Just bought an electric smoker, any tips anyone wants to give?

Which one? I have been strongly considering getting one as my side-by-side smoker is too much to deal with for smaller batches.

I've got this one. So does my dad. Works very well. I've had mine for about 5 or 6 years now.

I've smoked turkeys, hams, brisket, boston butt, chicken, ribs, etc....

And it's only $89.

However, i haven't used it in a while. May need to fire it up next weekend.

i have the same thing... I did a brisket first and it came out excellent

However I tried to do 4 racks of ribs and they were to big for the smoker but i attempted anyways. They still had a lot of smoke flavor but i decided to finish them on the gas grill.

I have never had any negative comments so far

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However I tried to do 4 racks of ribs and they were to big for the smoker but i attempted anyways.

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I've done ribs many times. Yeah, you have to cut the rack in half to get it to fit.

And my favorite ribs, are the ones i put on the smoker.

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Im seeing it for anywhere from 100-140 online.

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Well, 5 years ago it was $89.

Oh, and if you smoke in the warmer months, flys appear out of nowhere.

I don't know what it is, but anytime i smoke in the summer, flies start hovering around my area. Don't have that problem when i grill.

How does the temp control work? Digital?

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How does the temp control work? Digital?

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No Temp controller. That's the downside. It's set to run at 220. Colder days, about 200, hotter days around 230-240.

I use a low rated extension cord and that reduces the power to the smoker, so the smoker temps are around 200-210.

Also, depending on the wood you use varies temps. oak burns hotter than hickory or apple or pecan. I ruined a brisket on oak before, because it burned to hot.

I use hickory, pecan, apple nowadays, depending on what i'm smoking.

I would prefer a smoker with temp controller, but i've made damn fine meat without it. My brisket and boston butt are ridiculous. Made a brisket and butt once and had some people over. The brisket finished first, so i placed it inside, 30 minutes to an hour later the butt finished, and when i brought that inside, there was only 1 piece of brisket left. I had to wrestle it away from someone, just so i could try my own food, and it was incredible.

Boston Butt came out great too.

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there is no temp control on the brinkman

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true.. but, it's never been a problem for me. Even when cooking a boston butt to make pulled pork . which takes up to 12 hrs.

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Split of duck season so I'm also gonna kick back and throw something on the smoker tomorrow most likely. I'm thinking about a brisket but I've never done one

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I've done ducks too. Once a year i make a smoked duck and sausage gumbo. Only smoke the ducks for about 2-3 hours just to get some smoke flavor.

With brisket, if you've never done one, watch the Aaron Franklin videos on youtube. Watch one for the rub, and one for the brisket.

LINK

LINK

My method the last brisket i made (the one where everyone ate almost all of it but me).

Made a rub. Salt, Pepper, and some paprika for color. Used olive oil as a binding agent. Rubbed the brisket and wrapped in saran wrap and left it in the fridge overnight.

Next day, started up the smoker. Let it heat up for about 15 minutes, added my wood chunks (soaked overnight) (always use chunks, never chips). Then added the brisket. Spritzed with some apple cider vinegar.

Let it go for about 3 hours, and opened up the top. Checked the internal temp. Spritzed again, and covered back up and let go for another 2-3 hours. Once temp got to 160ish (i think) i opened up the lid, spritzed again, wrapped in foil, and closed the lid. About an hour to 2 hours later once the internal temp got up to 195-200, i took the brisket off. Kept it wrapped in foil. Then wrapped it in an old towel, and placed it in a small ice chest and let sit for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Came out great. Tender, juicy, and had a good bark to it. I think the wrap at the end really turned a corner for me, when smoking meats. Allows the meats natural juices to continue cooking, while not losing any of it.