Lets here your thoughts

i like my brick oven/smoker over the metal types it retains heat and flavor i have never tried an electric but am thinking of getting one for simplicity, but will i sacrifice taste......does the electric create fire? or just smoke......

Saw your original post, so let me ask a couple of questions.

Is this for a restaurant?

Will the Health Dept require UL/NSF?

Are you wanting to replace it or complement your oven?

Capacity, how much, etc?

What kind of food you wanting to cook?

Cookshack wouldn't still be in the business of selling smokers to restaurants if they sacrificed taste. For restaurant owners, money is what keeps them in business and if the smoker doesn't work they don't make money.

There are LOTS of options.

The electric CS (100,200,300 series) have multiple heating elements that create the heat and a firebox for the wood flavor. The concept works great and in fact you CAN oversmoke the wood this way, so there's plenty of smoke

The FE series, are 100% wood fired. The wood is from compressed pellets that burn in a firepot. The pellets generate the heat and the smoke. There are 3 models that also have rotisseries, so they're great options for cooking a lot of food.

Both models are built out of stainless steel and fully insulated with 800 degree insulation and will burn the fuel effeciently.

I'm not a fan of Gas BBQ. I also know a LOT of restaurants use it and do very well with it. I can smell it/taste it on the food and on the rare occassion I'm eating in a restaurant that uses one, I ask the waiter to check on the smoke and they always confirm the gas. But...not everyone even knows.

You can also call CS, ask for John Shiflet and talk to him. He might know of a restaurant close where you could see/talk/sample. Depends on where you're at.

well since i know nothing about these smokers i think id use it at home....... my partner is very skeptical about changing horses in the middle of the race, i know for sure im not interested in pellets, does this smoker create fire? or just somehow char the timbers? im used to good ol fire and smoke, a nice debarked fruit timber, but you do have to nurse the heat alot, but the outcome is second to none, the brick walled smoker has a taste you just cant duplicate with metal, it absorbs flavor and holds heat nicely, you can heat it to 500 degrees and kill the fire and have it stay 180 for 5 hours, my metal boxes wont do that, but you cook fish in a brick box you got fish taste for life........fill me in fellas....jim

"but you cook fish in a brick box you got fish taste for life......."


What happens if you make a mistake with your bbq? Meaning green wood or burning sugar or...something foul. Does that hang with you as well? I've always wondered about this and never thought to ask somebody who actually has a brick oven.

quote:

Originally posted by Tubbys Smokehouse:
... i know for sure im not interested in pellets,

Why?

quote:

does this smoker create fire?

The electrics create heat and the heat ignites the wood, but the oxygen is controlled, so it's not really a fire. You don't need a fire to create the heat, the heating element does that

The FE's have a fire pot and have a fire for the pellets.

Really need some input on what, how much, etc before I can really steer you one way or the other. How much and what are you wanting to cook?

Are you only looking at the smaller home units, since you mentioned home.

Just cooking for yourself/the family or planning on taking food to the restaurant?

quote:

Originally posted by cronyism sucks:
"but you cook fish in a brick box you got fish taste for life......."


What happens if you make a mistake with your bbq? Meaning green wood or burning sugar or...something foul. Does that hang with you as well? I've always wondered about this and never thought to ask somebody who actually has a brick oven.

yes anything foul will hang in brick since its pourus, stucco, brick, rock and concrete act like a sponge and retain moisture and heat. I helped my neighbor build a brick unit using cinder block their hollow so they retain heat great, we broke it in using mesquite and bacon fat i told him only use debarked wood with a fruit or nut in its name thats a year or more old, well he had a row of eucalyptus trees on his property so he feed it with eucalyptus he invited my family over for a bbq as soon as i pulled up i smelt the uke burning, needless to say his ribs tasted like tee tree oil, medicated ribs (lol) we power washed the inside with muratic pool acid and the smell went away, smoking samon and such doesn't linger, but if you start smoking fishy tasting steaks that smell will hang, when i cook fish i'll sear the meat first on a regular bbq then finish them on low heat. i often take the scraps from ribs and roasts and put them right on top of the open flames it kinda re oils the walls chicken skin and fat works great as well........

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinOkie:

quote:

Originally posted by Tubbys Smokehouse:
... i know for sure im not interested in pellets,

Why?

quote:

does this smoker create fire?

The electrics create heat and the heat ignites the wood, but the oxygen is controlled, so it's not really a fire. You don't need a fire to create the heat, the heating element does that

The FE's have a fire pot and have a fire for the pellets.

Really need some input on what, how much, etc before I can really steer you one way or the other. How much and what are you wanting to cook?

Are you only looking at the smaller home units, since you mentioned home.

Just cooking for yourself/the family or planning on taking food to the restaurant?

are the pellets some kind of pressed scrap wood?
at home i normally go about 10-15 pounds of ribs maybe a 5-8 pound Tritip a 5 pound pork shoulder and maybe a dozen chicken breasts if the whole family's coming over, even burgers and dogs are tasty smoked, beans baked potatoes anything hot i'll put on the grill, i like the whole set it and forget idea of these electric units, hows jerky in one of these boxes? how many amps does it pull, do you need a 50 amp breaker or just a household 10-15 amp service good.....thanks...jim

The pellets are 100% natural wood sawdust that has been formed under pressure into what looks like rabbit food . The resin in the wood is the only binder. They can be had in just about any wood flavor you can think of. I just cooked cornbread in my FEC100 and it came out great. Oh and it runs on less than a 300w light bulb.

I have the AmeriQue and the jerky is great. I have been doing about 10# every month or so for about a year. As for ribs, chicken, pork, brisket, whatever, you can't beat it.