Ok, it took me about 10 tries to get here. I’ve done wood, gas, charcoal and mixes of all the above. I finally found a way to get great smoked food every time without all the expense.
Buy this:
Masterbuilt 20070910 30-Inch Black Electric Digital Smoker, Top Controller (no window)
and this:
Amazen Pellet Tube Smoker 12" (and/or the 6")
I’ll assume you have a propane torch or such.
Buy some pelletized smoking wood: Hickory, Pecan and Cherry. A 5 lb bag will last you a VERY LONG time. YES PELLETS.
Now… you may have spent about $250 max for this rig. I’ve seen the smoker for as low as $119 so shop around. Ignore the fact that this unit uses wood chips. Forget about em. Nix it. The Amazen pellet smoker thing is THE BOMB. I get 10 hrs of smoke NON STOP from it.
Do your food prep thing and get the smoker loaded up and bring the smoker up to temp. I do not use a water pan but I do put foil over all the lower parts below the food to make it an easy clean. Put a small aluminum catch pan (Weber brand) under the meat. Too much water vapor from a pan can kill the Amazen smoker thing. Zap about a cup of pellets in the microwave for 60 seconds to dry them out good. Fill the Amazen up with the pellets and light it with a torch. Blow out the flame and put it on the bottom left side on the two rods that run across the bottom. Put a piece of foil between the Amazen and the heat element (VERY IMPORTANT). Shut the door, pull the wood chip holder out about 1/2 inch, adjust the top vent to almost closed, walk away for x hours. Keep an eye on the smoke, it should be a very fine wisp continuously. Wrap your meat in foil close to the end of the cook and put it back in for the final 1 or 2 hours.
THERE! You are SET! You will be KING! You’ll never need another smoker.