Whether you want to feel cool or show your barbecuing prowess when entertaining friends and family, smoking perfectly sumptuous meat is on another challenging level. It’s a demanding task that’s quite honestly, not for everyone. The amount of patience needed to do it is abnormal.
Things can even get out of hand if you’re using a smoker that’s not up to standard or not in line with the cooking style that you so much desire. That’s because smoker grills are constructed to work differently. For this reason, choosing the wrong type of smoker might be the beginning of a not-so-great barbecue party!
So what are the best smokers? While there are many smokers in the market, some of the best smokers are vertical and horizontal smokers. These are awesome backyard smokers that will give you the original southern-style smoke flavor. When it comes to choosing the best from these two, it all depends on your personal preference. No matter the type of smoker you choose, these two smokers stand apart from your regular drum and cabinet smokers.
As you can imagine, it’s critical to choose the right smoker grill instead of just relying on your smoking skills. To help you work out which type of smoker that can work perfectly for you, this article delves into vertical and horizontal smokers.
What is a Smoker?
Simply put, a smoker is a cooking device that cooks at low temperatures using wood or charcoal smoke to impart flavor onto the food being cooked. There are several types of smokers ranging from electric models, gas smokers, to authentic charcoal or wood smokers. Some are small enough to be used on a balcony while others are sizable enough to prepare enough food to feed a small army!
Choosing the Right Smoker
Choosing the right type of smoker is probably the most important thing if you want your meat to have a rich and sumptuous smoky flavor. While there’s no bad or good smoker grill, some models are of poor quality and you might want to avoid them.
When using a vertical or horizontal smoker, there are a lot of things to consider in terms of fuel and how well you want your meat smoked. Keep in mind that choosing the wrong type of smoker will make a big difference between having the best smoked meat and ending up red-faced with a ruined barbecue party.
Things to Consider When Choosing the Right Smoker for You
Investing in a smoker is no mean feat. You do not want to invest your hard-earned cash on something that’s going to embarrass you in front of your guests. That’s why it’s important to go for a smoker that fits your lifestyle and can serve you diligently for many years. That being said, here are some of the things to consider.
Capacity
How many people will you be cooking for? This is an important question to ask when looking for an appropriate smoker. You should know the number of people you’ll generally be cooking for. Do you plan to often cook for a small family of 4 or 10 guests? Or do you need something that can cook for a large gathering of say 20-plus people?
Getting to know the estimated number of people you’ll be feeding regularly should help you decide on the type of smoker that’ll work for you.
Types of Fuel
What type of fuel do you prefer using for your barbecuing activities? Is it readily available in your area? When choosing the right smoker, you should appropriately answer these questions. Smokers come in all shapes and sizes but use different types of fuel such as:
- Lump charcoal
- Charcoal briquettes
- Wood pellets
- Wood logs
- Electricity
- Gas (Propane or natural)
These fuel sources are all fantastic, but choosing one over the other will depend on a number of several things including:
- Does the level of flavor matter to you?
- Do they allow wood or charcoal fires in your apartment?
- Do you have easy access to a constant supply of wood, charcoal or the type of fuel you choose?
- Are you looking for something convenient and can cook almost instantly?
- Are you ready to go through the learning process of using charcoal (Charcoal Grilling for Beginners )?
As you can see, there are a lot of things to consider when it comes to the fuel source. Although you don’t have to choose the fuel source straight away, it’s important to have an idea of what you would like to use.
What is Your Budget?
You can buy a nice smoker for as low as $100 but some high-end models will cost on the north of $1,000. High-end models have additional features and are of better quality than these low-end models. All in all, you should be realistic and set a budget based on what you can comfortably afford.
Additional Features
Are you looking for a model that’s easy to use or do you want a smoker that can do other things besides smoking? There are a lot of additional features that will influence the type of smoker that you go for. You can go for a smoker that allows you to set everything and forget or something that will give you the hands-on fun of controlling the fire. Some smokers can sear with high heat as well as others that can bake bread or even cook quality pizza!
Similarly, do you want something portable? If you want a smoker that you can take with you to the beach, go for something portable and durable. In short, it’s important to know exactly the type of smoker that will perfectly work for you.
Maintenance
Your smoker will inevitably break down at one point and you’ll have to get it serviced. It’s, therefore, critical to go for a device that can be easily serviced just in case a given part breaks down.
Vertical vs. Horizontal (Offset)
Horizontal and vertical smokers generally look the same. The only difference between these smokers is based on the cooking chamber in terms of heat and smoke source.
Horizontal Smoker – Also known as offset smoker, this is the original southern-style smoker. It has a firebox mounted just a few inches lower and on the side of the cooking chamber. The smoke is filtered from the firebox through to the cooking chamber where the food is placed.
Horizontal smokers are designed to cook food slowly at low temperatures. This is beneficial if you are looking for an authentic barbecue. Your meat will be well-penetrated, which is essential if you want a truly smoky taste that is moist and soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.
These models also double as a grill thanks to the additional grates in the firebox where you can flame grill some foods while smoking others. Some are even structured so that you can configure the main cooking chamber to hold charcoal and turn it into a huge charcoal grill.
No matter the brand, horizontal smokers are designed to use both charcoal and wood. This is exactly what makes them the most authentic smoker. Using a perfectly designed horizontal smoker will give you a genuine and sumptuous smoked flavor and this is perhaps why you should seriously consider it when looking for a smoker to buy.
You can shop offset smokers on Amazon by Clicking Here!
Vertical Smoker – This is different from the horizontal smoker that sources smoke from a smoke chamber mounted on the side of the cooking chamber. In other words, a vertical smoker has the source of heat and smoke directly below the cooking chamber.
The fact that the heat source is directly below the cooking chamber makes food cook faster. A vertical smoker is perfect for fast-cooking foods but not necessarily great for slow-cooking foods such as pork shoulders. In short, vertical smokers are ideal for high-heat grilling and searing.
Generally, vertical smokers are designed to use charcoal and wood, but other models can use gas or electricity. Keep in mind that it’s easier to control temperature on gas and electric vertical smokers than on charcoal vertical smokers. Despite this, we still believe that charcoal and wood vertical smokers are the best. It may take longer for your food to be ready but it’ll be worth the wait.
You can shop vertical smokers on Amazon by Clicking Here!
Pro Tip: We often recommend that you have some wood to burn below the charcoal to offer more smoke. The compact design of vertical smokers makes them a better option if you have less room or space for your barbecuing activities.
Different Types of Smokers
There are several types of vertical and horizontal smokers available in the market. While they come in different sizes and price tags, it’s difficult to tell which smoker grill is best for you. Although some of the smokers here are not traditionally designed as a vertical or horizontal smoker, all of them either take the vertical or horizontal design. For this reason, we’ll go through them to help you find one that’s most suited for your smoking and barbecuing requirements.
The Traditional Horizontal (Offset) Smoker
While an offset smoker is much larger than the vertical smoker, it has a much simpler design than the vertical smoker. This model is designed with two parts:
The Cooking chamber from where you’ll smoke your meat. This part is generally designed like a box or a long barrel. It also has a slide or lift door, as well as a smokestack to let some heat and smoke escape.
There’s the firebox, which is essentially the heat source. This is where you’ll place the small chopped woods or charcoal. The firebox is generally designed with air intake vents to help you control the temperature of the entire smoker.
How Do Traditional Horizontal Smokers Work?
The firebox and the cooking chamber are connected. Your cooking or barbecuing process will begin by lighting up the fuel (i.e. charcoal, wood or gas) at the firebox.
These two important parts are connected so that heat and smoke from the firebox can enter the cooking chamber and cook your food. The heat usually travels from the firebox to the cooking chamber through a small hole that links the two components.
Offset smokers are designed with a reverse flow thermal circulation. A sheet of metal placed at the bottom of the cooking chamber ensures that the temperature is evenly distributed throughout the cooking chamber.
Reasons for Choosing the Traditional Offset Smoker (Advantages)
The reverse flow thermal design is arguably the biggest advantage of the offset smoker. This is a design that enables you to perfectly smoke your meat without worrying about some parts of your sumptuous meat getting burned or charred because the heat was unevenly distributed in the cooking chamber.
The fact that the offset smoker is known for slow-cooking will always leave you with a perfectly cooked or smoked meat. This is a device that offers the authentic Southern-style barbecue and flavor.
Most traditional offset smokers come with large cooking chambers, which is essential if you want more space to cook large quantities of food all at the same time.
Again, a good traditional offset smoker can be great if you’re looking for a smoker that’s cheaper to operate. The heat is rarely wasted, which is crucial in saving energy and cutting down the operational costs.
Reasons Not to Choose the Traditional Offset Smoker (Disadvantages)
Despite the above pros, operating a traditional offset smoker is not easy especially if you’re new to the smoking and barbecuing game. Another downside of the offset smoker is that there are several models in the market. This can be stressful as it can be difficult to choose a good offset smoker from a bad one. You’ll only know whether or not an offset smoker is pretty good after buying and using it.
Although the reverse flow thermal configuration is great if you want the heat to be evenly distributed across the smoker, the thin sheet of metal makes it quite easy for heat to go to waste.
Pro Tip: The reverse flow thermal configuration is more efficient than other designs if you want to solve the problem of uneven heating, which can affect your barbecue.
Vertical Water Smokers
Designed to follow the law of physics of heat transfer and the water cycle, vertical water smokers are among the cheapest smokers in the market.
How Do Vertical Water Smokers Work?
Unlike other types of vertical smokers, vertical water smokers are structured with three main compartments.
The Heat Source Compartment – This is the bottom compartment. It’s the fuel source and holds charcoal or any other type of fuel. The main role of this compartment is to generate heat.
Water Pan Compartment – This is the middle compartment. It’s located just above the heat source compartment. This is essential in moisturizing the air inside the smoker so that you do not use dry heat to smoke the meat.
This compartment will help in making your meat soft and tender as you’ll be cooking the meat in low temperatures.
The Smoking or Cooking Compartment – This is located just above the water pan compartment. It comes with a stainless grate where you’ll place your meat.
Reasons to Choose the Vertical Water Smoker (Advantages)
Most vertical water smokers come with a digital thermometer controller that makes it easier to control the temperature. That’s not all, they’re easy to operate and control. All you have to do is build the fire, fill the water pan, place your meat on the grate and give it time to cook to your liking.
You might also like the compact design of vertical water smokers. This feature makes them a lot more efficient than larger smokers. This compact design is also essential in conserving energy as no energy will go to waste. Lastly, vertical water smokers are generally affordable and can be a great option if you’re working within a tight budget.
Reasons Not to Choose Vertical Water Smokers (Disadvantages)
The most noticeable drawback of the vertical water smoker is the small cooking space, which will limit the volume of meat you can smoke or grill. The point of access can also be an issue since you can put or remove food only in one direction. While these types of smokers have two layers of grates, you can only access the lower grate by removing food on the upper grate first.
Pro Tip: This is one of the few smokers in the market to go for if you’re a newbie smoker or griller.
Kamado Vertical Grills/Smokers
The Kamado is a grill that also doubles as a smoker thanks to its ability to cook slowly in low temperatures. Adapted from ancient Japanese grills that were used to cook various Japanese delicacies, the Kamado has become one of the most popular smokers in America. Its efficiency and convenience have made this egg-shaped smoker one of the most popular vertical smokers in America!
How Do Kamado Vertical Smokers Work?
Simply put, kamado grills work just in the same way as other vertical smokers. All you have to do is light up the charcoal fuel on the bottom of the grill, place the heat diffuser on top, and cover the hot charcoal fuel below. You should then set the grates, put whatever you want to cook and close the lid. Just don’t forget to open the air vents at the heat source so that the device can keep producing heat to smoke the meat.
Reasons for Choosing a Kamado Vertical Smoker (Advantages)
The fact that Kamado grills can reach temperatures of up to 400 degrees Celsius makes them one of the best grills/smokers in the market. If you’re looking for durability, then Kamado is the way to go. They’re made of ceramic materials and cannot get damaged even if exposed to various elements.
Additionally, Kamado grills are properly insulated, which is perfect for better temperature retention and, of course, better energy conservation. Remember, you can use Kamado for both grilling and smoking.
Reasons Not to Choose Kamado Smokers
While the ceramic materials make Kamado grills durable, they can get completely damaged if accidentally dropped. They’re also made with expensive materials making them some of the most expensive smokers.
Pro Tip: The initial investment when buying a Kamado grill can be expensive, but this device will last longer than most smokers in the market.
Pellet Horizontal Smokers
As the name suggests, the main difference between traditional horizontal smokers and pellet horizontal smokers is the source of fuel: wood pellets. This horizontal smoker uses 0.025-inch wood pellets made from natural hardwood and sawdust.
How Does Pellet Horizontal Smokers Work?
These types of smokers have four main parts including:
- The Hopper – This is the storage bin where you put the wood pellets.
- The Auger – Designed as a corkscrew, it has a low-speed electric motor to slowly feed the wood pellets into the firebox.
- The Firebox – Produces heat, which is fed to the cooking chamber for your cooking and smoking escapades.
- The Cooking Chamber – This is where the cooking or smoking takes place. Keep in mind that most modern pellet smokers have computer control systems to enable you to control the level of heat in the cooking chamber.
Reasons for Choosing Pellet Horizontal Smokers
In addition to the fact that you can use pellet horizontal smoker for both grilling and smoking, the smoke that’s produced from the pellets will give you an authentic flavor almost akin to charcoal smoking or grilling.
The computer controls make it a high-end model that can be great if you want a large cooking space. They’re also affordable and will cost you somewhere between $250 and $1,000.
Reasons Not to Choose the Pellet Horizontal Smoker
Having many moving parts makes the pellet horizontal smoker susceptible to wear and tear. If one part breaks down, the entire smoker becomes useless. Another downside is that the maximum temperature that such a smoker can produce is 260 degrees Celsius. This level of heat is far below the level of heat produced by other smokers and is not ideal for normal barbecuing.
Pro Tip: Finding these wood pellets can be a real hassle, especially if you live in the city. So only go for the pellet smoker if this fuel source won’t be a problem.
Honorable Mentions: Other smokers to consider include:
Box smokers – They use charcoal or wood and function in the same way as vertical water smokers.
Drum smokers – This is a quite affordable vertical smoker that you can build in the backyard if you are the DIY-kind-of-person.
Smoker Ovens – Vertical smokers that work great if you want a more high-tech device that lets you smoke a brisket while watching your favorite TV show! Just forget about the authentic smoky flavor as they mostly use electricity or gas.
Conclusion
Honestly, it’s not easy to categorically choose the type of smoker grill that will work best for you. All of them have pros and cons and so it all comes down to your personal preferences. Nonetheless, we do believe that this article can help you figure out a smoker grill that’s best for you.
All in all, keep in mind that there are several factors to consider before investing. Do you want something that smokes faster? Going with a vertical smoker could be the best option and vice versa. Consider all the different types of smokers; fuel sources, prices, temperature range, and additional features before settling on one.
As Always, Happy Grilling!
Check Out Pellet Smokers on Amazon by Clicking Here!
Check Out Kamado Smokers on Amazon by Clicking Here!