Good smoker or no?

[LHorn]

Jut curious, what do you smoke peppers for? I make hot sauce.

I pretty much live on my chili which has about 8 lbs (processed) of Poblano and Anaheim chiles in it. This year I have two types of Hungarian peppers growing also to make my own smoked paprika. I use a lot of that too and it cost a fortune for a little bottle.

@elcoholic ... I have a Spirit II E-310 Gas Grill...but it does have a slot and holes for a rotisserie though..I think. Very hard to control the heat with a lid with big gaps around it.

 

[BillyTheKid]

I still use the el-cheapo Brinkman, with a few simple mods.
Had it at least 30 years, works fine. Nothing to break or need replacing. Pretty easy to clean.
I like Royal Oak hardwood charcoal, and add some scraps of oak or alder or cherry during the cooking. We mostly do whole Turkeys or chickens, pork butts, salmon.

 

[Quadman2]

"Master...'s a good build. Fair priced. Does the job.

Clean up's a bother. My job...messy!

SO's not into the "smoke scene". So, outta it now.

Found oak was too severe. Cherry was more forgiving.

I just buy smoked products now. :-(


Q

 

[whoaru99]

I have a Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM), the 18", I believe. Works pretty good and lots of "how to" for it.

I added an Auber Instruments automatic temp control system to mine, cheating a bit, a purist might say. You can set the temp and it keeps quite stable. There are several more choices in temp controls these days than when I bought mine. No complains though, it does a fine job. Just some today are more integrated with multichannel temp probes, wireless remote displays, etc.

I use a fair bit of oak and some hickory, have a fair bit of maple but not used it yet (cut off some tree limbs a year or two ago), then some cherry, apple, pecan, and occasionally mesquite.

 

[BillyTheKid]

Clean up's a bother. My job...messy!

Same here. My family once asked "Why did you throw away the fancy deep fryer ? "

 

[LHorn]

I'm definitely gonna need something with a lot of racks. I'm liking this Camp Chef like below. Build looks good and a lot of rack space. $$$ though. I'd also like one with a separate door on the bottom for the wood...but not critical.

@BillyTheKid Kid..I saw a tall Brinkman for sale that the front opened up and had like 4 racks...that would be good too. This one however was a pile of rust.

@whoaru99 ...purist or not..whatever gets it done. I was wondering about Maple too. You dont hear of people using it much. We've got plenty around here too. Let us know if you try it.

https://www.bbqguys.com/camp-chef/24-inch-smoke-vault-propane-gas-smoker

 

[Snappahead]

My kids bought me a Masterbuilt smoker for my birthday. I love it. I have no desire to deal with charcoal or pellets so electric works for me. I would recommend you buy the one with digital controls. The analog version can be temperamental setting the temperature but even that isn't a big deal. I made a 5 lb. brisket yesterday, it was spectacular.

 

[Ross6860]

Late to the party.

Had to finally replace my well used Bradley Smoker after about 20 years (still works, just ugly as hell).

Price was basically open. Looked at everything I could find. Read tons of reviews.

Long story short, I went with another Bradley. It is a dedicated smoker, so no multi-use like a Traeger or Kamado., and you're stuck using Bradley's biscuits.

I have other devices for grilling.

FWIW - I have a Brinkman water smoker, a big Charbroil wood/charcoal grill, Weber Kettle, Weber Genesis, and the Bradley. The Bradley is by far the easiest to smoke on.

 

[Ross6860]

Who cleans a smoker?

Honestly, other than the grates and drip pan, I have never cleaned mine in 20 years. That's "patina", not dirt.

 

[John James]

I have a "New Braunfels" side burner that I've had for years. When the summer sun hits it you would think I had it packed full of meat, smoking!

I clean the grates and the firebox every time I use it.

 

[jimbofish]

Who cleans a smoker?

Honestly, other than the grates and drip pan, I have never cleaned mine in 20 years. That's "patina", not dirt.

Same here! I only clean items that the food touched or dripped on.
The big smokers that smoked meat places use have thick layers of smoke residue built up over the years. IMO it adds something to the finished product.

 

[elcoholic]

I use plain, just clay, kitty litter in my offset smoker to soak up the grease and then scoop it out with 8” drywall knife. The grates get burnt clean in the gas fire pit. That just leaves cleaning up the ash in firebox.

 

[VinylHanger]

I run a Smoke Hollow propane smoker. It works fine. You don't really need to worry about the door sealing or not. I usually prop it open at the top to regulate temp and smoke. It still gets smoke to where it's needed.

I have been looking at some of the pellet smokers, but then you need to buy pellets. I use apple smoking pellets with some wood chips in mine. The pellets make a good smoke and are convenient for long smokes.

 

[peterp1]

@LHorn If your Weber is a kettle you can get the Weber rotisserie accessory, a rotisserie basket and use the Weber fuse method unless you really want a smoker. 8-10 hours of 200-250 smoke without touching it.

I'll have to try the Weber Fuse Method -- I tried placing charcoal in those little Weber side charcoal baskets and it either burned too fast or died out -- fuse method looks simpler and better.

I bought a Chargriller offset smoker to replace my Weber kettle and it was awful -- highly rated, but it leaks smoke like a sieve. There are all these "hacks" to seal the Chargriller, much of which I did with nomex gaskets and extreme high temp seal, and it was still awful. I only used it twice, then I bought another Weber Kettle (since I grill more than smoke), but the Weber Kettle is pretty good for smoking if you get the charcoal burn right. Wish I had bought a dedicated smoker instead of the Chargriller.

 

[WillVT]

I used to have a basic Masterbuilt electric smoker that a friend gave me. If simple and easy to use is what you want, it doesn't get much easier. Mine had digital controls and a probe thermometer built in, which was handy. I just didn't use it enough.

 

[elcoholic]

I'll have to try the Weber Fuse Method -- I tried placing charcoal in those little Weber side charcoal baskets and it either burned too fast or died out -- fuse method looks simpler and better.

I bought a Chargriller offset smoker to replace my Weber kettle and it was awful -- highly rated, but it leaks smoke like a sieve. There are all these "hacks" to seal the Chargriller, much of which I did with nomex gaskets and extreme high temp seal, and it was still awful. I only used it twice, then I bought another Weber Kettle (since I grill more than smoke), but the Weber Kettle is pretty good for smoking if the get the charcoal burn right. Wish I had bought a dedicated smoker instead of the Chargriller.

I use the charcoal baskets for indirect and rotisserie cooking at around 400*. For low and slow at about 200* the Weber fuse is excellent. I've been a lifelong Weber Kettle guy, I wish I would have found the fuse 40 years ago.

 

[Ross6860]

You can do about anything on a Weber Kettle Grill.

 

[LHorn]

Well I pulled the trigger and got the Camp Chef 24" for $135 off the normal price which arrived today. I also have two more jerky racks coming for when I do peppers.

It's actually a pretty decently built smoker for what it is. Went together great..no warped pieces and the door fits and works fine...AND ALL THE PARTS WERE THERE!! ..which was amazing considering not one bolt was in the bag..they were loose all over the box...which also had holes busted through it. Luckily most of the stuff is packaged inside the unit. The bottom grease pan (not in atm) was the only thing that got the paint chipped on the corners because it had room to bounce around a bit. I just hit it with some rustoleum high heat paint. I didnt like the sharp stamped steel edges of the three vents digging in the paint either..so I took the buffer wheel to them and smoothed them out before putting them on.

I appreciate all the advice guys...smoke on!

 

[LHorn]

Hey question for you guys....if I smoke fish in this and later on do like ribs or something for someone with severe fish allergies...would it affect them even if the racks are cleaned very well?

 

[Rockyhill]

Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) owner here. 14.5”. It’s the perfect size for 2-4 people (mostly 2). Full rack of baby back ribs, cut in half, fits on top rack. Likewise a split/spatchcock chicken. Bottom rack for potatoes, sausage, etc. I’m not into the long haul smokes of brisket which would be a tight fit on this model. I’m more into experimentation like chili, stew, corn on the cob, meatloaf.