Electric smoker - am I making a mistake?

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bne-tj
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2016 11:00 am

Electric smoker - am I making a mistake?

Post by bne-tj »

I am purchasing my first smoker with a budget of around $500-800 (the cheaper the better). I'm planning to make brisket, pork + beef ribs, and maybe try a few roasts eventually

I have a sous vide, and really enjoy the set and forget nature. It keeps temperatures within 1 degree, so i can be confident on the results every time. I was also thinking of combining sous vide and smoking (e.g. sous vide ribs or brisket for 36 hours, then smoke for 4 to develop bark + flavour). I'm also not keen to tend a fire all day, especially not in QLD Summers!

So I was leaning towards an electric smoker for that level of control and ease of use, and combining it with an Amazen AMNPS to add a bit more smoke. Was looking at an MES 30 or a hark.I was thinking electric over gas because electric will be easiest - i'm more likely to forget to check and overcook on gas. And I don't think that Gas is significantly better than electric? I agree that wood/charcoal/pellet may taste significantly better, but didn't think Gas would.

From what I can see all the pellet smokers are out of my budget (and I don't think i'm really serious enough). The cheapest pellet I could find was the portable GMG Davey Crockett for around $1000, and it looks quite small.

Will I regret it an electric smoker? Do you think the Bradleys puck would be any better than a Hark + AMNPS? (I don't mind the ongoing cost of pucks - i wouldn't smoke enough for it to become an issue). Or are there any pellets in my price range?
hungryman
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2016 7:23 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Electric smoker - am I making a mistake?

Post by hungryman »

Hi bne-tj,

Not knowing your proficiency with tools, have you considered making your own smoker using a spirit burner? It is easy to source empty vegie oil drums of around 20l from fish and chip shops. These make very good smokers. Saw dust can be put in the drum where the burner sits underneath. Spirit burners can be found large and small. The drum can also be insulated to conserve heat.

Just a suggestion if pennies are a concern.

Hungryman :)
beginner
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2014 6:33 pm

Re: Electric smoker - am I making a mistake?

Post by beginner »

Man aside from the brisket I'd be recommending the 37cm WSM, I use a DIY version every week or two which is slightly slimmer and can still get 4 - 6 racks of ribs in there. It's pretty set and forget although I usually sit next to it anyway as they only take around 5 hours give or take, over this time I generally make no adjustments. The mid size WSM is great as well which I use for all kinds of bigger stuff but still not brisket as I don't think it fits, with that device I use a remote thermometer to keep an eye on the temps and it'll get me through the 8 - 12 hour-ish cooks just fine, slight adjustments here and there but not necessary to stand by and fiddle with it all day, it is very stable. With either of these I still have the occasional disagreement, for example won't come down to temp in the time I expected, or I'll do something like close the vents too much and put the coals out requiring a restart, a small amount of practice has gone a long way though.

On the sous vide I am experimenting a little myself but have not tried in combination with the smoker. One thing you may want to look into is the concept that at around 60c the meat will cease to absorb smoke, I do not know if internal temperature is the only factor at play here though. A shortcut I use for the 8 - 12hr smokes is wrapping the meat in foil at this 60c temp and returning to the bbq, this may not be all that different to moving the meat into a sous vide bath instead. If it actually works this could give you a manageable length of time around a manual smoker then leave the sous vide to grind the rest out.

Gas v electric I don't see a case for flavour either way. One thing that is real though is temp stability, a decent gasser should hold pretty dead on once set, electric devices will hold an average over a range and I guess it comes down to the quality of the unit how big that range is.
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