# For all you meat heads



## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

A few days ago I picked up a propane smoker from Cabela's.

Masterbuilt Sportsman Elite 40" Vertical Gas Smoker : Cabela's

I have quite a bit of experience with a wood fired smoker, but had never used a propane one before. So here are my opinions of it after smoking chops the first day and some venison sausage today.

First, the thing comes completely disassembled. This is not necessarily bad. But do expect to spend at least an hour assembling it when you take it out of the box. Then also allot a couple hours to season it before you smoke your first meal with it.

It is really nice to be able to regulate the temperature easily with the propane. With my wood smoker, I have to mind it constantly to keep the temp where I want it. With this, I just set it and forget it.

The front door is insulated which I did not appreciate the significance of that when I looked at it in the store. That is a BIG deal since I can use my magnetic digital thermometer on it without worrying about melting the plastic case.

It also has a LOT of space inside. I could easily smoke 12 full racks of ribs or 4 hams/roasts and still have plenty of room for sides. It also came with two sausage hangers, each one having 9 hooks. *Edit:* Originally, I posted there were 12 hooks per sausage hanger. There are actually 9. Sorry.

The only two negatives I can say on it so far are that it is a bit hotter than I want for smoking sausages. Usually I smoke sausages in stages - around 120 degrees (without smoke) until the casings get dry, then an hour at 140 with smoke, then 30-45 minutes at 160, then up to about 180 until the internal temp of the sausage is about 156 degrees. Even at the lowest setting, this smoker runs about 170 degrees. (That is about perfect for chops, roasts and ribs, but a bit hotter than I like for sausages.)

The second negative is that it is REALLY messy. With my wood smoker, any of the grease or water that drips off the meat just burns up in the smoker. With this, it drips out and turns my deck black. It is not the end of the world, but I wish they had worked out a better grease capture system for it.

Overall however, I am very happy with and it should give us several years of service as it is very well made.


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## Beach Kowboy (Feb 13, 2014)

Inor said:


> A few days ago I picked up a propane smoker from Cabela's.
> 
> Masterbuilt Sportsman Elite 40" Vertical Gas Smoker : Cabela's
> 
> ...


Excellent, I love smoking meat.. It is funny you brought up this post. About an hour ago my buddy called and asked if I was busy. I told him I was just hangin out. He said to come over and have a drink he wanted to show me something. I hopped on the 4 wheeler and when I got there, we got in the side by side and took a ride out back. I asked him what we were doing when we stopped and he said "I think I want to build a smoker right here". It is by a few trees but not too close. He asked if I would help and I told him no problem. Hell, I will be able to use it whenever I want. It's a no brainer for me. It is going to be a walk in smoker 8'x12 with a 4ft overhang on the front for a porch. We are going to put the firebox in the rear and have an overhang on one side so we can store wood as well. We are slowing down now onthe ranch, don't have to feed the cows anymore so that will save a few hours a day. The next month and a half will be pretty slow until we start haying. So this is the perfect time. We already have the material so it should take us no time at all once we get rolling. I will post pics from start to finish to show the progress..


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Beach Kowboy said:


> Excellent, I love smoking meat.. It is funny you brought up this post. About an hour ago my buddy called and asked if I was busy. I told him I was just hangin out. He said to come over and have a drink he wanted to show me something. I hopped on the 4 wheeler and when I got there, we got in the side by side and took a ride out back. I asked him what we were doing when we stopped and he said "I think I want to build a smoker right here". It is by a few trees but not too close. He asked if I would help and I told him no problem. Hell, I will be able to use it whenever I want. It's a no brainer for me. It is going to be a walk in smoker 8'x12 with a 4ft overhang on the front for a porch. We are going to put the firebox in the rear and have an overhang on one side so we can store wood as well. We are slowing down now onthe ranch, don't have to feed the cows anymore so that will save a few hours a day. The next month and a half will be pretty slow until we start haying. So this is the perfect time. We already have the material so it should take us no time at all once we get rolling. I will post pics from start to finish to show the progress..


That will be awesome! Smoking meat is one of my favorite summer activities.


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## Beach Kowboy (Feb 13, 2014)

We will have to do some for the 2015 get together as well..


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## tribby01 (Jun 2, 2014)

Id love some recipes for smoking meat


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## jeff70 (Jan 29, 2014)

Looks like a nice smoker, How much fuel does it go threw??, I have 3 smokers now and have been wanting a good gas one,


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

jeff70 said:


> Looks like a nice smoker, How much fuel does it go threw??, I have 3 smokers now and have been wanting a good gas one,


I am surprised at how LITTLE fuel it burns. Once I had it assembled, I connected a 17# tank that was about half full. I ran it full blast for two hours to season it. Then, about 2 1/2 hours on med-low to smoke the chops. Then I ran it 5 hours on low to smoke the sausages. The Mrs Inor connected the same tank to her camp stove to do some pressure canning (about 5 hours total). Then, I smoked ribs on it last Friday, running it on med-low for 5 hours and I still have a bit left in the first half-tank, although I doubt it will go too much longer.

I have always considered gas smokers and gas grills for pussies. But after this one, I am strongly reassessing that assertion.


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