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Pepper Shrimp Boats - smoker needed!

Carol Reed

Carol Reed

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Location
Coolidge, AZ
I made up some of the bacon wrapped shrimp cream cheese red peppers and put them in the freezer. Want to buy a smoker today. Local options include Wally World and Home Depot. Want a small electric smoker to run outside. It needs to be small to store in the chariot.

It will be hard to wait, but I am willing to order on-line.

Suggestions?
 
Carol are you looking for a low temp smoker or one that cooks makes a big difference. I had a lil chief smoker that was the low temp variaty and it worked well for smoking fish etc but it was more of a smoker/dehydrater. wouldn't get hot enough for actual cooking never got above say 150.
 
Oh, and it gets hot enough to cook poultry even. Kind of like a little outdoor oven you can light a fire in.
 
I started with a Brinkmann charcoal smoker many years ago. It's the round one with a bowl of water above the heat source and two cooking racks. The electric version is only about $80. I did all kinds of meats on it: brisket, ribs, turkeys, chicken wings, etc. I graduated to larger smokers and now have an Oklahoma Joe Longhorn Offset Smoker that I use for the afore-mentioned stuff as well as fish. There are times I'd like to have a Brinkmann when I just want a small quantity of stuff, though!
 
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Don Baer said:
Bill are you talking about this one. the reviews I read said it was a great unit for the money but did not have adaquate temp control.

opps mybad you said your was charcoal. I just re read your post. sorry
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That's the one, Don. I've read a little about the electric version and it seems it depends on the person using it as to what the temperature can be. You can add more lava rock than comes with it to make the temperature more constant. A dimmer could be added in the electric cord, if necessary. On my charcoal unit, I opened a side door or tipped the top to adjust the cooking speed.
 
Budget is what it is, Don. I don't have enough information yet to develop a budget. My choices are gas or electric. The park will not allow anything else, nor will most other parks. I don't have a grill yet either, so gas is an option. Grill suggestions are also welcome, but again I stress size. Very limited storage space and very seldom do I have folks over for food. I am not a cook and I treasure my friends. Visit me and we go out to eat! Ask Larry. :rofl:
 
Carol Reed said:
... Grill suggestions are also welcome, but again I stress size. Very limited storage space and very seldom do I have folks over for food. ...
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Carol, the Brinkmann (or similar model) can be used in segments, depending on what you want to do. It can be a grill by using the heating section with a grate on top of it, or as a smoker with the full stack. Since you have storage issues, the electric version might be the best option so you don't have to store charcoal or an LP tank. Price is relatively small, too.
 
Bill Arnold said:
Carol, the Brinkmann (or similar model) can be used in segments, depending on what you want to do. It can be a grill by using the heating section with a grate on top of it, or as a smoker with the full stack. Since you have storage issues, the electric version might be the best option so you don't have to store charcoal or an LP tank. Price is relatively small, too.
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I went back and looked at the description and Bill is correct.

"This Brinkmann 15-1/2 in. Electric Gourmet Smoker is a combination smoker and electric grill "


 
HD has an $80 electric model. It will be little more with a digital thermometer and a cast iron smoke pan. And they are in stock locally. MIght be a good place to begin. May mosey over to HD in a bit. YUM coming up!
 
A little late to the party, but would have suggested an electric as well. I really liked Brent's setup with the PID controller for setting the temp. I've got a pellet grill now, but would consider one like his if it gives up on me.
 
PID controller? Enlighten me. I know that maintaining temperature is important and that the dial thermometers are notoriously inaccurate. So what is this PID thingie?
 
Carol Reed said:
PID controller? Enlighten me. I know that maintaining temperature is important and that the dial thermometers are notoriously inaccurate. So what is this PID thingie?
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A pid controller is a fancy kind of temperature controller. A normal thermostat has basically a set point and fluctuates over a range of temperatures. If the temp drops below that point, it turns on, if it exceeds the temp it turns off.

A PID uses a microprocessor to keep track of the temperature and how that temperature behaves as it turns on and for how long. It can maintain a much more even temperature by predicting the temperature response to how much current it applies.

I don't know if you remember my setup, but I had that in that little external wooden box next to my smoker. I turned the smokers analog thermostat to high, plugged that into my pid, and plugged the pid into the house current. The temperature probe for the PID was connected to the smoker through a hole I drilled in the side.
 
Cool, Brent. I failed to look closely at your set up. Care to share make and model, or maybe a link? Thanks. Picking up the red bullet after church today. The shrimp boats are in the freezer calling to me. :rofl:
 
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