Newbie Smoker

[peterpan]

Academy is having sales on the " Cajun Injector electric Smoker" for $149.00! I checked the wattage on it ans it says only 650W, less than half of power consumption when compared to the electric Brinkman. Also it is well insulated and has a turn on/off (thermostat) temperature control. Also it seems to have a small aperture on the side to add chips, avoiding door opening.
Does anyone here have any experience with this type of smoker? Pro and Cons of this specific type of smoker?
Appreciate any inputs.

[capn crunch]

I used a bradley smoker for about 3 years. The initial cost was $299.00 if I remember correctly. This is where they get you. you can only used wood pucks (they are called bisquettes) bought from bradley, and they are about 20 bucks a package. The bisquettes last 20 minutes each. I use about 12-15 when i cook most of the day. I got to where I could do some really great ribs, chicken and pork loin on the bradley. I had trouble perfecting brisket on it. I know what the problem was. The best brisket I've made was on an iron pit, cooked 9-10 hours over oak while babysitting the temperature guage. I could never get used to the longer cooking time in the smoker and would have a tendency to rush the brisket to the table. The bradley had a catastrophic failure (the bisquette feeder stopped working on auto and I had to advance them manually, which required opening the door and have the smoke rush out and the temp drop. the heating element also burnt out. the cost of repairing the unit was more than I wanted to do. My next smoker is going to be a cookshack smoker. life is too short for me to sit out on the patio for 12 hours and constantly fret over temps. With the cookshack, you can put your meat on the smoker, put your wood in the firebox and insert a probe into your meat, set at a predetermined temp. When your meat reaches the temp internally you selected, it will stop cooking and the temp will drop to where is is keeping it warm. I commented about this a while back and I think MM endorsed a smokin tex, which caused a lot of research on my part. Cookshacks have been around 40 years and are made in Oklahoma. The smokin tex is a knockoff of it and made in china. A friend of mine has a bbq business and he tells me his briskets come out perfect every time with the cookshack. Thats what I want. Consistency. Cookshacks are not cheap, but your grandkids will be using it long after you're kickin up daiseys. here is a step by step comparison between the smokin tex and the cookshack..
http://www.charcoalstore.com/kb/article.php?id=014" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.charcoalstore.com/kb/article.php?id=018" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Nim Rod]

In watching Triple D on Food Network (best show on television by the way) I have seen a lot of Cookshack style
smokers used by some of the best restaurants. I think when the Bradley dies I will look at one of these as well.

If anyone wants to buy a used Weber Smokey Mountain send me a pm.

[CopanoCruisin]

Nim rod, I'll take the WSM, I have to make arrangements for pick up. But, the cookshack is definetely the way to go. On of my buddies had one, and that is one sweet cooking/smoking machine..............