We will get to you the Best BBQ Smoker Reviews 2017 – Top Recommendations and also provide you with all the necessary details regarding the product along with the pros and cons.
Now things may not look much good to you, as you might be looking for a gas BBQ Smoker but it is not available in a right amount currently. But the fact is, if you need the flavor of real BBQ Smoker then the gas BBQ fails in providing that.
Our Top Picks: Best BBQ Smoker Reviews
We are going to list down around 5 top grossing products in the Best BBQ Smoker Reviews. The best one out of them is the Weber 741001 product. Let us get into the listing process.
#1 Recommended- Weber 721001 Smokey Mountain Cooker BBQ Smoker
Weber systems have been doing wonders in the smoking industry for a long time. It includes steel grates which are heavy-duty ones, each of them is 18.5 diameters size. With a limited warranty on the system, it includes porcelain enameled lid and bowl. This unit has got black shade, and it mainly built using aluminum with the no-rust feature.
One of the super cool benefits of using porcelain-enameled water pan is that it adds steam to the smoking process. And this adds to the zestiness, and also makes the meat with perfect moistness. There is one built-in thermometer included here which lets the user know the current temperature of the food.
The processing is found to be slow, which provides the user with the juiciest and the best smoky meat for you! And this gives a blast of flavors in your mouth. With the right space for internal cooking, this machine provides the authentic smoky taste at home.
The other features of this bbq smoker include the water pan, inbuilt thermometer, along with individual vents on the lid. The handle included is the heat-resistant made with nylon.
If you check on the advancements of the Barbecuing methods, you will find that Weber is the one which has revolutionized this process. Well, they continue to do with all their new releases.
George Stephen is behind the success of Weber brand, and he wanted to bring the whole family together and spend some happy moments with having some smokey and authentic Barbecue food. And this tradition of providing an excellent system for the users have been maintained at Weber for many years now. Nowadays the name of Weber has become synonymous with the Barbecue, as per many of the trusted Weber users.
Charcoal is the driving source on this Weber Smoky Mountain BBQ Smoker. The door is made from no-rust aluminum, and they have got one spring latch which lets the user to easily access the charcoal chamber as well as the water pan. Considering the quality level of the grates, all of them are heavy-duty ones. It includes a lot of space for cooking, and thus you can roast as well as smoke almost at the same time.
Even if you are cooking a simple burger to any lengthy roasting process, Weber won’t fail in giving you with the best results. If you consider all the appliances which have been released by this brand, all of them will have some innovative feature. Thus, their only aim is to provide the best grilling experience.
We checked some of the issues related to this system and found that many of the users got the product with missing accessories. But you can contact the Service Center anytime and get the problems solved.
Overall ratings are found to be excellent! Only a few users have given low ratings on Amazon. Worth considering system, if you want the best for home-BBQ!
#2 Masterbuilt 20070910 Electric Digital BBQ Smoker
The goodness of the Masterbuilt is similar to the magnets where people are attracted to the working style of this equipment. It has got the slow-cooking feature as the main highlight, and it gives the people with the best kind of meat. Thus all the family members including the children enjoy the moist and juicy flavourful meat. Because of the smoky aroma, it keeps the people glued to the smoker, and they love walking around the unit. Good people with good food! What else do you need?
One of the main qualities of this smoker is the Simplicity of it. It comes with a push button which can get the processing started for you, and most of the functioning is found to be an intuitive one.
Coming to the setup procedure, it is easy with this process. The walls of the bbq smoker are completely insulated, this helps with retaining all the heat within, and it results in an evenly cooked meal.
Because of the even cooking, you won’t find any part of the meat uncooked or overcooked. You will also find one auto shut-off feature, and this feature helps in cases when you might have accidentally forgotten of turning off the Masterbuilt.
Now one point to note here, a slow smoking process is not at all simple! But this Masterbuilt Electric BBQ Smoker device makes the slow smoking as easy as the Grilling process.
The machine has got a good amount of space inside of it, and this helps in providing ample space for fish, ham, or any other meat. In the end, you will find a lot of food left and enough for your guests, and also if you are on an outing with your friends or family. This machine makes use of wood chips for the fuel burning, and you can easily add the wood chips to the wood chip loader present here.
For the smoking purpose, just add the chip loader, slide it into the smoker system, and that’s it!
And guess what? You add vinegar, juice or any other beverage in the water pan section. This helps in keeping the meat moist and soft while smoking. In the bottom section of the appliance, you will find one drip tray which collects all the drippings. In the end, it helps with easy cleaning of the BBQ Smoker.
The control panel is fully digitized one, and there is one timer included which can be set for auto shut-off feature. For all those looking for an efficient cooking equipment, then you must get this.
There are different settings included within the BBQ Smoker, and one of them is the air damper. Using this air damper, you can reduce the smoke amount and get mild smokiness in the food. Whereas, for those who want the highest smoky taste in the meat, just keep the air damper setting off or disabled.
#3 Char-Broil American Gourmet Offset BBQ Smoker
Next on the list is the Char-Broil, and the name is American Gourmet Offset Smoker. We are dealing with the Standard BBQ Smoker model among the three systems available on Amazon. This product is a combination system which includes BBQ, Grill, along with the Offset Smoker feature.
This Gourmet smoker represents the basic BBQ Smoker Model, and it is considered the best for all the beginners. There is one offset fire box included within, and this provides the quality way to perform indirect heating.
This is performed by transferring smoker, low heat through the cooking chamber. If you are going to use the grills on this bbq smoker, then make sure that the firebox is clean. While you are not using the grills, cover them so that it does not affect your Smoking experience.
The cooking surface of around 290 square inches is present within the smoker. And the firebox chamber has got a surface of about 140 square inches. The height is adjustable here, and it is built using stainless steel. It has got an easy-to-use door, and thus you can remove all the ashes and maintain the cleanliness of the system.
Fuel Type of this Offset Smoker is Wood, while the body of the Smoker is made of Steel.
It is made using all the durable components, giving a reliable method of making smoked meat. This heavy-duty Offset BBQ Smoker system comes along with easily accessible drawers. The main construction of the system has been done using stainless steel, and the square shaped legs help with providing stability to the machine.
This machine has got heat as well temperature control functions on it. And for your benefit, the smoke is even controllable using the top chimney vent. We checked the steel box which comes along with the main smoker system, and this can easily accommodate wood chips, and there is one porcelain coated pan included with it which can store water.
In one round of food processing, you can make about 18 burgers! It has got that much capacity within the Char-Broil BBQ Smoker.
For easy handling, you will find handles and wheels which can support in moving the unit from one place to another. The cooking chamber is welded, and this helps with retaining the smoke flavor within this Char-Broil American Offset BBQ Smoker.
We will now check out the ratings and cost factors. This Char-Broil is currently the #1 Best Seller on the Amazon portal, and people love it! Ratings are found to be good as well. The cost of this offset smoker is too reasonable comparing it with other high-end grill systems.
A few user mentioned that the paint on the offset smoker is not much durable. And there are others who didn’t find the design amazing. These factors are all relatable and keep on changing from one user to another. But we can assure you that this unit is a Bang on your Pocket!
#4 Weber 741001 Original Kettle 22-Inch Charcoal BBQ Smoker Grill
Talking about the Weber products, it has already become an icon that is found in the backyard place. The main idea that they follow is that the smoking task should produce the right spicy taste keeping the fun element on. They have kept their promise, and have never disappointed their users since 1952. This appliance has got a simple design, with making the construction more simple for its users.
The surface of the smoker is made of hard material and has got a unique smoothness which helps with the cleaning work. And you will get to enjoy the most delicious and hot grilled meat at home.
The main focus of Weber brand is to combine the traditional methods with innovation. The grill is made using steel, and you will also find porcelain enamel did on it which lets the heat to circulate all around the vessel thus giving an even cooking.
This firm produced their first machine which was a charcoal kettle, and it was launched in the year 1952. Weber constructed this device keeping the construction part simple for the users and produce flavourful food for your loved ones.
Another common feature of a Weber is the damper found here. It allows controlling the heat within the unit without the need of lifting the lid of the smoker system.
It is built using rust-free aluminum, and it is found to be pretty durable with the functionality part.
This Charcoal BBQ Smoker Grill says cleaning is just a one-touch step here. This means that the cleaning task is found to be easy, and the user doesn’t have to perform many tedious tasks with the cleaning work.
One-Touch cleaning mechanism also adds to the damper part of the Smoker. And here you could remove the ashes out of the BBQ smoker more easily and let the oxygen do the firing job.
This Smoker follows the Weber T.I.P.S., and they are the abbreviation for Tradition, Innovation, Performance, and Service. It comes with 363 square inches of cooking space, and the design is similar to that of a kettle grill. This BBQ Smoker requires Charcoal as the fuel source for running. When you are talking about backyard grilling, Weber grills is the first name that comes to everyone’s mind.
The dimension of this Weber 741001 Original is provided as 25 x 20.5 x 38.5 in inches. The weight of this Best BBQ smoker is 31.8 pounds. It gives us 363 square inches of total space for cooking.
The only drawback found with this machine is that the quality of the BBQ Smoker is the thing that needs to be improved significantly.
So if you are looking out for the Budget and Best BBQ Smoker for you, then this product is the right choice for you. You can easily buy this Smoker at a reasonable rate, and here the Amazon users have given an excellent rating!
#5 Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Vertical Offset Charcoal BBQ Smoker
The final smoker on the list is by Dyna-Glo, and it uses porcelain-enamelled steel which helps in providing great flavour. It also includes one temperature gauge which gives the information about the smoker temperature whenever you want to know it. In one round of processing, you can easily make about 180 pounds of meat which can rightly feed your family as well as your friends.
Thus the food on the bottom rack is also cooked slowly. This machine focuses on getting the awesome burns on the meat, for getting the best seasonings.
Also, the double doors do not let the BBQ Smoker leave out any amount of heat from within the unit. It specifically works while food is accessed or during the moments when wood chips are added into the smoker. The finishing is done using Black color, and the outer portion is made of cast iron. While the Fuel Type is found to be Charcoal.
It comes with the super cool grease management system. This will help you in maintaining the smoker rightly and collects all the drippings and the condensation from your smoker chamber.
Checking out the construction part, it is found to be made of heavy-duty metal. In the end, you can end up using the unit for a long lifetime.
This machine includes one inbuilt thermometer which gives the right temperature reading about the food. And lets the user have the right amount of smoke in the cooked meat.
The cost of the Dyna-Glo is found to be affordable one for all who are planning to get quality BBQ Smoker! For those who were looking out for a product which works like the professional systems, then get this smoker! You can get to have the best-flavored steak at your home with this in your kitchen.
Points to Consider while Buying Best BBQ Smoker
- You have now decided to buy a BBQ smoker, and this experience of buying the BBQ smoker could turn out to be both exciting as well as puzzling for you.
- Right now in the market, you will get different types of smokers in the BBQ smoker category, which includes vertical and horizontal ones. Now choosing the right system according to your requirement may turn out to be a tedious task for you.
- Imagine that you visit the nearest hardware shop for buying a smoker, there you will find the vertical and horizontal shape machines. Also, there are classified by the fuel used by it, which includes wood pellets, charcoal, electricity.
- While some of the smokers require water for the working. Checking out the cost, you will find the price range from less than $100 to thousands of dollars worth.
- So if you are going to purchase the bbq smoker for the first time, then it is recommended to go for the options costing under $100. After you get the right kind of product experience, you can later jump to the units costing less than $200.
- So after working on a compact smoker, you will realize the extra features that you wish it to be present in the next system that you will buy later. After you use the compact smoker, you can opt for a larger smoker that lets you cook food in a professional style.
- Before you select a particular BBQ smoker for you, consider the following points and choose the appropriate one that suits all the points.
They are as follows:
For what purpose you need a smoker?
First of all, you need to understand the main USE or PURPOSE of buying one Smoker. The smoking process comes in two kinds. One is the slow processing, and the other one is the fast processing one.
If you need to cook the food speedily and want the work done without your attention on cooking, then the BBQ Smoker which uses electricity, charcoal as fuels are more preferable.
Now if you wish to buy a BBQ Smoker which needs you to take care of at proper time intervals, then prefer the gas BBQ smoker. You will get many decently priced systems in this category too.
What is the quantity of the food cooked?
This parameter helps in deciding the size of the BBQ Smoker that you wish to buy. And for this, you need to check out the quantity of the food that you wish to cook on the smoker.
Now if you are going to throw a party at your place or going to cater the services, then in such cases small smoker will not do the job for you.
And whereas if you wish to buy the smoker for your backyard barbecue use, then you simply choose the compact sized machines which are easily transferable from one to place to you.
Distinguish the smokers into vertical/horizontal ones
Talking about the vertical BBQ Smoker, they are compact in nature which makes them portable one. These units can work by using the fuels like the wood, electric and even gas.
The vertical ones cost in the range of $50 to $400 now. You will find easy control options, and here the fuel is placed in the bottom area, and the food is placed on the racks.
If you are working on an electric or gas smoker, you can add wood chips into it, for adding the woody taste to it. The problem of using this is that you will be required to use extra fuel for running the unit.
The extra fuel required include electricity, propane tanks, and some of the smokers may require water for keeping the food moist. Therefore vertical BBQ Smoker require more close monitoring and need to keep a check on the temperature within the machine.
Understanding the horizontal appliance, in this Smoker the fire box is placed on the side, and the food is placed in a chamber that is next to the firebox. Now comparatively the horizontal BBQ smokers are heavier, and they cannot be moved easily like the vertical ones.
Regarding efficiency, the horizontal Smokers are less efficient compared to the vertical ones, and the metal used here is also of low quality. The horizontal machines make use of pellets, wood, charcoal as the fuel.
So if you are not willing to pay a lot of attention on the BBQ smoker and wish to handle all the operations, then it is better to go with the vertical BBQ smoker mechanism.
Talking about the size, the horizontal smoker is large and they occupy a good amount of space. So if you have the space constraint for a smoker, then it is better to go with the vertical option only.
Even the small BBQ Smoker in the horizontal ones weigh more than 100 pounds and their pricing starts from $300 and increases up to thousand with an increase in size.
Your Budget
In this, you need to first understand the specific features that you are looking out for. After you have fixed the feature you are specifically concerned about, then its time to fix the budget.
For a person who is at a beginner level, can opt for a vertical system that comes in the range of less than $50. Choose a simple BBQ Smoker if you are at the beginner’s level.
For those who are on an experienced level can opt for a more complex barbecue smoker unit which comes at the cost of $300. You may find inexpensive units for barbecuing, so choose the best BBQ Smoker among the many available in the market.
Next category of the users is those who are interested in purchasing heavy and reliable product for barbecuing. The costs of these BBQ smokers may go higher than $600. Also to mention, by paying more for the system does not assure the good taste of the food.
Therefore choose such a BBQ Smoker that suits the best for you. Also to add, this machine should not be more complex than your skills or even below your skill range. You should be comfortable enough to handle the smoker on your own.
It is recommended to choose a Smoker which best suits your budget and your skills, and then after you have experienced and learned the basics of the working, upgrade your smoker unit accordingly.
Therefore the major points to consider while buying a BBQ Smoker is done here.
Additional Tips for BBQ Smoking
Many people are obsessed with the smoking of food. They will have different kinds of smokers in their home backyard and will be found smoking in their pass-times.
Some people believe that the task of smoking is difficult, so for them, we are going to provide some simple tips on getting their smoking experience more smooth and memorable one for you.
You require getting to know certain tips/tricks while working on the smoker. It is a myth that smoking operation is difficult one to understand and the task of grilling is mainly for the experts.
You need to put some efforts to understand the working of the smoker and also practice only makes the person perfect. So let’s get started with the BBQ smoker tips.
#1 BEST WHEN STARTED EARLY
This point indicates that the compounds present in the smoke are water and air soluble therefore the smoke can greatly work on the food nicely when the food is in a raw state. That means the surface of the food is dried out, the smoke won’t be able to penetrate through the food properly.
#2 BE PATIENT
We all understand the excitement level of a beginner working on the BBQ Smoker, but you need to be patient enough to get the best results out of the smoked food.
#3 DON’T EXCEED THE WOOD QUANTITY
Most of the newbies make this mistake of adding a lot of wood for the smoking purpose. Always remember you only require the wooden flavor and that should enter the food like a breeze only.
#4 PROVIDE RIGHT VENTILATION
Hope this point is well clear to you. Provide some air openings on the lid of the charcoal grill, just opposite to the coals. This will help in providing the circulation of the smoke and thus clean smoke will be in use within the BBQ Smoker.
#5 BE ALERT
We all know that smoking way of preparing food does not require much attention but still you need to alert while the food is being processed. Have a check on the temperature within an hour gap, and also check for the amount of the fuel needed by the BBQ smoker.
#6 AVOID THE FOOD GLANCES
We get anxious while cooking barbecue and try to peek into the smoking food to check out the processing food. But try to avoid the unnecessary glances as this will let the heat and smoke to escape from the chamber.
So here we are concluding our additional tips. Kindly follow them to get the best results.Hope you all enjoyed reading the Best BBQ Smoker Reviews 2017 – Top Recommendations article. You can mention your favorite BBQ smoker in the comment section below. For more regular updates on Smoker systems, follow us on Smokerify!