quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
The Master Built are raved about and popular. They are cheap and readily available. I had two, never again, both were trashed after controller failures. I did buy and use a pellet burner with it, I found the built in wood chip burner a joke. I hear their customer service is good but just how much expensive meat do you want to put at risk because of junk equipment?

I decided I wanted to actually smoke with wood as the heat source but not have to invest the time to actually learn a stick burner or want to take the time to babysit one. So... I went with a vertical pellet smoker from Pit Boss. Love pellet smoking, but if doing it over I would buy a machine a few steps up in performance and quality, probably one with a PID controller.

Stickburners rock! I get the best results with my stickburner, but, its impractical to smoke a chicken or rack of ribs on it.

^^^^^^^ That is one beautiful machine Ken.

I had one of the Orion deals for a couple years. Finally gave it away as too limited & impractical for my needs.
Now ready to go shopping in a live-floor model mode.

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
^^^^^^^ That is one beautiful machine Ken.

It's even got rims that would put Black92LX's minivan to shame.

I'm jealous. Very jealous.

I was looking at all the high dollar stuff when I first considered an electric smoker. I figured I'd start with A Masterbuilt in the 200 or 300 range.

I found this..

https://www.smoke-hollow.com/c...e-26-electric-smoker

There isn't a damn thing fancy about it. It smells like china when new(not the familiar norinco smell) and I'm convinced that there is no way this thing could be made here and sold at this price point in the USA. There is an affiliation to/with Masterbuilt and there is a suspiciously similar model offer by Cuisineart for not much more cash. So, I think that Masterbuilt sources this bare bones smoker from china and sells it under both lines.It works great so far.

I keep it inside because I know that thing will rust in a heartbeat if left in the weather. It's done great so far...awesome smoked pulled pork and I've final;ly got my recipe and prep down for awesome Southern Style pulled pork BBQ. Chicken and Turkey has been great as well-even smoked hamburgers.

My next purchase will probably be the next step-up which is the digital version for a little bit more. Once I get everything down on the prep and cooking I'll go with a five-hundred dollar range smoker.

This one was one-hundred and fourteen delivered from Amazon

If you're dead set on getting an electric smoker, I'd go Masterbuilt.
A friend has one and it's decent. Personally, I don't think it's gets hot enough to do chicken or turkey. Saw in another reply here how to do it.
My friend's probably first 4 or so smokes tasted metallic to me. It did get better.
OP, I see you stated charcoal user at one time. I have a Weber Smokey Mountain that I love. I don't know that I could go to electric after charcoal.

quote:

I see you stated charcoal user at one time. I have a Weber Smokey Mountain that I love. I don't know that I could go to electric after charcoal.

My concern is I've yet to succeed at making long (8-12+ hrs) low temp cooking projects. I've done the snake & various briquet arrangement schemes. Failure/waste of time.

I grill just fine, & have done whole chickens/turkeys years ago. I have failed multiple projects such as the simplistic 'smoked cheddar'; best brisket results was 'nearly edible'. I've read lots of stuff & watched lots of videos on the delights that simply don't work for me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: signewt,

quote:

Originally posted by signewt:

quote:

I see you stated charcoal user at one time. I have a Weber Smokey Mountain that I love. I don't know that I could go to electric after charcoal.

My concern is I've yet to succeed at making long 98-12+ hrs) low temp cooking projects. I've done the snake & various briquet arrangement schemes. Failure/waste of time.

I grill just fine, & have done whole chickens/turkeys years ago. I have failed multiple projects such as the simplistic 'smoked cheddar'; best brisket results was 'nearly edible'. I've read lots of stuff & watched lots of videos on the delights that simply don't work for me.

Have one similar to this currently. [img]https://product-images.weber.com/Grill-Images/Charcoal/15401001C_1800x1800.png?auto=compress,format&fit=fill&h=950&w=1000&trim=color&trimtol=10&bg=0FFF&pad=50
[/img]

The smokey mountain is fool proof. You have to try really hard to get it much over 250F, the top vent is small enough that it won't allow it to get too too hot, always leave it fully open. Put 2 chimneys of all lit coal in it, 4-6 baseball size pieces of wood of choice. Put middle section on, water pan in it, fill it, racks on it and food...….when it gets to within 15F of target temp start restricting the 3 vents to about 1/2-1/3 open...and get it to level out at target temperature and close them a little at a time....….it's REALLY easy to hold the proper temp with it......it might vary 5F over an hour or two, then just open the 3 vents another 1/16". I did 14-16 hour cooks at 225F and literally only had to adjust the vents once or twice towards the end......

quote:

Originally posted by signewt:

quote:

I see you stated charcoal user at one time. I have a Weber Smokey Mountain that I love. I don't know that I could go to electric after charcoal.

My concern is I've yet to succeed at making long 98-12+ hrs) low temp cooking projects. I've done the snake & various briquet arrangement schemes. Failure/waste of time.

I grill just fine, & have done whole chickens/turkeys years ago. I have failed multiple projects such as the simplistic 'smoked cheddar'; best brisket results was 'nearly edible'. I've read lots of stuff & watched lots of videos on the delights that simply don't work for me.

I've messed up my share of things too. There's a learning curve definitely.
Last Boston Butt I made turned out really good but the couple before were nightmares. Wasn't sure what I did wrong until I stopped and thought about it. Turns out that I needed a bit more heat. Adjust vents a little and I was good.
These guys on YouTube that smoke(I watch them too) have been doing this for a while with some even competing. I'm not on that level and probably will never be.
When I started cooking in cast iron years ago, I fucked up a lot of things. Burned stuff, wrong seasoning or just plain awful. I kept going and now things in iron are actually pretty good.
Masterbuilt electric smoker may work for you.

I've learned a bit watching Malcom at "How to BBQ Right" on Youtube. By looking at that fella I can tell he doesn't miss a meal. That's a confidence booster for me.

His "Killer Hogs" BBQ rub recipe is available online if you don't want to buy the commercial version. It's my go to and I have made lots of it myself.(It's not some super unique rub but just a version of any traditional rub that uses

He stresses consistent cooker temps and cooks to temp. A Veken dual temp probe runs about twenty-two shipped via Amazon Prime for me and I have two of them. They work well for the money and can be used in the kitchen as well.

So to me it seems even a homemade garbage can cooker can do great food if it will hold consistent temp.