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List Price: $599.99
Sale Price: $538.99
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I have owned my SmokinTex (ST) for over 6 years and have been throughly pleased.
The unit is well built (in China) and very well insulated (I'll explain the insulation later). With the 800 watt heating element, maintaining a consistent temp is easy. I have smoked ribs, pork butt, brisket, chicken & turkey and jerky with fantastic results. The cook box will easily hold enough meat to feed 15-20 people. I have smoked as many as five 5# pork butts without a problem.
One of the fantastic advantages of this smoker is that you use only a few ounces of wood per smoke. I average 4 oz per smoke. One oz of wood is about the size of a golf ball, no kidding, that's it.
Another advantage is that, unlike a stick-burner or conventional smoker you don't have to tend a fire on a long smoke. Set the desired temp and you are good-to-go. No more sleepless nights wondering if the fire is still going. This alone is worth the price if you do much smoking.
The vents on this unit are small, one on the top and one on the bottom, both about the size of a nickel. This serves two purposes: first, there's not much air movement (static environment) so your meat stays moist, doesn't dry out no need to mop or baste. Two, with the slow movement of air, the smoke stays in the box and permeates the meat, thus the need for not much wood. The ONLY disadvantage to this is that the skin on fowl (chicken & turkey) doesn't crisp up. A few minutes on the grill or in a hot oven takes care of this.
This unit is insulated to about 1000*. Yeah, it didn't mean a lot to me either, but here's the skinny: Being so well insulated, it doesn't matter if the outside temperature is 80* or below zero, your cooking time and temperature will be effected little if any. I've cooked on a windy, 14* day with little to no variance from a 75* day. Very impressive!
The unit comes assembled but you will have to thread the casters in. Don't be concerned about smoke leaking around the door when you first start smoking. This will eventually seal itself off as the unit cures 4-8 smokes maybe.
"Keep the door closed!" This is key. Learn to cook by internal temperature of the meat. Each time you open the door you loose moisture and add about 30 minutes to your smoke. Buy a digital thermometer and run it thru the vent hole into the thickest part of your meat. Shoot for a certain internal temp and resist the temptation to open the door. It's a difficult lesson to learn but well worth it!
DO NOT clean the smoker after each use only the grills/grates. I scrape the walls with a credit card or plastic scraper and wipe it down with a damp cloth about once per year.
I have nothing but high praise for this unit. It has served me well. If I had but one complaint it would be with customer service. I did have to replace the heating element about a year ago. It took them forever to return a call or answer an email.
If you like smoked food and don't want to spend hours tending a fire, this unit is for you. Yes, it seems a bit pricey but if you've spent sleepless nights wondering if you fire is still going, you'll know what I mean.
Hope this review helps someone! =)
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No, the STP does not leave a smoke ring on your meat. If this is important to you, you'll have to tend a fire. Period. Unless you want to cover your meat in some kind of liquid made to simulate the carbon monoxide effect, producing that pink ring. It isn't the smoke from the wood that does it. It's the invisible poisonous gas from the charcoal and/or wood combustion. Since your heat in a STP/Cookshack is provided electrically, there's no CO to create the ring.
But if you blindfold the most dedicated 'cuer and provide him with six rib recipes, three done in the STP and three done in, say, a Weber Smoky Mountain, he may not be able to tell the difference, since the visual cue of the smoke ring does not carry over in the taste.
Real-world results with this thing are fantastic. I live in York County, PA, where there are chicken, beef and hog processing plants all over the place. Whenever the local pluckery has a bug surplus (recently they had 20-lb boxes of drumsticks for $7.99) I'll go in, get the bulk item, and fire up the smoker. It's not uncommon to see brisket at 85 cents a pound. If you can smoke stuff low and slow with no effort beyond soaking your meat in a brine and seasoning it, then throwing it on a rack with a chunk of mesquite or applewood or whatever, closing the door and heading to work, you should do it every time there's a good meat sale.
This cooker emits so little smoke that your secret is safe from the neighbors unless you want to share. I was odd or even between the STP and the Cookshack Smokette. I got this because it has some very nice casters and is built quite well. If I had money to burn, I'd go with a Cookshack Amerique, which has a larger capacity, digital temperature controls, and a meat probe.
But I couldn't turn out any better food with that unit. Just more of it with less effort. If you're looking for effortless barbecue you've found it.
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This is an amazing smoker. I bought mine 5-6 years ago, and use it regularly. The only problem I have ever had with it, was when my 200 pound son decided to use it for a chair, and bent one of the wheels. I called about buying a new wheel, and they sent out a new set of four, no charge.
The taste of the BBQ coming out of this unit is 2nd to none. We have quit going out for BBQ altogether, since we can't find a restaurant that comes anywhere near what I make at home. We had a graduation party last weekend, and 3 days later one of the guests bought one.
Super easy to use, great customer service, outstanding results. Just get one.
**** It is now 2013, and I replaced the heating element last year. This smoker is still going strong, and produces excellent BBQ. Three of my friends now have one as well.
Honest reviews on Smokin Tex Pro 1400
I have used my Smokin Tex Model 1400 frequently in all kinds of weather for over five years and have been totally satisfied without ever having to have any repairs--even still using the original thermostat and heating element.
The unit has very think walls and is extremely well insulated, tight, and efficient. This results in having to use only two ounces of wood per cooking and meat/fish that retains moisture. The ribs I cook in this unit rival those of any restuarant and the unit products a great bark and smoke ring.
This is totally effortless cooking as once the unit is turned on, you don't even need to open the door until the meat is done if you use a electronic thermometer with the lead coming out through the vent hole in the top. As an example, baby back pork ribs take about four hours whereas the more meaty/fatty spare pork ribs take around six hours.
I would heartily and without hesitation recommend the Smokin Tex unit to anyone.
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The box itself and the racks and whatnot are fine. The problem is the thermostat system. I have had this thing for over two years, but have only done less than a dozen batches of fish and jerky in it. The first time I used it was fine. The second time, the thermostat totally went out and I had to have the company send a replacement. Of course, you have to do all the repair work yourself. The instructions that come along with the replacement are fine, but it's still a real job. The smoker again worked OK for the next couple of batches, but now you have to really, really watch it.
I smoke salmon at about 140 degrees, which I'm doing today (why I'm writing a FED UP review). In that range, the totally inaccurate dial has settings of 100, 125, 150 (total range is 100 to 225). So I try it at logically someplace between 125 and 150. Nope smoker wavers between 150 and 170. I keep a foot-long instant-read dial thermometer poked down in the smoke vent to keep an eye on temperature. The temperature is consistently inconsistent all over the board. If I get it finally settled about 140 with the dial set just above 100! when I go back in a half-hour, it's up to 150. If I turn the control knob down a bit to just under 100, then go back in another half-hour, it's at 90. See-saw, see-saw.
I can't imagine why this company would have a pretty good box and other equipment made, and then go totally CHEAP on the controls which is the only thing that makes the thing work. A nice box that you can't control is a boat anchor. I really, really do not recommend the Smokin Tex. Especially at the price they get for it. It's junk
