Masterbuilt MB20071117 30-Inch Black Electric Digital Smoker, Top Controller

The smoker was delivered promptly and completely intact; good start. Assembly was easy; though I'd thought the screws holding the digital panel were missing. I wrote customer service and they shipped me two screws within a few days. So A+ for that. Turned out the screws were tack-glued in the corner of the inside drip pan (something I discovered AFTER I seasoned it). So if you can't find the screws in the regular packaging, check the pans. Still, minor problem. My first smoke was two 7lb pork shoulders that I had marinated overnight in a dry rub. Just for grins I also tossed in a "smoked" chicken kielbasa for a couple hours. Loved it! After preheating to 275, I loaded in the meat (had to remove 2 of the 4 trays to make them fit, plenty of room to breath after that). I then set the temp down to 230; even with the preheat it still took about 20 minutes to get back to temp (on a very windy and cool day). I may not bother with too much preheating next time. I loaded soaked (but not saturated; 20 min soak) wood in the hopper two times; once at the beginning and again at 3 hours. I found that it produced plenty of smoke and was still doing so when I finally opened the smoker at 7 hours to check temps. There were a couple coals still burning. Thus, I declare that it functioned as promised and expected (not just an outdoor oven with a little smoke as I've read in some reviews). The result: AMAZING BBQ pork with just the right amount of smokey flavor; noticeable but not overwhelming. Next attempt, brisket. TIPS: Get a cover for it; when you cover it leave the top vent open to prevent leftover moisture from rusting internals. Many recommend bringing it inside when not in use. Also, since you can't/shouldn't use it in the rain, having one of those small pavilion tents lets you work in any almost weather. Some folks out there recommend lightly spraying/rubbing with oil before seasoning. CONS: Eh, not much. The ash pan is sometimes hard to remove and reinstall. Casters might have been nice (but it's not too heavy to just pick up and move). Overall, it does a great job and the price is great too (considering free shipping). UPDATE: It's not been almost a year since I bought my smoker and it's still working great, making excellent food, and fairly easy to maintain. The only advice I would give is, prior to a prolonged period of non-usage, to give it a good deep cleaning and make sure it dries out completely as sealed-in moisture can promote mold growth (had one incident due to my own neglect). I even run mine for 20 minutes AFTER cleaning it to make sure it's dry. I still highly recommend this smoker.

I had been in the market for a smoker for a while. I'm a bit of a foodie/cook and never had ventured into the art of smoking. After searching, and researching, reading reviews et al.....I went with this smoker as I found it for $177 on Amazon. That was a great price. Delivered on time in good manufacturer packaging. Easy to open and set up. Mine has digital controls. Very easy to set.I seasoned the unit per the manufacturer instructions. My first attempt were baby back ribs. Using a YouTube recipe and instruction, they turned out awesome. I have made several racks of ribs since and each time they were great. Just yesterday I did beef ribs. Where I had used applewood for smoke on the pork ribs, I went with hickory for the beef ribs. Everything turned out excellent. This is my first smoker so I am not a good judge of capacity adequacy. I've only done 2 racks of ribs at a time. Based on that, I could have easily fit 8 racks at once. I would guess-timate that 2 "medium" briskets or pork shoulders at a time would not be a problem. If you need or want to do larger amounts of meat, this may not be the unit for you. The controls are easy. The unit needs about 30 minutes to reach heat. You MUST enter a time for the unit to operate. You cannot just turn it on and leave it on. I'm a simple guy, I just put in 20 hours and timed the cooking using my phone alarm so I could go do other things in the house. You MUST use wood chips. Chunks won't work due to the limited sized of the dispenser. I soaked 2 cups of chips in water, drained them and used them per the instructions and that produced more than enough smoke. The trick is to get the unit up to temp, put your meats on the racks as quickly as possible and get the door closed. Once closed, then add your chips. NOTE: add the chips LAST. Don't get the unit all smoked up while you are warming it up. I know that seems obvious, but sometimes you have to state the obvious:) Having researched smoking as a cooking method, it is abundantly clear that temperature control is paramount. That is the beauty of this unit. You literally set the temp right where you need it. No tending the fire, checking the thermometers and being chained to your smoker for hours. This one is just "set-it and forget-it". Considering the cost of meat, wasting time and $$ experimenting and learning things the hard way until you get your smoking skills honed seems wasteful. The only down side to this smoker is the grief I get from my "purist snob" friends. I live in Texas. It seems that if you don't "tend the fire" and hang out around the smoker all day then you are not really "smokin". Somehow an electric smoker is "cheating". What can i say, haters are gonna hate.....lol. Bottom line; great price-great product-great results. I'll update as needed as I use this product.

This is an excellent, easy to use smoker that produces lots of smoke and maintains the temperature during the long smoke periods. The many YouTube videos are very helpful to watch including the first one on unpacking and assembly by a female user. I thought,"if she can do this so can I"and it really was easy but helped to have her tips. Enjoying ribs, pulled pork, and especially the vegetables.

This gadget is amazing, I recommend it, it's a 10/10.

It is a great product and highly recommended. It is efficient and no worrie to use it coz it will turn off automatically after each use. It works great!😊

This is the first electric smoker I used so far. The smoking is good and uniform. The process takes some practice and your first times might turn out too salty or dry however with some practice this does wonders. This smokers works well for making large batches of food. Pros: - strong build / durable - proper cooking - lots of room and precise thermometer - no smoke loss - decent humidity control Cons: - serious pain for cleaning thus smoking large amounts works best - screen is tough to read in the sunlight overall great device for its price

Is it smoking that is wonderful or this machine? The only critique is on the wood burning pan that is somewhat small. The four grilles are super efficient. I love the temperature and timing programming. This is a great starter's smoker for chicken, pork and beef (all tried).