Bring on the brisket!! (Re-Written 11/01/2000)

This article has been updated on 11/01/2000. I was pretty new to epinions when I wrote it the first time and needless to say, it was pretty awful. I hope this gives a little more information for potential buyers.

I have owned a Brinkmann smoker for years and finally decided that I had to try an electric smoker. I looked around at a few of the different electric brands.


Why I decided on this grill

o It’s a Brinkmann
o It’s size - nice and small. Very easy to move around and store.
o It’s electric – This allows you to adjust temperature and keep at a steady temperature for the whole cooking process. Plus, there is no charcoal ”mess” to clean up.

The first thing I cooked was a pork loin on this smoker. You would not believe the speed and the accuracy it cooked with. The meat was done in half the time it took in my older charcoal smoker and it was cooked all the way through to perfection. I've since used it for turkeys, briskets, ribs, and many other types of meat.

It came with a great manual. Has many recipes and cooking times for just about every type of meat you would want to cook. The book is very easy to read and very accurate with times and temperatures.


What I liked about the grill after I used it

o It is lightweight and very easy to clean up.
o Wooden handles stay cool.
o Smoking used to be an all day project of watching the meat and checking to make sure you weren’t under or over cooking it. The electric aspect of this smoker took all of the guesswork away. You figure the cook time using the pounds of meat your cooking and the specifications in the manual. You put the meat on the grill and when that time is up, your meat is ready to eat.
o Taste – A lot of people, including my wife, are not fond of the charcoal taste that you get after smoking or grilling meat. Of course, with no charcoal, this aspect was removed. I have tried different types of wood in this smoker and this gives the meat much better flavor.


Things to keep in mind when your grilling
These tips can be used when using an smoker

o When you start barbecuing for the first time, keep a log book of exactly what you're doing and when you did it. This will help later on when you want to make a few minor changes or repeat something.
o A lot of people get in too big of a hurry. Barbecue takes time and patience. You can't rush it. Figure 1 to 1 1/2 hours per pound for most meats.
o Don’t open the lid to peek too often. This lets out the heat and the smoker will be below temperature. Open the lid only when necessary to mop or move or turn the meat. The meat's not going anywhere, so you don't need to keep checking up on it. This is probably the most important tip here.

Happy grilling and thanks for reading.