Smoking

So I've heard electric smokers are absolute crap for smoking anything but beef jerky and fish. Is this true? I'm just looking for a cheap, simple option to see if I want to do it for longer.

I have a similar smoker (mine is Brinkman, not Charbroil), and I use wood chips, not charcoal.
Anyway, I make pulled pork on mine pretty regularly, and it turns out awesome. It also does smoked turkey, fish of various kinds, duck, chicken, quail, cornish hens, and certain cuts of beef very well. The only cut that doesn't really work well on that kind of smoker is brisket.

No, they can be used very well, people are just snobs. See .

imagine this thing bolted straight to the side of the smoker, two gasketed holes connecting between box and smoker for airflow, with a large case fan mounted to an opening on the back wall.

would have to use a double deep junction box. this thing is single depth double gang. would want double double. but it'd be a really simple addition, no extra tubing, strapped right onto the smoker.

are you describing a charcoal, electric, or propane smoker? when you say you don't use charcoal, do you mean you don't use charcoal for *smoke* or for *fuel*? I use charcoal fuel with large wood chunks for smoke

Ah, ok, clarification was needed.
No, mine is an electric smoker, with a heat element at the bottom and a pan for wood chunks.
Works really well, once I got used to it. I used to have a more traditional barrel smoker, but I had to leave it when I moved across the country, and now I live in a condo development that only allows electric smokers.
Anyway, somewhere I have some pics of some pulled pork and smoked turkey I've done on it, I'll see if I can find them. I've smoked pretty much everything you can think of on it, and it' works great, except for brisket. Brisket is just too big to do well on it.

that's good to know actually, I may be moving into a condo where I won't be able to use charcoal.

Do you still grill and if so what do you use?

Here's a pic of smoked turkey, I'm having trouble finding a pic of the pulled pork, it's in some folder somewhere, I'll keep looking for it, I know it's there.

Yeah, I still grill, I have to use a propane grill, though. We're only supposed to use propane grills of a certain size, but I have a big one anyway, lol. Fuck 'em.

And this is some homemade bacon that I cured and smoked. Can't tell much by the pic, though. Turned out delicious.

update: on the unmodified smoker I'm adding charcoal roughly every 90 minutes, could probably do with a half chimney each time. Temperature has stabilized around 275 for the past few hours.

For wood, I'm using a mix of chunk, chip, and smaller chunks that look kind of like kindling, designed to be slipped through a cooking grate. I'm going to only buy large chunk in the future, could probably get away with adding a couple chunks with the charcoal every 90 minutes.

This thing really isn't as high maintenance as people made me believe.

>This thing really isn't as high maintenance as people made me believe.

Yeah, it'll work fine, you just have to learn the intricacies of using it. Most people like to take "the path of least resistance", meaning they want to do whatever is the easiest. Some people like to tinker and jack with stuff all the time (those are people who want to modify everything), and then some people just want to learn to use what they have well (which is pretty much the kind of person I am, I'd rather learn how to use something for optimal results than tinker with it, which isn't to say that those people are wrong at all, I'm just a different sort of "perfectionist", lol).

Yeah, I think those guys who insist on modifying these are either seasoned vets who are used to the performance of something better, or people who just don't want to be bothered by it. I'll admit it's not running at an *ideal* 250: it's running at 275. I may try to seal the lid and/or door a bit better to get the temp down.

I've been keeping notes all day, and it's looking like I could get away with just agitating the coal and flipping the wood every hour, and then adding a half chimney of coals and 3 new chunks of wood every two hours. It'd be nice to build it into a "set it and forget it" kind of thing, but for now I really don't mind fiddling with it every hour for a couple minutes.

Will probably build a PID controller for it this winter though, in an attempt to avoid going outside much.

Really pleased with this thing. The guy above who has never tried smoking before should definitely look into one of these bullet smokers. There are several on my local craigslist right now for under $30

I would still leave it as it is for keeping the smoke in as much as possible. A similar model I once had didn't close the door as well as it should. But trying to clean out the ash was a bit of a challenge. And yes getting to the middle of the grate is a set it and forget it.

I built a smoke house with my friend but we still haven't used it yet. Cant seem to find suitable racks so im thinking of just using some old metal fencing i have, but then id need drip trays or something too..

Attempted to smoke for the first time ever back in February using a barrel smoker. Used pecan and had a really hard time maintaining temperature (because it was cold as fuck and windy) and was pretty much outside in the cold for 8 hours constantly adjusting the flume and box to get the right temperature. Mopped the ribs every 3 hours with a little apple cider vinegar and I think for it being my first time with zero experience or help smoking they turned out pretty tasty. Had a decent bark and a really nice smoke ring.

Anyone use a green egg or other kamado style grills? Considering going buying one soon.

green egg and table bench I made. The egg sits on a granite slab underneath it on the table we made. Works great with smoked chicken, pork butts, brisket, and ribs. Well worth the time but the lump charcoal is pricey.

My dad got lucky and won a Big Green Egg a few years ago. We had a custom built smoker at home as well as a Weber grill, but all we've really used for the last few years is the Egg. You can't beat the damn heat regulation of those things, they're great.