Some awesome information follows. I don't want too start a off topic thread on this, just sending the info, some of you might like this product, after a large day of home projects. My product review follows. You know, just every once an a while, a really great, blind friendly right out of the box accessible product, comes along. Well I have found a product like that I want too do a review on.
Last Saturday, morning was just one of those east Texas mornings, with just really great weather. Nice and sunny cool, with really low Humidity. You know just the kind of day, that you might want to fire up the BBQ pit/smoker. I new about a thing, Sam's club stores sell called a masterbuilt electric smoke house. In fact, I had looked at it already, liked it allot, grin. Just didn't know it was so blind friendly. To describe this thing, it looks allot like a large dorm size refrigerator. It stands about 42 inches high, around 23 inches wide, and about 16 inches deep. The one I bought, is made of stainless steal. You can all so buy it in a black metal configuration, How ever the model that Sam's sells is the stainless. model. This smoker is a double walled well insolated smoker. in fact when it is up to normal smoking temps, you can lay your arm across the top of the smoker, the out side is only warm, to the touch. Some info from a web sight, then some comments from me. Digital controls help you make culinary masterpieces with the new Masterbuilt Smoker. The heating element adjusts from 100? to 275? degrees, and is regulated by a digital thermostat, providing evenness in cooking temperature. The wood of your choice smolders in the electrically heated, removable wood chute. Insulated walls trap heat and eliminate drying. Four racks for cooking sausage, chicken, ribs, turkey, ham, fish, jerky and vegetables, providing 640 sq. inches of cooking space. Available: Black, Stainless Steel. Product sold with removeable cover. The control panel, located on the top of the smoker, is very blind friendly, if you know a couple of things going in. Going from left too right, the buttons, are power, temperature, and, time plus and minus buttons. This thing gives you an audible beep, each time you press a button. Hit the power button, one beep, tells you it is on. next press the temp button, you hear a beep, then press the plus are minus buttons, The default, where it always starts, if you push the plus button first, it always starts at 100 degrees, each press of the button, will increase the temp by one degree, and each press of the button will give you the audible beep. On the other hand, if you push the temp button, then the minus button the upper temp range, is preset for 275 degrees, so knowing this, I just press the minus button, and count down backward. from 275 degrees. That is because, most things you smoke/BBQ, you need a temp of around 215 degrees, give, are take ten degrees are so. If you should get lost any where in this process, just push the power button, again, and you will turn off and clear the settings. Then you could start over. The timer button works the same way. turn on smoker, after you set the temp, press the time button, it's default starts off at zero, each push of the plus button will give you one hour. You can have up to 24 hours of smoking time. At the end of the time you chose, the smoker goes to the keep warm cycle, and it will keep your food warm, until the point you turn off the power, and remove your dinner. For the folks on list, that have some eye sight, the digital read out, has a very large, nice and bright L E D, read out. I'm sure they did this, so sighted folks could read the panel, in bright sun light, are they would be able too read it at night, on a all night smoke, after drinking a few cool ones, grin. In either case, the digital, read out is excellent for those with a little eye sight. The four shelf's, are racks they talk about are nice. Depending on how much meat you are cooking, you can either add are remove the racks. The grills, just slide in to some medal bars, on each side of the smoker cabinet. You have a water pan, which sits below the bottom grate. For easy clean up, I would recommend lining this pan with heavy duty foil. Then you have the wood chip compartment below that, then an additional drip pan below that, which sits on the bottom of the smoker, just incase any grease, are juices, should miss your drip pan. >From experience, I realize these folks thought of every thing. One of the >other big pluses of this smoker, it has a silindler on the side you pull out, and load wood chips in to., and then close and turn, that drops the wood chips in to the removable wood chip compartment. Saves you from having too open the door, if you need to add more wood during the long smoke, grin. A great idea, if you ask me, which you didn't. So in wrapping up here, from experience of smoking meat for a few years now. This smoker is just so fine. I had what they called a vertical water smoker before, it cooked good, How ever it had some serious draw backs. Two examples. you had too open the smoker to do anything, and it was difficult too add wood when it was hot. Second thing, you had to remove the top rack of food, in order too work with the bottom rack of food, are in order too add more water too the drip pan. Their were more problems all so. these were some of the larger draw backs. In This master built electric smoke house, this is the reason, the front opening door, on the master built is so nice. seems too have taken care of these issues. The Sam's club, stainless model retails for around$300, I have seen the black steel model on line for around $200. I bought this one at Sam's, I wanted the stainless steel, and I wanted it right now, grin. So I was willing too spring out the extra dollars. All in, all, it is a good price, In the world of smokers, you can spend thousands of dollars, If you buy a good gas grill, you will spend probably that much are more. I would highly recommend this smoker, for any one that wants too cook real slow cooked Texas BBQ. It's a real winner, and blind friendly. In my book, that's a great combo. Regards Don [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
