Many people looking to buy smokers grills don’t know what the most important features to look for are. When you are buying a smokers grill, the most important thing your grill should have is good temperature control. Unfortunately, not many outdoor smokers grills have thermostats. Electric smokers grills are usually equipped with thermostats in addition to other grilling accessories, but electric smokers will give different flavors to meat than other types of cooking grills. Some believe that the flavor from electric smokers is inferior to that of other smoker grills. However, if you are looking for easy grilling, no other type of smoker grill is as user-friendly and easy to use as an electric smoker.
Another type of smoker to consider is a gas smoker. Gas smokers are almost as easy as electric smokers are to use, and they produce marvelous flavor. On top of that, they are some of the cheapest smokers grills available. Most gas smokers run on propane tanks, but it is possible to set up a gas smoker to run on a fuel line connected to your home’s heating gas supply. Of course, to do so you should hire a trained professional.
For anyone who wants to be considered a grilling “expert”, electric smokers and gas smokers will not garner you the respect you desire. You should cook with either wood smokers or charcoal smokers. Neither is as easy to use as electric or gas smoker grills, but there is no doubt that they will produce incredible flavor if used correctly. Since they don’t have the temperature control of electric and gas smokers, you will need to constantly monitor charcoal smoker grills, and wood smoker grills, but if you love grilling and don’t mind spending time doing it, then you should definitely consider them. If you do choose to purchase a charcoal smoker grill or wood smoker grill, you will need to also buy a good thermometer so that you can monitor the temperature constantly.
Another aspect of temperature control to keep in mind is even heat. Sometimes the temperature inside the grill can vary immensely, especially with the offset fireboxes that are common in charcoal smokers grills and char broil smokers. Smokers grills with offset fireboxes can vary in temperature as much as 50-75F between the area near the firebox and the area far from the the firebox on the chimney side.
Another feature you should look for in buying smokers grills is high quality insulation. If you buy a cheap smoker that is not well insulated, it will leak, meaning smoke and heat will escape. That will make it harder to control the temperature, and it will also be bad for your meat’s flavor, since if smoke escapes it means there is less smoke to give flavor to the meat. Things to keep in mind about insulation:
-Heavier steel is better than thin steel at containing heat and distributing it over the meat.
-If you care about your grill looking neat, don’t buy a stainless steel smoker, because it will show dust, grease, and dirt, and you will waste lots of time cleaning it.
A bonus when picking a smokers grill is if it contains a thermometer. It’s best to buy a smoker that has a built in, high-quality thermometer. Make sure the thermometer is well built to avoid letting moisture and smoke enter the dial area. Even better than one thermometer is two. It is nice to have one on the level of the meat-rack nearest to the heat source, and a second as far away from the heat source as possible.
Extra Features to look for:
Cold smoking is curing food with smoke while keeping the heat under 120F. You may want to choose a grill with cold smoking capabilities if you want to be able to smoke salsa, cheese, nuts, tomatoes, or other types of food that can’t be smoked at high temperatures.
It would be a bonus if your grill came with grilling accessories, such as a cookbook, a grill lid, and other outdoor cooking equipment.
Obviously, you want a safe smokers grill. I find that coiled stainless steel grill handles are the best at preventing burns.
You want to take into account that capacity that a smokers grill can hold. If you plan on holding parties and such where you will be cooking for a lot of people, you will need a fairly large grill.
Opening the smoker to look at your meat while it is cooking is bad because it lets out heat. By lifting the lid to check your meat, add wood, or check the water, you are adding 15-30 minutes to the time it takes to cook, and you disrupt the humidity and smoke in the grill. For that reason, a good smokers grill will allow you to add charcoal, wood, and water without disrupting the environment inside the grill.
You will be thankful if you buy a smokers grill that is easy to clean. Although cleaning the exterior is optional, cleaning the interior is mandatory, because if you don’t, the juices and fat that drip off during cooking will become sources of bacteria. Stainless steel smokers grills are the easiest to clean, and it will be incredibly convenient if the grill grates, water pan, and drip pan can fit in your dishwasher.
All of these features will come into play when you are deciding on the right smokers grill for yourself, but the bottom line is always money. If you don’t want to spend very much money on your smoker grill, I recommend something like the Brinkmann 852-7080-E Charcoal Gourmet Grill and Smoker
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