Hello from Newfoundland

[robbiearnold]

Hello all,

I'm recently retired and living in Newfoundland, I have always wanted to learn how to smoke meats and fish, now I have my own boat and the freezer is getting close to full, so I started searching for a suitable smoker..didn't take long to realize that there's quite a selection out there to chose from and that some of them are a waste of money!!,

So first off I would love to hear your thoughts on a good quality smoker for a beginner?, I would like an electric or gas unit, it can get very cold up here so that's something else I need to consider I suppose?.

Don't mind paying a reasonable price for a well made smoker so please let me have some suggestions!!.

By the way my favorite smoked fish is trout and mackerel..and there's plenty to be caught up here yippee. 

Thanks all

Robbie. 

 

[atomicsmoke]

Robbie from The Rock...welcome!

 

[gibsorz]

Robbie,

Welcome my friend.

To give you a good starting point you can look at the top products here.

The weber smokey mountain style smoker is as fool proof as it gets for a charcoal smoker. I have used it in winter outdoorsin Quebec down to -30 with success. I just threw a hot water tank insulation cover around it to help hold the heat. I personally think you learn more about meat and smoking by using a charcoal smoker and the flavour is slightly different. It is harder though.

The Masterbuilt electric smoker seems to be very popular on here and for its price point and availability of modifications it may be a great selection for you. I have a bradley 2 rack little smoker for small stuff that works good, but I would not go for a full size digital bradley electric. Quality appears good, but the pucks get very expensive very fast if you are going to do any kind of volume smoking.

I don't like gas smokers, so can't recommend anything there.

If you are smoking in newfoundlan in the winter the most important thing will be insulation, and unless you are tucked away in a cove, a wind screen.

 

[robbiearnold]

Thanks for the welcome guys,It's nice to see some Canadians on here, 

Gibsorz: thanks for the hints, I was looking at the 6 rack Bradley mainly because it's available on the island, and yes I had noticed the high price of the pucks!! that did put me off a bit although I don't think I will be smoking huge amounts of fish, I'm on my own and can't eat too much.

I didn't like some of the reviews I read on the Bradley's, people saying that they can't get the temp unless they add a 2nd element!!.

I'm looking for the "top products" here?, still finding my way around the site.

Robbie 

 

[gibsorz]

On my phone if is just on the page here when you are in a thread at the bottom. Also if you go into the menu and select "smokers & more" it shows you all sorts of smokers with different styles.

 

[food junkie]

Robbie,

Have a look at the Cookshack electric smokers.

I have been using them for over 15 years and would recommend them to anyone.

They aren't cheap, but they last forever.

Food Junkie

 

[themule69]

Glad you joined the group. The search bar at the top of any page is your best friend.
About anything you wanna know about smoking/grilling/curing/brining/cutting or slicing
and the list goes on has probably been posted. Remember to post a QVIEW of your smokes.
We are all smoke junkies here and we have to get our fix. If you have questions
Post it and you will probably get 10 replies with 11 different answers. That is
because their are so many different ways to make great Q...
Happy smoken.
David

 

[grillmonkey]

My mother-in-law is from St. John.

 

[gary s]

Hello Robbie,and good morning, from East Texas and welcome to the forum. Lots of great information and real good people here.  Hard to recommend a smoker, everyone's needs are different. Some prefer charcoal & wood, electric or gas, Do as much research as you can, talk to friends who smoke, may help with your decision .

Gary S