Smoker recommendation

[merogers]

I love smoking blues and other fish. I've got a batch of blues going right now in fact. I've had my Lil' Chief for about nine years and I love it to death. However, it's quite a craft to get things to come out well, gotta rotate trays, turn trays, doesn't do well in cold weather etc. Coming into some cash and I'm thinking of investing in a new smoker. Wondering if anyone has a smoker that they could recommend. Couple of things that I'm looking for though. 1. Uses regular chips that you can get anywhere, I don't want to have to put in a special blend or disc that's only available online. 2. I'd prefer electric, I don't want to come out after two hours and find the propane is gone, or deal with charcoal. 3. Under $500. Let me know what y'all have and if you are happy with your system. Mark.

[crabby and son]

Mark, I messed with all kinds of smokers. Propane charcoal and electric. All were the black cylinder Brinkman's. They all worked fairly well but were un insulated. The last smoker I bought is a Smokin' Tex 1500. It cost $1799.00 but is well worth it. It has 2 electric smoke houses and can run one at 700 watts or both at 1400 watts. It's all stainless steel and can hold 95 pounds of meat or fish. It holds a constant temperature and is cold to the touch outside..........Gary

[merogers]

Thanks Gary, I'm not running into that much money. I may just drive my fish to your smoker and pay you. I'm gonna google it and dream.

Wow, just checked it out and the 1100 may be the ticket! Thanks Gary.

[stingray]

Dang Gary.Really cool. Smokin' some pigs are ya?

[crabby and son]

Mark, The Smokin Tex is a GREAT smoker. The one you are looking at is just a smaller version of mine. I think you will be MUCH happier with that than one at Bass Pro. Let me know what you decide. I smoked a couple racks of ribs and some salmon on Sunday. I have to get to Buzz's and get some blues. I have been smoking them since 1980...................Gary

[Fishtales 71]

I know you said you didnt want to mess with Charcoal, But I just recently purchased a Weber 22" smokey Mountain. I use regular Kingsford Charcoal and hard wood chunks you can get at lowes or ace hardware or just about any where The smoker was $399.00 they also have an 18" for $299. So far I love this thing. It is awesome. I have even cooked two pork butts on it overnight. Once you get the temp right you can almost forget about it. the last overnighter I did I filled the charcoal ring and pur in 5 apple wood chunks ad it maintained temps for 12 hours. Just a thought. Check out the Virtual weber bullet web site. Its dedicated to this smoker.

[Bob H.]

Big Green Egg or the little brother but they aren't cheap - lifetime warranty too.

http://www.biggreenegg.com/eggs/sizes/

[steve0395]

I have 3 diffrent smokers. 1) A Home built wood smoker. 2) charcoal one similar to the egg 3) masterbuilt electric smoker. I smoke a considerable ammount. Once I went electric I never went back and never fired up the old ones. You can get the smoker for 175-225 depending on where you get it. Bass Pro carries them. Only thing I would do diffrent is spend the extra money and get the one with the window. I have heard all of the critical comments about smoking with electrical smokers but I am sold. And I grew up in Pig Country... Smithfield. Good luck

[HooknFish]

I also have the electric Masterbuilt. Love it. Just set it and forget it. its that easy. Got it 3 years ago at Bass Pro. $198

[31 Open]

Try the Masterbuilt electric model. I have the one that is about the size of a dorm refrigerator. Easy to move around, has three shelves, will hold a fair amount of chips in the hopper etc... We have done a fair amount of venison, fish and pig... Invested about $250 on this one... Haven't looked back at the Brinkman charcoal smoker since... If you want to get a little "fancy" , Cameron's sells a stove top model that is perfect for indoor use in the kitchen. We use it when we have two or three nice salmon fillets or pork chops.. Makes a nice addition when you want to have that smoked flavor without having to fire up the large unit..