Achieving delicious, tender, and smokey meat from the smoker is an art. You have to pay total concentration and wait for a delightful meal. This will be possible with the different types of smokers.  You must select the best one from all the smokers in the store.

You will get your desired food with the proper guidance and selection of the best fuel. Doing experiments and adventures adds to your interest in smoking. But which smoker should you buy to make your meal delicious? We will tell you everything about every smoker in the market for sale. 

What is smoking? Take a brief overview.

Smoking meat is not only a cooking method; it is a technique that converts your meat into delicious. In this method, your meat will cook on low and slow heat. Yes, you hear it right. Low and slow heat will make your food more tender and juicy. Before putting your meal in the smoker, marinate it with some spices. You will get the WOW when these spices are observed in the meat.

In smoking, the food will not cook directly on the heat but with the distributed smoke. The origin of heat is on the lower side of the food. Your food will cook on the smoke produced from the firebox. This technique will penetrate the moisture in your food and make it soft. 

You can cook a delicious, tender, and smokey meal from many types of smokers.

How many types of smokers are there?

You will need clarification when you go to the market and look for the best smoker for your backyard. There are some best types of smokers that are available in the market. All smokers have their species and benefits. You need basic information about every smoker to get the best of all. Offset smoker, pellet smoker, gas smoker, charcoal smoker, electric smoker, and many more. We will share every detail of each smoker very keenly. We will tell you the working of each smoker in detail. Let’s look at the different types of smokers you should know about.

1. Offset smoker

Offset smokers are known as traditional smokers for a low and slow cook. They cook the food on deficient heat. They took 5-6 hours for medium-sized cuts of meat. They are famous for this low cook as it will moisten the food. The food will return soft from the inside and become crispy from the outside.

How did they work?

Offset smokers have a firebox located a few inches lower than the cooker. It has two main chambers and a chimney. A firebox is the origin where fuels burn and produce heat inside the smoker. The smoke passes through the meat in the cooking chamber and exits through the chimney. 

A few of them come with a side built-in grill, as you can grill on the other side. Meanwhile, some have the availability that you can fix a grill directly upon the firebox. By fixing the grill, you can grill your food quickly, which tastes incredible.

Offset smokers are famous for the fuel they use. They use pure wood and charcoal for fuel. Offset smokers are best if your destination is the smoker that gives the charcoal taste. They use wood and charcoal at the same time.

2. Pellet smokers

Pellet smokers are the modernized form of offset smokers. They are designed on the basics of offset smokers. However, pellet smokers use electricity, while offset smokers work manually. They use wood pellets for their fuel pot.

How do pellet smokers work?

In pellet smokers, you must fill the pellets and set the temperature. Rest will be done by its automatic features. 

The hopper is the place where wood pellets are stored. Then, a drill works with an electric motor and feeds the pellets to the fire pot. There is an igniter fixed in the firebox that will ignite the pellets. To burn them up, an automatic fan has been fixed there. This will act as a vent or door for the pellets to increase the temperature. Then, the smoke enters the cooking chamber and starts smoking the food.

Pros of pellet smokers

• The best thing is they are effortless to use. A very first beginner can also use it very friendly. They give you the ease of doing the side task while smoking.
• They fulfill the need for portability. Some are also foldable to store them in a small place. 
• They also give you a clean surrounding during the whole cook.
• They have LCD connected in front to monitor the inner situation of the smoker.
• Some of them have the facility of WiFi from which you can connect your smoker with your cell phone.

Cons of pellet smokers

• They have higher prices in the market.
• They use electricity so you don’t use it anywhere. For this, you need a complete connection to electricity.
• As they have an automatic system, you don’t repair it yourself. It would be best if you had an expert technician for this purpose.

3. Gas smoker

Gas smokers are one of the types of smokers available for smoking. They are made up of stainless steel. Some of them build up of cast iron. They use propane gas for work. Some of the gas smokers come with the availability of conversion to natural gas. 

How gas smokers work

For a long, the flame is blazing; the food will be smoking. They have stainless grills for placing the food. You can also use a smoker with cast iron grills. These grills get hotter and help to cook the food. Wood is placed upon the burner. You should use soaked wood for 15-20 minutes before putting them to the smoker. They will help to add a smokey flavor to the meat. There is a water pan in the gas smoker. This is the crucial thing you should always pay attention to. 

Pros of gas smoker

• Gas smokers give you constant heat, which will cause an even cook. 
• They will not create a huge mess. There will be less ash around the smoker.
• They are straightforward to use. 

Cons of gas smoker

• From gas smokers, you will not get the perfect smokey flavor in the food.
• They need more space in their cooker. You can’t smoke significant cuts of meat.
• There is always a chance of expiring of gas during the cook.

4. Electric smoker 

Electric smokers are the best form of sit-and-forget. You never need to be tensed for the food inside the smoker. Unlike offset or charcoal smokers, you don’t need much effort in the electric smokers.

How electric smokers work

As their name shows, these smokers work by using electricity. They don’t need an exact fuel type. You can put charcoal, pellets, or wood to create a smokey flavor in the food. You can use wood or wood pellets or charcoal, whichever you like. Wood should be placed above the heating system, then water and racks. Most electric smokers come in vertical shapes.

Pros of electric smokers

• Electric smokers are easy to use as a beginner can use it feasibly.
• You don’t need an entire storage of fuel for these smokers. You don’t need to worry about fuel.
• If your smoker is of high quality, you don’t need to worry about its temperature’s rise and fall. They have a consistent temperature during the cook.

Cons of electric smokers

• Due to using less wood and charcoal, the food doesn’t have a proper smokey flavor.
• The less consumption causes the no smoke rings.
• The smoke’s moisture makes it harder to get the crisp on the meat’s skin.

5. Vertical smokers

Vertical smokers are also known as bullet smokers. They are designed in a vertical shape. The firebox of the vertical smoker is located at the bottom of the cooking grates. Its racks are set vertically, and there is the choice to cook different foods simultaneously.

How do vertical smokers work?

The firebox is placed at the bottom of the smoker. As fire occurs at the bottom, the heat eventually reaches all the grates equally. They have more than one grate, so you can cook various recipes at a time. You can also cook the sausages in vertical smokers.

Pros of vertical smoker

• More than one grate gives you the facility to cook more food.
• Smoke will equally reach all the grills, even to the top.
• They give a smokey and tender texture to the food.

Cons of the vertical smokers

• They are hard to move as they are heavy.
• They create a huge mess around the area where you are cooking.
• They are not portable to move everywhere.

6. Charcoal smokers

Charcoal smokers use charcoal to fuel their fireboxes. Food will cook on low heat and remain there for a long time. You can cook our food until it enriches with the smokey flavor. The vents can control temperature. 

How charcoal smokers work

Charcoal smokers use pure charcoal for smoking. You can use other wood pellets for a more extraordinary taste, but charcoal will be enough for smoking. Before adding them to the smoker, you must soak the pellets for 20-25 minutes. There is also a water pan inside the charcoal smoker, which will help to keep the food moist. For placing the food, there are grates in the smoker.

Prons of charcoal smoker

• As they use an intense amount of charcoal, the food will enrich with the smoke and BBQ flavor.
• They are designed as they need less maintenance.
• You can quickly refuel it when fuel burns out.

Cons of charcoal smokers

• They are not feasible to store in a small place and move them.
• Their ash will create a huge mess.
• They take a long time to heat up. You have to light the charcoal when it turns to ash, then add it to the firebox.

Factors that are essential to buying a smoker

• Your budget.
• Smoker’s fuel efficiency.
• The protective coat of the smoker’s surface.
• Number of people you have to cook.
• Which fuel type will suit the smoker?

Conclusion:

Finally, you have got much knowledge about types of smokers.   We have tried to cover every thin and thick you need while buying a smoker. Besides this, you can buy whatever you like by heart, and you feel satisfaction.

FAQs

1- How many types of smokers are there?

You will find a wide variety of smokers in the market. The most common of them are the following:

• Offset smokers.
• Pellet smokers.
• Vertical smokers.
• Charcoal smokers.
• Gas smokers
• Electric smokers.

2- What are the pros and cons of the pellet smokers?

Pros                                                                

Pellet smokers are friendly, as a beginner can also use them ideally.

Most features are automatic.

They lie on portability very well.

    Cons

• They are expensive.
• Don’t give more smokey flavor to the food.
• There is less place in the cooking section.

3- What should we remember while buying a smoker?

• Your budget.
• The number of people you have to cook for.
• Your experience level