Well I am the proud owner of a smoker!!!!! Gotta tell you smokin' hasn't really taken off here in Canada but it appears to be picking up steam...I mean smoke. Very limited choices. I decided to go with the majority and buy electric. My intent was to get just a simple electric smoker but Clive wanted me to get the digital model with the temperature set and monitor features. This is the one I settled on, it has the features we want and is in a price range I am OK with. Not sure if there really is a Centro or if it's " store brand" for Canadian Tire. Watch the sucker go on sale next week! LOL Now I'm on the hunt for recipes! Thanks for all your tips and recipes ideas and info , I'll let you know how it goes. Here is a link that might be useful: centro smoker

I have an old gas grill that I never use but keep on hand in case of extended power outages, such as after an earthquake. I tried smoking in it using wood chips and was never happy with the results. We have a Masterbuilt electric smoker and use it at least twice a month - mostly to smoke boneless turkey breast, sausage, and chicken. I never buy smoked turkey, now that I can smoke my own. The electric is extremely easy to use and comes with an instruction book that has been all we needed, in terms of a smoker cookbook. I would definitely replace this smoker if it got destroyed or broke down. We also smoke in the Big Green Egg, but that requires a lot of attention and cooks at a higher temperature. Lars

Thanks, everyone. The price at Amazon and Walmart = $109.?? i spent a lot of time reading reviews for the Akorn Kamado Jr..Lots of reviews and most buyers were happy with it. I was thinking, since I already have a propane grill, that I might enjoy using the small Kamado-like (not ceramic, but enameled steel) grill for two things: 1. Baking artisan pizzas outside, especially in hot weather when we need to run the AC inside. 2. Smoking small things like Salmon fillets, turkey breast, fish, vegetables or chicken. We try not to eat fatty red meats like beef, brisket, steak, ribs ;-( However: I looked at reviews. Lots of people love it, and it is very affordable, BUT 1. It is not well-machined or assembled. 2. It does conserve charcoal and can get very hot - good for pizzas and searing. 3. Supposed to be a "smoker" too but you have to buy a $40 ceramic stone and even then, many argue that the heat source is too close to what you want to (slow) smoke. 4. Customer support doesn't look so good. *** Meanwhile, there is someone On CL giving away a free nice offset smoker. I don't want to/cannot eat a lot of smoked beef, pork and fatty chicken. But I do enjoy some amount of turkey, chicken and fish. older ad, so may be gone. Supposedly ONLINE there are How-Tos on how to tinker with and improve one of those Brinkmann like (red one in cellar) cold water smokers. (We have an unused one, see below.) We could keep the $110 red ceramic like cooker I just got for pizzas outdoors, especially on hot days. -- I already have a Char-Griller mini barrel charcoal grill. I mostly use this as a small fire pit, but sometimes cook over the coals. -- I also have a Webber Baby Q gas grill. Easy to use. -- In the garage I have an unused, Brinkmann style water smoker. Never used. Was going to sell or give away, but it's heavy gauge steel and I've heard that there are ways to tinker with them. Otherwise, the are leaky and run through fuel and in cold (New England) weather, you cannot really count on them to smoke anything for very long. They just cannot get and stay hot. -- Currently we make an artisan pizza ~ every 10 days and bake it in a kitchen oven for 7-8 minutes at 550 deg. F which gives good results. -- Someone gave me a couple of 20" long Jenn-air electric rotisserie units, but we don't yet have any stove or grill that the can work with. Maybe we can jury rig some way to sop port them and keep them covered? Anyone here use the Weber 18" or 22" kettle grill with either the smokerette set up or the rotisserie unfit? I'm wondering what rotisserie baking offers? Guess that's pretty much got to be fatty/critter skin as well? I love cooking, love eating, like cooking outside, and love good gadgets. Problem I sleeping these gadgets clean, storing them. I appreciate your ideas and feedback. Here is some info on the Akorn Kamado Jr. https://www.amazon.com/Char-Griller-Akorn-Kamado-Kooker-Charcoal/dp/B00EBWBFQQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

2Many, I was thinking about how to use the 12" tube for shorter smokes. First thought was to loosely crumple some aluminum foil and stuff in as a space filler and then add pellets to fill. (Except getting foil out would be a bit of a pain.). Thinking that a partial loose fill might cause the pellets to burn too fast? After I ended up with that huge 40# bag of pellets decided not to worry about it; I'll just fill it up and let 'er burn out past the time I remove the food. With pricier pellets, yeh, I'd try conserving the fuel. Course this then strengthens the argument for adding a 6" tube...for shorter smokes and adding part way thru longer smokes. Then again, I was pondering last night why something like a tomato paste can or two with a bunch of holes punched in it wouldn't work... (from a brand with a removable paper label.) Pulled a couple of chicken halves out of the freezer last night. Going to brine overnight and smoke 'em tomorrow. Thinking I'll try to confine the smoke a bit better with the chicken going on what you learned with your bird. I bought the chicken already halved (was in the reduced 'Use today or freeze' bin--perfect, I thought for experiments!) so the halves may be a little more receptive to smoke than a whole bird? Also, more prone to drying out but brining ought to help offset that... This is actually kinda' fun to do. Needed that cause I get burned out on cooking!