The Top Tip To Keep In Mind When Cooking Meat With An Electric Smoker

Electric smokers are a great, convenient way to smoke meat and live out your best succulently tender Texas bbq brisket grilling dreams. Compared to charcoal smokers, which use coals for heat and added wood chips for extra smoky flavor, electric smokers use an electric cooking rod to generate heat and operate with convection, circulating heat and air. 

Many electric smokers have trays, or built-in bowl-like compartments, for burning wood chips or chunks to impart smoke. However, chip trays are not very effective for the best signature smoked meat flavor, since the piled-up, close arrangement of the smoking chips causes them to burn out quickly (rather than last the duration of the slow cook). To get the best smoked meat in an electric smoker, ditch the chip tray and use a specialty box or tube filled with pellets as your smoke source instead. 

Unlike chip trays, specialty tubes and boxes are designed so you can light one end of the device and slowly smoke inserted wood, sawdust, or pellets. And using pellets (which are compressed, pressurized sawdust particles) is ideal — they burn longer and are easier to use than wood chips and chunks, since they light easily and you don't have to soak them. Both container styles — the tube shape with air-releasing holes or the maze-like box with dividers — help pellets burn slowly in succession (from one side of the device to the other), causing them to smoke gradually and longer throughout the smoking process. 

Investing in a pellet tube or box (which are usually not very expensive) could be a game-changer to help you smoke various meats, including turkey, lamb, and moist racks of ribs, all with a convenient electric smoker. To use either style to burn pellets and impart smoke to your grill, simply preheat your electric smoker to your desired temperature. 225 degrees Fahrenheit is a good rule of thumb for smoking meat, but be sure to check your recipe's directions. 

When your electric smoker and meat are ready, add an ample amount of pellets (about ⅓ cup for every 40 minutes of smoking time) to the tube or box. The maze-like box is designed with dividers to keep the rows of pellets separate so they don't burn too quickly, so be mindful not to overflow the pellets over the partitions — the pellets should stay in their individual lanes. For the tube style, simply fill it with pellets. 

Starting at one end of the box or tube (there's usually a lighting hole at either end), light the pellets using a blowtorch. Let the pellets burn for five to 10 minutes, then blow out the flame, so the pellets start to generate smoke. Add the smoking tube or box to your preheated electric smoker on a cooking rack above or alongside your meat. Many electric smokers also come with a water tray, which creates steam and distributes the smoke throughout the cook.

Once you've added the smoky pellets to your electric smoker, open and adjust the vents and dampers on your grill to introduce air in and create ventilation. Monitor the time and temperature of your smoker, based on your particular cut of meat and smoking method. It's also key to remember when smoking meat: less smoke is more. 

Depending on how many wood pellets you use, once smoking, they usually continue going for several hours (some grillers have found it keeps going for over ten hours) — which is perfect for low-and-slow summer days spent lounging in the backyard as you smoke your meat. While you could light your pellet box or tube from both sides of the device to create more smoke, know that it will burn for less time and could overdo it with the smoky flavor, leaving your smoked meat overpoweringly woodsy and bitter.

For optimal flavor, opt for a subtle smokiness instead by slowly smoking the pellets. Customize the flavor of your brined and smoked Thanksgiving turkey by adding hickory, applewood, or even peach-flavored chips. Once you have this electric smoker tip down, giving your smoked meat a classic wood-fired taste, the sky's the limit. Experiment with different dry rubs, generously applying salt and herbs, or choose to marinate your meat, basting it as you go with fatty drippings or barbecue sauce.