Smoker Suggestions

Brian Reiber

Brian Reiber

Well-Known Member
Well, I think it's time to consider a new smoker. I've been smoking salmon for years with a couple of little chiefs. Along the way I added a Masterbuilt propane smoker as well. Things worked great for the most part, the little chiefs worked great for smoked salmon and Indian Candy albeit a little finicky with respect to temperature regulation. The Masterbuilt works great for brisket and other high temp smoking but it is also finnicky with respect to temperature regulation and it can run a way on you very easily.

Over the past year or so I started to get into sausage, pepperoni, jerky, bacon and other salami making. This is really enjoyable and I love being able to create custom products but these smokers are just not up to the task. I'm finding that I just can't hold a consistent temp. I started hunting this year and with animals like bear I need to be able to dial my temps in precisely. I tried adding a secondary gas regulator to the Masterbuilt which allowed me to get the temps down but still isn't consistent and the box isn't insulated so that creates another problem. The little chiefs I took apart and rivited them together to create an extra tall chief which is great for hanging snack sticks. However the hot plate isn't able to heat up all that surface area. I could add another hot plate I guess.

I'm on the search for something new. I considered making a wood smokehouse, or converting an old fridge (which are hard to find). I've looked everywhere online and see a product by Hakka that looks awesome but is not currently available (damn COVID supply chain). What are others using? I want something that can handle a lot of product. If I'm going to set up the grinder and stuffer I'd prefer to commit my 4 days off and make a huge batch. The family and friends can eat it up in a hurry. I've been resistant to look at the Bradley over the years because they aren't very big, you have to use pucks, and they are so commonplace (I like doing things the hard way lol). The pro is that they have been around for a long time and have precise temperature control and can be set up for true cold smoking which I can't currently do. Has anyone used the Pitboss?

I'd love to hear what is working for others.

Thanks,
Brian
 
Dynaglo 43" wide body. Convert it to natural gas. I've had every kind of smoker under the sun including home built ones. This thing is cheap and easy. It's big and has two doors so you can mess with the chips without opening the food cabinet. It also has two burners so you can get it real low or real hot if need be. I use mine with the pellet mouse trap type smoke trays. The chip trays never really work I've found.
 
Rain City said:
Dynaglo 43" wide body. Convert it to natural gas. I've had every kind of smoker under the sun including home built ones. This thing is cheap and easy. It's big and has two doors so you can mess with the chips without opening the food cabinet. It also has two burners so you can get it real low or real hot if need be. I use mine with the pellet mouse trap type smoke trays. The chip trays never really work I've found.
Click to expand...
Thanks Rain,
That does look nice. With the 2 burner gas set up can you set and hold temperatures within a narrow range? Obviously it won't be precise digital control and I don't need to be able to set it and head to work but I still want something that can hold a temperature. I was doing a batch of goose jerky today with my Masterbuilt and I fell asleep on the couch and woke up 15 minutes later to my blue tooth thermometer screaming at me. By the time I got out to the smoker the damage had been done. Pissed me right off.
 
Brian Reiber said:
Thanks Rain,
That does look nice. With the 2 burner gas set up can you set and hold temperatures within a narrow range? Obviously it won't be precise digital control and I don't need to be able to set it and head to work but I still want something that can hold a temperature. I was doing a batch of goose jerky today with my Masterbuilt and I fell asleep on the couch and woke up 15 minutes later to my blue tooth thermometer screaming at me. By the time I got out to the smoker the damage had been done. Pissed me right off.
Click to expand...
Ugh that sucks. Yes, it holds temp very steady I find.
 
Rain City said:
Ugh that sucks. Yes, it holds temp very steady I find.
Click to expand...

Rain City, I find the propane and pellet smokers to not be able to hold low temps that are needed for hot smoking salmon... I like to run it in the 130-140 temps for first few hours to get the smoke to stick and then increase for the last few hours until my temp probe reads 145 inside the thickest pieces of salmon. I have not considered a dual burner propane like the one you mentioned. What is the lowest temps it will hold and does it hold temps fairly steady?
 
Low on one burner holds about 125. This is why I went with the bigger unit with dual burner. That was in early September too. Id imagine it would be less in cooler temps
 
the butcher said:
how many hrs can you get out of a 20lb propane tank?
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I converted mine to natural gas. But they really can't take all that much. I run my fryer on one tank for a few hours and the thing is a flame thrower.
 
Does anyone have experience with PitBoss? They look decent. They make a 7000 series which is large enough for my needs but is out of stock everywhere at the moment. The 5000 series is available
 
Brian Reiber said:
Does anyone have experience with PitBoss? They look decent. They make a 7000 series which is large enough for my needs but is out of stock everywhere at the moment. The 5000 series is available
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I think they had them at Costco a while back. Which means you could return it in 5 years if need be
 
Brian Reiber said:
What is GMG?
Click to expand...
GMG is a Green Mountain Grill

I have done lots of research lately on pellet grills and everything comes back to a Traeger Ironwood as the one to buy. Best wifi controller, most consistent temp and less challenges with the auger. I just haven’t been able to swallow the price tag to put one on my deck yet.

GMG and Pit Boss are close seconds.
 
I think pellet grill/smokers aren't great at doing either. If you're not serious about it or don't have room for two or three units then I guess they're fine. I hear the augers can become problematic and when smoking at low tempe they don't create enough smoke. They're good enough but I much prefer my ceramic charcoal grill and large chest smoker.
 
Rain City said:
I think pellet grill/smokers aren't great at doing either. If you're not serious about it or don't have room for two or three units then I guess they're fine. I hear the augers can become problematic and when smoking at low tempe they don't create enough smoke. They're good enough but I much prefer my ceramic charcoal grill and large chest smoker.
Click to expand...
Same, sold my Traeger, Bradley non digital and a good Jackson Grill made on the Island, works better for my styles of cooking smoking
 
Rain City said:
I think they had them at Costco a while back. Which means you could return it in 5 years if need be
Click to expand...
I like the way you think Rain. The Pitboss 7000 looks almost perfect for the size I need. It has six racks, is quite tall for hanging snack sticks and sausage, etc. My only concern is it might not cook low enough for cold smoking. You mentioned using a mouse trap style pellet box.....I looked at one the other day, is that the small little box that you can stuff with pellets or sawdust, you light it and it just smolders but doesn't really generate any heat? That might work well in the smokers that I have.
 
Brian Reiber said:
I like the way you think Rain. The Pitboss 7000 looks almost perfect for the size I need. It has six racks, is quite tall for hanging snack sticks and sausage, etc. My only concern is it might not cook low enough for cold smoking. You mentioned using a mouse trap style pellet box.....I looked at one the other day, is that the small little box that you can stuff with pellets or sawdust, you light it and it just smolders but doesn't really generate any heat? That might work well in the smokers that I have.
Click to expand...
Yup, this one. I run two in my Dynaglo. They'll run about 8 hours when lit from one side or if you want more smoke you can light both sides and get 4 hours. I originally bought the sawdust but when that ran out I found that pellets work really well in it.
 
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