SMOKER for under $300CAD

Any recommends for someone just starting to get into smoking?

Was thinking of this baby . . .

http://www.basspro.com/Masterbuilt-...Wide-2Door-Propane-Smoker/product/1408211437/

Personally, I would watch craigslist or whatever similar resources you have locally for a nice used one. They come up fairly often, either people selling because it's not being used or upgrading to bigger, so there are opportunities for good deals. Just a bit above your price range, Bradley Digital smokers ($350 U.S.) are great. The separate smoke and temperature controls is a great feature, and the temperature control is rock solid. It uses proprietary wood pucks, but once you have enough smoke on the food, you can turn off the smoke and just keep the heat on to finish, so it's still pretty cheap to use . My brother has one and if I were getting a new smoker, it's what I would buy.

Check your local HomeDepot. Sometimes this time of year, they are clearing out Weber Smokey Mountains 22.5" for around $299. I've seen them that cheap in the past.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/smokey-mountain-cooker-smoker-225-inch/918150

Or regular price for the smaller one, not sure how much meat it holds but probably plenty for a family of 4: http://www.homedepot.ca/product/145-inch-smokey-mountain-cooker-smoker/855380

Then all you need is Lump and Wood Chunks.

If I had $300 and got the green light to purchase another smoker, I'd grab one. Kijiji is another option, but smokers are few and far between in my local area.

I know nothing about these, but for $350 Lowes has a Horizontal Oklahoma Joes. I'm guessing it's not competition quality, but with a few tweaks and mods, you could probably have a great smoker withing driving distance from you: https://www.lowes.ca/smokers/oklaho...charcoal-horizontal-smokergrill_g2402494.html

I build my ugly drum for less than $100... plenty of plans online. It works when I'm not at work and constant access to a Southern Pride rotisserie

ChefJohnBoy-ardee said:

I build my ugly drum for less than $100... plenty of plans online. It works when I'm not at work and constant access to a Southern Pride rotisserie

Click to expand...

This ^^^^^

Weber Smoky Mountain - 18.5". It won't only get you into smoking. It will keep you wanting to smoke with it for a LONG time. Loads of ample rack space to smoke many items at a time and doesn't require as much charcoal as it's bigger brother.

dwsteen said:

Weber Smoky Mountain - 18.5". It won't only get you into smoking. It will keep you wanting to smoke with it for a LONG time. Loads of ample rack space to smoke many items at a time and doesn't require as much charcoal as it's bigger brother.

Click to expand...

I knew they were well received but wasn't sure about the smaller size.

There you have it. In Canada for under his price, available at most HD and Lowes, Weber warrant, new, no need to build and ready to go out of the box.

there is something called the Smokinator that modifies your standard Weber kettle into a smoker and it's only about $60.

I back the 18.5 WSM, you can't go wrong there!

I have a MasterBuilt 30" analog electric and love it!

Thanks guys . . . not terribly interested in charcoal units, but I think I may upgrade my budget a little for one of those Bradleys.

Orville said:

Thanks guys . . . not terribly interested in charcoal units...

Click to expand...

Ahhhh, that changes things.

I didn't want to be tied to pucks, so never researched Bradley's. By the sounds of it, they are nice units.

I also have a NordicWare stove top smoker. It works decently but I wish I had a real hood system in the house.

Pellet and puck smokers can get a bit expensive to run.

Wid said:

Pellet and puck smokers can get a bit expensive to run.

Click to expand...

That's what deterred me.

There appears to be a schwack of DIY threads for smoker pucks out there though.

Canadian Tire usually clears out their BBQ and smokers this time of the year.

MontyBurns said:

Canadian Tire usually clears out their BBQ and smokers this time of the year.

Click to expand...

Yup . . . that is why I am looking . . . flyers deliver today, so we will see.

Orville said:

Yup . . . that is why I am looking . . . flyers deliver today, so we will see.

Click to expand...

I was at CT buying some lump today and saw they had a Bradley for $100 off and a Master Built Propane for $50 off.

nice !

I got the following:

Masterbuilt Pro series duel fuel smoker. Propane to start, but I can connect to the natural gas line outside, if I want. Basically very similar to the one in the Canadian Tire ad above (approx. 720 sq in. of cooking area), but I got it for $185 all-in.

Home Depot does price matching, so that got the price down from $199.00 to $189.00. Then I got them to match the Lowes "we pay the tax" event from last weekend. They messed that up by giving me a 13% discount before reapplying the HST, thus an extra $5.00 in savings. I am a happy camper. now I just have to wait until the 16th, as per SWMBO.