About Using an Electric Meat Smoker

An electric meat smoker is not something I personally own but I have used them before and know enough to help you decide if one is right for you.

I suppose the biggest reason some people decide to use an electric meat smoker is for convenience. You will not find purists using one.. they like to tend the smoker the old fashioned way and find great pleasure in the bond between man, wood, and fire.

An electric unit allows a complete novice to be able to turn out a pretty good piece of smoked meat with very little knowledge or skill.

It also allows an expert to smoke a piece of meat almost completely unattended while taking care of other duties.

I borrowed an electric meat smoker a while back just to get a feel for the unit and to decide for myself the advantages and disadvantages to using an electric unit.

I was immediately put out by the fact that it had no way of adjusting the temp. I understand now that some models have temperature controls and some do not but that really aggravated me right off the bat.

I had selected some choice spare ribs for the occasion and had them all ready for the smoker only to discover that the ribs would not fit on the rack.

I had did not have my weber rib racks with me and so I rolled the ribs into a circle using a metal skewer to hold it intack and set the ribs vertically on the metal grate.

The meat was done sooner than expected which led me to believe that the smoker cooked hotter than the normal 220-230 range that I liked.

We have discussed this to some degree in the forum and it was discovered that you can in fact buy an electric smoker with temperature control or just install a rheostat in line like a dimmer switch for lights but with a higher amperage rating.

An electric smoker in my opinion is only good for those who do not want the hassle of having to watch the smoker and work at maintaining the correct smoking temperatures. I have friends who feel this way and that is perfectly fine however, for someone like myself who enjoys a little more control even if that means I must stay close by during the entire smoke, it is not recommended.

If you enjoyed this article consider reading my take on the wood smoker or the propane gas smoker.