# What is the Best Electric Smoker for a beginner?



## magic mike (Sep 26, 2013)

Hello from Magic Mike in Central Florida. Living in Florida allows me to Bar-B-Que year round.  We love to cook and use our grill for several meals a week, cooking a variety of meats, fish and chicken.  I am new to smoking however and found SmokingMeatForum.com while researching the net for advice on purchasing a smoker.  As a newbie I'd like to get some input from the group on the best smoker to purchase. I already know that I want an electric smoker (charcoal is such a pain) and we like the flavors of smoked meats.  I'd like to experiment with several woods to see (and taste) the results.


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## distre (Sep 26, 2013)

Hello Mike,

          Welcome to the forum. Lots of great people to help you with any problems or questions you may have. As for you your question, I own an older model 30" Electric Masterbuilt and love it. Others have their own opinions and that is all good. Do a few searches in the search bar and you can read about the different opinions. As for my Masterbuilt, I can use wood chips that easily available at my local stores were some use pellets or puck like bisquettes like the Bradley that you may find harder to find. It is all each to your own. I hope you find one that works for you.

Happy Smoking.

Doug


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## chef willie (Sep 26, 2013)

I run a Smokin' It #3 electric...little spendy but mostly built like a tank. Plenty of room in it for multiple racks. Just did a 8# butt overnight smoke for 17 hours and it performed perfectly......Willie


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## s2k9k (Sep 26, 2013)

:welcome1: to SMF!!! We're happy you joined us! We have over 50,000 members now who just love to share what they know. You've come to the best place on the net to learn and share everything Q!!!


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## kathrynn (Sep 26, 2013)

to SMF!  We are so glad you joined us! 

We love to see pictures of what you are cooking (or what we call q-views here at SMF).  To "upload the q-views" just follow the directions here and it will be easier. If you are using a cell phone, an IPad or a kindle, go to the main SMF page and click the Mobile button. Will make the uploads a bit faster too.

If you didn't read the "Terms of Service" notes.....please do.  There are a few things that everyone should know about those pesky little rules before plunging into the forums and some guidelines of how to interact within the forums. Off site links are not allowed here at SMF per TulsaJeff. Not that you have done anything wrong....just a little bit of FYI for new members!

If you need any help roaming around the forums....just holler!  Happy to help out!

Kat


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## havman (Sep 26, 2013)

High from Nebraska. 
I'm a beginner smoker. Use a masterbuilt electric for my smoking recipes. Hope you can help me out with a few good recipes. Looks like a great web page. I will be watching deforms on any info that will help me out.


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## chef jimmyj (Sep 26, 2013)

Welcome to the SMF Family...As far as Electric Smokers go, your Budget and Max number of people you may feed and what you plan to smoke would be helpful. I have 2 Ist Gen Masterbuilt Electric Smokers that will easily smoke 8 racks of ribs, more with rib racks, or 8 Pork Butts, 4 whole packer Briskets or 8 whole Chickens. They sell for around $365. There are smaller, less expense units all the way up to the $2000-$4000 Cook Shacks....JJ


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## seenred (Sep 26, 2013)

Welcome, Mike!  I used to own a Masterbuilt 40" electric (MES), and liked it very much...easy to use, consistent temps, and turned out great food.  They're pretty affordable too.  

One thing:  Many members would steer you away from buying the new generation MES because of design and quality control issues in the newer models.  You'd be better to hunt for the older generation model, which are still available if you look around.  The way you tell the difference:   The newer generation model has the control console right in front of the top panel, just above the door, and the exhaust vent is in the left side panel, near the top.  The older gen models have the control console on the back of the top panel and the exhaust vent on the top right.  The glass window is also bigger in the newer gen models.

Here's a pic of the older gen model...you can see where the console and the vent are in this pic.













53fbb53e_2fc4e9fc_IMG_0249.jpeg



__ seenred
__ Sep 26, 2013






Like JJ said, there are lots of serviceable electric smokers on the market, depending on how many you are cooking for and how much you want to spend.

Good luck!

Red


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## mossymo (Sep 26, 2013)

I have a 30" and a 40" Masterbuilt which have been fine, next electric is gonna be a Smoken-It or a Iron Chef Kitchen electric smoker.


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## gary s (Sep 27, 2013)

Hello, and Welcome from Texas. This is a great site with worlds of information.

Gary


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