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Author Topic: Smoker recommendations?  (Read 6282 times)

halcyonguitars

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Smoker recommendations?
« on: September 03, 2018, 10:44:20 AM »

I've been trying to smoke salmon on the propane BBQ. It's ok but a pita trying to get even smoke, plus, it's always hot smoked and I'd like to be able to cold smoke.

So I've been looking at smokers but got confused by the abundance of conflicting into that's on the inter webs.

Mainly want to know about whether gas, electric or pellet is the way to go.

Would like to keep the price low...

Any basic tips would be appreciated!

Thanks:)
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Easywater

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Re: Smoker recommendations?
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2018, 02:47:26 PM »

Big Chief top loader unless you want to spend big bucks on a Bradley.

Army & Navy has the Big Chief for $190 (front loader only, though) - Little Chief is $160.
The original Bradley model is $350 but the fuel is pricey.

I like the top loader because you can take all the racks out at once in the frame.
Not a real deal-breaker to use the front loader.

https://www.armyandnavy.ca/search?q=smoker
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StillAqua

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Re: Smoker recommendations?
« Reply #2 on: September 08, 2018, 08:15:20 PM »

Check out Home Depot's online selection if you're looking for a brand new smoker, particularly the Masterbuilt line. I've had several different smokers, starting with a Little Chief, then a Bradley pellet, a MB dual fuel propane/charcoal, up to my current MB digital electric. Bradley's are pricey and the cost of pellets can add up but they require relatively little attention when running. Charcoal/propane are cheaper and fun to use because you can scavenge dead alder sticks from the woods to run them but they require lots of attention to maintain temperature/smoke if you run any long smokes. My digital electric is the simplest to use and least expensive, just requiring a chunk or two of wood every hour or so. I'm getting lazy in my old age. I highly recommend the digital electric if you also want to do ribs, brisket, pulled pork, etc. in the future.

However, you said you'd like to cold smoke fish. That's a different beast and requires a smoke generator that doesn't pump out heat, just smoke, so you can smoke fish in your bbq or a cardboard box if you want. Check out Amazon, there are quite a few.
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halcyonguitars

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Re: Smoker recommendations?
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2018, 07:23:58 PM »

I ended up buying a Bradley Original, on super sale at Can Tire. Turns out I prefer hot smoked salmon by a long mile, but the smoke is much easier to maintain/control on the Bradley than it was on the BBQ. Already wish I'd anted up for the digital one though, the original requires checking every 20 minutes or so, so my hopes of set and forget were not exactly realized...
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firstlight

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Re: Smoker recommendations?
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2018, 08:06:30 PM »

For the most part you can unplug the heating coil and just use heat that is generated from the smoke generator.
I had to do this as my slider adjuster broke so i cant really adjust my heat other than plugging and unplugging the main element.
I also built a cold smoke adapter this year out of an old bread box and some dryer duct.
Have yet to try anything cold smoked but will be soon.
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halcyonguitars

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Re: Smoker recommendations?
« Reply #5 on: October 17, 2018, 02:33:03 PM »

I'd be into trying a cold smoked piece of grocery store sockeye or Chinook, but I didn't really like the cold smoked chum.

No way am I going to smoke any of the coho I catch, it doesn't happen often enough, lol!
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