The best $159.30 investment I've ever made, culinarily speaking

[jitahs]

That's the problem with the electric smoker. You get what you get, nothing to adjust. I'll move up to a big boy smoker someday...

Or not. I've had this thing for awhile now...when was the last time you saw an average of 5 stars on Amazon? Amazon.com : SMOKENATOR 1000 Kettle Barbecue to Smoker Converter : Grill Accessories : Patio, Lawn & Garden

[boxerboxer]

Or not. I've had this thing for awhile now...when was the last time you saw an average of 5 stars on Amazon? Amazon.com : SMOKENATOR 1000 Kettle Barbecue to Smoker Converter : Grill Accessories : Patio, Lawn & Garden

All I want for christmas is a Weber One-touch Gold and a Smokenator.

[Chad]

Or not. I've had this thing for awhile now...when was the last time you saw an average of 5 stars on Amazon? Amazon.com : SMOKENATOR 1000 Kettle Barbecue to Smoker Converter : Grill Accessories : Patio, Lawn & Garden

It's not electric, my point is that the only adjustment possible with my electric smoker is the temp. Now the smokenator is interesting. Charcoal goes under the baffle with wood, wood only, how does it work?

[echelon_john]

Not strictly true. Chip type, soak chips or not, soak them in water or ???, how many chips how often, vent closed/open, water pan or not...it's actually a lot of variables.

I don't doubt that, all things being equal, one can get a superior result from a nice wood setup. But the electric, with some tweaking, gets you 90% of the way there with so much less effort that it's a winner in my book.

Anybody know why you can't get the red 'smoke ring' with an electric smoker? I'm just an English major. ; )

I'll check out the smokenator...looks cool!
JC

It's not electric, my point is that the only adjustment possible with my electric smoker is the temp. Now the smokenator is interesting. Charcoal goes under the baffle with wood, wood only, how does it work?

[boxerboxer]

It's not electric, my point is that the only adjustment possible with my electric smoker is the temp. Now the smokenator is interesting. Charcoal goes under the baffle with wood, wood only, how does it work?

I think jitahs's point was that you wouldn't necessarily need to go to a dedicated smoker to get the control you want.

Anyway, jitahs, that's two of us now that want smoke reports.

[Chad]

Good point on soaking the chips, I've heard of that but never tried. I'm open to all suggestions. I think I'm going to try soaking the chips in apple juice!

[jitahs]

It's not electric, my point is that the only adjustment possible with my electric smoker is the temp. Now the smokenator is interesting. Charcoal goes under the baffle with wood, wood only, how does it work?

Yes, I got your point. Boxer is right - you can get horizontal smoker results with the Smokenator, cross flow and temp are infinitely adjustable.

I don't use wood anymore - in Cali we have to truck in fruit woods, mesquite, hickory, etc. so it's expensive and not as efficient...

With charcoal I use Traeger pellets - very high quality, very efficient (a little goes a long, long way), a very clean burn. No worries about green wood, bark, etc. What's great is the fine control; you can get separate bags and mix them to your heart's content. I use oak pellets as my base and mix in chips of other things. No soaking. If you want a light smoke to finish off an indirect cook of tri-tip, say, just toss in a few pellets. Nothing could be simpler.

It's unbelievable but I've been using the same 20 lb. bag of oak for years. You could get the entire Trager's system also, but I find that overkill.