Bark in an electric smoker

[abwman]

Hello to everyone.  I'm new to the forum.  I just completed my first "low and slow" smoke experience on Memorial Day with a brisket in a gas grill.  It came out fantastic but the use of a large gas grill is obviously very inefficient (14-1/2 hours for a 6.5 pound brisket).  So I'm moving into smoker world.  But I don't want to commit to 8 hour days of trying to regulate temperature with wood or coal.  So I've been looking at propane and electric options.  My research led to the Smokin-It electric smokers, which, in terms of price/quality ratio and customer support seem to be at or near the top.  A friend who has been doing serious smoking for years in Kansas City was skeptical of an electric smoker.  As compared to charcoal, I guess the charcoal taste is missing, but since smoking seems to be more focused on the wood, I don't see why it should be a serious loss not to have charcoal.  Lack of charcoal certainly didn't prevent a very tasty brisket on my gas grill.  But I've seen a few comments about the ability to get a good bark with your electric smoker, which to me would be a mjor downside.  In your experience is there any truth to this?  If so, could someone explain why?  The bark was an key part of the amazing taste I got in the brisket I made, and I don't want to miss that.

abwman

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[Smokster]

Hi Abwman,

The SI smokers are amazing units that will give you amazing results with ease of use. There are a lot of posts on this forum for briskest which you can review, however in my experience with my model #3 I get a nice dark bark on my brisket, pork butts and ribs. The difference with the electric smokers is that you don't get the smoke ring that traditional wood smokers would give you, which doesn't affect taste, so no big deal for me.

These units use very little wood, therefore for a large piece of meat such as brisket or pork butt, you only need 5-6 Ozs of wood, some people will put a lump or two of charcoal into the smoker box with the wood. Then prepare your brisket, put it in the smoker with a pan of liquid, close the door and set it to 225 degrees (typically 1-1.5 hours per pound).  Don't open the door until your desired internal temperature using a meat probe.

It's that easy, you can put it in, go shoot a round off golf and come back. I personally love my smoker and would never give it up.  Good luck.

[DivotMaker]

Hi Abwman,  welcome!

Smokester is spot-on, as usual.  The ONLY thing you will miss is the pink smoke ring that you get with a charcoal or stick-burner smoker.  I suggest you spend some time over in the Recipes section, and look at the many pictures of incredible bark.  I have never failed to get great bark - and agree with you on its importance!

You will always have the "traditionalists" who snub electric smokers, mostly out of ignorance (and I don't mean that in a derogatory way, just lack of knowledge).  We have many, many "converts" from traditional smokers here, and no negatives! 

Here's the advantage, at least for me:  Stellar "Lazy Q!"  Like you said, tending a smoker for 6-12 hours isn't a lot of fun for most; we just want the end results!  With these smokers, you can actually focus on the food preparation, not the method!  I think the smoke flavor is more "pure" due to a lack of influence by the heat-generating substance (wood or charcoal, or both).  The units are very tight, so they hold temp and moisture very well.  Most of us use a "no peeky" method of smoking; put the cold meat in a cold smoker, with a remote thermometer, and keep the door closed until it hits internal temp - it's THAT easy!

I've smoked with traditional methods, and I have people tell me my Q is the best they've ever had.  No one cares how it's smoked - they care about how it TASTES!  In a blind taste test, I'd put what I can make in an SI up against anyone's Q!  Plus, I can make it year 'round!

Let us know how we can help, and throw the questions at us!

[old sarge]

abwman- Welcome.  You can and will get good bark with an electric. And great flavor.  I tried adding lump charcoal to my electric smoker, and stopped.  The wood smoked, the charcoal not so well. I have a severely lonely and neglected offset stick burner that I used for years. Great bark and great smoke ring, which is the result of the wood giving off nitrogen and combining with the oxygen in the smoker which affects the myoglobin in the meat. This nitrogen dioxide reacting with the meat creates the smoke ring. Curing your own meat with sodium nitrate produces this same effect. But while the ring is nice to look at, I have yet to read anywhere that it adds flavor. But the flavor that close to the surface will be more intense, and less intense toward the center.

With an electric smoker, there is insufficient oxygen to permit much more than a slow smolder of the wood, without combustion. The lack of oxygen prevents the production of nitrogen-dioxide.  Thus no smoke ring.  But good smoke flavor and nice bark (fowl excluded).  Also, smoke will only penetrate the meat until it reaches a temperature of 140 degrees.  By that time, the surface cells of the meat are sealed and can absorb no more flavor, but bark begins to develop.

I went beyond your question just to sort of cover all the bases.  Flavor and convenience is what electric will give you. And most are good with that.  But there are some purists..............

Happy Smoking