Need a new smoker and have some questions about WooD and Pellet smokers

[kathleenmelissa]

Need a new smoker. After about 15 years my smoker is slowly falling apart do to major rust. One wheel fell off, just rusted off and another wheel is about to come off due to major rust. The place where you put the Charcoal and Wood on is about rusted thru as well.

So basically wanting to get different peoples opinion about the difference between the Charcoal/wood smoker and a Pellet Smoker. Been thinking about buying a Pellet Smoker because it sounds easier to use versus Charcoal/wood smoker? Also if anyone can point me a decent priced Charcoal/wook and/or Pellet smoker, prices for my budget would be in the $200 - $300 range.

Thank you for any advice and help you can give in this decision of mine.

 

[6mm Remington]

Masterbuilt 40" electric smoker right at $400.00. The 30" one is around the $300.00 point range you speak about. I love this thing! You have to add chips periodically through the smoking process especially if it's a beef brisket or something that is in there for 8 hours or so. It's not a big deal though and simple to do.

This smoker is my second smoker. I had a charcoal smoker in the past and it worked okay but the electric one is much more consistent with temperatures and such. It has a light inside and the 40" model has 7 meat shelves. In the 3 years that I have owned it not many weeks have gone by where I did not use it at least once each week. Sometimes I might use it 3 times!

I'm no expert but I like the electric smoker as it's simple to operate and the temperature is really consistent. You can do so many things with it too. Here are some of the items I have smoked.

Jerky - man it tasted good and was a lot of fun to make. Set the temperature at 165-170 and smoke until it's at the dryness level that you want. I can check the smoker with my phone and raise of lower the temperature with my phone if I want to or need to. I can also check the internal temperature of say a beef brisket or roast from my phone also without going outside to look at the control panel. Pretty slick.

Pork roast, pork belly, pork ribs, beef ribs, beef roast, beef brisket (doing another one next weekend), ham, whole chicken, fryer chicken (cut up), salmon, macaroni & cheese, baked potatoes (Do in the oven until almost done and then poke holes in the potato for smoke to get inside and put in the smoker with the meat you are doing for the last hour or so.), rib-eye steak (Smoke for 30 minutes and then put on the gas grill to finish and sear the outside. I guess it's called reverse searing. Oh man is it good.) I need to get a turkey and smoke it. Haven't done that in the electric smoker yet but have done several on the old charcoal one I had.

You can do a lot with the 30" Masterbuilt smoker but If you can swing it the extra size of the 40" is really nice if you want to do a larger batch of meat for some occasion. You can put a lot of jerky in the 40" smoker so you don't have to do so many batches if you are making a lot at one time. We had several people coming over for dinner one day and I had 6 racks of pork ribs from Costco on their and two cut up fryer chickens all at once. It turned out great.

 

[6mm Remington]

MES 130|B Digital Electric Smoker

Perfect for the beginner or the pro, you’ll achieve competition-ready results in your own backyard without the hassle of charcoal or propane. Simply plug this smoker in, set the digital controls, and it does the work! The patented side wood chip loader lets you experiment with flavor without...

www.masterbuilt.com

$229.00

 

[tstith]

I recently purchased a Camp Chef SmokePro SG Wifi 24" pellet grill. The combination of the app and the 22lb pellet hopper makes it really easy to monitor from elsewhere in the house without babysitting it. Holds temp well. I had to get a couple parts from Camp Chef as they camp damaged from shipping and they were able to help out quickly and for free. In the last two weeks, I have made ribs and warmed some Costco mac n' cheese, and a pork shoulder. All of it has come out great thus far.

For your price point, you can get the non-wifi model.

Also, Traeger is running a $100 off special for Fathers Day right now, seems like a good time to buy.

 

[Grumman]

I’ve had almost every kind of smoker from pellet grills to commercial stickburners. Currently have an egg, two Weber Smoky Mountain Cookers, and a Lang stickburner. When my wife wants me to do a long smoke she requests I use the WSM. Honestly it is the easiest to use. Look up the minion method for charcoal, I can get +12 hour burns without touching it after it is set. That is in your budget and what I’d recommend. One of mine is 10 years old and still has zero rust. Good luck!

 

[Ac338]

I'd recommend getting a Weber Smoky Mountain 18" charcoal smoker and then purchasing a master built electric with the AMNPS pellet smoker instead of the chip tray. I use my WSM for all my pork butt, ribs, briskets but prefer the electric for fish, bacon, and cheese due to lower temps.