There are dozens of methods to cook food, but today, the whole argument is as to how to get the most delicious food in less amount of time. This argument can be won by having the best electric smokers at disposal. An electric smoker is basically used to grill, BBQ, smoke, bake and sear food. The good thing about an electric smoker is that the entire process of cooking silent and less messy, as there is no involvement of any gas, wood pellets or charcoal.
Electric smokers are widely used in all parts of the world, so if you are looking to buy one, then there is no right time than now. But, before you proceed with the purchasing of an electric smoker, it is important that you go through reviews of seven best electric smokers consumer reports in order to know as to which electric smoker is deemed good by consumers.
This will help you get the best electric smoker for your day-to-day food related requirements.
Reviews Of 7 Best Electric Smokers
1. Masterbuilt MB20071117 Digital Electric Smoker
This electric smoker is a highly affordable smoker but consists of a wide range of features, which translate into an excellent performance of the smoker. Let’s take a look at some of the crucial features of the smoker.
Features That Set This Smoker Apart:
Electric Heating Element: As it is an electric smoker, you can certainly operate it without creating any mess. On top of that, the electric heating element of the smoker quickly turns on the smoker and raises the temperature for fast and efficient cooking.
Insulated Body: The smoker’s body is fully insulated, which results in excellent heat retention. Moreover, the smoker is known for its consistent temperatures and cooking times, which is a feature that will especially be liked by people living in cold areas.
Integrated Thermostat: With this feature, you can know as to what temperature the smoker is running at. As a result, you can set the temperature of the smoker as per your requirements.
Top-Mounted Digital Control Panel: This panel lets you set the time and temperature of the smoker without touching any hot spots.
Side Wood Chip Loading System: The wood chip loading system is placed on the side, a position that doesn’t cause heat and smoke to dissipate away from the smoker.
Door Latch: The door to the smoker comes with a latch mechanism, which keeps it tightly shut. The door can’t be opened accidentally, so there is nothing to worry with regards to heat and smoke loss.
Excellent Support: The company offers round-the-clock assistance to its customers, so in case, anything happens to the smoker, then you can get it fixed by the company.
2. Masterbuilt MB20073519 Bluetooth Digital Electric Smoker
Check out this smoker, which has a large cooking area of around 975 square inches to allow cooking of multiple dishes at a time. Along with that, it has four cooking racks, a drip catching mechanism and a drip pan for efficient and mess-free cooking.
Features That Set This Smoker Apart:
Integrated Control Panel: The unit features an integrated control panel, which includes blue LED display that lets you view the meals cooking inside the smoker even in direct sunlight.
Adjustable Racks: The smoker comes with adjustable racks, which allows you to cook different types of meats with different cuts including beer-chicken or upright turkey.
Easy Cleaning & Maintenance: You will really like the way this smoker is cleaned because the entire components of the smoker can be taken out, from trays to wall mounted brackets, everything can be taken out and cleaned thoroughly. Just make use of warm water and a detergent to clean the toughest of the stains and splashes on the smoker.
Decent Sized Wood Tray: I really liked the size of the wood tray, as I believe it can hold enough wood chips to ensure uninterrupted cooking, even for those who like to slow and long cooking.
Authentic Flavors: No matter what you cook in this smoker, you will get the authentic taste, thanks to its high-quality cooking surface, which ensures fast and even cooking.
3. Char-Broil Deluxe Digital Electric Smoker, 725 Square Inch
The highlight of this smoker is a large glass door through which, you can easily see as to what is cooking inside the smoker. To keep the smoke inside the cooking area, this smoker consists of a tightly sealed door. Another notable thing about this electric smoker is 725 square inches of cooking area, which is a lot bigger than most models that are available on the market. There are four adjustable racks given in the smoker, which allows you to cook different types of food items.
Features That Set This Electric Smoker Apart:
Four Racks With High Food Carrying Capacity: The smoker comes with four durable racks on which you can carry around 10 lbs of meat each. Each rack has wires that are spaced far enough apart to allow for even smoking while supporting the meat properly.
Large Wood Chips Holder: A smoker with a large wood chips holder means, uninterrupted cooking for long hours. In this smoker, you can easily smoke from 4 to 7 hours before you get to refill the wood chips holder.
Removable Water Pan: The inclusion of a water pan is very interesting because water keeps the meat moist. The water pan given along with this smoker is large, thus adding moisture to the food evenly.
Useful Digital Display: Many electric smokers have a digital display, but the one in Char-Broil Deluxe Digital Electric Smoker is extremely useful as well. You get a full control over the temperature, time, light and meat probe.
Remote Control: As if the packed digital display wasn’t enough, the company has provided a remote control as well that has the same buttons as you would find on the screen display. So, you can manage the smoker while doing other tasks as well.
Safe to Use: To avoid any burn injuries, the company has done proper insulation between the dual walls. To make sure that the heat is retained within the smoker, the exterior walls are made of stainless steel.
4. Old Smokey Electric Smoker
Old Smokey electric smoker is an ideal unit for those who want to enjoy smoky and juicy meat at will. Let’s find out how this electric smoker is able to get users scrumptious and succulent meaty delights so easily.
Features That Set This Smoker Apart:
Flat Top Design: This is the secret to the meat juice holding capability of the smoker. This special design combined with a tight seal ensures that all the juices fall right back onto the meat. The seal traps the flavors, which then is enjoyed by the users.
Unique Design: This smoker, unlike most smokers, has a cylindrical shape, which features a wood tray, a heating element, and two racks. The wood chip tray is placed on the heating element, where it can be easily filled with wood chips.
Smoke Large Quantity Of Food: The cooking racks of the smoker can accommodate a large amount of food, for example, 8 lbs of brisket, so if you have lots of hungry people to feed at home, then you can count on this smoker.
Easy Transportation: This is a lightweight smoker having a weight of only 23lbs and features side handles that make its transportation a lot easier. Moreover, these handles are heat resistant, so you can move the unit, even when you’ve just done smoking food on it.
Corrosion-Resistant Body: The unit is made from the high quality metal body, which won’t rust and corrode easily.
5. Smokin-It Model #1 Electric Smoker
This electric smoker is known for its durability because of the type of material it is built from. Moreover, the unit has a compact design, yet it can handle a good quantity of food, let’s say 22lbs of meat at a time.
Features That Set This Smoker Apart:
Small Size, Yet Highly Capable: Don’t be disappointed seeing the small size of this smoker, this is a highly efficient machine, which can easily feed a group of 5-6 people at once.
Powerful Heating Element: The unit features a 400-watt heating element, which delivers smoky flavor to the food, and that smoky flavor is evenly distributed through three stainless steel racks.
Quality Construction: The smoker features 18-gauge stainless steel, a material that is used for units used in restaurants. Besides that, fiberglass insulation has been done on the unit, which spreads heat evenly throughout the unit and prevents heat loss.
Easy Assembling: This electric smoker comes with pre-drilled holes and screws, which makes assembling this unit a lot easier. A 12-ft long power cord saves you from the cost of buying an extension.
Easy Transportation: The company has provided four wheels at the bottom of the unit along with side handles for easy maneuverability. When you’re done moving the unit, make use of the locking caster to keep it stable.
6. Masterbuilt 20070411 30-Inch Top Controller Electric Smoker With Window & RF Controller
This electric smoker is that device, which you were looking for in the first place. It is portable, highly efficient and extremely sturdy. Sporting built-in wheels and a rear handle, this electric smoker is easy to move from one place to another. To see the food while it is being cooked, there is a large viewing window given in the electric smoker along with an internal light. It comes with four chrome-coated smoked racks along with 2 cubic feet of smoking capacity ensures a large quantity of food to be cooked at once.
Features That Set This Electric Smoker Apart:
Push-Button Start: For a better control of smoker, there is a traditional push-button digitalized control panel given on the unit. Control panel consists of a 24-hour timer along with an automatic shut-off mechanism that prevents food from drying up.
Remote Control: If you aren’t able to use ‘push-button start’ as you are busy elsewhere, then you can control the smoker with a remote. You can control temperature and time using this remote.
Thermostatic Control: The inclusion of thermostatic control helps get perfectly cooked food every single time, as it would range from 100 to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
Insulated Body: A fully insulated electric smoker that comes with rubber-sealed door provides you with energy efficient cooking by lowering the smoker and heat losses.
Internal Light Settings: A large viewing window along with internal lighting makes it easier for you to view the food that is cooked inside the smoker. This feature is not available in other smokers that are sold at the same price as this one.
Meat Probe: An in-built meat probe empowers you to know the temperature of the meat that is being cooked in the smoker. So, you don’t have to open the door to the electric smoker to check the meat temperature.
Wood Chip Loader: To prevent opening the door of the smoker to add more wood chips while the food is being cooked in the smoker, you can easily add wood chips in a built-in and easy to use wood chip loader.
7. Char-Broil Vertical Electric Smoker
We already have a Char-Broil electric smoker in our list, and honestly speaking, that electric smoker has it all to make a place into your house, but this vertical electric smoker has its own set of unique features, which makes the competition a lot tougher. It has a comparatively less cooking area of around 505 square inches, but the price is also lesser to its compatriot. This smoker is a great deal for those who are looking for a budget smoker with a decent number of features. It is easy and safe to use, so if you are just beginning to learn to smoke and BBQ, then this smoker will be a good option.
Features That Set This Electric Smoker Apart
Large Cooking Volume: You get a large cooking volume of more than 5,000 inches Gallons because of three cooking grates that are given by the company in this smoker.
Steel Finishing: Steel has been used in both, interior as well as the exterior of the smoker, which not just give the smoker a beautiful look, but also adds to the durability.
Portability: You can move this smoker from one place to another quite easily, as it just weighs 6 lbs, and comes with a chrome-plated handle.
Temperature Maintenance: A double wall construction along with a full-proof insulation ensures that the temperature inside the smoker is properly maintained throughout the smoking process.
Wide Temperature Range: To cook a large variety of foods, this smoker has a wider temperature range to choose from. The temperature ranges from 50 degrees Fahrenheit to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heating Element: To heat the water and wood chips for smoking, a 1500 watt variable temperature heating element is given in the smoker. This heating element provides energy-efficient smoking through its wet smoking method.
Wood Type Compatibility: Another top feature of this smoker is its compatibility with all types of wood for smoking such as pellets, chips, and bisquettes.
How Does An Electric Smoker Work?
If you haven’t had a chance to use an electric smoker, then you would probably be skeptical regarding the working of this contraption. In electric smokers, you don’t have to adjust the flow of oxygen, but here, you will have to play with the electricity. In cheaper electric smokers, the controls are also limited, but things get a lot better if you invest in premium electric smokers. Cheaper models consist of a rheostat that controls the flow of electricity while the high-end models consist of a temperature probe that is connected to the thermostat to provide a better temperature control.
How To Clean An Electric Smoker?
Cleaning an electric smoker is not like cleaning any other kitchen utensil, as there are many things to consider while cleaning an electric smoker.
Seasoning The Smoker:
This is a crucial step that you must do in order to remove the debris and residues that accumulates on the smoker during the manufacturing process. The moment you take out the smoker from the packaging, you must season it first before assembling it. To season an electric smoker, just apply a compatible oil to the interiors of the unit followed by heating the smoker in order to make the oil fully attached to the smoker. The oil coating protects the smoker from rust and other detriments.
The Grates
While grilling meat loaves, it is common to see the juices and fat dripping on the grates, which leaves us with a stubborn grease and stain to clean after the cooking process. If these are not removed properly, then they will turn rancid and also release foul odors, thus ruining the next meals that you were planning to make.
The best way to clean the smoker grates is by turning the temperature of the ovens to the maximum. Some ovens can generate heat up to 800-900 degrees Fahrenheit, which is good enough to melt and burn the grease and fat from the grates. To clean up the interiors, you will be needing a cleaning sprayer and scrubber. But, make sure not to apply too much force while scrubbing the surface to wipe off stubborn stains because you could remove the protective coating off the interior of the smoker.
Tackling Rust
The biggest enemy of your electric smoker is ‘Rust’, and you can’t stop this unwanted visitor until you take some serious precautions. If you expose your smoker to high temperatures and other elements such as grease and water, then the chances of oxidation on the smoker become higher.
To remove the rust, use the following methods:
- Use a sandpaper or brush to scrape out the layers of rust accumulated on the smoker. Don’t apply too much force because that could remove the powder coating of the smoker as well.
- Check all the corners for rust because you don’t know as to which part got exposed to oxidation.
- Apply a special barbeque paint on the smoker to make your smoker rust free. But, apply the paint only after you have taken out all the rust from the smoker.
Conclusion
The quest for the best electric smokers has come to an end. We have discussed seven top contenders for the crown of ‘the best electric smoker’. Now, which smoker wins the battle depends on you and your requirements. These products are on the list of the best electric smokers reviews consumer reports, so one thing is sure about these products, i.e., they have what it takes to make it to your backyard garden. But since you need to pick one of these seven, you need to determine as to which electric smoker fits your requirements in the best way. Once you have figured it out, you’ll be able to take the decision.