Sorry if its in the wrong spot, but I thought I would get better answers this way

How many of you have electric smokers? Im looking at getting one, but Im curious, do they raise your electric bill like crazy or do you barely notice it ? What would be the benefit of an electric one over a charcoal, or a propane one? The one I'm looking at is a Masterbuilt 30" Elite Digital Smoker. My concerns are that it would not be big enough to do summer sausages, and what about a whole turkey, or a rack of ribs. Thanks for your feed back guys, I really appreciate it.

 

I have a Bradley electric smoker.....works great for the amount I use it. I am able to take the racks out and use two dowels side by side to hang sausage. Ribs I split and I fit two full racks. Never tried a whole turkey but I have smoked a pair of turkey breast without a problem.
I honestly never thought about the electric bill but it can't be much

 

I'm not familiar with the smoker you're looking at but I can't tell any difference in my electric bill when I use mine if that helps any. There for a while this fall I was smoking something at least twice a week so if I was going to notice it that would have been the time. I've got one of these
Amazon.com: Brinkmann 810-7080-8 Gourmet Electric Smoker and Grill with Vinyl Cover, Red: Patio, Lawn & Garden and I've done two whole chickens or two deer shoulders or 10 pounds of summer sausage. It will handle quite a bit.

 

I have the Brinkman too, works fine. I find it gets a little too hot in the summer, even with opening up the door.

For a normal person, smoking a handful of times a year for 10 hours or so a time, the affect on the electric bill is negligible. If you were starting a business and smoking at least weekly, a charcoal would be more economical and better all around.

 

The advantage with an electric smoker is temp control. Charcoal or wood smokers can be a little tricky to maintain consistent temp.


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I use a smoke hollow propane works great and I have a extra propane bottle for the grill

 

I've had the masterbuilt one for 3-4 months now and love it. Its really easy. You can fit a whole turkey in it. Ive done 2 chickens at a time. Chicken is really easy and frickin delicious. Ribs are delish. I just loaded it up with 28 full size wings about 10 minutes ago. You know when the kids come back for seconds on wings, there good. Next I want to do a pork shoulder. No difference in your electric bill. I have never done sausage, would love to. This is a very good smoker for the average Joe. Look up smoking meat forums, you'll have to go out to the store right away because your stomach will be growling. That website is similar to this one, full of knowledge and very friendly people to help learn. Every recipe you'll ever need on there too.

 

Also look at treager smokers we've done everything from ribs to pizza on it!!


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I have an electric, and I love it. It always starts right up, don't have to fuss with temp control, never out of gas, no lighter fluid after taste, and seems to cool off quickly so its easy to put away. and no, I have not noticed any electric bill issues.

 

How did the pizza turn out? I've never heard of smoked pizza, sounds good though



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it was great!

 

You are looking at the correct smoker. Very easy to use. The timer is a nice feature. Your electric bill won't go up much. I've used the masterbuilt and bradley smokers. Both are good smokers. I would go with the masterbuilt. Main reason being that it will perform in cold weather and the bradley smoker is hard to heat up enough to cook in cold weather.

All of these have plenty of room for things. You can take racks out to accommodate for bigger items.

If you want to see people sing the praises of the Masterbuilt. Go to smoking meats forum. Most of the people use that smoker. It is referred to as the MES. (Masterbuilt Electric Smoker) The forum has a ton of recipes for wild game and anything else. If you have questions someone their can answer them.

 

We have one but i dont know what its called. Great for sausage and boudin!!!

 

Wait,there is a forum....for smoking meat

Edit: Sure enough, I googled it and there is. Interesting site, thanks. Here is a link to the wild game forum.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/118/wild-game

 

I'm gonna bust your chops a little for the fun of it. :p

If a man can't take pride in smoking his meat with a real smoker, then he shouldn't be smoking meat in the first place. Hence, the saying "Do it right, or don't do it at all". You don't need electricity to smoke meat. You need smoke. Yes, electric is "easier". But it's just not right. It's Un-American. In fact, I think all electric smokers are imported from Communist China. Why? Because Communists love electric smokers.

You're an American IAMIKE. Your ancestors didn't fight in every war since the beginning of time so that you could have the privilege of using an electric smoker. They fought in those wars so that you could sit in your backyard and start a fire whenever you wanted to.

This is what I want you to do. I want you to forget about the electric smoker. They don't exist in IAMIKE's world. Ya know what does exist? Bad ***, American ingenuity, combined with the desire to eat red meat that tasted better than anything you can buy at a store. The only place you can get that kind of quality is in IAMIKE's backyard using a real smoker. It'll take a little time, a little sweat, and very little money. In the end, you'll know that this meat that you tracked, filmed, hunted, and harvested is smoked to IAMIKE's bad *** smoker and that quality simply can't be purchased.

Now, I don't want to simply throw you under the bus, leave you out their floundering around wondering what to do. So here's the smoker that you want. They're commonly referred to as UDS (UGLY DRUM SMOKERS) smokers. They're easy to make, they're cheap, and you can put as much meat in it as you want. You can customize it to your liking. I use mine constantly. It makes the best food I've ever eaten.

Ugly Drum Smoker Plans | How to Build a UDS - Ugly Drum Smoker | HowtoBBQRight.com

 

Nothing beats a Big Green Egg. Great temp control, can smoke, bake, fry, grill you name it.

 

Ugh, coming from a guy who is from Michigan, that shoots a Hoyt. I believe Ill be getting the electric one...

 

havent ever noticed a price difference on mine...i would go electric for ease of maintaining temp

 

Well, that's just hurtful. I was gonna stop at your house on the way back from Colorado and throw some elk in that smoker, but it probably wouldn't taste good, being killed with a Hoyt. Kinda taints the meat a little.

 

All in good fun Michi, maybe we should schedule a home and home hunt. Settle this once and for all!