I bought this product after reading so many good reviews. I cannot explain why so many people like it, but after 4 months of experimenting and tinkering and producing food my family will not eat I do not. I have decided to buy the Weber 721001 Smokey Mountain Cooker 18-1/2-Inch Smoker instead.
The old smokey electric is not a real smoker, because it is sealed there is no air flow past the meat,no combustion oxygen, and no place for steam to go. This results in the following problems:
The smoker will produce a tiny amount of smoke that will supposedly stay in the can to flavor the meat, then then it will produce no more, as all the oxygen will have been consumed, this smoke will eventually condense out into the bowl due to all the steam that invariably forms and will not penetrate the meat.
Over time creosote and tar will build up on the inside of the can, the steam produced by cooking mixes with this horrible tasting soot, and then impart the flavor to the meat. The first few things I made were OK, but over time the taste steadily degraded, this may explain some the positive reviews. They may not have used it as much or as long as I did.
The meat will not form a crispy outer layer (" the bark") that is a critical part of smoking. The steam washes away most of the rub you put on the meat and leaves a rubbery skin.
The meat will not seal, as the meat cooks the juices that would normally be kept in by a crispy skin will be squeezed out into the bowl, resulting in meat that is dry inside. You could sear it yourself first, but this would completely block out any smoke from possibly getting in the meat.
There is no online user group or recipe book for this smoker, you are on your own with recipes. The ones that come with it are completely wrong. You cannot cook a brisket by cooking it for 20 minutes a pound on high as the recipe book says. Ultimately I think this its biggest downfall. If you buy a smoker, buy one with a big user community that can help you.
If you really want to steam meat with a tiny bit of smoke you can do this yourself in the oven, just put some wood chips under your broiler pan and put your meat on top and you have created your own old smokey, or you can do it with something like the Cameron Cookware Gourmet Mini Smoker, or you can do it like they do it on the food network show "iron chef" with a "hotel pan", you don't need to buy this to do that.
In the end mine is but one review and you will need to look to places other than the overly positive Amazon reviews to make your decision:
Search the web for "amazing ribs" "virtual weber bullet" and "bbq source forums"
After reading through these you will learn that others have tried and failed with the old smokey electric, you will learn about what true smoking really is. You will find a massive following for the Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) with loads precise details and recipes. Yes the WSM a little more expensive, but its a lot cheaper to buy the right smoker the first time, than it is to buy the wrong one first, and then buy the right one like I did.Get more detail about Old Smokey Electric Smoker.
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