Clean burning, minimal mess, and no fuss—it’s no surprise that electric smokers have taken over many households. But how do they actually work?
In the smoky world of grilling, electric means simplicity, convenience, and value. Electric smokers simplify the process of imparting different smoky flavors to your dishes. They are the best if you don’t have the time to devote to achieving a deliciously smoked brisket. Regardless if you’re a seasoned chef or not.
Electric smokers provide a large cooking space and use only power to operate, allowing you to set it and forget it until your meat and veggies are cooked.
But, if you’re thinking about switching from a traditional smoker to an electric one, or if you’re new to smoking, you might be wondering how they work.
In this post, we’ll explain how electric smokers work and how to use them correctly. We’ll also provide some tips to make the most out of your new electric smoker.
What Is an Electric Smoker?
An electric smoker is a type of outdoor cooking appliance that uses smoke to cook food such as meat, fish, chicken, and veggies. They’re not like other types of smokers that utilize wood, charcoal, or propane as fuel. An electric smoker heats up using hot electric rods, similar to an oven.
However, they have a limited temperature range, though this makes them ideal for cold-smoking cheese or bacon.
Despite this, they still provide amazing versatility for smoking a variety of food. Electric smokers cook seafood, smoke meat, sausages, and even desserts like smoked pumpkin pie and peach cobbler.
How Does an Electric Smoker Work?
An electric smoker works kind of similar to an oven. An electric smoker uses electric rods to heat the cooking chamber where food is being cooked by circulating air. And this creates a convection effect.
Electricity flows through the element found at the bottom of your electric smoker, right beneath the drip tray. The element’s high-resistance material will produce heat that goes upwards and through the wood chip pan.
So as the wood chips heat up, they will start burning and put out smoke. The heat produces vaporized water or steam.
Although electric smokers may tend to be inefficient, they are usually quite compact. So moisture, heat, and smoke are contained in a small space. And since electric smokers are completely sealed on the inside so the smoke or heat won’t be able to escape. This will cook your food to perfection.
The heat will cook your food and the smoke and steam will give it flavor while keeping it nice and moist. Electric smokers that use steam also make cleaning the smoker easier after cooking.
They cook similarly to solid-fuel smokers. But they do so on an energy-efficient, more practical, more steady, and easier-to-run scale.
Better Control Over, Less Flavor
If you can’t enjoy smoked dishes without the intense flavor profile that traditional smokers offer, an electric smoke might not be your best choice. However, it provides you with the best temperature control. So there’s an obvious trade-off here.
One of the best things about electric smokers is that you can set them to any temperature. And it will keep that temperature using an inbuilt thermometer and a dynamic heat adjustment mechanism.
With a solid-fuel smoker, you may end up with overcooked and overly smoked food since you can’t control the heat. And unlike solid-fuel smokers, they are more consistent, maintaining internal cooking conditions for a range of dishes.
Smoke Control
Electric smokers not only allow you to control the cooking temperature, but it also lets you control the level of smoke in the cooking chamber using an adjustable vent at the top.
The vent comes in handy when making dishes that produce a lot of moisture. Use the top vent and let the execess moisture escape.
You can also keep track of and change the internal temperature using the temperature controls.
Components of an Electric Smoker
Electric smokers come with a range of features and components. And much like charcoal and propane gas smokers, it stands vertically, with the cooking zone located at the top and an electric heating element at the bottom. Here are the common components of an electric smoker.
Electric Heating Element
This is the heart of the smoker. Your electric smoker may come with one or more heating rods located at the bottom. It heats up the cooking chamber and gradually cooks your food.
Temperature Control
Many electric smokers come with a simple push-button digital control panel. Temperature adjustments will typically range from 100 to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Some models will even boast a 24-hour timer with an auto shutdown feature. This will keep your food from being burnt and overcooked.
Thermostat
Electric smokers may include a thermostat and a rheostat. These features help your smoker to keep a consistent internal temperature for evenly cooked food. It works by breaking the circuit once the temperature rises above your set range. And this causes the temperature in the chamber to drop.
It also helps that the walls of the cooking chamber are well-insulated.
Wood Chip Tray
This component serves as the “flavorizer”. It’s where you keep all the wood chips and you can mix different woods to achieve the flavor you want. You can add more wood chips, chunks, or pellets to the heating elements about a quarter of the way through the smoking process.
The chips and chunks will then interact with the heating element to produce smoke, adding a smoky flavor to your food. You can impart diverse flavors by adding hickory, apple, oak, or cherry—it’s up to you!
Water Pan
Located above the wood chip tray, a water pan keeps your smoker’s internal temperature from rising too fast. Just pour cold water into it, and as it heats up, it will create steam that makes your smoker function like a convection oven. Make sure not to get the electric components wet, though.
Cooking Racks
This is a vital component. It’s where you place your food for smoking. Most electric smokers have stainless steel smoking racks. You can use it to either cook meat directly or hold cast iron skillets to roast your food.
How To Use an Electric Smoker
Most electric smokers have a digital panel, allowing you to configure all of the parameters required for successful smoking. Some models let you personalize your cooking, depending on the type of food to smoke. Others provide pre-programmed temperature settings, eliminating the guesswork.
Electric smokers can regulate every aspect of the smoking process. But you need to understand how to use it to make the most out of your smoker.
Here are important tips to follow when using an electric smoker:
Buy the right wood chips. It’s the first step toward a wonderful smoking experience. This will affect the taste of your doos, so pick your wood chops carefully.
Take advantage of the air damper. Many electric smokers include an adjustable air damper that allows you to control the amount of smoke. It allows you to customize the flavor to your liking. Keeping it open results in a mild and delicate flavor, and leaving it shut results in a powerful flavor that’s difficult to resist.
Know your cuts. Make sure to learn what certain cuts of meat require. This is important even if they come from the same source.
FAQs
Do electric smokers work with wood chips?
Yes. Wood chips burn slowly without going up in flames. And they do so without ever coming into contact with the electric element or fire.
Compared to traditional smokers, electric smokers require less amount of chips. So if you’ve switched from a solid-fuel or propane smoker to an electric model, you may find the size of the wood chip compartment too small.
Do you wet the wood chips in an electric smoker?
There’s no need to soak or wet the wood chips. They already have various mixes of smoke flavor to enhance the natural flavor of your food without pre-soaking.
Also, the wet wood chips must evaporate any moisture before they can generate fire. This is why you may see “white” steam (not smoke) when you toss some wet wood chips into the tray. But if you want to soak the woods, you can try using juice, whiskey, or beer to add flavors.
Why are there no smoke rings in an electric smoker?
The proper temperature and gas ratio are necessary to create a smoke ring. These chemical processes are governed by fuels. The iconic smoke rings will not form if the temperature and gas mixture is incorrect. When there’s less amount of oxygen circulating through the fire, the wood smolders at lower temperatures.
Final Thoughts
We all love flavorful smoked food. While electric cookers don’t provide flavors that solid-fuel smokers create, they offer less guesswork. They are convenient and deliver more consistent results every time.
Ready to smoke? We’d love to hear about your experience!
Good luck!
