Cookshake Cookette vs SmokinTEX

[iamtheone]

Hey guys, looking at buying a midrange smoker for XMAS. Anyone have any personal feedback on these? They appear to be pretty close.

[Mister Coaster]

Finally taking the leap, eh? I did a little searching and saw an old topic where we went back and forth a few times...

Anyway, I don't know much about these electric types of smokers, I'm a charcoal/wood man myself. I have the Weber Smoky Mountain, which is technically a "step down" from what you are looking at. It is a "bullet" style smoker that (as already mentioned) is fired with charcoal and wood chunks. I also have a Patio Classic grill (also charcoal) that I perfer to use for ribs. I can give plenty of input about these styles of cookers and how to use them.

A few questions...
* What, if any, equipment do you already have?
* Is there any specific reason you are not wanting a wood/charcoal smoker?
* Where do you live? (for weather & available supplies considerations)

[iamtheone]

Hey bro, I still have your stuff printed out the last time I smoked some butts. Damn good stuff. Right now, I have the bullet type smoker as well. I love it, I just don't have the time to tend to it for 12-14hrs when I cook... So that is why I started looking at these electric types. I have had very good things about that Weber cooker... There is a newer one out there called Masterbuilt but has been recalled ( i think they fixed all the bugs now) but this one is cheaper and has a digital readout on internal temp.

So, in short.... I want something that is easy to maintain that temp in which I don't have to tend to it every hour or so....

Thanks for the advice (again)

[Mister Coaster]

I suppose the electric ones will give you a lot more ease of use. But again, I'm not familiar with them. Maybe its the pyromaniac in me, I just love lighting fires.

As for my Weber, it is defiantely the top of the line when it comes to bullet style smokers. I'm guessing you have a Brinkman? At a glance they may look the same, but there are a couple of bells and whistles that make the Weber worth the extra money. It has 3 adjustable vents on the bottom and one on the top, this gives you the ability to find the "sweet spot" and the temperature will remain rock solid once you get there. It takes maybe 30-45 minutes to nail down the temperature, but it is VERY consistent after that. The only thing you have to attend to is flipping/mopping the meat (which you'd have to do anyway) and filling the water pan (which you can do when tending to the meat). I definately do not have to babysit it every hour. For an overnight cook, I'll only have to get up once to add water to the pan. It also has a raised charcoal grate that allows spent ash to fall away from the still burning coals. The only time I had to really monkey with the fire was when I was cooking 4 large butts at once (about 38 lbs total) and they were still not done after 16 hours, I had to goose the fire. The access door is larger than others, the cooking chambers are larger and the dome lid is taller. In short, lots of little things that make it MUCH easier to use than the cheaper bullet style smokers out there.

The place where I got most of my advise when I was a newbie was a place called The Virtual Weber Bullet. (google it) Although it is a site that specializes mostly in the use of the Weber Smokey Mountain, there are plenty of members that have all sorts of equipment. I'm sure someone on their forums has experience with the electrics that you are looking at. They are very friendly to new members.

Good luck and be sure to post what you learn.

[iamtheone]

Well, I ended up going with the Old Smokey BBQ smokey. Been in business for a LONG time and everyone loves their units. I will post details when it comes in 2 days