Your Summer Needs a Smoker (and Three to Consider)

If you're only looking to do the occasional outdoor cooking session this summer, you'll probably only need a simple charcoal grill. If you've got bigger plans—say, grilling every Sunday—or prefer less mess and hassle, you can choose a smokeless electric grill, or a gas grill.

But maybe you fancy yourself a real pitmaster: one who makes a point of discerning the difference between grilling and barbecuing, who strives for smoke rings and bark on every piece of meat. If this is a world you’d like to be a part of, it’s time to consider a smoker. 

The smokers listed in this article:

Is a smoker right for you?

Compared to grilling cooking with a smoker is in a different league. It’s often done with indirect heat at a low temperature, usually anywhere between 225°F and 275°F. While there are a few types of smokers, most of them involve the fuel (be it wood chips, wood pellets, charcoal, or a combination) burning at a low heat in the firebox. Smoke fills the cook chamber, slowly heating the food and imbuing it with smoky flavor. The smoke passes through the chamber and out the smokestack or a vent. 

Depending on what you’re cooking, smoking can take anywhere from 45 minutes for delicate items like fish, to over 12 hours for hefty cuts of meat. Based on your personality and what type of apparatus you opt for, you might be carefully monitoring the process and adjusting the dampers to control the temperature, or chilling by the pool and checking your smart smoker’s app to make adjustments.

Smokers work for all different types of outdoor cooking enthusiasts, which leads me to the benefits of getting yourself a smoker:

• Flavor. Few grilling methods can compete with the flavorful bark and smoky aroma on barbecued meats. The slow cooking time ensures thorough and robust flavoring.

• Flexibility. There are a wide range of smokers, from completely automated and wifi enabled pellet smokers, to traditional offset barrel smokers. Plus, you can use many smokers as regular charcoal grills too, if you’re ever in the mood to do a quick grilling session. 

• A mostly hands-off process. Unlike the speedy cooking of a gas grill or cooking over direct heat from charcoal, smoking requires a lot of time and patience, but allows you to be less glues to your grill. You’ll want to keep the cook chamber shut as much as possible when smoking, which naturally eliminates some of the desire to mess with the food within. Besides periodically keeping an eye on the temperature and adjusting the dampers and fuel if necessary, you can carry on with your day. 

Safety first

Anytime you have charcoal, fires, or embers kicking around, spare a thought for safety. Always follow the directions of the apparatus you choose, especially if you’re a beginner. Keep the smoker at least 10 feet from buildings, if not for the fire risk then to keep your living room couch from smelling like hickory and charcoal.  

Don’t forget to close up the vents to choke out the embers of your fuel after you’ve finished using your smoker. And if I’ve said it once—it’s a good idea to keep a fire extinguisher nearby, just in case.

For ease, consider the Traeger electric wood pellet grill and smoker

This Traeger smoker uses electricity to control how quickly the pellets are released into the firebox, so the temperature doesn’t fluctuate without your intervention. It's also wifi enabled, which allows you to check on the time and temperature from anywhere. It’s great for a range of barbecue enthusiasts, from beginners, to multitaskers, and seasoned experts alike.

For smaller spaces, try the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker

Not every pitmaster needs a piece of equipment as big as a cow. For a more manageable size, the Smokey Mountain will be equally at home on a spacious patio or the sidewalk outside of your apartment building (adhering to your local laws, of course). This smoker uses coals for fuel and a water pan to help catch grease and keep the heating gentle. Although best for smaller batches, this Weber comes in a few sizes, ranging from 14 inches to 22 inches.

If you prefer a hulking offset design, take a look at the Royal Gourmet Offset Smoker

This highly-rated behemoth boasts 443 square inches of main cooking surface and offers the multi-barreled design you might be looking for. As many heavy duty offset smokers can come with a price tag in the thousands, the Royal Gourmet smoker is a surprising bargain. The materials may not be as durable as more expensive smokers, but this model could be appealing for a first-timer on a budget, and looking to enter the world of barbecue.