Smoker Recommendations

[CurlyDave]

Well, the catch limit at my group's favorite lake has been raised this year because they are overrun with trout.

I know this is a terrible problem, but the issue we have is that we have been taking home more fish than we could eat fresh for a few years and we don't really like them frozen. Even if we release a lot of the fish we catch, we always keep the ones that aren't going to make it.

So, the thought of a smoker has come up. Any recommendations for a good quality smoker that will hold 30 to 40 trout maybe 14-16". If it would take a medium-large turkey also that would be a real plus.

We are more interested in a quality unit than a light duty Wally World special. Something that will last for years even if we use it a few times per month.

 

[Pete Judd]

I have used many home made smokers over the years, the next one I plan to build will be a cold smoker, with the smoke running through buried drain tiles from the smoke pit to the smoker. I am a big fan of cold smoking, the big box smokers are hot smokers. I have a number of friends that use the "little chief" smokers. I like to cut my own alder, de-bark it, and use it for most of my smoking.

 

[crash325]

Here are some pictures of the smoker I built about 4 years ago. It will last a lot longer than I will. A simple & fun project. Also good for a novice welder to sharpen up his / her skills. It has smoked a turkey & ham at the same time, even had some room left over.

Old hot water tank, hinges, 4" pipe, 2 elbows, a little 1/8" sheet metal, some pipe and odds & ends. The burner that I used is too large and hard to turn down enough. Going to play with a burner out of a hot water tank. The 3 gauges came from Ebay and were pretty cheap.

Basically the burner gets the wood and charcoal hot then gets turned off or as low as it will go. You don't have to have a burner, its just nice to get everything hot and smoking.

Fish do not take very long to smoke at 225 degrees and come out real good. Roasts & turkeys take 4 to 6 hours.

 

[MarkV]

Dave I do a fair amount of smoking and like Pete said cold smoking is what you want to do for fish if preserving is your goal. With cold smoking you are generally smoking for a long time, days in some cases, at low temps. The old smoke houses were for cold smoking where the smokers you buy at the store are for BB-Q type smoking. Not all kinds of fish work well this way. I do not know about trout though I wish I had your problem. Do a net search on cold smoking.

MarkV

 

[crash325]

A good site to look at is smoking-meat.com. Jeff is a real good source of information on smoking.

 

[deepNdirt]

I like the cabinet style smokers, I was going to build one, although while pricing the materials needed I came across an ad on CL where I guy was selling new smoker for 1/3rd of what I could buid one for, I figured for 100 bucks I'd give it a try, It is a propane heated smoker which I like, simply set the heat control and let it go, well got to check back about every hour to be sure water bowl hasn't dry up,

I plan to use this one for a couple years and build a heavier duty one using this same design, only a bit larger and on wheels,:thumbsup:

 

[Maynard Reece Byrd]

Curly Dave,

I am sorry you have this terrible problem. I would suggest you box those buggers and send them to me. It would be a tough job, but I can handle it. Oh, BTW, my smoker is a Traeger from Oregon.

Maynard Reece Byrd
c/o Pony Express Depot
Dodge City, Kansas

 

[studor]

I bought a Masterbuilt Digital electric last year and then read a bunch of reviews that called it a POS
Fortunately that has not been my experience and compared to the old Little Chiefs I used to use to smoke trout, this one is a dream. While previous posters are right about a cold smoke for fish preserving (those trout will come out like commercial smoked salmon) I also like a "cool" smoked trout. I heat up the smoker and get the chips smoldering, then turn it way down and let it smoke for a long time. With the right marinade, the Trout might not last long enough to worry about preserving .. although it will last in the freezer smoked for a long time and the flavour and texture are fine when you thaw it

 

[bevojoe]

take a look at the Bradley Electric smokers...can do hot and cold smoking. I have 2 wood smokers but use the electric more often. can't beat it. self feeds wood "pucks" for 10 hours of un-attended cooking. I'm on my 2cd Bradley and highly recommend. can get them at Cabellas or Bass Pro

 

[Alan L.]

Another good choice is the Weber bullet. I think they call it the Smokey Mountain cooker or something like that. Does a great job and requires little tending to once you fire it up. Has two racks 18" in diameter - they now also have a bigger one. Built very well and will last a long time. Mine is several years old and like new. All surfaces are porcelain. I think the smoker is $300-$400.

I just smoked two very large pork butts on it last weekend and they were great as usual.

Never done fish.