Smokers

I'm thinking of getting into smoking next year, and was hoping y'all might have some pointers and advice.

I've read that electric is basically easier, and propane produces better taste. I hear pellets are preferable to wood chips.

I'll mostly be using it for fish, but would like to experiment with meat as well.

Any recommendations of style, brand or model would be most appreciated.  Hoping to find something around $200 or less, tho I know that may be fairly limiting.

Thanks in advance!

I have the older version of the Smoke Hollow brand propane smoker that I got at Bimart a long time ago for about $150.  It has a large burner and a water bath to keep the moisture up.  I have been really happy with the flavor and the speed to smoke stuff.  The down side is it doesn’t have a very low setting.  Around 200° is about as low as it gets with everything closed up.  The current version is a little different than mine, so I don’t know how it compares.

I previously had the little chief and big chief electric smokers and I think the flavor of the propane smoker is much better and way faster.

I have been using a Little Chief which is basically an aluminum box with and element and racks. It works great, no bells and whistles. The bigger version is Big Chief. Last I looked, Little Chief was still under or about $100. I've been using alder chips most of the time and just doing various salmonids. If you are just doing one average salmon or steelhead, the Little Chief is about the right size. For brines and rubs, I'd buy "Smoking Salmon & Steelhead" by Scott and Tiffany Haugen. You can buy the book, smoker, and chips at BiMart. I've been using my buddy's wife's top-secret brine which I later learned is one of the first brines in the booklet that comes with the Little Chief. I have been cautioned by family not to tinker with the brine recipe since it seems to be to everyone's liking. One thing about the Little Chief to keep in mind is that on cold days, it takes forever. You can buy a special insulating blanket for that but I just wrap mine with an old bath towel to hold in the heat. Don't throw out the collars. That's the best part.

Great info, thanks guys!

I started smoking fish with a Little Chief smoker which a friend gave me.  It got me going on smoking, and I produced some good smoked fish, but I quickly discovered why my friend didn't ask me to pay him anything for the smoker - Little Chief and Big Chief smokers suck.  They don't have any thermostatic control over the temperature of the chamber or any thermometer to monitor the temperature of the chamber, and in cold weather the heating element is too weak to get the smoked fish up to a high enough internal temperature to produce safe smoked fish, and even to produce smoke by burning chips.  After a year or so I gave the Little Chief away and bought a Masterbuilt 4-rack electric smoker.  It was great, reasonably priced, and I used it for many years.  I decided I needed a bigger smoker, so I bought a Masterbuilt 6-rack electric smoker, which is also great and was reasonably priced.  I sold the 4-rack smoker to a friend - I wouldn't have done that if I didn't think it was a good smoker! I use wood chips to produce smoke.  I'd avoid smokers like the Bradley smokers which require you to use their brand of wood pucks or pellets, because the proprietary pucks or pellets tend to be expensive. 

A couple minor suggestions - avoid smokers which have a glass door, because the glass will get gunked up by the smoke.  And cover the bottom of the smoker with aluminum foil before you start using it, to catch the fat drippings and other goobers. Foil will make it easier to keep the smoker clean.  And wash the racks after every batch of smoked fish.

For a couple of good brine recipes, see https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=22369.msg232170#msg232170.  For pictures of the fish smoking process, see https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=21999.msg230191#msg230191.

Awesome, thank you sir!

I also use a Masterbuilt.  My wife used to work at Walmart and she called me one day and said they had a Masterbuilt on the floor marked down to $150.  It is a 30 inch with a temp probe and it has Bluetooth so I can monitor the smoker's temp and change it from my phone.  I can also monitor the probe temp.  I already had a propane one but at that price it was too good to pass up.  I have been using it for about 4 years now.  I did have to replace the element on it this past spring but it was cheap and easy to do.  I think the temp range on it is 170 to 270 degrees.  They are about $230 at a couple of different retailers.

Regarding Little Chief and Big Chief smokers, in cold weather just wrap heavy cardboard or foam insulation around the outside and it greatly improves the heat loss as pmmpete rightly pointed out in cold weather.
Also with Luhr Jensen wood chips, I learned years ago from Phil Jensen, alder wood is 100% alder, but the other chips are cut 50% using alder wood.
These smokers are simple and bullet proof.....the only possible failure item is the heating element and are inexpensive to replace.

Why did Water World just come to mind?!?! Don’t use one but have heard good things about “Little Chief” brand from a friend.

Thanks guys!

In cold weather, I would put my Little Chief inside the box it came in.  I'd also put it on the front porch where there was a wind break.  I must have had this thing 20 years and it just keeps on going. 

Another vote for the Big Chief, got mine on sale a few years ago for $99 and have seen them on sale for that price this year. I built a plywood box to put around mine for smoking in the cold but I’ve noticed it’s not necessary unless it’s below 35-40 degrees. The one downside of my big chief is that when I plug it into a GFCI protected outlet in my backyard it trips the breaker. Never figured out why it does that but I run an extension cord to a non-gfci outlet and it works fine. I could spend a lot more on a deluxe smoker with all the bells and whistles but it seems unnecessary.

Just got done with a couple of batches with my Big Chief smoker. Second year using it. I had it out in 25 degree weather this weekend and after 6 hours (with an insulated jacket around it, I decided to bring in the salmon to finish up for another hour or two in the oven at 180 degrees. They WERE some pretty think hunks of salmon in comparison to the photo above...

Fred "True" Trujillo

I too enjoy the Big Chief.  It can do large batches (30+lbs) and keeps a good temperature.  i understand what pmpete is saying but i dont hink it needs a thermostat.  If you want an acurate temp- throw a cheap thermometer on the inside.  The hightest a big chief typically gets is <200.  Keeping the temp below 200 is key in smoking so you dont end up cooking the fish.  For $99 bucks its durable and simple.  I leave mine outside in the conditions (clean the racks before each use) and have had no issues.  If it were to break down then i am sure i can figure out the issue myself as they are super simple.  The wood chips are found everywhere and are stupid cheap too.  I also like making jerky from my big chief smokers (venison jerky is the best!).

Really appreciating all the info guys, and getting excited to try my hand at this new art firm!

I know my dad used a lil chief for years, and people in his office would fight over, and even steal the smoked fish he brought in.

Gonna wait n see if Santa brings me a smoker, if not, I'll be buying one around the new year.