I have this controller
http://www.appdig.com/adicon_new/ocelot.htm
It feeds my home automation software.
I could mount this sensor controller outside by my smoker.
http://www.appdig.com/adicon_new/secu16.htm
It has inputs that will accept analog ranges. I would have to translate these to temperature settings from numeric ranges.
I need meat probes to plug into that sensor controller. Is that the type J or K thermocouples you talk about?
Then, I would just code up some smoker control events in my home automation software. Some would turn the heater on and off as the temps moved in and out of ranges. Other events could announce the temperatures and display them on the computer/web. Other events could be coded to reduce the heat range to hold temps.
I use Texas Instruments sensors now in my attic and house to control my roof ventilators. Really neat sensors as each one has its own digital identity.
I wish the leopard touch screens that App Dig sells were not so expensive. They are programmable and I could actually build a complete temperature controller with touch screen right at the smoker.
I thought Cookshack was working on some kind of new controller though. Hate to do all this work and have it superceded by something I could just buy.