Best Electric Smoker 2020 (Reviews + Buying Guide)

If you want to taste something unique and delicious, then you need to give food smoking a try.

There is nothing that can quite match the taste of freshly smoked brisket or the taste of perfectly smoked corn on the cob. However, propane smokers can be tricky to work with and are often more hassle than they are worth.

That is why, in this article, we will be looking for the best electric smoker. Electric smokers are a lot easier to manage, and still manage to deliver the same great taste, as you will see in our reviews.

If you want to skip all this, we recommend buying the Masterbuilt MB20073519 MES 130P Bluetooth Digital Electric Smoker.

 

The Best Electric Smokers 2020

 

Best Electric Smoker Reviews:

Masterbuilt MB20073519 MES 130P Bluetooth Digital Electric Smoker

If you are looking for a quality smoker, then one thing that you would definitely want to take a look at Masterbuilt. They are a brand with a really good track record when it comes to all sorts of barbecue and smoking products.

Given that if you were to go shopping on your own, you would almost certainly see several Masterbuilt products, we decided that the best way to start off our best electric smoker list was by reviewing a Masterbuilt smoker. The Masterbuilt MB20073519 MES 130P Bluetooth Digital Electric Smoker is a great product that works equally well for beginners as it does for experts.

As you might expect from such a well-known and well-respected brand, the Masterbuilt is an extremely powerful smoker. Although it only has a power output of around 600 watts (which isn’t too high in the grand scheme of things), it really is a powerhouse of a smoker. It heats up extremely quickly, so if you hate waiting around for things to get up to temperature, then this is the smoker for you.

Likewise, the Masterbuilt also provides a very good environment to cook in. The cooking racks are tough and made with a nonstick chrome coating. So, you can put delicate meat on it and not have to worry about losing half of it due to sticking. You also don’t have to worry too much about issues like rust either.

In terms of cooking space, this is also a pretty good option when you consider the overall quality of the smoker. You are able to fit a decently large amount of food into the smoker with relative ease.

With over 700 square inches of cooking space, this can easily fit half a dozen whole chickens in at once and it won’t lose any of its cooking effectiveness. You can find bigger smokers out there to be sure, but this is still a respectable option when it comes to how much you can cook at once.

One issue that we have with this smoker is that the built-in thermometer could be a bit better. Sadly, as you will see from some of the other reviews on our best electric smoker list, the built-in thermometers on many high-end smokers are surprisingly bad, and this one isn’t any exception.

Dyna-Glo DGU505BAE-D 30″ Analog Electric Smoker

The last review on our best electric smoker list was of a really famous brand (Masterbuilt) and this next review will be more of the same. The Dyna-Glo DGU505BAE-D 30″ Analog Electric Smoker is a very good, affordable smoker from the folks at Dyna-Glo. When it comes to smokers of all kinds, they are just as famous and respected as Masterbuilt, so you know that they had to make an appearance on this list.

The first thing of note when it comes to this smoker is the tremendously high power output. For comparison, let’s briefly flashback to the last review on this best electric smoker list, which was a review of the Masterbuilt MB20073519.

That was a powerful smoker and it was only rated for around 600 watts or so. The Dyna-Glo DGU505BAE-D 30″ Analog Electric Smoker is rated at a very impressive 1500 watts. In other words, this is an extremely powerful smoke that is going to heat up very quickly and that is going to be able to smoke food very quickly.

Another great thing about the Dyna-Glo is how precise it is. We have emphasized a lot (and will continue to emphasize) how important it is to have a really precise smoker. The Dyna-Glo comes equipped with both a very accurate temperature gauge and a very accurate dial. It really does make a difference when it comes to your cooking.

Before moving on, we also feel that we should mention how great the little side loader is. It lets you feed in fresh woodchips without having to open the front door of the smoker and lose all that valuable smoke.

LANDMANN MCO 32954 Landmann Smoky Mountain 26″ Electric Smoker

The next review on our best electric smoker list is a real treat if you want an extremely powerful smoker. The LANDMANN MCO 32954 Landmann Smoky Mountain 26″ Electric Smoker is one of the more powerful smokers that we have reviewed so far on this list. If you enjoy the prospect of short cooking times, then this is a good option.

Exactly how powerful is the LANDMANN? Well, it is rated for around 1500 watts, which means that it is tied with the Dyna-Glo DGU505BAE-D 30″ Analog Electric Smoker for the title of most powerful electric smoker that we have reviewed so far. By now, we have already talked a lot on this list about what having a powerful smoker can do for you, so we won’t go into that again.

Other aspects of this smoker are equally well-made. For example, the cooking grates are rust resistant and are designed to last just as long as the smoker itself, which is pretty impressive if you ask us.

Masterbuilt MB20076718 Bluetooth Electric Smoker 240G Digital

We have already reviewed one Masterbuilt smoker on our best electric smoker list, but we feel that the Masterbuilt MB20076718 Bluetooth Electric Smoker 240G Digital, Black with SS Door deserves a review of its own because it does fall into its own distinct role.

We are going to say upfront, this is a pricey and bulky electric smoker, which is going to make it a non-starter for many of you. However, if those aren’t big issues for you, then you are going to be ending up with a fairly well-made electric smoker.

The size of this smoker is a bit of a drawback, but it is also a pretty big positive because it means that you get a ton of cooking space to work with. If you run a business, host large parties very often, or just enjoy cooking in mass, then the Masterbuilt MB20076718 Bluetooth Electric Smoker 240G Digital, Black with SS Door is likely going to be a great option because of just how much cooking space it brings to the table.

The Masterbuilt also boasts a fairly sleek, chrome design that does stand out quite a bit when compared to the dark, black steel design that most other electric smokers tend to go for.

Char-Broil Analog Electric Smoker

For the last review on our best electric smoker list, we are looking at a real tank of an electric smoker from the fine people at Char-Broil. The Char-Broil Analog Electric Smoker is not a perfect smoker by any means.

It is very heavy and difficult to move. It is a bit on the small side (though some may view that as a plus). Finally, it also lacks a window on the front for easy viewing of your food. At the same time, despite these flaws, it is still an incredibly well-built smoker that deserves to be mentioned on this list, as we are going to show you in this review.

By far the thing that we love the most about the Char-Broil Analog Electric Smoker and what really makes it worthy of being included on our best electric smoker is just how tough this smoker is. It is solidly built from the ground up and it is impossible to find any real weaknesses with the smoker’s design or construction. This smoker will definitely last you for a very long time.

Being very well-built doesn’t just make the smoker more durable either, it also makes cooking a lot easier as well. How exactly? Well, that thick construction helps to keep in smoke and heat, which makes it easier for you to keep a consistent temperature. This, in turn, helps to improve cooking times.

Why Electric Smokers Are Better

Not all of you are familiar with smokers, and that’s fine, however, because so many of you aren’t familiar with smoking, you may not know that not everyone likes electric smokers. There are quite a few smoking enthusiasts out there who maintain that propane smokers are the only way to go.

As you can tell from the subject of this article, we disagree. As we stated many times during the course of our best electric smoker article, we believe that electric smokers are by far the best option for consumers.

In this second part of our article, we want to explain exactly why that is. We are going to go through all the reasons why we believe that going with an electric smoker is the smartest option.

How Do Electric Smokers Work?

You probably got a good idea of how electric smokers work just by reading the reviews on our best electric smokers list, but if you are still a bit confused about it, let’s briefly go over it so that everyone who reads this buying guide is on the same page when it comes to knowledge.

Propane smokers work exactly like propane grills do. The propane provides a constant source of fuel and a heating element keeps the fuel lit. Fairly simple. What electric smokers do is replace the propane with electricity.

Electricity is used to power heating elements inside the smoker. When the power is turned off, the heating elements go off as well. There is no need to use gas or charcoal or anything like that, it is all clean power produced by an outlet.

We aren’t going to pretend that this is without faults. For example, some may find it difficult to find an outlet with enough juice to run a high-end electric smoker. At the same time, it has a number of advantages that we are going to be going over as part of this section.

Greater Heat Control

One of the most difficult things about work with propane (or charcoal for that matter) is how difficult it can be to achieve very precise temperatures and maintain those temperatures for a long period of time.

This more noticeable when dealing with lower temperatures. To illustrate what we are talking about, let’s take one thing that a lot of people with smokers try to make, which is beef jerky. Beef jerky takes a long time to make and it needs to be kept at a very specific temperature to come out just right (roughly 160 degrees Fahrenheit).

Cooking beef jerky in a propane smoker is extremely difficult because of how hard it is to keep a propane smoker at the exact temperature needed for the beef jerky. This applies to a lot of other meat as well.

For example, want to cook very savory ribs that fall right off the bone? Well, you need to cook your ribs for almost a whole day at a steady temperature rate of 225 degrees Fahrenheit.

Again, this pretty difficult to do with a propane smoker. The differences are less notable at higher temperatures, but in our experience, electric smokers still maintain a pretty sizeable advantage when it comes to consistency.

Cost in the Long Run

Something else that needs to be considered is long-term costs. Now, we find that upfront costs are generally the same for the two kinds of smokers. A high-end propane smoker and a high-end electric smoker will probably run you the same amount of money when you buy it from the store.

Where the advantage for electric smokers kicks in is if you use the smoker a lot. Depending on where you live, it is likely that electricity is cheaper than propane. Even though electric smokers do you use a lot of energy, it is still going to end up being cheaper to use electricity than it is top have to buy propane tanks constantly.

Which One Is Easier To Use

If one of your main priorities is finding an electric smoker that is easier to use, then without a doubt your best bet is to go for an electric smoker because they are the easiest of the two kinds of smokers to use.

Why exactly? Well, it goes back to that temperature control issue that has been mentioned quite a few times on our best electric smoker list. With electric smokers, you literally just have to put the temperature that you want on the keypad, and the smoker will do the rest. Propane smokers are a bit trickier. You have to be able to manage propane output and picking a temperature isn’t as simple as just punching your desired temperature into the keypad.

Taste

Taste is a controversial topic and it largely comes down to your own personal preferences. Contrary to what you might hear, propane smokers do not necessarily produce better tasting food. Propane smokers produce a unique taste that some like and some don’t.

Likewise, electric smokers also produce a unique taste that works for some, but that may work for others. Personally, we imagine that after you season your food (and who wouldn’t season smoked meat), you probably won’t notice too much of a difference either way.

Concluding Remarks

If you want to contribute your own personal thoughts to our best electric smoker list, then we would encourage you to go ahead and leave us a comment to let us, and others, know what is on your mind.