****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what kind of smoker to get. Read a million reviews, the pros and cons of different types, the whole deal. Finally decided I wanted an electric smoker. I am new to this, so wanted the benefit of ease of keeping the temperature right for hours on end. This smoker ended up being in the sweet spot, not too expensive, but not a cheap smoker either.Got this home, assembled it, without any problem. Bought two additional accessories. Bought an old smokey 2 inch thermometer, and drilled a hole in the lid and installed it. Also bought a electronic meat thermometer, drilled a small hole in the side of the old smokey to allow the probe and wire through it. There was a little extra space around the wire, so I have blocked it with aluminium foil.Proceeded to roast a Boston Butt, to make pulled pork sandwiches. Rubbed it, in the fridge overnight, and then smoked for 9 hours. Pulled it out and it was the absolute best pulled pork we have ever had. We had a bunch of teenage kids over, and it was gone before you knew it.Then this last weekend, put in 6 pounds of St Luis Ribs. Smoked those for 5 or 6 hours, and they were literally the best ribs I have ever had as well. Took them out of the smoker, brushed on a little bbq sauce and then put them on a hot grill for a minute a side to caramilize the sauce. 6 pounds of ribs for 6 people, and they were completely gone in 10 minutes. Insanely good, meat had a great smoke ring, tender, moist, and fell off the bone. So incredibly good.I can't recommend this smoker enough. I love mine. The only potential downside is that because it is so moist inside the unit (because it is sealed, has more smoke and moisture that remains in the unit) you don't get a hard crust or bark on the final product. But that is easily obtained by broiling or grilling the meet over high temps for a short amount of time before serving. And honestly I love the ease of use of this unit, the temp control is simple to set and adjust as necessary, it takes only a handful of wood chips, and if you have a electronic meat thermometer you don't even have to open the unit to check temps. Just set it, monitor the interior temp to keep it at your desired level (about 220 to 225 for me) and then sit back and adjust every so often. Hardest part was keeping the kids quiet so I could read my book and drink my beer.
