Fair warning, if you're on a diet, please look away now
Having the baby has been keeping us from going to the city to get my regular BBQ fix. I'd long wanted to get a smoker but considering NYC safety laws, we can't have charcoal or gas grills/smokers in our apartment balcony. After some research--
The most popular electric smoker on the Smoking Meats forums is the Masterbuilt (MES30). Both the
Masterbuilt and the
Bradley are similar in construction with the main difference being the Bradley uses its own pucks whereas with MES you can use plain ole wood chips. The biggest failure on MES seems to be the heating element (easily replaced, cheap) whereas with the Bradley, it's the advancing mechanism for the pucks.
In terms of design/build quality, both MES and Bradley are about the same.
On the other hand, the so-called "gold standard" for electric smokers is another brand altogether--
Cookshack. The Smokette would be my pick if it weren't so friggin expensive! Instead, I looked up two "clones"--
Smokin Tex and
Smokin-It and have decided on the latter. Here's a
spreadsheet showing the differences between similar models from the three brands.
Why I like the Cookshack-style electric smokers--
1. build quality (all stainless steel, and our balcony is open to the elements).
2. KISS design-- heating element under smoke box, can use any wood, no fancy WTF gimmicks e.g. see-through door
We got the Model #1, below, partially hidden from neighbor's views by my tube amp crates
Before using the smoker with meats, I seasoned it with two blocks of hickory wood. Each block weighs around 2.5oz--
After 3-4 hours, both blocks were reduced to charcoal/ashes--
Next, I chose a rub recipe, I have a few of these but since I like spicy, here goes--
These spareribs I just bought from our local Pathmark, I didn't have high expectations as I'd yet to "learn" this smoker. Rub applied, ribs sat in foil in the fridge overnight.
The next day, after 3.5 hours of smoking using just 1 hickory block we have a nice bark.
A closer look-- as expected, there's no pink smoke ring and while I won't say this is the best rib I've ever had, it surely ranks among the best! Definitely exceeded my expectations. Having tasted a lot of BBQ with that pink smoke ring, I'm not sure if I can taste the difference between an electric, gas or charcoal smoker. But for the convenience, man, an electric is hard to beat!
Can't wait to do brisket!