Propane smokers are incredibly popular for a reason. They are affordable and can turn out great barbecue without having to constantly tend a fire. You have a LOT of options when you are looking at propane smokers and I want to help you find the best one for your needs.
There are two primary manufacturers of high quality propane smokers:
- Outdoor Leisure Products (Smoke Hollow brand)
- Masterbuilt
Between these two brands I believe that Masterbuilt offers the better value and that the 44 inch XL in particular is the best of the bunch.
The Masterbuilt 44 XL is the best vertical propane smoker.
Here is a quick video tour of this smoker showing the burners, capacity and smoker box.
While there are a few other companies (Cuisinart, etc) that dabble in the market they really don’t bring anything special or interesting to the table. The one other company worth noting is Camp Chef (Smoke Vault brand) who makes the only natural gas smoker that I am aware of.
One of the tricks to finding the best propane smoker is matching the smoker to your needs. Many people use price as the main decision criteria and I believe that is a mistake. You don’t have to buy the most expensive smoker but you should buy the best one that you can afford.
Let’s get one thing out of the way right now. You either want a SMALL smoker or a LARGE one. There is no good logical reason on Earth to ever buy a MEDIUM sized smoker.
You want a SMALL smoker if you need something that is:
- Easy to store in your RV
- Easy to transport for camping or tailgating
- Just enough for one or two people.
Small Smokers
Masterbuilt makes great electric smokers and they have transferred their designs over to their propane products. Their Portable Propane Smoker is my choice for the best small propane smoker. Here is a quick look at this smoker in a video from Masterbuilt.
The leg’s on this smoker fold up for easy storage and you can also get a carry bag and gas adapter for larger propane tanks if desired.
This smoker is large enough for a small turkey or a large pork butt.
When it comes to a small smoker then the Masterbuilt really has this locked up.
Do Not Purchase A Medium Sized Smoker
People THINK they want a MEDIUM smoker because:
- This is my first smoker and I want to make sure I enjoy it before I get a large smoker.
- I know I like smoking meat but I want to save $50.
- I don’t know exactly what I want so I will pick something in the middle.
- I don’t want a small smoker but I know I don’t need something that will handle 100 pounds of meat.
Let me destroy those excuses.
Smoking meat is a glorious hobby and you are going to love it. One way to get incredibly frustrated with a new hobby is to use equipment that isn’t good enough. Do not sabotage yourself at the start by purchasing a medium size smoker.
The reality is that most of the medium sized smokers (sold by Masterbuilt and Smoke Hollow as the 30-38 inch models) are too small for a whole slab of ribs or a full packer brisket. The smokers have plenty of vertical space but do not have the width to deal with these classic barbecue cuts.
If you buy a medium sized smoker you will have to cut your ribs in half before smoking and stick to brisket flats instead of whole packers. Make no mistake about it…if you want to call yourself a pitmaster then you are going to have to master ribs and brisket. Why in the world would you shoot yourself in the foot by purchasing a smoker that is not capable of cooking these classics?
Yes, you can make fine barbecue with a brisket flat and it doesn’t really hurt anything other than your pride to cut the ribs in half. But I promise you, if you buy a medium size propane smoker then at some point you are going to say, “I wish I had gotten the bigger one.”
So let’s do everyone a favor and stop looking at those 30-38 inch smokers.
Large Smokers
This choice is going to come down to the features that you value. I am going to show you four models that are great, one that is okay and another that you should completely avoid.
Smoke Hollow 44 Inch Smokers
Smoke Hollow offers three different 44 inch smokers. All three versions have dual burner control with a smoker box over each burner. These smokers come with rib racks, sausage hooks and jerky trays in addition to the standard smoking trays.
The base 44 inch model has a solid front door without a window. Personally I am a fan of this model since it is the least expensive and it does not have a window that will have to be cleaned on a regular basis to keep your spouse from nagging you.
The next model up is pretty much the exact same as the base model but has a window on the front of the smoker.
Again, I would skip on this one because all it does is add cost and give you one more thing to clean. But hey, some folks like windows so here it is.
Last up is the Smoke Hollow Pro Series 44.
The functionality of the Pro Series is the same as the other two 44 inch smokers. What makes this a “Pro Series” is that the temperature gauge (which has been moved to the center of the window) is advertised as being accurate (I still wouldn’t trust it) and the smoker boxes are upgraded.
Again, I would stick with the base model just from a value standpoint. Also from a value standpoint, you can usually pick up the same size Masterbuilt for less than a Smoke Hollow (keep reading below).
Large Smokers From Masterbuilt
Masterbuilt has three large vertical propane smokers but I am only recommending the Masterbuilt 44 XL. I am including the other two products as references so you will know what to avoid if you head out to a Big Box store to buy one.
You might be tempted by the two other large Masterbuilt smokers but let me try to talk you out of them.
Masterbuilt is marketing a Thermoset smoker which is an excellent IDEA. The smoker comes with an advanced control system sounds that lets you dial in a temperature which is then maintained automatically.
The concept is interesting as heck and a first for a gas smoker but I have read too many reports of folks having problems with the device flaming out on a frequent basis. Give Masterbuilt a few years of R&D to get the bugs worked out on the thermostat controlled smoker. For now just stick with the standard 44 inch unit.
A second product that might tempt you based on the price tag is the Masterbuilt XL Original.
There are two details about this smoker that make me not recommend it. The first is that it only has a single burner compared to the dual burner configuration of the 44 XL. This isn’t a complete deal breaker for me but if I can get more precise temperature control using two burners then that is what I want.
The other detail that is the deal breaker is that in order to refill the water pan or add more smoke wood you have to open the front door and let out all of your heat and smoke.
On all of the other large Smoke Hollow and Masterbuilts you can refill the water and replenish the wood by opening a lower cabinet door.
Between the single burner and the single door I suggest you pass on the Original XL and get the 44 XL instead.
