Electric Smoker vs Non-Electric Smoker

[CEO]

I have heard of good things from both electric and non-electric smokers. I have recently bought a little chief electric smoker and these seems to be a very easy and convient way of smoking meat. I have heard some people swear by non-electric smokers, and I too have tryed these but I see that takes a lot more practice, as I have burned most of the stuff I tryed to cook. Any thoughts on these?

[lar45]

I have one of the Electric Cheif smokers and have tried a few things in it. I do get a good smoke flavor, but everything seems to turn out kind of dry.

[onesonek]

Hi Guys,
Having had a background in meatcutting and sausage making, I can tell you the two most critical issues in making a great smoked product, are temperature and humidity,(not necessarily in that order). Smaller cuts and flatmeats like fish and jerky work ok in the small smokers whether it be electric, wood , or charcoal. But for larger stuff like sausage, hams dried beef/game meat. humidity and temp. control is the science. And mastering that control isnt cut and dried pun intended, but still true.
But the rule of thumb is, start wiith high humidity, and low heat.
The other thing is, dont add smoke to the product too early as this makes it bitter. Add smoke after the meat has reach a temp. where it is no longer sweating, basically internal and external even at this point.
If your electric has temp control, try to keep it at 100 degrees the first hour on thin meats much longer as the thickness increases.(use a meat thermometer on big peices) and air thermometer for smoker temp are a big asset. And increase tem. slowly wihile decreasing humidity, but you always need some humidity.

Dave

[TexasBarBQ]

Smokers... Electric or Not? I have had the privelage to work with commercial electric and commercial wood, and own a 20 brisket homemade, 1 1/2 inch Cast iron water tank smoker, on a custom built trailer. As far as quality, electric cannot touch the wood. Tried True and tested hundreds of times. I will go ahead and add that I have around 5 years of commercial butchering experience. Its all about the time and the heat. I will typically smoke beef brisket fatr side up at 200-250 degrees for approx 12 to 20 hours, in the plastic. I know you are thinking WHAT! Ironically you make small slits on both sides of the plastic (3) And as long as you dont go over 250-275 the plastic will not melt to the meat. All the melting fat keeps the meat to greasy for the plastic to stick. My brisket ALWAYS comes off the smoker fall apart tender and still juicy. It took approx 5 -7 years to develop this technique and have observed many many failures. As long as you keep your temp under control and a watchful eye on any meat you are cooking, you should never run into a problem.

[257 ROB]

A friend of my dads has the exact same elctric smoker and here in southern Alberta it sucks because it is either to cold or to windy. But it might work for you.