Most versatile smoker for your money...

[bullhead]

Fellow smokers...Getting ready to buy a new smoker. I have a Little Chief and it's served up some good smoked fish over the years, but we're wanting to get a new one this year. Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Dan

[Small Fry]

Front loading Big cheif

[GSD]

Fellow smokers...Getting ready to buy a new smoker. I have a Little Chief and it's served up some good smoked fish over the years, but we're wanting to get a new one this year. Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Dan

A good value, if your budget is like mine, for not a lot of $$$ is one like this:


Great Outdoors Grill Co. 34" Smoky Mountain Gas Smoker

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/06/01/97/00/0006019700297_215X215.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:photo_opener('http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/06/01/97/00/0006019700297_500X500.jpg&product_id=3342513','/catalog/detail.gsp','1','false','','-9223372036854775808');)

Works good for smoking Salmon and Tuna as well as smoking/cooking pork, poultry and any other foods you might like with a smoky flavor. Got mine a few years back for $99.00 on sale at the local BiMart.

Here's a chicken that was smoked & cooked in mine:
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/HANDI2Dogs7030/1beercanchicken.jpg

[summoner7]

I've got the Little Chief and I really like it, so I'd probably just stick with what works and go Big Chief--unless you're having some kind of flaw with the Little Chief that you're wanting to get away from it. I'm still new to smoking, so is there some kind of flaw that you're looking to get away from by upgrading? Thanks!

Meanwhile, here's a picture of some tasty smoked tuna (http://www.jkbworld.com/fishing/smoked-tuna/) that I made this weekend:
http://www.jkbworld.com/content/fishing/tuna/smokedtuna-scaled.jpg

[Beaglehunter]

A good value, if your budget is like mine, for not a lot of $$$ is one like this:


Great Outdoors Grill Co. 34" Smoky Mountain Gas Smoker

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/06/01/97/00/0006019700297_215X215.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:photo_opener('http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/06/01/97/00/0006019700297_500X500.jpg&product_id=3342513','/catalog/detail.gsp','1','false','','-9223372036854775808');)

Works good for smoking Salmon and Tuna as well as smoking/cooking pork, poultry and any other foods you might like with a smoky flavor. Got mine a few years back for $99.00 on sale at the local BiMart.

Here's a chicken that was smoked & cooked in mine:
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/HANDI2Dogs7030/1beercanchicken.jpg
:yeahthat:I love mine it works great.

[bullhead]

Man, I'm salivating looking at those pics of smoked tuna, salmon and that chicken looks awesome.

Thanks for the replies guys...The little chief has been good and have had no trouble with it. I like the looks of the gas one from Bi-Mart. I'll compare it to the Big Chief and make a decision.

Cheers.

Dan

[King Kong]

A good value, if your budget is like mine, for not a lot of $$$ is one like this:


Great Outdoors Grill Co. 34" Smoky Mountain Gas Smoker

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/06/01/97/00/0006019700297_215X215.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:photo_opener('http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/06/01/97/00/0006019700297_500X500.jpg&product_id=3342513','/catalog/detail.gsp','1','false','','-9223372036854775808');)

Works good for smoking Salmon and Tuna as well as smoking/cooking pork, poultry and any other foods you might like with a smoky flavor. Got mine a few years back for $99.00 on sale at the local BiMart.

Here's a chicken that was smoked & cooked in mine:
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/HANDI2Dogs7030/1beercanchicken.jpg

I have always wondered how good these are. How is the temp control? Can you turn it waaay down without the flame going out?

[Two Ducks]

I have one of those from Bimart and you need to change out the cast iron pan for a lighter metal to get the temperature down to the right one. they work great otherwise.:meme::meme:

[12pulls]

A good value, if your budget is like mine, for not a lot of $$$ is one like this:


Great Outdoors Grill Co. 34" Smoky Mountain Gas Smoker

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/06/01/97/00/0006019700297_215X215.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:photo_opener('http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/06/01/97/00/0006019700297_500X500.jpg&product_id=3342513','/catalog/detail.gsp','1','false','','-9223372036854775808');)

Works good for smoking Salmon and Tuna as well as smoking/cooking pork, poultry and any other foods you might like with a smoky flavor. Got mine a few years back for $99.00 on sale at the local BiMart.

Here's a chicken that was smoked & cooked in mine:
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/HANDI2Dogs7030/1beercanchicken.jpg
I have had Little Chief smokers for years (still got one in the shed that works but never use it now). I got this one 5 years ago and it is very versatile. I have done a lot of ribs, chicken, fish, and jerky and it still works great. We use it as an oven on deer and elk trips and at home in the summer when we don't want to heat up the kitchen. My favorite smoker and cooker.

[Okie]

The $60 Flower Pot Smoker

http://homepage.mac.com/dubmann/PhotoAlbum1.html

Good Luck

[native steelie]

im sorry if this has been said before or not, but when i seen this threads header the first thing that came to mind is, "oh man i love my fathers treager!!! that thing has produced many many great meals, u can cook on high med or low, high will get into 350-400 range for steaks and such, or down to less then 150 for great smoke's. many variations in pellets u can buy for about 15 bucks a bag that last well long enough to boot!

[12pulls]

im sorry if this has been said before or not, but when i seen this threads header the first thing that came to mind is, "oh man i love my fathers treager!!! that thing has produced many many great meals, u can cook on high med or low, high will get into 350-400 range for steaks and such, or down to less then 150 for great smoke's. many variations in pellets u can buy for about 15 bucks a bag that last well long enough to boot!

IMHO they are fine smokers but I don't care much for the way they "grill" burgers and such. Plus the initial cost is fairly high in comparison to the Smoky Mountain smoker. I have a Weber grill and the Smokey Mountain for less than $300. The Smokey Mountain is far more versatile, the Treager (yes, I have used one, both for smoking a ton of ribs and grilling burgers) you are always running smoke. The Smokey can easily get down low if one makes the proper adjustments and it doesn't need chips if you just want to cook. Plus, far easier to clean than the Treager.

[King Kong]

im sorry if this has been said before or not, but when i seen this threads header the first thing that came to mind is, "oh man i love my fathers treager!!! that thing has produced many many great meals, u can cook on high med or low, high will get into 350-400 range for steaks and such, or down to less then 150 for great smoke's. many variations in pellets u can buy for about 15 bucks a bag that last well long enough to boot!


Personally, I do not like the Traeger for smoking fish. The temp doesnt get low enough. I can never get mine below 150 and most of the time it shoots up to 170-180. Not ideal for sloooow smoking fish.

I use it for cooking everything else though!! I recently tried cooking the breakfast bacon on the traeger.........that was a mistake! Everyone loved it!
That reminds me.......I have a tri-tip to throw on.

[Phishin Phool]

My buddy in Alaska has a home made smoker that is really easy to build. He uses propane and a cast iron pan. His is quite large, we smoked over 2 hundred pounds of fish in just a couple days. It was the best I've ever had and anyone I gave some to agreed. I think it was a combination of fresh fish a great brine and the right smoking temp. If I remember right he didn't want the temp to ever get above 135. I'd have to call and ask him to be sure anyway if it won't go below 150 I'd look elsewhere.
Just my :twocents:

Plus it has to be big enough to smoke a turkey. Yumyum

[silver slayer]

I like my bradley but usually end up borrowing my buddies and running 2 because the capacity is not enough when doing fish

[SeanD]

The GOSM from BI-Mart is awsome. You can do all the BBQ, i load it up with pork butts (shoulder roasts, 8-9lbs each) and do 16 hours cooks. Ribs, chicken, whatever. The temp control is really good, you set it for 225 and walk away. That is the best part, you dont have to watch it like a briquet BBQ, you can cook overnight and the temp remains constant. I dont see how it could get any better, especally for the $$$. When I have people over for BBQ they are amazed.


I do have a hard time getting it down to 180 or so for fish though. 200-375 is easy.

[galleyjoe]

I would go with the front loading big cheif also.

[Soulakala]

I've done the home built smokers both manual and self designed electrics, the Lil' Cheifs and the vertical propane. They all have their plus sides, but the Bradley makes for a consistent and nearly a "set it and forget it" smoker. I can dial in the heat level, the amount of smoke and never have to go back until done. One load of the Bradley equates to 24 jars of smoked and canned fish. Yes if I was doing just smoked fish it would be nice to have more capacity. My last home built smoker was made from a metal furnace box and parts from a 220 range. It could smoke 200 lbs of fish at one shot, but needed a little TLC or baby sitting to keep the smoke going and not letting the temp get to high. But each to their own but for me its BRADLEY from now on.

[jlg]

One of the issues to come to grip with is whether you are fine with something that just does hot smoking or if you need to cold smoke. Almost everything mentionend above will only hot smoke. That's the one advantage of the Bradley. It's the closet to cold smoking yo will get at a reasonable price.

[jet]

Bradley all the way...

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af218/oreoboreo/IMG_0850.jpg?t=1259553452


Columbia Coho. lightly sprinkled corase ground peppered, alder/apple smoked. A nice bottle of Chard and everything is great

[SeaSparrow]

Why settle for one smoker? We use a big chief for fish and have a Bradley for everything else. Fish can leave a strong smell that we don't want in other other smoked food. The Bradley is easy to use and maintains temperature well. We have a cold smoker adapter for the Bradley that lets us do cheese without melting them. :twocents:
You might want to look at a thread from 2007:
http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=166470

[Okie]

+The $60 Flower pot smoker

http://homepage.mac.com/dubmann/PhotoAlbum1.html

Good Luck

[KingSalmonBoy]

You get what you pay for! Get the Smokin Tex 1400, I got mine for about $450 almost six years ago and it rocks for salmon, new york, or prime rib. it's a little more expensive now but worth it. I use apple exclusively from my back yard. Get the cold smoke rack if necessary for low temps. Just add wood , plug it in, and set the temp from 90 -250 F.

[Soulakala]

Bradley all the way...
Hey JET: Don't post another photo like this one, I'm trying to cut down on the eats and darn if this photo sent me to the freezer and thawed out a package of smoked sturgeon. Looks like your Bradley works like mine, a fine tuned machine.
http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af218/oreoboreo/IMG_0850.jpg?t=1259553452


Columbia Coho. lightly sprinkled corase ground peppered, alder/apple smoked. A nice bottle of Chard and everything is great

[CWOregon]

The Great Outdoors Smoky Mountain series from Bi Mart. Catch them on sale and they are a great value. I have had mine for 2 years and use it all the time (have some elk jerky going in it tonight). Ive done jerky, fish, pork shoulder, ribs, riblets, boneless ribs, beef ribs, chuck roast, whole chicken, whole turkey, turkey breast, ribeye steaks, pork chops.............and I am sure there are some things I am missing. There is a learning curve but I would like to believe that I have it down pertty well now. Cant beat it for around $100 on sale.

Now if all you want to do is smoke fish and jerky buy a front loading Big Chief, I dont think they can be beat for that for the money.

[primevci]

Man i was at whole sale sports today and seen the Big Chief 2 that thing looked good the little cheif 2 does 50lbs so that might be the way to go but man they wernt cheap either

[bigbuck2008]

A good value, if your budget is like mine, for not a lot of $$$ is one like this:


Great Outdoors Grill Co. 34" Smoky Mountain Gas Smoker

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/06/01/97/00/0006019700297_215X215.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:photo_opener('http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/06/01/97/00/0006019700297_500X500.jpg&product_id=3342513','/catalog/detail.gsp','1','false','','-9223372036854775808');)

Works good for smoking Salmon and Tuna as well as smoking/cooking pork, poultry and any other foods you might like with a smoky flavor. Got mine a few years back for $99.00 on sale at the local BiMart.

Here's a chicken that was smoked & cooked in mine:
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/HANDI2Dogs7030/1beercanchicken.jpg

this is one of the best smokers i own.

[Jakiedog]

I'm a huge fan of the Great Outdoor Smoky Mountain. I do lamb roasts, turkey, all fish, pork loins, roast beef.
The temperature control is great. i can get it as low as 190 degrees. It comes with a large water pan that I fill with boiling H2O or apple juice before I start and food always comes out JUICY and tender.

This is a pork loin that I did with sauteed onion, garlic, summer sausage, mozerella, spinach, and feta. cooked at 250 with apple chips until 165 degrees.

[primevci]

also a masterbuilt electric is around 200 might want to look into those probably my next purchase..