Masterbuilt smokers: the range explained

Masterbuilt food smokers

​Masterbuilt smokers are amongst the top smokers out there, and they’re popular for a reason. The McLemore’s family business saw its start in a backyard back in 1973. Ever since then they’ve been set on producing innovative, leading-edge quality products, including smokers: charcoal, propane and electric. They have a wide range of smokers from which to choose. These vary in price according to their type, size and features.

Which are their best ones? It all boils down to what your requirements are. But here’s a list of five top of the range Masterbuilt smokers that will surely fulfil your smoking needs.

Contents

1. Masterbuilt Propane Smoker – 20051311 GS30D 2-Door

This propane smoker is highly recommended especially since it is exceptionally built. Seeing as 2-door smokers tend to leak smoke from one place or another, it’s quite a feat that Masterbuilt have been able to pull off two doors that lock in tight. You can have control over the temperature with this smoker as the doors don’t let any smoke out. With this model you get sealed in smoking that doesn’t compromise on aesthetics. The exterior is both easy on the eyes and tough to endure use and abuse.

The smoker comes with a porcelain-coated water pan and wood chip tray, as well as a built-in thermometer. All this is meant to make your smoking experience ever the more convenient.

This Masterbuilt propane smoker is one of the best models within its price range, and it certainly lives up to the Masterbuilt standards. That said, there are two minor issues you should look out for with this smoker. Its water pan has the tendency of drying out quite quickly, and wood chips sometimes burn out. These are problems that are easily fixed, and overall this smoker remains probably the best vertical propane smoker out there that’s under $200.

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More info: Check out our review of the Masterbuilt MPS 340G Propane Smoker here.

2. Masterbuilt Smoker and Grill – M7P 7-in-1 with Pan and Basket Set

This is a great, inexpensive smoker that is both easy to use and produces good quality smoking – quite frankly, what every user is looking for. The unit contains smoke within it effectively, thereby resulting in meat that’s smoked really well.

One super feature of this cheap smoker is the fact that it’s portable. Most smokers are quite heavy, but this one allows you to transport it with no inconvenience at all. It’s so compact you can take it with you when you go camping or barbecuing wherever.

With this model you can use both charcoal and propane. Not only that, but apart from smoking and grilling, you can even boil, steam or deep fry. It comes equipped with a temperature gauge, a cast iron burner and a 19” high solid steel cooker stand. However, a bit of a downside is the fact that the temperature gauge is not very accurate when monitoring the unit’s internal temperature and the food temperature. So you’ll probably have to purchase a separate thermometer along with it if you’re looking for precision.

3. Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smoker - 20075315

This electric digital smokehouse by Masterbuilt not only cooks food to perfection, but does so with incredible ease and convenience. You can literally forget about your food until it’s ready. This Masterbuilt electric smoker simply requires you to set the time and temperature desired and let it do its magic. It even has a handy remote control that allows you to do that, as well as switch on or off the light inside the smoker.

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A lot of smoker built-in thermometers are generally off, not as accurate as you’d hoped they’d be. However, this smoker’s meat temperature probe is quite precise. And you can use the remote control to check the temperature, rather than having to open the door of the smoker every time you want a reading. The unit itself is also well-insulated, with the ability to reach your desired temperature within minutes.

One drawback, or rather a useless feature, is the viewing window. It’s meant for you to be able to see the cooking progress, but unfortunately when you’re operating the smoker you can’t really make out what’s happening inside it because of all the smoke. The window gets fogged up quite quickly. Nevertheless, luckily, this downside does not reflect the quality of the smoking.

4. Masterbuilt Bluetooth Smart Digital Electric Smoker – 20072115

A step up from the previous model listed, this is one of the best Masterbuilt electric smokers available, as it uses Bluetooth to facilitate your smoking experience all the more. Smoking has never been simpler and ‘smarter’ than with this innovative smoking unit. Rather than the model being equipped with a remote control, this smoker actually allows your handheld smart device to become the remote control. All thanks to Bluetooth Smart technology.

When you set up your smart device to this smoker, you can actually switch the smoker on or off with it, or even use it to monitor and control the temperature and the cooking time. You can also make use of it to switch the food light on or off, as well as monitor the meat’s internal temperature.

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However, some users are disappointed with the lack of range of connection that the Bluetooth has. So no, you can’t be too far away from your smoker, but you might find that it’s a useful extra nonetheless.

5. Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smoker – 20070910

This is a great smoker for beginners who are just starting to dabble in meat smoking. Its features and ease of cleaning up make it one of the greatest introductory smokers on the market. This smoker maintains internal temperature at a constant level. It allows you to control the unit’s temperature and will give you consistent heat and smoke every time.

Two features that contribute to this temperature consistency are the digital temperature display and the convenient side wood chip loader. You won’t have to open the smoker door to add more wood chips. This means that no smoke will get out unnecessarily, thereby preserving heat and ensuring you’re smoking at the optimal level.

One common complaint on Masterbuilt smoker reviews from users about this model is that, while lots of smokers allow you to cook just about anything in them, from pork to fish to red meat, this smoker fails short in cooking poultry. Since the temperature needs to be raised to the 350 degree range in order for poultry to be thoroughly cooked, it goes beyond the capacity of this particular smoker which cooks from 100 to 275 degrees. If that isn’t an issue with you, then this model is definitely a bang for your buck.