoker. It is usually user error.

For example:

* Many times people try to put a drip pan under the meat - Do NOT do this.

* They place their smoker probe right next to the meat - Do NOT do this. The cool temp of the meat relative to the smoker temp will give false readings.

* Some users expect the temps to stay within too close of a temp range. Temps ranging from 15-30 degrees will not alter the outcome of the product.

If you are really worried about the temp fluctuations, you could get an Auber (1-2 degree temp swings) and buy-pass the analog controller (not necessary in my book) and still be cheaper than the CookShack. Plus with the analog you can actually program steps. For example, you can smoke at 150 for two hours, then have a step that bumps the temp up to 225 and smokes until the meat hits your desired internal temperature, and then goes down to 140 in warming mode until you take the meat out. You can't get this programmability with the CookShack. I haven't bothered with the Auber yet, because while it is nice to have for the programmability, I just haven't felt the need to get one yet. I have put out some pretty damn good food with my 20-30 degree swing analog controller that averages out to my desired temperature.

Lastly, expecting uniform times for smoked meats is not really a reasonable expectation for any smoker. Other than maybe ribs and poultry, most pieces of meat have their own unique characteristics and this will effect the finish time. You can definitely have a reasonable guess, but I have had some stubborn pieces of meat that just didn't fall in line with the norm and it had nothing to do with the smoker.

My 2 cents.

I guess temp fluctuations aren't really my concern, my concern lies more in the smoker being able to actually reach proper temp which I have read some ppl seem to have problems with.

 

[kelvinator]

 
I use a Food Saver too and the meals are almost as good out of the freezer as they were when I first smoked them.

The other thing is that you can reheat them by simply placing the vacuum sealed bag of meat in a pot of boiling water. This reheats them and saves all of that precious juice that may escape if nuked or baked.

If your bags are too big for the pot, reheating them in a crock pot provides really good results too, especially with ribs. Just place the ribs in the crock pot sideways with a cup or so of water and within minutes you will have a rib meal that tastes just like they came out of the smoker.

If you haven't already done so, check out the www.smokinitforums.com  community. We have a very active community over there with some of the most helpful people you will ever know.

Good luck with whatever decision you make. Hopefully we are helping make it just a bit easier. :)

Everyone's advice is much appreciated! I already have a foodsaver thankfully!