MasterBuilt 30-Inch Electric Smokehouse Smoker Model# 20070106

Masterbuilt has been producing some low priced smokers for many years, including electric refrigerator style smokers like this one. To put it simply, this is a heated box that produces smoke and effectively produce up to 30 pounds of smoked foods, whether that is jerky or barbecue brisket. The control panel lets you select the temperature, anywhere from 100 to 275 degrees F. and the time it will run at that temperature, up to 24 hours. Of course if you are not around to add wood chips to the smoker box it is basically just a small, low powered oven, so you can't exactly set it and forget it.

The Masterbuilt Electric Smokehouse is a popular little smoker, probably because it is large enough to cook up a good dose of barbecue yet cheap enough that you don't have to invest too much in something you have a passing interest it. It is a pretty good smoker, but getting the hang of using it and getting it to do what you want can be a challenge. If you take a look at the comments that this smoker has generated you will get an idea of how many people are struggling to get out of it what they were promised. What an electric refrigerator box type smoker promises is simplicity and dependability. This Masterbuilt tends to be a bit more of a challenge that it should.

Like most similar electric smokers, this unit has an insulated box to hold in heat, an electric heating element that sits under a small firebox to create smoke from wood chunks, and a couple of racks (4 to be exact) to hold the food. The electronic control on the top lets you set the temperature somewhere between 100 and 275 degrees F. for a period up to 24 hours. Looking at the box makes this sound like it can loaded up with a couple of beef briskets and set to run at 200 degrees F for a good 16 hours and come back to some great barbecue. Unfortunately, the smoker needs to have wood chunks loaded periodically, so you can not set it and forget it. This smoker does need to be monitored.

The other problem is that because the heating element is underpowered, if it is loaded up with a lot of cold meat, it is going to struggle to get up to temperature. This can be a problem that limits how much this smoker can produce.

If you want an inexpensive, electric smoker so that you can cook up a few pounds of barbecue or make some jerky, then this might be the right choice. However, for the person who wants to be able to push the limits, you might want to consider spending a little more.