What smoker for around $200?
 

What's the best smoker around $200 I can pick up that's going to be easy to use to for the first time?


I'm hoping to buy an electric unit.

You can pick up a Brinkmann electric smoker at Home Depot for like $70. I have one of those units.

How good are they?

They're not bad at all. I've done ribs, pulled porks, ABT's...etc in mine and it's been fairly maintenance free with easy clean up. Very convenient and easy to use too.

I use my Weber charcoal kettle for smoking too but when I don't feel like messing around with charcoal I use the Brinkmann.

you can get a mastebuilt electric smoker at home depot for just over 200 ..
and the chargriller is a great smoker ..

I think the OP needs an electric unit because I'm pretty sure his building does not allow charcoal.

Since the OP was asking about electric smokers, I have split the Chargriller posts off into their own thread in the Grills & Smokers Forum titled Chargriller.

Chile, the Brinkman runs about $100 and I have heard good and bad about them. The good is that it does a good job and if you have a charcoal version you can get a conversion unit (base plate and heating element) for about $35-$40. The bad is that the heating element and/or electric cord seems to burn out rather quickly - about once a year if used on a frequent regular basis according to what I have read from the people who have them.

I have a friend that has a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker that he picked up at Cabela's a few years ago that he uses quite frequently, even during the winter, and hasn't had any problems with it - but it was $200. Cabela's has a couple of smaller and cheaper smokers Smokehouse Big Chief ($150) and the Mini-Chief ($100) that look like they might be worth looking at.

Of course - you could always make your own out of a cardboard box like Alton Brown did when he smoked salmon in:

Good Eats S4E1P2: Where There's Smoke, There's Fish

Thanks mate, I've moved back home for the winter time & and I am going to be looking for another apartment in the spring that allows grills/smokers. the building I was in was too much with their rules.

thanks for the good eats youtube & and separating the threads mate.