10 Tips for Making the Most of Your Electric Smoker

Maybe you just bought an electric smoker. Or you’ve heard how handy they are and are considering purchasing one for yourself.

You could spend hours searching the internet for tips and techniques on how to get the most out of your new smoker, but we’re sure you’d rather simply go out there and start smoking! So, to save you time, we’ve compiled a list of the top 9 recommendations for mastering your electric smoker.

Electric Smoker Tips for Begginers & Experts

1. Ditch the chip tray

If you own an electric smoker, you’re probably aware of how cumbersome and, frankly, inadequate chip trays can be. A little chip tray must be replaced multiple times throughout the smoke, and the results are generally disappointing bland food with no smokey taste.

For these reasons, many barbecue fans have abandoned the chip tray in favor of the Buzzlett Pellet Smoker, a compact tube that produces up to 4 hours or a box that produces up to 11 hours of thin, blue smoke.

This pellet smoker is affordable, simple to use, and produces consistent smoke.

All you have to do is fill the tray with pellets, making sure they are below the ridge of the tray’s dividers.

Using a lighter or a blowtorch, ignite the pellets. You may need to apply heat for around 45 seconds. Once the pellets are lit, extinguish the flames. This video demonstrates how to use a pellet smoker to add smoke to your cooking.

Insert the tray into the smoker, open the vent, then sit back and relax. A whole tray of pellets should be plenty to smoke ribs, turkey legs, or other comparable sized pieces.

Experiment with how much smoke you want. If you want higher smoke density, ignite the pellet in the tray from both ends. I hate to express the obvious, but if you opt to burn from both ends, it will burn out in half the time.

2. Don’t oversmoke your food

When it comes to smoking, remember that more is not always better. In general, it is surprising how little smoke is required to provide excellent taste.

While there will be a time of experimenting (which is half the fun), keep in mind that over-smoked food, particularly chicken, may turn almost inedible.

When frying chicken, use pellets to obtain a good taste.You will most likely just need one tray of chips.

3. Smoke chicken on a hotter setting

Chicken is not a meat that you cook low and slow.

In reality, the ideal temperature for smoking chicken is roughly 275°F. The cooking time should be between 1 and 2 hours.

It is critical to properly prepare the meat, especially when preparing chicken. Undercooked chicken, as you are surely aware, is harmful.

The interior temperature of the flesh is the best method to determine when the chicken is done. Before it is cooked and safe to consume, the interior temperature must reach 165F.

Counting the time the chicken has been cooking to determine if the flesh is done is not a reliable enough metric.

Check out this page for a complete list of our favorite smoker recipes.

4. Learn how to control temperature swings

The temperature inside an electric smoker is notorious for fluctuating at the start of a smoke. This may sometimes be up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit over or below the stated temperature.

To understand how to regulate these fluctuations, first consider why they occur.

If you set your cooker to a certain temperature, like 220 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature will climb until it reaches this threshold. Once this temperature is achieved, the heating element will turn off; but, owing to a tiny lag, the internal temperature in the cooker will continue to increase on its own for some time.

The rate at which the temperature rises is determined by many factors, including the outside temperature and wind speed.

The temperature will eventually begin to fall again. When the temperature returns to your preset level, the element will turn back on. However, the temperature will continue to decrease below your target temperature until the element’s function takes effect. This is due to the time lag once again.

As a result, if you want the temperature inside your cooker to be 220°F, set the smoker to 205°F or 210°F.

You’ll need to keep an eye on the temperature as it rises. When the internal temperature reaches your intended temperature (220F), and it rises over the temperature you selected (210F), reset the temperature on the controller to 220F.

You will decrease temperature swings by employing this strategy since your cooker will not have to struggle to adjust for the difference between the set temperature and the actual temperature.

When looking at smokers, perhaps you did your homework and chose a type that was properly insulated. If you’re still on the fence, check out our guide to the best electric smokers.

To limit the swing even more, you may need to make some precise modifications to the set temperature. After a little practice, you should be able to have your smoker operating near to temperature right away.

5. For cold smoking, use the attachment

A cold smoker attachment will most likely be available with your stove. If you can’t get your hands on one, pellet smoking devices will do the job.

For example, the Masterbuilt cold smoker attachment can offer up to 6 hours of continuous smoke. It connects to your digital smoker and utilizes standard wood chips.

These attachments can smoke at temperatures as low as 100 120°F, making them ideal for cold smoking items like cheese.

In general, you do not need to season your cold smoker attachment, but it must be used with a seasoned smoker. To be certain, read the manufacturer’s instructions for the attachment you want to buy.

A couple of tips when using these attachments:

• Do not wet the chips you want to smoke, like you would with an electric smoker.
• Do not be frightened to let the chips burn up at first while igniting them to smoke. A certain temperature is required to produce excellent smoke. Wait until you get thin, blue smoke before exposing the meal to the smoke.

6. Control your vent position

Finding the appropriate vent location might be difficult when using a charcoal smoker, but it is not as difficult when using an electric smoker.

As a general guideline, keep the vent completely open when adding smoke to your meat. You may prevent creosote buildup on your meat by keeping the vent totally open.

Creosote is a smoke component that, in tiny doses, contributes to the unique smoky taste we enjoy. It may, however, swiftly turn extremely unpleasant. While a trace bit of creosote in your smoke is beneficial, a layer of creosote on your meal can ruin it.

In general, the only time you should cover your vent during cooking is after you have completed smoking your meat and wish to simply boost the internal temperature of the smoker.

7. Use foil on your grill racks to make clean up a lot easier

This is more of a housekeeping tip, but let’s face it: anything that saves time on cleaning is always good advise.

Clean grill racks mean better barbeque outcomes, apart from being more efficient.

Any grease or oil left on your grates will deteriorate. This fat and oil may attach to your food and cause smoke when heated during cooking. What is the end result? It will ruin the flavor of your dish.

You may also cover your heat deflector pan and drip pan with foil.

8. Don’t soak your wood chips

You may choose to use chips to make your smoke, and that is entirely up to you; we do not pass judgment.

However, if you do opt to use chips, there is no need to soak them.

What’s the reason? The white smoke that emanates from these soaked chips is not smoke at all.

Amazingribs.com’s Meathead Goldwyn puts it succinctly:

When you throw on damp wood, you may see smoke, but it is really steam.

When smoking, the goal is to produce thin, blue smoke. This is the kind of smoke that gives that very wonderful, smoky taste that we’re all after.

As moisture evaporates from your chips, white, billowy steam may make temperature management more difficult.It also has the potential to corrode the components of your smoker.

9. Pre-season your smoker before using it for the first time

Seasoning your smoker before using it may seem to be an inconvenient additional step. But trust me, there are valid reasons.

For starters, it will eliminate any bad residue from the production process before you cook food in your smoker. This includes petroleum-based compounds, solvents, and dust.

The fine layer of smoke that coats everything within not only cures and seals the interior of your smoker, but it also contributes to the smoky taste of everything you cook.

If you aren’t persuaded by this small overview, you can read more about how to season your electric smoker and why it is necessary in this article.

10. Finish poultry in the oven for crisp skin

Some electric smokers have a maximum temperature of roughly 275 degrees Fahrenheit, which isn’t quite high enough to crisp up the skin on chicken.

It will still do the job and taste good, but for fully crispy skin, remove your chicken or turkey from the smoker shortly before cooking and finish it in a hot oven for 10 minutes.

Wrapping it up

We hope you liked our list of our top recommendations for smoking like a pro with your electric smoker. Do you have any further suggestions, or do you have any questions that we didn’t cover in this post? Please give your thoughts in the comments below.

And, if you found this information beneficial, please share it!

Feature CC Image courtesy ofChepneron Flickr