As a quick internet search will show you, smokers are available in all kinds of shapes and sizes. In this post, I will introduce you to the different types of smokers to help get you started on your research and decision-making process.
If you’re a do-it-yourself kind of person, you will be able to build some of these smokers in your garage. I’ve never done this myself, but there are plans available online that can help you with that project. If I decide to build a smoker in the future, I will certainly share the process with you.
Now, let’s have a quick look at some types of smokers out there.
Barrel smokers
This might be considered the most basic and widely used type of smoker. It’s basically an upright barrel with grill racks for the food to be smoked, with a heat source at the bottom to create smoke. The smoke passes over the food above it and leaves the smoker through an adjustable vent in the top.
One popular barrel smoker is the Weber Smokey Mountain, which is available in three sizes (14″, 18″ and 22″) and uses charcoal as fuel. You can place your favorite wood chips or chunks on top of the charcoal to create smoke. If needed, more charcoal and/or wood can be added through the fuel door in the side of the cooker.
The Weber Smokey Mountain has two racks to hold food that are like regular grill grates. The lower rack is accessible through the fuel door and the top rack by removing the lid.
Beside the charcoal version, barrel smokers with gas and electric burners are also available.
Cabinet smokers
Cabinet smokers usually have multiple grates to hold food. There’s a heat source at the bottom of the cabinet and there’s a metal box for the wood chips and chunks above it to create smoke. Again, the smoke passes over the food above and leaves the smoker through an adjustable vent in the top or side of the cabinet.
The first smoker I bought was a Smoke Hollow cabinet smoker and I still use it today. It has four grates and it’s big enough to fit a 14 pound spatchcocked turkey on each grate for Thanksgiving. Smoke Hollow was purchased by Masterbuilt, which has improved upon the early version and now makes several models.
Ideally, a cabinet smoker has two doors; one to add wood chips and one to add and check on food. Because of the separate doors, you don’t lose any smoke and heat from the cooking section when you’re adding wood chips.
Cabinet smokers are available in charcoal and electric versions as well.
Offset smokers
Offset smokers consist of a (usually) barrel shaped cooking chamber with a fire box attached to it. The fire box is positioned lower than the cooking chamber, hence the name offset smoker. A wood fire in the fire box creates smoke to cook the food in the cooking chamber.
This type of smoker has been used for a long time and is regularly called a “traditional” smoker. They deliver smoked food with great flavor and provide the most enjoyable atmosphere, in my opinion. All of this comes at a price, though, which is that the fire must be watched closely and often adjusted to ensure an even temperature in the cooking chamber.
Offset smokers can be purchased for as little as a few hundred dollars, or as much as then thousand. The cheapest versions are made of very thin sheet metal and have a lot of gaps, which results in the loss of heat and smoke. The most expensive ones are built with thick steel and have tighter tolerances. This makes it easier to maintain an even temperature and smoke level, but it’s quite difficult to move them around the back yard in case you need to do that.
As a middle of the road smoker, Oklahoma Joe is a great option. It’s made with thicker steel than the cheapest version. There are some gaps and cracks, but this can be cured by adding some seals in certain places and I will give you more information on that in a future post.
Pellet smokers
Pellet smokers look like offset smokers, but what looks like a fire box on the side is a hopper where wood pellets are stored. The pellets are automatically moved to the firebox, which is under the cooking chamber, where they are burned by an electric burner to create smoke.
This type of smoker has become quite popular because it’s relatively easy to use. Once wood pellets are added to the hopper the temperature can be set, and the thermostat will keep it constant. So, this is really a set it and forget it kind of smoker that doesn’t require much hand holding to manage the temperature and smoke level.
The high level of convenience results in a higher price point, which may be worth it if you’re not inclined to watch over your smoker for hours at a time.
Grill smokers
There are several grills on the market that are also quite capable smokers. For example, ceramic grills like the Big Green Egg and Kamado Joe resemble barrel smokers and are great at retaining heat and smoke.
It’s also possible to generate smoke on a regular gas or charcoal grill. On a charcoal grill, you can place wood chunks or chips on the hot coals either directly or wrapped in aluminum foil with a few holes in it. For gas grills, you can use aluminum wrap and there also are specific wood chip boxes on the market that can be placed on the gas burners to create smoke.
Smoking on a gas or charcoal grill works best for foods that don’t require too much time to cook, like seafood and sausages.
What size smoker to buy
The size of smoker you need depends on the number of people you expect to cook for on a regular basis. You can then estimate the number of square inches of cooking area you will need to cook enough food in one session.
One of my favorite things to smoke is a whole spatchcocked turkey, either for Thanksgiving dinner or any other time of the year. I can fit a 14-pound bird in my cabinet smoker, which is about 20 inches wide and 13 inches deep. If you buy a smoker that’s big enough to do this, you’ll have many Happy Thanksgivings.
Conclusion
Deciding what smoker to buy really depends on your personal preferences for size, ease of use, fuel type etc. Hopefully this post provides some useful information to help you decide. If you are wondering about something other than what’s in this post, let me know and I’ll be happy to help you out.
Thank you for visiting and talk to you soon,
Herman