I'll recommend a brand to stay away from - we have a Masterbuilt electric smoker that is just terrible. It turns off randomly! - Like 3-4 times in a 8-10 hour smoking period. It has a remote control where you can set a high and low temperature (for the smoker, not the meat) and it beeps if it goes beyond these temps. That's the only way you know it's turned off (unless you happen to notice when you go out to add more chips). We've used it several times, my dad bought it and it's residing at our place, but I wouldn't buy one myself. Also, the cover it came with is not waterproof and the rain shorted the electric controls on the top of the machine. Luckily my husband was able to fix it.
Otherwise I'm interested to see what everyone else says. We'll still use this one till it breaks (which I assume won't take very long), but it really is very poor quality
I got an electric smoker for Christmas, and I love it! After doing some research, I went with the Smokin-it smoker. At 300$, it's a little more expensive than others but is very well insulated and uses a minimal amount of wood. I have successfully smoked cheese, salmon, brisket etc-it's very easy to use. Also, you do not have to add wood while you're smoking, so there isn't a lot of tending needed once you start, which is a plus for me. Charcoal and propane smokers tend to have wider temperature fluctuations, which means more tending and maybe uneven cooking...I like that I can put a brisket in at 10pm and go to bed without worrying about it til morning, or that my cheese won't end up melted instead of smoked.
Check out www.smokin-it.com
There are many different answers to this question depending on your situation and needs, so I can only speak from my own experience: although it's not the purist's choice, I ended up going with an electric smoker. It's low maintenance, easy to use, and makes delicious food.
I actually got a hand-me down wood-burning smoker at the same time, and haven't pulled it out yet; they require much more maintenance during the smoke (checking temp, adding fuel, mopping, etc.), and although I'm sure the results would be even tastier, at this point in my life (2 kids and a full time job) it's not worth the tradeoff of the extra time involved.
I went with a Masterbuilt electric smoker (I got a good deal on a 40-inch model through Craigslist, but the 30-inch is very reasonably priced on Amazon). I also modified the smoker by using a pellet tray (instead of the wood chip drawer)--the A-MAZE-N pellet smoker. It lets me add as many pellets as I want and can smoke for up to 10 hours or so at a time without refilling (the wood chip tray can only go for about an hour before needing a refill). You can also do cold smoking of cheeses, etc. It's not perfect--sometimes I struggle to keep it lit and have to use a fan to add some airflow--but it's worth it to me for the added benefits (and I think it's easier to get the right kind of smoke than it is with chips). If you're interested in that setup, the Smoking Meat Forums have lots of tips and advice (and for smoking more generally).
Good luck--it's not an easy decision. Whatever you end up going with, you'll be amazed at the delicious food that you can produce with a smoker!
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Otherwise I'm interested to see what everyone else says. We'll still use this one till it breaks (which I assume won't take very long), but it really is very poor quality
Check out www.smokin-it.com
I actually got a hand-me down wood-burning smoker at the same time, and haven't pulled it out yet; they require much more maintenance during the smoke (checking temp, adding fuel, mopping, etc.), and although I'm sure the results would be even tastier, at this point in my life (2 kids and a full time job) it's not worth the tradeoff of the extra time involved.
I went with a Masterbuilt electric smoker (I got a good deal on a 40-inch model through Craigslist, but the 30-inch is very reasonably priced on Amazon). I also modified the smoker by using a pellet tray (instead of the wood chip drawer)--the A-MAZE-N pellet smoker. It lets me add as many pellets as I want and can smoke for up to 10 hours or so at a time without refilling (the wood chip tray can only go for about an hour before needing a refill). You can also do cold smoking of cheeses, etc. It's not perfect--sometimes I struggle to keep it lit and have to use a fan to add some airflow--but it's worth it to me for the added benefits (and I think it's easier to get the right kind of smoke than it is with chips). If you're interested in that setup, the Smoking Meat Forums have lots of tips and advice (and for smoking more generally).
Good luck--it's not an easy decision. Whatever you end up going with, you'll be amazed at the delicious food that you can produce with a smoker!