Features:

  • Digital panel controls on/off, temperature, and time
  • Four chrome-coated smoking racks. Adjustable air damper for smoke control
  • Patented side wood chip loading system - add wood chips without opening the smoker door
  • Integrated thermostat temperature control for even, consistent smoking
  • Fully-insulated smoker body
this Masterbuilt is fantastic. It heats quickly enough and maintains consistent temperature

First things first, I'm a chef, not a pitmaster or hobbyist smoker. I have every bit of respect for the thousands that have mastered the art of smoke and temperature using the various types of wood and wood smokers- Weber, Traeger, Big Green Egg, custom, etc. At this time, I just don't possess the expertise of the experts. That being said, as a tool similar to what I use daily in professional kitchens, this Masterbuilt is fantastic. It heats quickly enough and maintains consistent temperature. I've been able to make restaurant quality baby back ribs, chicken, beef short ribs. My only issue is that a full rack of ribs won't fit on a rack; i have to cut them in half. In time I'll be upgrading to a 40" smoker, but for a first smoker, I'm happy with this purchase.

Checkes WAY more boxes than it needs to for the price

This is all you could want or expect from an electric smoker. I've been extremely pleased with the results. So far, I've done ribs, brisket, whole chickens, chicken legs, chicken wings, peppers and corn in this thing, all with great results. The amount you can fit is pretty impressive, but beware that you usually have to cut larger racks of ribs in half to fit (so that's one full rack per tray, a total of four racks). You could easily fit 4 whole chickens or Boston butts though. For my purposes (family of four and occasional guests), the capacity is fine. If you aren't familiar with any of these food items, you can fit five or six teacup chihuahuas inside. Those were the dogs made popular as a mascot for Taco Bell in the early 90s. The seal on the door is great, and the absence of a window actually helps the seal. Plus, why bother with a window that will smoke up in the first hour and be another thing to clean? Operation is a breeze, although the electric readout is impossible to see in direct sunlight. If you're in a covered area or come equipped with a parasol then it's no problem. The wood chip replacement slot is genius, although it can be hard to insert if over filled. The amount you can easily fit into this cylinder is surprisingly all you need to get some good smoke. The usual 225 degrees does take a while to get chips smoking, but I usually smoke at 240 anyway, and this seems to be the sweet spot for quickly blazing chips. Make sure there is no more smoke coming out of the unit before adding a second cylinder of chips. I can't say enough about how much I like the wood chip insert. I went from using a quart container full of soaked chips on my grill to a cup and a half of dry chips in this. A bag of chips now seems bottomless. Tip: boil some water and pour into the water pan when starting a smoke. The chip tray is between the heating element and the water pan, so it takes hours to get cold water steaming. Steam helps smoke adhere to meat, so boiled, steaming water right out of the gate is your friend. It makes a huge difference in the final product. I do wish it had wheels because I lug it in and out of a shed where it is stored, but this is a small complaint. When it's empty, the unit is very easy to lift and carry a short distance. As for taste, I honestly can't tell much of a difference between this smoker and my friend's Weber bullet kettle unit that runs charcoal. He's even complimented my results and he's a slow cooking BBQ snob. As long as you're minding your temp, pulling at the appropriate time and using a quality rub, you're going to get good results. Three rounds of chips was more than enough for excellent flavor and penatration in a 12-hour, 6 pound brisket flat smoke. The unit's sealed environment really traps smoke like a champ, arguably better than traditional units. I was honestly torn between this and a kettle unit, but I took the leap because I figured after 50 smokes or so, this unit pays for itself in the propane and charcoal you're NOT buying and the small dent in an electric bill (which is negligible). Highly recommended. Even if the heating element burns out (it eventually will) I would spend the extra money to keep this thing going. It's incredibly convenient, a good size and produces near-pit quality results. For the money it can't be beat.

Chip tray is kind of small but that problem can be easily fixed with a pellet tube

Can complain for the price, it does the trick. Chip tray is kind of small but that problem can be easily fixed with a pellet tube, which is all of $12 on amazon and gives you great smoke.

Easy to use, fantastic results

My family loves smoked foods. I have had a 22" Weber Smokey Mountain bullet charcoal smoker for years, and while we love the results I get from it, I found myself hardly ever using it because of the need to be constantly tending the fire. Flipping through the television channels in January, I came upon an infomercial for a small, portable Masterbuilt electric smoker and the food that they were pulling out of it looked so good that I decided to do a bit of research. I ended up treating my family (and myself) to a new electric smoker and chose the Masterbuilt 30" (rather than the little one on the TV). I cannot be more pleased. Since getting it, I have smoked food for my family every other weekend. The smoker could not be easier to use. Plug it in, set the temperature that you want and the timer, put some water in the water pan, add your food, and off you go. Wood chips (about a handful every hour or so) are easily added through the side mechanism without ever having to open the smoker door. I use a remote digital thermometer to make sure that I pull the food at the right temperature and the results have been fantastic. So far, I've made pork shoulders (three times), beef ribs, salmon, baby back pork ribs, St. Louis spareribs, turkey and chicken wings, whole chickens, a turkey breast and an eye round roast of beef. Every single thing I've smoked in the Masterbuilt has been delicious and thoroughly enjoyed by my family. While I saw that some reviews for the smoker criticized the need to cut full racks of St. Louis ribs in half to get them to fit, while true, this is not something I see as complaint worthy. Were I to need to make food for more than 10 people, or make multiple turkeys at once, I probably would haul out the Weber bullet; however, for cooking less than that, I can't imagine ever using anything but my Masterbuilt ever again. PROS: Well built, super simple operation, fantastic results, easy to clean. CONS: None that I have been able to see. ADDED BONUS: Got mine with a nice discount as an Amazon Warehouse Deal. The only thing I saw that kept it from being full price was a dent and rip on the box -- the smoker, however, was in pristine condition wrapped in plastic and padded with styrofoam packing. Not a dent or scratch on the unit itself. Great job, Masterbuilt!!! UPDATE: Used the Masterbuilt on Thanksgiving Day as a warming oven. Had it in my 35 degree garage with no use of wood for smoke. Instead, just put water in the pan, set the temperature for 180, and was able to keep casseroles warm and moist as the came out of the oven, freeing up the oven for cooking other things. Everything made it to the table in perfect shape and ready to eat without needing to reheat. I continue to be thrilled with this smoker.

Great smoker after a few fixes

With a few minor adjustments this smoker is perfect. First I took the chip tray rack out to let it sit directly on the coils. I flipped a bracket that is over top of the heating element and put it below. Lastly I drilled about 12 very small holes in the chip tray. After making these adjustments this thing started rolling out smoke. Did two whole chickens and they turned out fantastic. For the price point its worth making the few adjustments, highly recommend for any home smoker. Only complaint is that the digital controls are hard to read when in direct sunlight but this is a minor inconvenience.

Fantastic results for a 1st time smoked foods cook!!!

I have had this now for 2 weeks. Impressed right away with build quality, locking door seal, good heat insulation, and side port for adding chips without opening the door (and losing heat). We have so far smoked a whole chicken (split in half no brine), pork spareribs (not baby back, but full ribs), and a Pork Butt (shoulder). Also some vegetables like Eggplant. It is fantastic and the chicken and ribs came out perfectly and looked like from a competition with the perfect color and juiciness. We used hand made rubs from recipes and it was amazing. The pork shoulder pulled-pork came out great (excellent bark, perfect flavor and texture) but took too long, but that appears to be from my getting a thick cut butt vs. the normal separated top from plate and also not letting it warm up after the fridge with brine - so the center took much longer to reach 195F. Also, I smoked the pork at 210F as the recipe state, but that meant the chips would not always smoke since the day was warm and the heating element almost never came on (these are well insulated). Masterbuilt responded to my inquiry with some good suggestions/options. So, that is something people should be aware of when using the lower temps - you can turn up the heat for 5 minutes when you add more chips so they start smoking, but it is more work. Their suggestion is to open it and empty the tray every so often so it (a) ensures the chips are touching the metal, and (b) cools a bit so that the element has to turn on to get them smoking. I am getting their $50 side port cold smoker unit since I like that I do not have to add chips for 6 hours vs. every 45 minutes or so.

Amazing Value!

I have been using this almost every other week-end since picking it up on a great deal on Black Friday (~50% off). So far I have made some of the best ribs, beer can chicken, buffalo wings, and even mac and cheese that we have ever had (humble brag). It has plenty of room to cook up a so much food. I purchased a digital duel probe wireless thermometer to track the temperature of the food, along with ambient temp inside - and I have to say the digital thermometer up top, is quite accurate - the unit holds heat and temps well It takes a little trial/error to start out as (amount of smoke, time, temps, etc.) but there is plenty of info online to get you going - or just experiment and see what works - it's half the fun. Overall, I love this unit for what it offers and the value of it - can't be beat!

Works great and easy to clean.

Works great. Temperature maintaines consistently and it produces a lot of smoke. I personally do not soak my wood chips and the smolder fine at the 225 degree mark. I add more chips every 2 hours during smoking. The door seals good and all you get is a steady stream of smoke out of the smoke vent. When I’m done I place all of my racks and drip pans in the dishwasher and wipe down the interior with a wet cloth.

Works great

My husband the BBQ chef says it works just fine. People that wrote bad reviews probably don't have much smoker experience. There are certain things involved. Don't open vent all the way. Clean after use and store covered in the garage. Do not leave outside in the open. Take care of it and it should last . My only complaint is it arrived with a small dent and a scratch but I am picky and my husband says he doesn't care about the look, just the taste, and the meat was delicious. He did ribs and two chickens. We also did pork butt. Not room for all that at once so the pork was in all night and then moved to our oven and then two racks of ribs and two chickens were able to go in next. He makes his own dry rub and the smell throughout the neighborhood I'm sure all the neighbors were jealous, lol.

love it, first time ran it for 18 hours ...

love it, first time ran it for 18 hours with a 7 pound pork but. Burning apple wood chips, awesome

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