Topic: The Best Electric Smokers of 2023, Tested and Reviewed (Read 47 times)
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Topic: The Best Electric Smokers of 2023, Tested and Reviewed (Read 47 times)
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Perhaps the best thing about the 30-inch model is Masterbuilt’s side loading chip system. This allows you to load additional chips throughout the cooking process without opening the main door and releasing heat. This feature co*es in handy on long cooks like brisket or pork butts that need multiple chip refills. And with other features like a digital thermostat control, four chrome plated racks, and intuitive air dampers, this smoker will acco*modate both beginner and experienced cooks.
This one was just about ready to go out of the box. After a short assembly and seasoning process, I filled the chip tube with a blend of hickory and cherry wood chips and set the smoker for 250 degrees. It didn’t take long to see a nice plume of smoke wafting from the vents. I seasoned the chicken and added it directly to the shelf. Midway through the two-hour cooking process, I noticed the smoke tapered off, so I refilled the chip tube for additional smoke flavor. Cleanup wasn’t bad for one chicken, but adding an aluminum drip pan on the shelf below the food would make it even easier.
While this smoker eliminates most of the guesswork, it lacks some of the bells and whistles found on the other options, and it didn’t take long to notice. To reload additional wood chips during the cooking process, you have to open the door, which releases heat and lengthens the cooking process. This smoker took longer to clean since it lacks a drip pan to collect falling grease. Not having a digital temperature controller made it tougher to dial in the desired cooking temperature. And the included thermometer varied as much as 30-50 degrees from the actual temperature inside, which I measured with a calibrated thermometer. That being said, you can’t find a more user-friendly smoker. If you want to set the temperature and walk away until your food finishes, this is one of the best electric smokers to set and forget.
One of the great things about electric smokers is their ease of use. And the Bradley 4 Rack Digital Smoker is just about ready to go as soon as you unpack it. It took about 10-15 minutes to put together, and it was ready to go. The upgraded digital control takes a bit of study to get to the desired settings, but once you figure it out, it’s easy to set. In fact, this control is easier to use than the Bradley P10 Professional.
I really enjoyed the separate burners to control the smoke and temperature independently of each other that allow you to use heavy smoke levels and lower temperatures for foods like brisket or pork shoulder or with higher temperature and lighter smoke for things like fish. This unit also allows you to smoke for a certain amount of time, and then continue cooking without smoke. I’ll be using this one for venison jerky in the near future with heavier smoke at low temperature.
The Masterbuilt Gravity Series is the perfect do-it-all machine. With three cooking racks for a total of 800 square inches of cooking surface, this smoker will feed a crowd. The included griddle insert is perfect for smash burgers or a large breakfast, and it’s one of the most versatile smokers I’ve ever tested.
Even though this smoker looks more like the best charcoal grills on the market than an electric smoker, I included it in this test because the digital electronic control precisely maintains the set temperature during the cooking process. Unlike other smokers I tested, the Masterbuilt Gravity Series uses traditional charcoal in either lump or briquette form. For true wood fired flavor, you can add chunks of hickory, oak, pecan, fruit, mesquite, or other cooking woods to the fuel chamber. Once you light the fire, the digital control unit operates a fan that controls the air flow to create heat and smoke. And the fan cycles on or off to hold the temperature at the set level.
I really enjoyed this smoker. Besides the test chicken, I grilled ribeyes and strip steaks at 450 degrees and slow smoked a full packer beef brisket with a mixture of Masterbuilt Lump Charcoal and oak chunks. The finished products on both cooks were perfect with great flavor, bark, and a juicy, tender interior on the brisket. The large cooking area gives this unit a bit more versatility than the other smokers in the test, especially when it co*es to smoking large cuts of meat or feeding big crowds. And with a maximum temperature of 700 degrees, you can sear things like steaks and burgers with perfect grill marks.
Traeger is the pioneer in the pellet smoker game, and the Timberline 1300 is one of the best electric smokers with Wi-Fi features I tested. With Traeger’s WiFiRE technology, I monitored cooks and adjusted smoker temperature. Another easy-to-use feature on the Timberline 1300 is the reversible auger. It makes clearing pellet jams quick and easy.
The smoker has a fully insulated body, three levels of removable cooking racks, and a special low rack position close to the fire box for easy searing of steaks and burgers. I found it to be one of the slower smokers to heat up, but it held a consistent temperature. The courtesy light that co*es on when you open the pellet hopper and the low pellet indicator on both the smoker and the app are nice touches.
This is actually one of my personal smokers that I’ve put through quite a bit of use already. I’ve cooked everything from side dishes to a whole 50-pound pig on the Timberline 1300 with excellent results, and it heats faster than other Traeger models I’ve used in the past.
See more great pellet smokers in our best pellet smoker test.
Electric smokers get the nod when it co*es to ease of use, better temperature control, and better smoke flavor on the food. Electric smokers produce a clean smoke flavored finished product without the hassle and possible off flavor that co*es with propane units. And it’s easier to regulate temperature and smoke for those times when you need precise timing for things like deer jerky. The only time a propane smoker gets the nod is in situations where electric power isn’t available.
Like the best electric grills, you can cook foods like steaks and burgers on an electric smoker, but keep in mind that most of them are designed to run at low temperatures in the 200- to 300-degree range. Sure, those temps will cook your steak, but you won’t get that caramelized exterior and those nice grill marks you get at hotter temperatures. That said, one of my favorite ways to cook a steak or a section of whitetail or elk backstrap is to slow smoke it at a low temperature until it reaches the doneness level I’m looking for, then rest the meat for a few minutes before searing it in a hot cast iron skillet. The process is known as reverse sear cooking, and if you haven’t tried it, you should.
Absolutely, it is. Try a mixture of hickory and a fruit wood like apple, peach, or cherry for pork. Or a mix of oak and mesquite for venison or beef. Meat will absorb smoke flavor until it reaches about 165 degrees on the exterior of the meat. For large cuts in particular, that can take hours. Replenish your smoking fuel whenever it burns down and quits smoking. In some smoker models, that means refilling a small tray in the bottom of the smoker with chips or pellets. In other models, a metal tube inserted near the bottom of the smoker holds the pellets and allows the user to refill the smoker with wood chips without opening the main door and releasing the heat. Still other models feed pressed wood discs into the smoker at regular intervals, meaning the user doesn’t have to worry about adding additional fuel.
To test the best electric smokers, I looked for several variables that have an affect on the cooking process and finished product. The test meat for each smoker was a similar sized whole chicken, seasoned identically with a co*mercial barbecue chicken rub, and I set each smoker at 250 degrees for the duration of the cook. Here’s what I looked for before, during, and after the cooking process:
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With any of the best electric smokers, you’d be hard pressed to find one that doesn’t conveniently create tasty wood-smoked food. Figure out your preferred cooking methods and how much food you’ll realistically want to cook, and get to smoking.
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