What should I look for when buying a meat smoker?

I purchased a box smoker (tall, rectangular) several years ago, and it has served me well. But it lacks utility. Do you have a charcoal grill? If so, you can use that to smoke meats frankly just as well. Smokers rely on indirect heat, and you can achieve that with a typical kettle grill. You build the fire on one side, place an aluminum pan with some water on the other, and direct the vents so that the smoke is drawn across the grill, meaning you situate the cover so that the cover vent is on the opposite side of the bottom (underside) vent.

If you do not own a grill, I would suggest you consider a barrel grill/smoker with a side firebox. Not only will you have a great setup for smoking, but you can also use it to direct grill.

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What Smoker Should I Buy

There are two types of smokers - hot and cold.If you want to cook your food as you smoke it you need a hot smoker. If you want to preserve and flavour your food for later cooking you need a cold smoker. A lot of cold smoked products can be eaten straight from the smoker as cold smoking raises the temp to the pasturised level(65degC I think)

Don't buy the cheapest models. They don't insulate well and it's VERY hard to regulate temperature.

I bought a vertical propane smoker (after returning something I bought before that) and it works fine. It's pretty space efficient and it's easy to move. I made sure my racks are stainless so they clean up better and won't rust.