[lemansboy70]

Am looking to buy a smoker. Do you guys have any input on if I should go with electric, gas, wood or charcoal? Any brands you like? Suggestions?

Thanks,Bill

[Ollie]

Yoder 640 pellet smoker grill.
100% made in the USA.

[fiedlerh]

A pellet smoker is an excellent choice, but expensive.
This summer I got a Weber Smokey Mountain 18-Inch and it works great. This is a popular choice for die-hard aficionados of smoked meat. Check out http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/
Years ago had a cheap charcoal Brinkman. It worked OK, but it was hard to control the temperature because it was thin metal.
Tried an electric one and it's just not the same. Sold it at a garage sale.

[floffy]

You can use an old oil drum and smoking with wood and oak chips always smells and tastes the best.

[Cerberus]

I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker. Purchased 3 years ago for under $200. Although the purists do not like anything but a wood smoker, for the price and the ease of use you can't beat it. I have smoked everything from bacon and pork shoulders to briskets and whole turkeys in it. It holds the temperature steady, you just feed it chips every hour or so. It also has a meat probe so you cna check the internal temperature of the product without opening the door. Ther is a more expensive unit from the same manufacturer that has a remote and glass panel on the door, but not worth the xtra money.
With wood smokers, it takes a little more finesse and babysitting to achieve good results.
For even easier use and less intervention, you can buy the type that use wood biscuits and have the autofeed system. I have no experience with those units.
If you want to take a drive and check mine out, let me know. I use any excuse possible to fire it up!

[danpaul]

I have a electric Bradley http://www.bradleysmoker.com that works great. Very similar to the Master-Built mentioned above. I use this one for long smokes or if I am just being lazy. My other one is wood burner with the offset fire box. This one takes a little more effort but is well worth it. This one is the only way to do ribs IMOP. With the electric smokers, you will not get that nice pink smoke ring that you see around the meat when you slice it. I've heard great things about the big green egg. It's way out of my price range though. I think that it is all about "don't buy junk". Spend a couple bucks and you will probably be happy with it.Smoking-Meats.com is a very good site with lots of great recipes, tips, equipment.
http://www.smoking-meat.com/category/equipment

Also, Cabelas usually puts the Bradley on sale around Christmas. You should be able to pick one up for around 250 - 300.

[tr709]

I have a Bradley as well. I've had it for about 8 years and I like that I can start my meat and not be chained to it watching the temps all day. If you are new to smoking read up a bit on the techniques involved and get yourself a good meat thermometer as meat temps are critical to a quality product. Don't worry though, it's always a little bit of trial and error.

[lemansboy70]

Thanks for the input guys!!!

I ended up buying a Masterbuilt Electric 1200 watt. Nicely built unit. I just broke it in with some lemon-pepper chicken. WOWZA! That is some gooooood stuff!

Grill On!!!