Ok, Let’s Smoke! No, not that – let’s smoke some MEAT! What kind of smoker is the best? Well, who the hell knows? There is no answer to this question. it is completely up to the user as well as what you are ultimately trying to cook.
Stick Burner? Pellet Smoker? What the heck does an Egg have to do with meat???
Stick Burner Smokers
I am a creature of habit. I have been using a stick burner of various types for about 17 years now. there is something simple and pure about using whole logs for my fire source I think. The wood has not been shredded into chips or crushed into pellets, its natural. Stick burners typically have a lower offset fire box separate from the cooking chamber that you build a fire in for it’s heat source. Allowing this fire to smolder will create your smoke. I am currently using a vertical style, indirect stick burner from Johnson Smokers – I love it! Here’s a link to their website.
Pellet Smokers
Pellet smokers are very popular and have gained more in popularity in the past few years. They use an electric heat source and an auger to deliver pellets to the heating element. These pellets will burn and create heat and smoke. Pellets are available in any wood variety you can think of. They are very easy to mix different wood varieties to really create a unique flavor profile for your smoke. These units offer a huge variety of bells and whistles. They have a thermostat so you can electronically set the temp. They require very little monitoring. Many have temp probes that allow you to monitor ambient smoker temp as well as internal meat temp remotely from your phone.
Ceramic Egg Smokers
Another style of a smoker is an insulated ceramic egg-shaped cooker. the most popular egg-shaped smoker is The Big Green Egg. These units can be a bit costly, but this is the closest you can get to a “set it and forget it” smoker. Once you build a heat source, (which is typically charcoal and wood chips for flavor), and put your meat on, it will hold the temperature throughout the cooking process.
No matter which style smoker fits your needs best, Mile High Spice Company will be the perfect seasoning for your meat!
Live Bold!
Check out some mouth watering images of meats I’ve smoked.
MK