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(More customer reviews)Technically, of course, the RIGHT way to smoke is to use real green wood in a real large pit smoker. However, here in the suburbs good green wood's hard to come by, and a large pit smoker costs a lot of money -- and you'll go through quite a bit of potentially expensive wood, too. Gas smokers, if you use them for proper long-term smoking (12-18 hours) will suck down one, maybe two full tanks of propane; that's $40 for one long cooking session. This device has a 1500W cooking element; even over an 18-hour cooking session, that's 27kW-h, and at the price of 17 cents per kW-h (high) I'm spending less than $5.00 in electricity. Plus in both the case of wood and gas smokers, someone's got to really keep an eye on it all the time.
So I went for the cheap and simple; set it up, plug it in, let it go. The question was... would it work?
Initially it's somewhat daunting; the smoker comes disassembled and the instructions are not as clear as they might be. It's also apparent that the electric element is a retrofit (you could still use charcoal or wood in this thing, if you wanted) and this fact isn't incorporated into the instructions. Lava rocks were also not included -- I had to buy a bag of them. This isn't a huge problem, except that the assembly instructions mentioned them and thus implied strongly that they should have been included in the kit.
Once assembled, however, it looks quite nice -- aside from the cheesy and probably ultimately unreliable temperature gauge in the front, which just gives a vague indication (low, "ideal" high) of the temperature inside. I got a few-dollar oven thermometer that I put inside the smoker when I use it. The stainless-steel exterior is very pretty and gives confidence that the device will survive for a while.
Operation of the Brinkmann is quite simple: soak some wood chunks (choose the right wood for the job -- mesquite is great for things like ribs, chili, etc, but hickory, apple, etc., are the way to go for hams) until they're as wet as you can reasonably get them (if you think of it ahead of time, dump them in the water for a day or two, but an hour or so will do all right). Note that due to the way the water pan fits into the smoker, you have to use SHORT wood pieces; chips are probably too small, though, they'll run out fast. So if you have large chunks of wood, split 'em down.
Put the wet chunks of wood on the smoking pan and place that directly on the heating element in the center; it's designed for this. Fill the water pan and then place that on the bottom supports, plug the smoker in, and you're ready to go. One grill fits right over the water pan, and there's another that's a goodly distance above that; you could easily fit a turkey in the bottom and a full sized ham on the top, or vice versa, so for any reasonable sized family this puppy will handle your smoking needs.
So far, I've smoked turkey legs, ribs (beef and pork), and a full-sized ham. Note that I had NEVER smoked anything before I got this, and I am having excellent results; the ham I smoked this weekend (July 4th weekend, 2011) looked cooking-magazine perfect and tasted absolutely wonderful (maple marinated/glazed with hickory smoke). It's EASY to use; just make sure the water pan is **FULL** before going to bed if you're planning on getting your full 8 hours rest!
It's also fairly easy to move around, and if you have a wooden deck you should get one of the insulated burn/grill pads. The vinyl cover is a nice touch too.
Overall, I'm very happy with this Father's Day present, and my family seems happy too! :)
Click Here to see more reviews about: Brinkmann 810-5304-6 Smoke'N Grill Electric Smoker and Grill Value Pack, Stainless Steel
Enjoy slow-cooked barbecue and authentic smokehouse flavor with this electric smoker and grill. Perfect for large gatherings, it comes equipped with two chrome-plated steel cooking grills that can hold up to 50 pounds of food. Cook a ham on one level and a chicken on the other. Both the top and bottom grill levels cook at about the same temperature, so when cooking different types or cuts of meat at the same time, place the meat that cooks the fastest on the top grill for convenient removal. Its stable base contains a 1500-watt electric heating element, which delivers consistent heat--ideal for longer smoking times or smoke cooking in cold weather. In addition, the unit's domed lid supplies a heat indicator for checking the temperature at a glance, and its front-hinged door allows for adding water during the smoking process. As part of a value pack, the unit also comes with a smoker basket, a heavy-duty outdoor vinyl cover, and a 3-pound bag of hickory chunks. Other highlights include a porcelain-coated steel water pan, high-grade wooden handles that stay cool to the touch, and an easy-to-clean lightweight design. Housed in beautiful stainless steel, the electric smoker and grill measures 17 by 17 by 32 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.
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