Masterbuilt GS40 Black Propane Smoker, 40-Inch Review

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List Price: $249.95
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Make sure you burn this unit in before cooking the first time, there were a lot of noxious chemicals that burned off.

I broke this unit in with two racks of pork ribs, two racks of beef ribs, two chickens, a whole brisket, one rabbit, and five pounds of sausage.

Pros

Great temperature control with the propane. Was able to keep it the desired temperature and forget about it

Capacity is great, could easily smoke four whole turkeys in there

Adjustable grates were very useful in makeing room for everything

Comes back up to temp very quickly after the door was opened

Temperature gauge is dead on accurate and verified by an oven thermometer

Cons

Drip/water pan is a joke, especially for a unit of this size, I overcame by using a large foil pan.

Smoke pan looks like a fire trap, especailly using the drip pan that came with it I used an old cast iron skillet which did the job very well

Seems to use a lot of propane, about 1/2 tank for 10 hours of smoking

Some smoke leaks out the door which means that some heat is escaping that way as well, could accout for the larger than expected propane use. I will be sealing it with some fireplace rope.

Verdict

Temp control is great, with the addidtion of a cast iron skillet, the ability to control the smoke is awesome

Capacity is more than enough for all but the largest of home events

The food came out great, everything was most and tender because low and slow is the way to go.

I would recommend it with the easy modifications I have mentioned(seal door, use cast iron pan for wood chunks, use large pan for drip/water pan)

Rating is four stars for too small drip pan and faulty design of the smoke tray. The issue with the door seems to be a common thread for this type of smoker, no matter where it comes from.

The unit preformed very well with a large task for its first use.

Update:

This unit continues to perform very well. I have made my own drip pan and continue to use a cast iron skillet for the wood chunks/chips. Turkey turns out fantastic and with the great temp control, there is nothing to fret or fuss over. I have added fireplace rope to the door to seal it, that really helped reduce the propane usage. I have run the smoker for more than thirty hours on a single take of propane.

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When something is so great as this smoker, where to you begin. I made the decision to get a propane smoke as it is a lot easier to maintain a consistent temperature than the traditional charcoal or wood smoker. Also, you don't have to stay glued to this smoker like the traditional smokers to stoke the coal or wood. The smoker went together with ease. Wanting to do a Thanksgiving turkey, I did a trial run and prepared a 17.5 pound turkey. I preheated the smoker to 250, I set the turkey in the middle of the smoker cabinet and loaded the pan with hickory as well as the water pan. After reloading the pan with hickory blocks three times and the water pan twice the turkey was ready in 7 hours. First of all, I am not crazy about turkey but this turkey was moist and had a fantastic taste. The next order of business before Thanksgiving is ribs and brisket.

After reading a bunch of reviews, there was a consistent report regarding the temperature gauge on the cabinet door and the pan you put the wood blocks in. The remedy for these two negative were easy to handle.

1. Purchase a 8" iron skillet to place over the pan that is furnished with the smoker. Putting your wood blocks in the skillet will insure that the wood does not catch on fire which it will if you use the pan furnished with the smoker.

2. The temperature gauge on the cabinet door is off anywhere from 20 to 25 degrees. It is not dependable. I used a digital thermometer and stuck the probe in the thigh of the turkey and ran the wire out the cabinet door. I also placed another thermometer of the same type to monitor the cabinet temperature. I took a metal clip and stood the probe in the air attached to one of the grill bars.

I found that after 7 hours of cooking, I had used very little propane. At 250 degrees which was almost the lowest setting on the control gas knob This grill is worth the money and should generate great BBQ for a long time. Beware...with this large smoker cabinet don't be surprised if your neighbor tries to talk you into letting them put some meat in the cabinet along with yours.

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After owning many other kinds of smokers, home made freezer smoker, bullet with a aftermarket propane burner, and sometimes anything I could find, this is a great smoker. It does have it's issues with the small water pan, and the goofy chip tray, but other than that I am very happy with my purchase. I am waiting to get my free factory "retro kit" (a new style chip pan and water pan I believe) after Nov. 20th. I didn't use a cast iron skillet as a chunk pan, I used a pie tin inside of a cake tin on the top of the factory chip pan, I just offset it from center as much as possible and got 3 hour smoke times on one fist sized chunk of hickory. Normally when I run a smoker I have solid billows of smoke, and in spite of never having creosote problems, I went on the advice of many GS40 owners and just had a constant "wisp" of smoke the entire smoking time which for me diod not impart the level of smoke flavor I wanted. After burning off the bad fumes in the smoker's tray, I wiped it out, sprayed it with Pam and threw in some chunks. Temperature was right on after I reset the gas valve once, it was set it and forget it. The Masterbuilt cover recommended for the GS40 doesn't fit. The Char-Broil 433592 vertical smoker cover fit perfectly, and cost half as much 15.00 versus 30.00

Honest reviews on Masterbuilt GS40 Black Propane Smoker, 40-Inch

I too read all the reviews about this smoker, so if you are reading this and this is your first smoker read carefully:

This smoker produces GREAT quality meats. So far I have cooked a shoulder, tons of babyback ribs, sausage and much chicken. I am very pleased! I was apprehensive after reading the reviews, but noticed that there were no complaints about the food! After about 4-5 smokes I am very pleased with the quality of food produced by this smoker. Now, about the the main complaints, the chip pan and the water pan:

1. You can solve the chip pan problem by using aluminum foil across the bottom of the chip pan which prevents the direct flame. I use it folded three times and pressed against the bottom of the pan. Simple.

2. Use a caterer's type throw away aluminum pan from Sam's for water which you can buy in bulk for about .50 each and BAM!

By the way, this smoker is excellent on the propane, and I didn't have a lot of smoke escape from around the edges of the smoker. The thermometer shows only about a 7 degree deviation on the temp. I am telling you, take the plunge, this thing is great and huge! I got mine delivered free to the store at 179.00. I think I am in love!

2/29/12 Update:

The foil didn't allow enough air to circulate, so the temperature would not go as high as I'd like without jacking up the control, so I tried the the cast iron pan. Smoke was better, but had the same problem. However, once I raised the chip pan about 3/4" to allow air flow above the burner opening (used 3 flat steel electrical junction type boxes, one for each leg) works perfectly with the cast iron pan on top of the original pan. Now I have to dial the temp down, so I am saving propane! Still in love!

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I have used this for 1.5 years now. I have not even touched my wood smoker since owning the Masterbuilt, I never even took the cover off the wood smoker last season. This uses a LOT less wood but still gives good results. Brisket is what I do most and I only smoke for the first 6-8 hours. Compared wood usage I can go through several logs of wood with my old smoker or the equivalent of less than one log with a propane smoker, I pick propane. I would guess in one season of smoking with the propane smoker I would use less wood total than what I would use in my wood smoker at one time. For me charcoal is for the grill not the smoker ;-)

I dont have to constantly check on the propane smoker like my wood one, no more staying up all night for brisket. I use a two probe wireless thermometer, one probe for the meat and one probe for the smoker temp. I only check on the smoker when its time to add more wood. After the 6-8 hrs and I am no longer adding wood I just look at my wireless thermometer every few hours to make sure temps are where I like them.

Ive done brisket, pork, chicken, ribs the typical stuff, all come out great. I cook my brisket anywhere from 12-20 hrs depending on how big it is. In a 20 hour smoke I would say I used a little over 1/3 of a 20lb propane tank, keeping temps 180-200 deg and about 60-70 deg outside temp.

My biggest complaint and others have mentioned is the smoke tray. If I could go 1/2 star I would have rated this 4.5 due to the smoke tray, but since its an easy work around ill round up rather than down. I tried a few different methods and have found the cast iron pan works but, what I dont like about it is the ring it sits on is starting to deform a little from the heat and weight of the pan.

Another method I used once so far and suggested by a friend is a large stainless steel dog dish. With the wood in the dish I tucked some aluminum foil loosely in the dish to keep oxygen out which keeps flames away. Im not sure if there would have been an issue with flames so I am going to try it without the foil next time. I also have two dishes so I can rotate them out quickly, they are cheap. I put my wood in dry, no soaking.

I was looking at the electric smoker and almost purchased one. What changed my mind is you can only get up to 275 deg and the heating element can go bad. I have gotten my temps up to 400 in this thing and I think it would go higher if needed. I think propane smoker will be much more reliable and I can still use it if I loose power.