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Gas vs. Electric? (Gasp!!)

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flyingbassman5

is one Smokin' Farker
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So....Gas or Electric?

.:Back story:.
I'm looking at rigs that I can use without having to sit and babysit for hours on end. Mostly for big cuts like pork shoulder that take longer than I want to sit out in the cold for. I'm also looking for something to use during the winter when charcoal is tough to come by too. (except for Kingsford (gag :wacko:))

Right now, I'm looking at cheaper gas and electric models. I found a Masterbuilt "mini fridge" smoker on CL for $100 basically down the street from me and think I might jump on it. But I want some opinions on whether I should maybe go gas instead.

HAVE AT IT BRETHREN!!
 
I've had both, of the 2 the electric is easier. It has a thermostat and is " set it and forget it". That being said, my UDS is actually as easy and more reliable, the Masterbuilts have a tendency to have electrical and element problems.
 
You could always go the pellet pooper route which is electric start and then fan driven. So it is a wood fire and you can grill and smoke with them.
 
I have had all the above. It is all about your budget. For $250 you could hope for a used Traeger pellet pooper or someone dumping a Big Green Egg (ceramic cooker).

However, if you are going to go electric, you will eventually want to go with something better that allows you to smoke in a more moist environment so you don't dry the food out quite so much. My advice, buy the Masterbuilt and save your money for something that you will really like.
 
What don't you like about Kingsford charcoal? It's what many of us use in our WSM's and Cajun Bandits.
 
Mind you, I dont live in MO (snow & all), but I dont have to babysit too much, even though I use an offset. I'm thinking you may be doing a few other things less-than-stellar that may be hampering your efforts.

That aside, way back when I had a much smaller offset and could only cook 20-30 lbs of meat at one time, I used a trick to help. Shhhhhh. Be quiet now. Dont tell anyone. It's called an: Oven. Yep, put the meat on for 3 or 4 hours on smoke, then bring it in, foil it up, put it in the oven for the remainder of the time. Side benefit, the house smells like BBQ. I still do this for smaller cooks when I want fresh BBQ at 9am in the morning. I'll put it on smoke for 4 hours, take it off around midnight, foil it, in the oven it goes and shut-eye I get.

No need to spend extra money.
 
I haven't used an electric smoker so I can't say anything about them, but I do have a Masterbuilt propane smoker. After the first smoke I learned where to set the knob, and where to put the chips for no flare ups, and since then it's been set and forget.
 
I've got a Masterbuilt 40 (from Sam's) and love it. I have used it for brisket, butts, ribs, and slow smoking sausage and tasso. It's not perfect but it has been dependable. It's insulated and depending on what I'm cooking I use the chip loader or my AMAZEN smoke generator. The smoke generator is used for slow smoking since the heat element doesn't cycle enough to keep the chips going. It hasn't replaced any of my other cookers...just added some real nice flexibility to the arsenal.
 
I find KBB to be fine.
If you don't want to tend a pit, get a WSM or build a UDS. Then get an ATC system for it, fire her up, and go sit inside by the fireplace.

Bob
 
I had a chepo stick burner that set me back years in my quest for good BBQ. The Masterbuilt 30" that I got after that restored my faith in backyard smoking. Super easy to use and can turn out great food on the cheap. I have since moved on and gave it away but it was the first cooker I had that consistently produced good food.
 
Lake Dogs said:
Mind you, I dont live in MO (snow & all), but I dont have to babysit too much, even though I use an offset. I'm thinking you may be doing a few other things less-than-stellar that may be hampering your efforts.

That aside, way back when I had a much smaller offset and could only cook 20-30 lbs of meat at one time, I used a trick to help. Shhhhhh. Be quiet now. Dont tell anyone. It's called an: Oven. Yep, put the meat on for 3 or 4 hours on smoke, then bring it in, foil it up, put it in the oven for the remainder of the time. Side benefit, the house smells like BBQ. I still do this for smaller cooks when I want fresh BBQ at 9am in the morning. I'll put it on smoke for 4 hours, take it off around midnight, foil it, in the oven it goes and shut-eye I get.

No need to spend extra money.
Click to expand...


I dont understand why people forget about an oven. I did this on Sunday as I couldnt pan up 2 pork butts in my mini. I had the 2 pork butts cooking in the mini until I got the bark the color i wanted. Then panned both of them up. One in the oven and one in the mini. I couldn't tell the difference in the product, neither could anybody else.

Meat stops taking smoke on after 140 degrees. The extra time in the smoker, the smoker is basically an oven.
 
Bludawg said:
Just build a UDS!
Click to expand...

Agree! Since I've built mine, I rarely use the WSM's. Keep it out of the wind and the temps stay rock steady. I should also mention I use a PitmasterIQ :mrgreen:. Set it and forget it.
 
aawa said:
I dont understand why people forget about an oven. I did this on Sunday as I couldnt pan up 2 pork butts in my mini. I had the 2 pork butts cooking in the mini until I got the bark the color i wanted. Then panned both of them up. One in the oven and one in the mini. I couldn't tell the difference in the product, neither could anybody else.

Meat stops taking smoke on after 140 degrees. The extra time in the smoker, the smoker is basically an oven.
Click to expand...

E X A C T L Y!!!!

Plus, most of us already have one or two of them in our kitchen, built-in, paid for....
 
A really nice UDS could be made for under 250 even if you went the more expensive route and got the drum kit from bigpoppasmokers.com. it's a little more than you're price range but the chargriller Akorn is a good option that you can set and forget, I do it all the time. I'm not trying to talk you out of electric or gas but you'd be surprised how many charcoal smokers can hold the same temp for hours, even better than gas or electric. For what's it's worth, I had the vertical gas/charcoal master forge smoker from Lowe's(under $200) and returned it. I Hope this helps.

Chris

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 
My WSM Mini will run for 5-6 hours on a very small amount of charcoal. Pop it in the oven for the rest of the time for set and forget. ECBs ( Brinkman Electric) do work. However, mine don't get much use since I built the WSM mini. The WSM mini is perfect for a pork butt. The small size seems to make it really hold a steady temp with no spikes.
 
More important question. Why can't anyone invent something that will let me sit outside during the winter to smoke my cigar?
 
Oven + Smoking Gun [ame="http://www.amazon.com/PolyScience-Smoking-Portable-Food-Smoker/dp/B0082DNCHU"]Amazon.com: PolyScience The Smoking Gun Portable Food Smoker: Patio, Lawn & Garden[/ame]
 
J'ville Grill said:
What don't you like about Kingsford charcoal? It's what many of us use in our WSM's and Cajun Bandits.
Click to expand...

Just not a fan of it. I'm a stubb's convert. Kingsford IMO makes too much ash and just doesn't burn as well as the stubb's. That said though, I also use Royal Oak lump too. Unfortunately, Lowe's and Wal-Mart both phase out the RO and Stubb's because I'm apparently the only one that buys it during the winter. So before Thanksgiving I usually stock up. This year I didn't because I wanted to spend the money to try out electric and/or gas.

To those saying I should build a UDS, I mostly certainly could and might, but that again would require me to have the stock pile of charcoal for the winter. If I build one, it wouldn't be until next year depending upon how the electric/gas experiment goes.

Thanks for all the responses!
 
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