Want to know how to make delicious food? You are only going to need two things; smoke and heat. That’s it! Simple! Well, actually not quite… Getting the right combination of smoke and temperature, again and again, consistently, is actually a skill that takes time and dedication. Don’t have time and commitment? Don’t worry. Portable electric smokers make it so easy. In this article, we will tell you everything you’ll need to know about the best portable electric smokers.
What is an Electric Smoker?
An electrical smoker is similar to the oven that you will likely find in your kitchen at home. How similar? Well, let’s look at the components of the smoker, and you can see for yourself: –
The Cooking Chamber
This is the area that you will place the food to cook or smoke. Most portable electric smokers will have a decent sized chamber with a few grill racks where you can place your food.
A Heating Element
Again, this is very similar to a conventional oven. You’ll usually find the heating element at the bottom of the smoker. The heating element consists of several bars that will increase the temperature inside the cooking chamber.
A Thermostat
Remember at the start, we talked about temperature? It’s this bit of kit that ensures we nail it every time. When it gets too hot in the cooking chamber, the thermostat turns off the heating element. When it gets a little too cool, the thermostat sends a signal to the heating element to crank up the temperature!
A Control Panel
We don’t just turn an electric smoker on and hope for the best, oh no. We need a way to select the temperature. The best portable electric smokers will allow you to select a cooking temperature with precision. Either using a dial or often, using a digital display.
Does this all sound like something you’ve seen before? Like, say, a kitchen oven? There are one or two subtle differences; let’s look at a couple more components that make an electric smoker different….
A Wood Chip Tray or Firebox…
The firebox is what gives your food it’s smoky flavor. It is essentially a metal box that sits just above the heating element. This metal box is filled with wood chips.
A Water Pan
A water pan is not always included, but you will find it on most good electric smokers. You’ll generally locate it nestled just next to the wood chip tray. It serves a few purposes. First, as the water heats, it creates steam. This is great for ensuring even cooking and convection. Adding liquid to your smoking process often leads to the development of ‘bark’ on your meat too. Finally, you can supplement your smoker’s flavors by adding different liquids, such as red wine, whisky, water, or fruit juice.
How Does an Electric Smoker Work?
Portable electric smoker grills work in a straightforward way. There’s no magic involved. When you set a temperature, a signal is sent to the thermostat, which will tell the heating element to increase in temperature.
As the element gets hot, it does two things. First, it heats the space inside the cooking chamber, providing the ideal temperature for cooking. Secondly, it also starts to heat the wood chip tray.
As the wood chip tray heats, it begins to cause the wood chips to smolder and smoke. This smoke drifts up into the cooking chamber and imparts a beautiful smoky aroma onto the food.
Pretty simple, huh?
How to Use an Electric Smoker?
The beauty of a portable electric smoker is that you can ‘set and forget.’ We said it is quicker, but that doesn’t mean that this is a quick process or one that can be rushed.
You have to let the smoker come up to temperature before you can cook on it. This can vary from model to model. As a good average, it will take around 30 minutes to get to the ideal cooking temperature. The standard operating temperature of an electric smoker is somewhere in the region of 210°F. So, you will set the required temperature and then leave the smoker to get hot.
You can run another process side by side while you are waiting. Add your wood chips as a priority. By adding your wood chips early on, you allow them to get hotter sooner… This means more smoke at the start of the cooking process, and therefore more flavor.
If you are going to use water or liquid in the water tray, add this at the start too.
Once the electric grill is up to temperature and your wood chips are smoking away, it is time to add your food. This is actually the most straightforward part. Simply place your food on one of the grill racks and leave it to do its thing. The amount of time food takes to cook varies greatly. A fish fillet will take much less time than a whole brisket! It can be anything from 2 hours, all the way through to 10 hours, depending on what you are cooking.
While this may seem like a long time, remember this. The best portable electric smokers are pretty much ‘fire and forget.’ To cook for the equivalent amount of time using conventional methods, you’d be constantly checking, opening and closing, poking and moving your grill and your meat. The thermostat on an electric smoker does all the hard work for you.
As a maximum, you may have to add the occasional handful of woodchips… And by ‘occasional’, we mean about once every three hours. Smoking doesn’t get much simpler. Some even argue that one tray should be enough to get a decent ‘bark’.
If you are grilling meat, some enthusiasts recommend leaving it to rest for 30 minutes to ‘relax’… That part is up to you. But what we will tell you is that you will be impressed with the results.
If you find the above hard to visualize (why would you? It’s simple?), why not watch an electric smoker in action? Here’s a video showing you exactly what it’s all about. This grill isn’t portable, but the principle is identical.
Electric vs Gas or Charcoal
With everything in life, there are upsides and downsides. In the case of portable electric smokers, it’s mostly upsides. Hardcore enthusiasts may turn their nose up at using an electric smoker. It’s like cars. Some guys just like using a manual ‘stick shift’ instead of an automatic… Do you know what guys who like driving stick shifts are called? ‘Your Grandad.’
For sheer authenticity, we admit that charcoal will give a fantastic flavor. And we’ll also recognize something is satisfying about using a purely natural method. But it is fraught with difficulty too. There is so much that can go wrong.
If you are cooking for a crowd, then the last thing you want is to find out that your coals went out two hours ago, and you’ve been sat watching a cold hunk of meat do nothing. Alternatively, if the coals run away, or you aren’t constantly checking the temperature, then you might be cooking too hot. Want to see what failed brisket looks like? Watch this and tell us if that would make you feel good during your barbecue party?
Gas smokers are a viable option. They are slightly more consistent. But that said, you still lack the total and perfect control as you find with a great electric smoker.
Pros and Cons of Electric Smokers
We are all about balance. And we don’t claim anything is perfect. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of electric smokers: –
Pros of portable electric smokers: –
- They make great tasting food.
- They are portable and lightweight.
- They are straightforward to use and make smoking food accessible to everyone.
- Portable smokers are consistent in their results.
- They are affordable.
- They are easy to clean.
- They can be used anywhere where there is a power supply.
Cons of portable electric smokers: –
- You can only use them where there is a power supply. If you are taking a portable electric smoker for camping, you may be limited to where you can cook.
- As with all electronics, there isn’t much you can do to fix them when they go wrong. That said, pick a good brand, and reliability shouldn’t be an issue.
- Some enthusiasts argue that the flavor isn’t as good as conventional methods
As we said, nothing is perfect. But suppose you are a beginner in smoking or have only enjoyed mixed success in the past? In that case, a portable electric smoker might be the most cost-effective choice. In the coming weeks, we are going to give you plenty of really great value options. We’ll show you what’s what in some portable electric smoker reviews too!
What Can You Cook on An Electric Smoker?
That’s easy. Pretty much everything! The whole point of a portable electric smoker is to allow you to cook all the foods you’d cook traditionally, just in an easier way. If you want a few examples and ideas, you’ll be able to cook: –
- Slow and slow-smoked brisket
- Smoked prime rib
- BBQ smoked ham
- Smoked turkey
- Smoked corn on the cob
- Smoked salmon
- Smoked mac and cheese
And many more…. If you are looking for ideas, there are plenty of sites offering great smoker recipes.
Tips for Using a Portable Electric Smoker
1) Use Hardwood Chips Only
You may be tempted to go a little cheaper on your chips by using something other than hardwood. Well, we’ve got a little helpful advice. Don’t. Softwood like pine will seriously spoil the flavor of your food. Besides this, it burns quicker, making temperature control much less accurate. For the best flavor, use applewood, oak, or hickory. Your meat and your guests will thank you.
2) Don’t Overdo the Smoke!
Ever heard the phrase “less is more”? It is a common beginner’s mistake to think, “more smoke equals more flavor.” This is true… to a point. If you overdo it on the ol’ smoke front, you’ll find that your food comes out tasting quite bitter. Aim to leave a gap of around 3 hours between feeding your firebox with fresh chips.
3) Adding Water to Your Electric Smoker
Let’s talk about safety. Do you know what really spoils a BBQ party? Third-degree burns. Pouring water onto a hot surface is a bad idea. Make sure your water pan is full before you start the grill. Safety reasons aside… If you add cold water later on, you will get a load of steam, followed by a drop in temperature. Remember, we want consistency, not variables.
4) Keep Your Electric Smoker Clean
Now, while we are all big fans of a bit of ‘seasoning,’ we don’t want accumulations to taint the flavor of our future meals. Electric smokers are as easy to clean as household ovens. Due to the relatively low temperatures, food doesn’t tend to get ‘burnt on.’ Take advantage of this fact and show your smoker some love after each session.
5) Don’t Rush When Smoking
There’s nothing better in life than taking your time and seeing a job done right. Never was this more true than when smoking a nice piece of prime rib. If you rush the job, you will end up with tough and flavorless meat that even the vultures turn their nose up at. Allow yourself plenty of time to get the results perfect. Work on the worst case, not the best, and use your electric smoker to get the best result, not just passible.
Conclusion
We all like the idea of smoking food over coal, but let’s face it. When something is too difficult, it can really sap your motivation (and that of your guests if they only ever get treated to dry brisket). Try to see a portable electric smoker as a tool that provides excellent results. It’s just a whole lot easier to get consistency, not to mention it’s cheaper, quicker, and cleaner. What are your favorite recipes for the smoker? Let us know in the comments below!