More intense than barbecuing, smoking infuses your food with an unbeatable smokey flavour. If you have the patience for it, the end result of cooking meat in a smoker is perfectly crispy on the outside and nice and tender on the inside. That said, smoking food can take anywhere from 5 hours to 20 hours.
While most people associate smokers with meat, there are many other types of foods that can be smoked, including cheese, beans, and vegetables. Keep reading to learn more about smokers. We’ll also highlight the best smokers you can buy in Canada this year.
Which Type of Smoker Is Best?
Nowadays, you can find smokers that are powered by electricity, charcoal, pellets, or propane. The most important factor is that the internal smoking temperature remains stable and doesn’t exceed 110 degrees C.
There is no definite answer when it comes to which smoker is best. The answer will depend on your preferred type of fuel and your experience level with smoking foods. Propane or electric smokers are popular choices for beginner BBQ smokers, since they’re easier to fire up and control temperatures with. Compared to pellet or charcoal smokers, however, you won’t end up with that traditional smokey taste.
While charcoal smokers can be more difficult to clean and use, they are generally the best type of smoker if you’re looking for a traditional smokey-tasting end result. Charcoal is also very easy to purchase in most stores.
The 5 Best Smoker BBQs For Your Backyard in 2024
Bradley BS611 Electric Smoker
The Bradley BS611 Smoker is a fully-automated electric smoker that uses wood bisquettes to produce smoke. The refrigerator-style smoker has 4 adjustable racks with over 2,000 cubic inches of smoking space. It’s easy to use with its completely digital interface. The smoker can cook for up to 9 hours on its own.
The Bradley smoker is also convenient since it can be used in many ways. For example, it can be used as a hot smoker, cold smoker, oven, or dehydrator.
The only downside with the Bradley smoker is that it’s quite big, measuring 24 inches wide and 31 inches in height.
Bradley BTDS76P Digital Smoker
The Bradley 4-rack Digital Smoker has all the original smoker characteristics and the advantages of digital technology. Temperature, time, and smoke are now fully adjustable, allowing you to choose how much smoke you want, how long you will smoke your food, and at what temperature. It’s an Ideal smoker for all fish, meats, nuts, vegetables, and cheese.
The new Bradley Digital Smokers provides a more effortless and better method to automatically roast, smoke, and barbecue in the outdoors, whether you’re entertaining, making gourmet dishes at home, or simply enjoying the flavour that smoking brings.
Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Charcoal Smoker
Weber’s 14″ Smokey Mountain Smoker is a water smoker that uses charcoal and wood to generate long-lasting smoke and heat. Its built-in water pan adds steam to the smoking process in order to keep meats moist and tender. The smoker boasts 2 cooking grates for smoking many foods at once, as well as easy-to-adjust dampers to keep the heat—and your food —under control.
The construction’s durability is one of the characteristics that make this a superb smoker. It also has excellent temperature control and superior heat retention. In addition, the charcoal chamber keeps the fuel together, allowing it to burn more efficiently. It also helps to keep ash out of the dampers.
Cuisinart COS-244 Vertical Propane Smoker
With 4 stainless steel racks and 5.45 square inches of cooking area, the Cuisinart Vertical 36″ Propane Smoker provides you with plenty of smoking room. Its firmly sealed doors will aid consistency, while you may adjust the back vent to raise or lower the smoker’s temperature. The kit comes with a 40-inch line and regulator that connects to a standard propane tank fast.
This smoker isn’t limited to large chunks of meat or lengthy smoking sessions. Thanks to the ease of usage and different cooking racks, you’ll be able to smoke interesting new appetizers for any party or even a more traditional supper during the week.
Masterbuilt MB20071117 Electric Smoker
The Masterbuilt MB20071117 30-inch Electric Smoker is ideal for both beginners and experienced smokers. You’ll get competition-ready outcomes without the inconvenience of charcoal or propane in your backyard. Plug this smoker in, program the digital settings, and it will take care of the rest!
Thanks to the innovative side wood chip loader, you can experiment with flavour without opening the smoker door. You can smoke six chickens, two turkeys, four racks of ribs, or four pig butts on four chrome-coated racks. Master built will help you master the art of smoking. Control the temperature and time of cooking by turning it on and off.
Overall, the Masterbuilt Digital Smoker is an affordable and easy-to-maintain smoker.
How Does A Smoker Work?
“Low and slow” is a popular term when it comes to the art of smoking food. It basically implies that smoked food should be cooked at a low temperature over an extended period of time.
Essentially, everything starts within the smoker grill in the firebox, where the wood or charcoal fuel is located and fired, then let to burn continually. The heat and smoke then travel to the smoking chamber (where you place the slabs of meat on the grates), where they heat the little water tray below the grates and cook the meat using steam.
A smoker will always have an air vent that allows you to manage the temperature within the smoker. While smoking takes a long time, the payoff is that it tastes fantastic and is incredibly soft to chew than other grilling meat techniques.
The Different Types of Smokers
Buying a smoker, without question, opens up a whole new world of culinary experimentation and experience, with some delicious outcomes. The initial step into the realm of BBQ, however, might be difficult.
Right away, you must make a significant decision: which type of smoker will you purchase? There’s so much to pick from that it’s easy to become paralyzed by analysis paralysis and abandon the idea of being a smoker altogether. Let’s check out five types.
Propane/Gas Smokers
The gas smoker uses natural gas or propane to generate heat. When fuelling these smokers, the terms “gas” and “propane” are used interchangeably. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is another name for propane (LPG).
Unless you have a direct gas line to your house, you’ll most likely be using a refillable gas bottle. Thankfully, they’re relatively easy to come by and found at most petrol stations and sporting goods stores.
Offset Smokers
The origins of offset smokers are evident in their barrel-like design, inspired by disused oil drums. Most pit masters’ bucket lists include owning one of these large, cumbersome, and having enough room to fill an entire city block with nicely smoked food.
For traditional offset smokers, the chimney is on the other side of the firebox. Some offset smokers employ a ‘reverse flow’ technique, which uses baffles to drive smoke and heat under and over the food. Because the chimney is situated above, rather than opposite, the firebox, reverse flow offset smokers are reasonably easy to locate.
Pellet Smokers
Pellet smokers combine an oven and a smoker in a relatively high-tech package. They mix the added smokey flavour of actual combustion with the ease of use of an electric smoker.
One of the best things about a pellet smoker is that it can be used as an oven, grill, and smoker all at once, making it a one-stop cooking solution. Pellet smokers use built-in thermometers to maintain a consistent temperature by adjusting the airflow and amount of pellets put into the firebox.
Charcoal Smokers
Charcoal smokers come in various forms and sizes, from the robust Weber Smokey Mountain to the eye-catching ceramic Kamado ovens.
In terms of the fuel that contributes the most to flavour, charcoal and wood pellets are close. Charcoal smokers are a little more labour-intensive than electric or gas smokers, needing additional set-up, babysitting, and cleaning in exchange for the more fabulous flavour.
Most charcoal smokers suspend the food above the coals and use a chimney and air dampers at the top to draw the heat and smoke across the food.
Electric Smokers
Electric smokers are a great way to “set it and forget it” when smoking. You don’t have to bother about burning wood or charcoal, carrying a propane cylinder around, or cleaning up after you’ve used one.
Choosing the temperature, possibly via a Bluetooth app with some higher-end versions, setting a time, and then locating a beer while it does the work for you are all part of using an electric smoker. Electric smokers generate heat using a heating element rather than a combustible fuel source.
Things to Consider When Buying a Smoker
There are a few factors to consider when shopping around for the perfect backyard smoker. Here they are:
Build Quality & Design
To keep heat and air in, a good smoker must be heavy-duty and well-sealed. Most high-quality smokers are made of steel and will have a powder-coating or enamel finish to protect them from rust, rain, and extreme heat.
Temperature Consistency
It’s no good if a smoker can’t maintain a consistent low-and-steady ambient smoking temperature. You want a constant, smooth 225°F to 250°F for novices, and you want it all day. The smoker’s design, the fuel used, the construction, the seal, and the air intake all play a part in how well it can maintain consistent temperatures.
Size & Cooking Area
Here, you consider why you need the smoker. Is it for just you or a large number of people? If you’re going to be smoking meat all day, you might as well smoke a lot of it – especially if your entire family is coming over. Small cooking grates would throw a wrench in your plans, so unless you plan on travelling much, get a big smoker for your first one.
Price
Smokers can cost anywhere from $200 to several thousand dollars. You don’t necessarily need an expensive smoker to make good barbecue, but investing in a larger, professional-style smoker allows you to focus on the meat rather than the equipment.
Here is the key benefit of these high-priced cookers. They make it easier to smoke. You get superior heat control and more extended burn periods, allowing you to focus on flavour characteristics rather than working yourself to death over protracted cooking.
How To Clean Your Smoker?
For your smoker to last longer, you need to clean and maintain it regularly. Here are a few ways you can keep your smoker in a good shape:
- After each use, discard the ashes. Ash retains moisture and can produce byproducts that encourage corrosion. Allow the ashes to cool completely before sweeping them out and placing them in an airtight metal container.
- Using a warm and damp cloth, wipe any spilt sauces or marinades off the surfaces.
- Use a nylon bristle brush to clean the grates before using them.
- Scrape any grease or food bits from the cooking chamber with a 4″ putty knife.
- Buff any rusty spots with steel wool before re-seasoning with beef tallow or another high-temperature cooking oil.
Wrapping up
If you enjoy BBQ flavours, you should definitely consider buying a smoker for your home. However, you need to get the best one for your specific purpose. Each smoker has its advantages and shortcomings. That is why we tackle all you might face when you buy each.
Go through this article and choose the one that goes with your purpose and your pocket. Then, you can enjoy your Smokey food at any point in time.
