Electric Smoker and No Grill

Since I can't have a grill on our patio I've been thinking of maybe getting a electric smoker off CL for like $50-60. Smoke some meat, finish it in the slow cooker or the oven or on the cast iron skillet.

Is it even for the $50-60 to buy an electric smoker if I don't have a grill to finish cooking/searing the meat on it?

I can't do gas or charcoal for the same reasons I can't have a gas grill on the patio (apartment/federal regulations).

Depending on how much you want to smoke, this http://www.cameronscookware.com/Gourmet Mini Smoker.aspx does a great job. I can smoke outdoors but for smaller amounts like 1 rack of ribs I do it indoors. You use a tiny amount of wood shavings/chips.

I would like to be able to do a whole medium/small brisket. Or a tri-tip/Tenderloin/Pork or something like that.
I had the most amazing Oak Smoked Beef Tenderloin Tails the other night on our vacation to Fredericksburg, TX and it put it even more in my mind how much I wanted to be able to smoke some meats.

While smoking the meat adds that great smoky flavor, it's really slow cooking that makes the meat perfect. The problem with electric smokers (at least all that I'm aware of) is that they just don't get hot enough to cook. Your meat will be at somewhere between 100-150 degrees, which means you should cure the meat before smoking to avoid spoilage. I generally only use my electric smoker for cured meats such as smoked sausage and jerky.

Unfortunately for you, I think the closest you could get to a good brisket at home would be marinating the meat (adding liquid smoke to the marinade), and cooking low and slow in a dutch oven or something similar.

You might also consider buying a small charcoal smoker and spending the day cooking in the park. But keep in mind it'll be a long day. Figure on 10-12 hours for a brisket and 6 hours for ribs.

Moose

I have the brinkmann bullet looking thing (electric) from Lowes I bought new for like $80-90. It does perfectly fine (at least in spring/summer) to get the meat cooked. I haven't tried it in a deep snow in winter, however since it's electric, I can probably do something like a heat wrap with insulation like some do on their mash tuns.

Mine has 2 racks, so I can easily do a full shoulder on one shelf plus a rack or two of ribs on a lower shelf.

jezter6 said:

I have the brinkmann bullet looking thing (electric) from Lowes I bought new for like $80-90. It does perfectly fine (at least in spring/summer) to get the meat cooked. I haven't tried it in a deep snow in winter, however since it's electric, I can probably do something like a heat wrap with insulation like some do on their mash tuns.

Mine has 2 racks, so I can easily do a full shoulder on one shelf plus a rack or two of ribs on a lower shelf.

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Awesome, those are the kind I was looking at. I'm going to try and convince SWMBO to get me one for my birthday in March, it should be warm enough outside then for it to work well.

Just a word of advice first. Do you know for sure that you can even have an electric smoker? They might not allow anything that produces heat or smoke.