FOOD CORNER > Cooking equipment
smoker needed
Nate:
so since there is not really a place for cooking equipment, and I am in need of recommendations for smokers, I will just put it here.
don, maybe another section in my area for cooking equipment?????
all right folks, I had a Bradley electric smoker that took the little wood pucks/bisquettes as the fuel for smoke and have since had to give it back to the owner (a friend was storing some stuff at my house after his divorce). there are really 3 BIG issues on why I would not buy one of those as a replacement. those 3 issues are
1. the system only has a 500w capacity and that is split between the heating element that cooks the product and the heating element that burns the wood pucks/bisquettes to generate the smoke. I have called and talked to the company to see if they offer a bigger heating element and they do not????
2. since they use sawdust type pucks/bisquettes, they only place you can find them is either amazon or at an actual cabelas store (the closest store to me is in Lubbock which is 300+ miles)
3. the thing was very temperamental when it came to heat regulation. because the heat capacity was very limited, I had to actually use it in my garage where I could control the environment.
so here are my thoughts on what I am actually looking for and or direction I am wanting to go in.
1. big wood burning smokers: are really nice to look at and can only do a limited amount of meat (depending on the size that you are running). wood burning smokers take a lot of fiddling with to get the temps just right and also to keep them at constant temps ("cant set it and forget it"). being that this area does not really have a lot of trees, I would have to purchase the wood that would be burned/used as fuel. so in reality I am not leaning towards a wood burning smoker unless somebody can give me some information that I may be totally missing. (I have a really nice gas grill with cast brass burners that i have had for something like 8 years and it is still in awesome condition, so i am not looking for another grill?)
2. electric smokers: I really am not opposed to another electric smoker, as long as I could find one that is in a relatively low price range. I have seen a few really nice looking electric smokers that are upwards of 1400w, and are upwards of $600-$2500 cost. another draw back to these models are that you can not "set it and forget it", you have to pay close attention to the level of wood that you have in the hopper and have to constantly be adding more wood for the smoke. the Bradley was convenient in that regards because each puck was rated for 20 minutes and you could just load up the hopper, set the smoke time and the cook time and just walk away and check it every so often to make sure i wasn't burning down my garage.
3. gas powered smokers: now with the gas powered smokers, i would have better regulation of the heat in outdoor environments but would not be able to "set it and forget it" because i would have to monitor the level of the wood chips in the hopper area. now i have seen a few from amazon that have 3 separate compartments (1. product section, 2. water/drip pan section, 3. wood chip hopper section) they are rated at something like 15k BTU and the landmann ones have a cast brass burner. with the 3 different section, i would be able to add more wood chips and not have to open the main compartment and lose smoke and or heat. in reality I would have more control over the "set it and forget it" concept and would also not have to interrupt the smoking/cooking process. here are a few links to the ones I was looking at.
http://www.amazon.com/Landmann-3895GLA-Mountain-Vertical-38-Inch/dp/B005457VTE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423961508&sr=8-1&keywords=Landmann+Smoky+Mountain+Premium+38+in.+Vertical+LP+Gas+Smoker+with+Two+External+Drawers+Wide+Body
http://www.amazon.com/Landmann-3895GWLA-Mountain-Vertical-38-Inch/dp/B00556XVNM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1423961508&sr=8-2&keywords=Landmann+Smoky+Mountain+Premium+38+in.+Vertical+LP+Gas+Smoker+with+Two+External+Drawers+Wide+Body
http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/masterbuilt-extra-large-vertical-propane-smoker/pid-929807?N=578824977&Ntt=smokers&Ntk=All
I am really leaning towards the landmann wide body one and have not really decided positive or negative on the masterbuilt one?
let me also add a few things/stipulations.
1. I am not at a permanent location (I retire in just over a year and will most likely be moving) so building a permanent smoking structure for the long term is out of the question.
2. as stated above, I am not looking for another "grilling" option because I have one of those and am pretty darn set on grilling with gas instead of charcoal.
3. I am very limited at the moment on what fabrication tools / processes I have at my disposal
4. $$$$ is a factor to an extent, but can be over looked for a really good quality product.
so what are your comments and or options that you can offer me?
Sammconn:
My smoker is hand built from insulated door panels. The panels came from an overhead door outfit, and were the window cutouts (read garbage). Assembled with thin aluminum broke to create 90 degree angles, and 3/16 pop rivets.
It is electric, boiler controller for set it and forget it temperature control, and a large stove element. So yes it needs 220 to run, this may be a stumbling point if you don't have access to 220 volts.
I got a little carried away, or not, and have a cook timer on it that will shut the unit down after a set time.
Smoke comes from wood chips I generate with my woodworking habit, placed in a shortened coffee can onto the burner. Depending on your smoke needs/likes it needs filled a few times.
I'm not into mine for very much cash, as the panels were free, and electrics all came from our dump, our little Walmart.
Heat control: I can manage 50-60 lbs at a time without thermal loading issues. Have done close to 100 lbs once, but that is too much. With a boiler controller heat is adjustable from 110-240 or so. Great for everthing from cold smoking to smoked prime rib.
I'll have to snap a picture of it and post it up. I went big and did a two side unit, so it is not small by any means. 5 or so wide 6 ish high and a couple feet deep.
Dawg25385:
I've got a Traeger and love it. Spendy, but it's efficient and easy. Wood pellet fuel. I've also used a Weber Smokey Mountain and those are nice too. Also efficient, but coal burners.
I've cooked with a friends friend type of thing for 300 ppl on a commercial wood burning rotisserie smoker, and while it was cool, it's a pain to babysit, especially for long smokes. Something I'd only want to run for big cooks, not at great frequency personally.
That's what I love about my "cheater" pellet burner. Can put a butt on or a brisket and let it go while I get some shut eye. Also super easy to crank up (and down!) for quick things like chicken quarters, wings, pork loin, etc. I find that because it's easy, I use it all the time. And the pellets are 100% wood, the wood of your choice, and fairly reasonably priced. About 1.25/hr to run at 225 I think I calculated out once.
Propane fueled would probably be just as easy, and a little cheaper. My Traeger was 700 bucks, and if I were to do it again I'd get the next biggest one. But the pellet rigs are expensive, which is the main drawback.
Hope that helps!
Nate:
sam, my brother in law built one out of an old single door industrial fridge with the burner that you are talking about. he built it to fit inside of his shop and plumbed the vent to the outside. but then again he does a lot of jerkey and sausage sticks, not much in the way of anything else.
kyle, I have a trager dealer about 50 miles from me and it is looking like it may be a good possibility. how long have you had yours and what issues have you had with it (failure of anything)?
Dawg25385:
I've had mine since June 2008 and its held up really well. Hundreds of hours on it, and the only issues I've had is the "hot rod" burning out. That's the element that starts the fire. Replaced by Trager under warranty, easy to swap out.
Only other thing is paint chipping off the door, but it's easy to touch up if you care.
If you go that route Make sure you get the digital thermostat, much more variability in temperature selection. And buy the cover, they're extremely well made. Mine is still in great shape after 6+ yrs... That's incredible for a grill cover.
Look at Costco too. They've had package deals on there too!
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