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Choose the Best Electric Smoker on the Market for All Your Needs

Last Updated: June 19, 2019

Choose the Best Electric Smoker on the Market for All Your Needs

Your guide for this review today is by product expert James Hoffman

Do you enjoy smoking your meat, fish, or vegetables but your conventional smoker makes the process challenging and long? The simple solution you need is to find the best electric smoker.

Above all, an electric smoker is easy to use(as we’ve mentioned in our everything you need to know page).

You only need to add the wood—or another fuel resource—set the temperature and walk away.

Therefore, if you haven’t done so already, switch to an electric smoker.

It’s understandable however, that you may feel uneasy about deciding which one to buy.

Namely, there are so many on the market that the decision-making process can be overwhelming.

Hence, we made this buying guide to make your decision a lot faster and easier.

This buying guide aims to teach you all there is to know about electrical smokers.

Hopefully after you’ve read this guide you will be confident enough to compare electrical smokers without help and find the perfect one for you.

In addition, two cover accessories are also reviewed to help you pick the best one.

Specifically, they protect and prolong the lifespan of the smoker you buy.

Masterbuilt 20070910 30-Inch Black Electric Digital Smoker

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Masterbuilt-20071117-30-Digital-Electric-Smoker-1

Those who enjoy smoking meat often will enjoy this cast iron smoker.

Accordingly, this electrical smoker gives you 730’’ of smoking space.

Hence, making it easier for you to smoke different poultries simultaneously.

The four racks make it simple for you to pack and organize the meats.

The design also makes the smoker easy to use and control the smoking process. The controls include:

Controls to adjust the temperature.
Push down control that reads the exact temperature.
24 hour timer and shut off to prevent the meats from drying out.
Additionally, the air dampener mounted onto the smoker makes it easier for you to control the smoke intensity.

This helps you to achieve consistent smoke.

On the other hand, the smoker arrives with 2 trays:

The water tray which can be filled with any beverage to intensify the flavors.
The drip tray catches liquids for an easy cleanup and makes for a tasty gravy.

Furthermore, if energy consumption is your concern, then this smoker is perfect for you.

Durable insulated body helps reduce the energy consumption when reaching temperatures between 100° and 275°.

Key Features:

Specification:

Pros

Cons

Old Smokey Electric Smoker

This electrical smoker doesn’t have a water tray.

Nevertheless, the smoker still cooks foods tenderly and moist & they’ll have the authentic smoky flavor.

Additionally, the flat top design of the smoker makes juices drip back into the foods.

This action is the reason why your food will be flavorful.

The wood tray is mounted onto the smoker and is positioned in a way that allows you to feed it easily.

When you use this tray, you’ll notice that the smoke gets very intense without adding too much wood.

Furthermore, a drip tray arrives with the smoker. All the meats’ juices fall into the tray which is beneficial for you for two main reasons:

It makes clean up easy.
You can cook a gravy from the juices to use all the flavors optimally.

Only two cooking racks fit inside but, it shouldn’t restrict the amount of meat you want to smoke.

Moreover, the capacity of the smoker is large enough to hold many different pieces of meat.

The smoker is made with corrosion resistant aluminum steel making it durable.

Notably, there are two carry handles for easier transportation.

The electrical heating element is adjustable to help you control the smoking process better so your meats don’t completely dry out.

Key Features:

Specification:

Pros

Cons

Smoke Hollow 30162E 30-Inch Electric Smoker with Adjustable Temperature Control

This smoker is the best electric smoker for those who tend to entertain many guests. Firstly, the inside dimensions of the smoker are:

30’’ Tall
16’’ Wide
14’’ Deep

This is sufficient space for you to smoke large pieces of meat and vegetables.

Furthermore, this smoker operates like your electrical home oven.

The only difference is you need to add wood chips for a real smoking BBQ flavor.

The 1500W heating element is fully controllable.

More importantly, you can monitor and control the inside temperatures so your meat smokes well.

Two of the cooking grids are adjustable. Therefore, you can arrange your meats based on their smoking requirements. The third bottom grid is fixed in place.

The smoker is fully welded and has thick walls with handles.

The double walls prevent the handles from heating up to the point where you can’t touch them.

Hence, you may have to touch the handles if you must move the smoker away from rain for example.

This smoker is made of steel for durability.

Hence down, you want to take a look at this one as one of the best electric smoker options you can get.

Key Features:

Specification:

Pros

Cons

Smoke Hollow 26142E 26’’ Electric Smoker with Adjustable Temperature Control

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The Smoke Hollow electric smoker makes smoking easy indoors and in your back garden. Firstly, the 5ft power cord allows you to place the smoker in an open area.

Additionally, you can monitor the heat with the temperature indicator.

It is no wonder a lot of people consider it the best electric smoker.

Consequently, this ensures your meats won’t get too dry and it smokes consistently through all meats.

Technical specifications include:

Power: 110V
Internal heater wattage: 1500W
Maximum temperature: 325°F
Minimum temperature: 175°F

On the other hand, there are only two racks in the smoker.

In fact, if you prefer to smoke a whole chicken, lamb and/or brisket you can do this without any space issues.

Notably, these racks are chrome plated and are adjustable.

The adjustment feature benefits you because you can make the shelving bigger or smaller according to the size of the meats.

Also, there are side handles for easier portability.

In particular, the handle on the door has a cool touch spring feature which prevents your hands from getting burnt when you open the door.

The door also has a latch system for the door not to swing open unexpectedly.

And, a water pan and a chip porcelain coated tray is included.

Ultimately, many people consider this the best electric smoker on the market.

Key Features:

Specification:

Pros

Cons

Masterbuilt 20075315

The design and construction give you full control when you use this electric smoker.

Whether you’re a beginner or skilled you can achieve perfect smoked foods almost every time.

Which is why many consider it the best electric smoker on the market.

This electrical smoker is user friendly. All you have to do is plug it in, set the temperature and it’ll do most of the work.

Key Features:

Specification:

Pros

Cons

What to Know When Buying the Best Electric Smoker

It’s important you familiarize yourself with these electrical smokers’ components.

Above all, the following facts will help you understand what is needed for the product to work effectively.

Temperature Control

Thermostats help you to know the heat inside the smoker and the cooking chamber.

Additionally, Heat and time play two crucial roles during the smoking process.

If you want high grade smoked meat each time, then buy a smoker that also comes with a thermostat.

Installed Caveats

Caveats are ventilation systems that release some heat and smoke during the process.

This allows you to control the smoke density that is cooking the meat.

This is important for even the best electric smoker, so the meat is cooked thoroughly without unwanted burn marks on the food.

Heat Structure

The heating structure determines how the heat is distributed inside the smoker.

Therefore, if you’re a beginner or don’t have much practice in using a smoker, then purchase the best electric smoker in the electricity category.

Moreover, the heat flows upwards which helps cook your meat and other ingredients to perfection.

How to Pick the Best Electric Smoker

When Making your final decision make sure to consider these important characteristics.

Even the best electric smoker doesn’t need to have them all however, but find one with the features you need most.

Types of Resources Used

Electricity powers an electric smoker. But, there are four main resources you can use to create the smoke:

Wood or Charcoal:

Use this if you want an authentic BBQ or smoky flavored meat.

Additionally, there is normally a tray built into the electrical smoker to feed it wood during the smoking process.

You can use the following woods chips:

Peach
Pear
Cherry
Maple
Mesquite
Hickory
Oak

Gas Propane:

Smoke is created when the gas burns up. Furthermore, this type of electric burner is said to be one of the easiest to use because you only need to set it up.

Hence you don’t have to regulate it and add more gas as you would with the wood or charcoal types.

Electricity:

The electricity type doesn’t need any other type of resource. It’s also easy to use by just plugging it in.

An artificial smoke is created during the cooking process.

Trays and Racks

An electric smoker either has a hollow tray or a grill type tray. However, for the best smoking results pick the best electric smoker model that has the latter.

For one thing, the grill type smokes your meat consistently.

Moreover, one aspect of grills you must look for is if they have proper foiling above the grills.

If your electrical smoker has an open top grill, there is a chance the meat or fish will fall on the grill. This can cause the smoke to stop.

Cooking Space

The cooking space is the area that covers your food. More importantly, there are generally three sizes of electrical smokers:

Two rack
Four rack
Six rack

Notably, the two rack is ideal to smoke larger pieces of meat because the shelving space makes it easier for you to place the meat.

A six rack is used for smaller cuts of meat and smoking vegetables too. Finally, the four rack is a convenient size for most uses.

Thus, whichever cooking space you pick there is a common factor.

These cookers are ergonomically designed which makes them easier to fit in most spaces.

Operations

Electrical smokers can be difficult to use.

Therefore, if you don’t want to constantly check the temperatures, then purchase an electrical smoker that allows you to input the temperature settings before the smoking begins.

As a matter of fact, to make the process easier there are electrical smokers that can be controlled remotely.

Thus allowing you to monitor the temperature without needing to check it physically.

Important features that the best electric smoker should have

There are certain factors regarding electrical smokers you must consider. Including:

User Friendliness:

Pick an electric smoker that’s easy to start up and operate. Once you do this you can go about your day.

Mainly, you don’t want to do the tedious tasks required with conventional smokers where you have to start the fire to create smoke.

Be concerned about drafts and, remember to check the temperatures.

Safety:

Electric smokers are safer than conventional ones. Additionally, most have timers and shut off features.

These prevent the smokers from burning up and becoming fire hazardous.

Therefore, make sure to look for the best electric smoker with these features.

Accessories:

Pick an electric smoker that can be covered with a specialized and, well fitted material to protect it from further damage such as rust caused by rain.