SLicky okie math says the second method is faster. I'll splain it to you later.???

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Originally posted by fishdude

SLicky okie math says the second method is faster. I'll splain it to you later.???

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I think I know where you are going with this and it is cracking me up.....

Got me, somethin' to do with the beer?

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Originally posted by Goober

Has anyone tried an "electric smoker box"? I've heard they are excellent using pellet chips.

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Yes, I have used an electric. Actually, I've used two.

I used to have one that was basically just an aluminum box, sliding door on front, with a small pan that rested on an electrical element. The element heated the pan, which charred the wood chips to produce smoke.

The main problem that I had with this unit, is that the ONLY heat source was the small electrical element. I did manage to move the pan UNDER the element, and pile chips on that. That would get the chips hot enough to actually burn and produce enough heat to cook.

Because this unit lacked an actual heat source to cook, I would only recommend it as a "cold smoker", to smoke raw pork bellies into bacon, turn salmon into lox, make andouille, etc.

The second unit is the commercial smoker we use at my night job. It is a stainless steel box, about 4' high, and 24" wide and deep. It has a separate heat element to cook, and another element to char the wood. It's computer controlled, so we can set the oven temp, cook time, cook-then-hold time and/or temperature, etc.

I'm not sure how much a unit like that would cost.

I've got a Chargriller "Smokin' Pro", from Lowe's. I have the side firebox installed, so I can cook into the entire cooking chamber, with the fire on the side. I've used baffles to channel the smoke, which really evens out the temps.

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Slick,

At least I don't have to watch the temp. on the oven.

It takes me a bit to get the temp set right on my smoker, but once that's done, all I need to do is add wood...probably the first hour with the smoke wood is all I need to mess with the temp. After I get the four hour flavor wood part done, I stock the firebox up with oak and go to bed.

Pretty easy, but I do have a rather large smoker with a big firebox. Maybe I can take a picture or two and send them to davidh and get them on here...

Hey Allen, I have one of those Chargrillers from Lowe's also and love it. When I was looking to buy one a few years ago it was the most bang for my buck. I had trouble my first few attempts cause the heat was too high coming directly off the firebox, but then I read that an open beer can full of beer or water in the smoke pit part in front of the firebox opening will help that.

Since then I use that can method and it works great every time.

I installed some baffles into mine. I went to Lowe's and bought three pieces of sheet metal, two 18 x 12's and one 24 x 18. I ever so slightly bent each piece to put an 18" long crease at the halfway point. This prevents the sheet metal from sagging down. I placed these inside the cooking chamber, beneath the cooking grid. They fit an inch of so below the grates, and above the opening of the firebox. There's 1/2 - 3/4" of extra space on the long axis, from side to side. I just adjust the baffles (also called "tuning plates") so that there's a gap on each side, and two gaps in the center. This gives me smoke coming up from below the meat, all over, as well as provides an even area of radiant heat below the meat. I also used a section of 3" diameter flexible tubing to extend the exhaust from the inside lid all the way down to the cooking grid. This holds the smoke in better, instead of just letting the smoke escape out the top. The smoke does NOT get stale, as it cools once it hits the upper part of the lid, and sinks down, while being replaced by fresh, hot smoke from below. The cooler smoke then exits out through the tubing and up into the stack. It's a very complex convection current, but it does work!

I've smoked a whole 13 lbs. turkey in a little over 2 hours once I got all my mods done.

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