Reviews of Brinkmann Gourmet Smoker and Grill

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List Price: $189.95
Sale Price: $102.10
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I have owned this smoker for 5 years now and have a few insights for those looking to purchase this smoker.

I have smoked 7 turkeys, alot of pork, and some beef all with really great results.

I love that its electric. Regulating temp with charcoal smokers can be tedious. You barely have to do anything to it except add water and chips. It will maintain the ideal temperature of 220 degrees fairly well, But there are a few issues with this smoker:

1. Materials and constructionmetal is thin and the lid fits loosely. The lid is suppose to fit loosely! There is no vent so it helps with the smoke. But because the metal is thin, on cold and/or windy days, it can be difficult for it to maintain it's temp on long smokes. Often runs 200-210 degrees. This will increase your cooking time! On hot days it will run at 230240 degrees. Although I can't reccomend this modification to help with heat loss, I have actually heard of people fitting a electric water heating blanket to the outside of the smoker to help with this.

2. I wish the heating element was adjustable to help regulate the temp.

3. The door is small which makes it hard to add chips or water. Although you can take the unit off its base to add chips, this is akward and a bit dangerous since you may spill the water. It is nice to remove the base to help clean the unit though.

4. I installed an after market temp. gauge in the lid. (A must)

Overall a good entry level smoker that is super easy to use. Got mine at W-mart for $75. Anyhow, it's a great value for under a $100. Now after 5 years, it is about done and I need a new smoker. I will try to upgrade although after looking around at all the electric smokers, I might just buy another one of these. I love the "bullet" design of the vertical smokers.

The stainless steel version of this model looks nice and is obviously made of better material, but the main section is attacted to the base. I do like being able to remove the base. Plus the element is still not adjustable. The only other choice is a stainless steel meco smoker which has a better door design and a adjustable heating element, but is double the price. So I will either get this model again and do some modifications (temp gauge and maybe an adjustable element) or get the meco. Hope this review helps.

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***Update: I will leave the text below as originally written: so the entire paint on the inside pealed off in one giant sheet during a cold day/smoking session. The replacement seems again to be fine. ***

I've had mine for a year, and love it. It was cheap, easy and gets used all the time. It's pretty foolproof. Didn't have any of the paint problems that someone complained of. The smoker gets certainly hot enough (unsure why folks complain that this is a problem, unless they have a defective unit), as you don't want to cook the meat quickly, or the smoke won't penetrate. For the price definitely get it. Make sure to get the cover if it isn't in the box (some come with some don't) if you live anywhere there is rain, as rain + smoke/ash lead to rapid corrosion. Make sure this thing is WELL vented, as it produces unbelievable amounts of smoke if used correctly. For a big smoke, as someone noted you have to add more wood (depends on the chunk size). They note in the manual that you should not have the chunks touch the heater, so take care in placing the chunks.

PROS:

Lightweight, make sure to get cover for it.

very inexpensive

super simple (put in wet wood, put in liquid, put in meat, plug in, repeat)

produces gobs of smoke (make sure no air intakes for your house are nearby, you only do that once!)

nice big fluid bowl

2 racks, each capable of holding a big turkey (I've done 2x19lbs)

Electric works when it's cold and it doesn't run out in the middle of a big cooking session, unlike propane (pure wood smokers have this advantage if you have a big wood pile)

Easy cleaning

Nice side door for adding the odd chunk of wood

CONS:

Ash builds up quickly on the lava rocks, which after a long while will start to float (I've taken to periodically rinsing the rocks in a colander)

There is no smokestack, so smoke comes out on all sides of the top (just be aware)

This is more a mild hard smoke (moderate heat, mostly smoke), particularly if it's cold out (this can be a plus with fish it produces awe inspiring smoked salmon)

Times in manual virtually useless (so spend a few bucks a get a remote grilling thermometer, problem solved)

HOW I USE IT:

My local oil/ice company here in Boston sells smoking woods (I get 50lbs bags of hickory and mesquite at home depot and cherry and apple at the ice place, all 4 last one season). Take a few chunks and soak them for an hour or 2 (if you need faster smoking, start with one simply rinsed one which will start smoking in minutes)

Smoked Salmon:

Get big salmon fillets at costco. Rinse the fish to get anything off, and to make spices stick. Look for bones at this point. I then rinse the top of the fish in lemon joice. Pack in Pepper, Dill, Lemon Zest and about 1/4" of kosher salt mixed with brown sugar (really). Seal it up in the fridge overnight. About 1-2 hours start soaking the apple or hickory chunks. Rinse the fish REALLY well to get off the salt or it will be WAY to salty. Reapply a small amount of brown sugar, dill, zest and pepper (there is NO need for salt again trust me), With a remote thermometer in the thick part of the fish, put a bottle of beer in the liquid bowl, slap it on the top rack with some 1/2 lemons (smoked lemon rocks). Somewhere in the 130 range the fish is done (remember it is salt cured, so it can take a lower temp) but feel free to adjust to taste. Most folks say this beats store bought smoked salmon hands down, and family demands it at almost all events.

Tequilla-Lime Smoked Chicken Tacos:

Get boneless breasts although a full chicken works. Rinse, place in big ziploc with tequila, lime juice, lime wedges, a kosher salt (this is brining) and pepper, chili pepper overnight in fridge. This is slightly ceviche'd at this point. Don't rinse off chicken. Put wet mesquite chunks in the smoker, add beer to the bowl (a corona or other mexican beer to be authentic) then place chicken on racks (I end up filling up most of both racks). Somewhere between 1-2 hours, check the meat temp (unlike the fish, make it 170+, this is chicken!). Let it rest for a few minutes, then shred to make tacos. It can be easy to over dry the meat, so watch closely. Remember it will be pink on the outer meat, this is the "smoke line" assuming it's white-cooked at the center

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I have used mine a couple of times now and have to say that the smoky flavor and easy use are the main selling points on this product. The cleaning is not too bad, just a little bit of elbow grease to get some of the smoke and grime off the water pan and grates.

For my birthday, my brother was kind enough to order a smoker off my Amazon wishlist. I finally got a nice day and good piece of meat to try it out. I have to say I was totally impressed. I was impressed that I didn't burn off my eyebrows (even though it was close). I was impressed that the simplistic heat guage's ideal, really meant ideal. I was shocked by the quality of meat to come forth. Overall it rocked. So, picked up a pork tenderloin that I did a dry rub of

* Sea salt

* lemon pepper

* cayenne pepper

* garlic powder

on to the roughly 1.25 lbs of pork. I filled the water pan with a bunch of water, 4 cloves of garlic and a dash of port. I used some mesquite chips (thoroughly soaked) as my smoking agent and let it cook for 2 hours. The piece of meat came of with the most amazing flavor that I could imagine.

Necessary summer equipment.

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I chose this smoker mainly because I found it on sale at one of the home improvement warehouses for only $69.00!. I chose electric because I like the idea that the temp remains constant. The downside is that the temp is not adjustable. On a cool day the temp seems to hover at 225 F which is nice for longer smokes. The documentation says it should be smoking between 250F 275F. I don't think it can get that high because of some minor issues in its shape.

The smoker has no intentional venting. However, the drum of my unit is not perfectly round; it is oblong. This causes two gaps about 12" in length and about 1/4" wide at its widest point. At first I was concerned with this, but after tasting a brisket and 2 chickens I have smoked, I like the results.

I have yet to try the unit on a hot day so it will be interesting to see what the temperature rises to. I also wish the unit was built with a thermometer to read the temp.

If you can find one of these for cheap, grab it. This is a great intro unit to smoking. I hope I get 3-5 years out of it and then I will upgrade to an insulated unit (if I am still smoking.

BTW, this can double as a small grill.

UPDATE: Okay, 6 years later I am on my second Brinkmann. About 2 years ago the heating coil broke and I had to replace the whole smoker. I actually go a deal at one of the home improvement store by taking their floor model that was missing the water basin. Got the replacement unit for $49. I have been smoking now for 6 years and I love it. Here is what I have found out about this unit over the last 6 years:

1. Temperature remains pretty constant. The key is the water basin. On a long smoke, when I do a 1014 lb brisket. I usually have to refill the water basin. This can be tricky because the basin sits under your meats. Try to position your meats so that there is room to add water, or use a funnel and open the side door. Always add hot water when you fill the basin. Adding cold water causes the temp to drop in the unit (the basin is absorbing the heat)

2. There is not enough room to do ribs laying flat unless you cut off the tip.

3. I have trouble getting briskets up to the optimal temp 185-190 unless I wrap it and put it in the oven at the end.

I still think this is a great entry level smoker and while I am now looking to move up to something else (probably a green egg), I love this little guy. The consistency in temp and the inexpensive price make this a great smoker to learn the basics on.

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I picked up this smoker at Lowes for a lot less than Amazon. I also bought an inexpensive cover with elastic that works just fine. Overall this is a good smoker. Assembly took a while since the handles didn't match up with the holes on the smoker body and lid so I had to hammer at the handles a bit to get them to fit. Otherwise assembly was easy.

The food thus far has come out great. I have done salmon twice. I was smoking in 30 and 40 degree weather and the fish took the normal 2 hour smoke time. Once it was heated and smoking the temperature stayed between 200-250 degrees. I'm sure it will do turkey breasts and brisket just as well also.

I would recomend this to anyone who wants a fair priced entry level smoker.