I want a new smoker

nv-hunter

Veteran member
Feb 28, 2011
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Reno
Over the last week
15 lbs pepper ang garlic summer sausage
15 lbs jalapeno and chesse summer sausage
20 lbs snack sticks
15 lbs Italian sausage
15 lbs German sausage
10 lbs hot gut
10 lbs chorizo
25 lbs brats
 
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AKaviator

Veteran member
Jul 26, 2012
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1,082
Over the last week
15 lbs pepper ang garlic summer sausage
15 lbs jalapeno and chesse summer sausage
20 lbs snack sticks
15 lbs Italian sausage
15 lbs German sausage
10 lbs hot gut
10 lbs chorizo
25 lbs brats
Can I come over? Pretty please!
 

Prerylyon

Veteran member
Apr 25, 2016
1,334
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50
Cedar Rapids, IA
So, this thread is about smokers, smoking, and beautiful women...

Anyhow...

I have 3 smokers in my "fleet" 🤠:

-Little Chief electric
-Oklahoma Joe offset stick/charcoal burner
-Charbroil analog insulated electric

The Charbroil analog electric is the newest; and it may outpace the Okie Joe as my workhorse, time will tell; I picked it up last month when Charbroil had a site sale for $159 and free shipping. So, far I'm very impressed with it for the cheap thing that it is. It has an amazing dynamic range. I got it up to near 400° in outside temps of 40° (no wind) and ran it steady as low as 135° for 2 hrs in the same weather. My main reason for the purchase was to get something economical that would let me pasteurize my jerky and snack sticks directly, without having to use the oven to flash roast at higher temps.

The Little Chief is a jerky machine, pure and simple, but it has a tough time keeping things safely heated in colder weather. It only has a 250 W element, whereas the new Charbroil is 1,200 W. That said, it really is the perfect, point solution for making jerky; since it runs at such a low, consistent, temperature: 165° in mild outdoor conditions. However, that same trait betrays it for cooking larger cuts of meat safely.

Okie Joe is a mass produced version of their classic offset smoker design, and it does great; I've made many memorable meals with it; but it's for those less busy days where you can babysit it and keep feeding it fuel and tweaking the vents.

Here's some pics showing temps in the new Charbroil electric, and lastly, a chuck roast I did in the Oklahoma Joe.

37496



37497


IMG_20210717_204322_3.jpg
 
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nv-hunter

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Feb 28, 2011
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Prerylyon,
That looks good.
I wood love a stick burnee but it would cost more then what pellets cost to run it in the desert. Lol

Can you share details on the thermometer?

Thanks
 
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Prerylyon

Veteran member
Apr 25, 2016
1,334
511
50
Cedar Rapids, IA
Prerylyon,
That looks good.
I wood love a stick burnee but it would cost more then what pellets cost to run it in the desert. Lol

Can you share details on the thermometer?

Thanks
NV,

Despite Iowa's reputation for rolling prairie, we do have some hills & draws; anyhow, the back part of my acreage backs into some fields and a draw full of wild cherry trees. Usually one or two would come down in a storm and I'd be set with wood for the next year for the Okie Joe. Well, in Aug 2020 we had the mother of all derechos come thru with 140 mph winds sustained; it just about wiped out 2/3 of the bird cherry trees, so now I'm literally set with cooking wood for the next 5 yrs. Oh, I lost my barn too in that storm, but always a silver lining! lol

This is one of the piles of cherry I put up late last winter.

37511

As for the thermometer, it's an 'expert grills' brand from Wally World with 4 probes; cost me < $20. It agrees within a couple degrees of a much more expensive Thermoworks model my wife bought us to use in the kitchen 🤣.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Expert-Grill-Four-Probes-Waterproof-BBQ-Grilling-Thermometer/

In all fairness, the Thermoworks stuff is noticeably heavier and appears more sturdy. But for less than $20 for the one pictured, I can buy several for what the Thermoworks costs, and not upset my wife had I used hers, and I did something stupid and killed it...😂
 
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buckbull

Veteran member
Jun 20, 2011
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Our neighbors had a christmas party the other night and they recently purchased a pellet pit boss grill/smoker. I was really impressed with the build quality and it had some features that a traeger that costs twice as much didn't have.
 
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nv-hunter

Veteran member
Feb 28, 2011
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I have a lousiana grill which is made by pit boss that i use for chicken and Turkey mostly. Do some small meals for just me and the wife on it too. The bulk of my smoking is on the big vertical smoker things like jerky and sausages. Big meals for parties.
 

maysaaenables2

New Member
Aug 10, 2022
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I prefer my Traeger smoker to all the others. I fell in love with it from the first look. I have been using it for more than five years now, and it’s completely fine for me. Sometimes I take it with me when I go camping somewhere in the woods and use it to smoke fish I just caught and some vegetables. Despite owning this thing, I also love cooking on a campfire and always do it when we stay somewhere overnight. I always have my old cast iron sandwich maker with me and use it for baking my favorite pudgy pies with ham or chocolate filling. In other words, I love camping and cooking.
 
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