Which Smoker?

[Paco]

Hey fellas,

I have a "Big Chief" smoker---and it doesn't seem to get hot enough. I am looking to improve my smoking results. Can you guys tell which smoker you would reccomend?

I just want to smoke geese, fish and an occasional turkey..

[suddenthunder]

pick up a waffel iron cheep and add that to what you have .It works good for me !

[DSM16428]

pick up a waffel iron cheep and add that to what you have .It works good for me !

This is me confused. Please explain. If you're talkin about what I think you're talkin about, do you mean a hot plate? Gotta say that makes no sense to me.

[Paco]

I think he did mean a "hot plate." How hot should it be to finish the cooking itself? My wife gets tired of me having to finish the job in the oven---it smells the house up.

I looked at "Bradley" and "Masterbuilt" smokers today at Cabelas. What is the advantage of propane v.s. electric? These brands are relatively expensive---do they do a better job than cheaper brands?

I suspect I would get more replies if I were making this decision after the season is over..

[DSM16428]

I just found out I'm getting a new for Christmas from the GF (I peeked) shhh. It's the elctric model from Lowes and I think it uses the auto drop buscuits. I like the idea of not having to check the darn thing every 10 friggin minutes to make sure it's smoking correctly and is running at the right temp! To me, the electric models are pretty accurate but the heating element does cycle on/off to keep it from burning out. Good insulation helps there. The propane models are nice as the flame is usually very adjustable and accurate as well, but, to me the "wet" flame (the byproduct of the flame is some moisture) of the propane models can hinder you if you specifically want that DRY SMOKE. My current model was a charcoal model that I refitted to an electric burner and wrapped in a fire resistant insulating blanket. It is much more accurayte than when it used coals but it's gotta be almost 20 years old and daddy wants a new one now!

[nr_gooseslayer]

I think he did mean a "hot plate." How hot should it be to finish the cooking itself? My wife gets tired of me having to finish the job in the oven---it smells the house up.

I looked at "Bradley" and "Masterbuilt" smokers today at Cabelas. What is the advantage of propane v.s. electric? These brands are relatively expensive---do they do a better job than cheaper brands?

I suspect I would get more replies if I were making this decision after the season is over..

I have the Masterbuilt electric. I won't recommend them. Seem to be getting only about 2 years out of them. I am going with a nice one next time. Probably a Traeger.

[fowl killer]

I have had a Bradley for 5yrs now, same one. Never an issue.
I smoke fish, deer roasts, moose roasts, beef and pork roasts, whole chickens, ribs, make jerkey and pepperonis... I can keep it cool enough for a "cold smoke" and hot enough for all of the above.
My next one will be a digital model as the ole original is temp finicky.... Tricky to get where ya want it and as the meet temp rises so does the smoker...

[Paco]

Fowl Killer---Thanks for the reply. I was looking at the Bradley smokers at Cabelas not long ago. They looked pretty fancy.

Did you buy a Bradley recipe book or do you use a different one?

[fowl killer]

Trial and error brother... Meat thermometers are ur friend.

[DSM16428]

Trial and error brother... Meat thermometers are ur friend.

Ain't that the truth! I have one with about a 3 foot lead wire where you can put the probe in the meat and keep the theremometer outside the smoker or oven. Makes keeping an eye on internal temps easy. It was something like 60 bucks but it's worth every penny when it keeps you from over cooking a valuable piece of venison haunch.