Masterbuilt 20050614, 44-Inch, Black Propane Smoker

Unit was well packaged, and didn't take a whole lot to assemble - about an hour.1st time out, I smoked 2 large pork butts, and about 10 lbs. of baby back ribs. I used my dual lead digital thermometer, one lead to measure the meat temp on one of the butts, and the other for the smoker temp. Set the smoker temp at 250, and cooked until my butt temp was 190 (about 20 hours). i did watch the ribs, and pulled them when they were done. Everything turned out great!! The butts just fell apart - very little work to pull it.I read that the thermometer on the unit is off, and mine is too, but I use the digital anyway, so it doesn't matter. Some people complained that the glass smoked up and was hard to clean. The directions say to coat the door with cooking oil and season it. I coated the glass too, and it didn't smoke up at all. When I was done, I used windex to clean the glass, and will probably spray it with Pam next time.

Recieved this smoker (44" glass door) and LOVE IT. Some of the reviews talk about modifications like lava rocks, but found the wood chip box more than adequate, only filled it twice during 6 hour smoke job (225 degrees). Did two whole flat iron chickens and a couple slabs of salmon yesterday, turned out perfect. Highly recommend a digital probe for smoker/meat .... got Maverick remote model and it was a pleasure to be able to watch the Packer game and monitor the smoker from the comfort of the couch. I did take the aluminum tray tip and put two of them on a bottom rack (as low as it would go) and filled with beer/water and never needed to add water. One would have been sufficient. I did add strip foam gasket (cheap and easy to put on) as I noticed during initial burn off that the smoke wisped out a little. After the strips installed (LavaLock 1/2" by 1/8") no smoke comes out except through the designated vents. Initial smoke yesterday was unusual 80 degree October day here in WI, so used only one of the two burners for most of the smoke. But as afternoon wore on and the sun was no longer on the smoker, needed to turn on the 2nd burner.Was a bit nervous about doing poultry right away based on the reviews of saying that chicken was a bit harder to smoke .... wasn't an issue ... used the remote food thermometer and waited on the chicken to get to 163, took it off in aluminum tin tray and wrapped .....30 minutes later, moist, tender awesome tasting chicken falling off the bone. Make sure to use a good rub mixture, flavor is incredible when smoked.I am not an experienced smoker, having only done it a couple times in my life prior to purchasing this unit. But as a trout fisherman, I will be using it alot ... the salmon came out perfect, so anticipate some smoked trout and trout dip in the near future.Setup was easy although instructions could be more well written.

I'm a long-time meat-smoker, first with charcoal and then with electric, and now with gas. I've had two digital electric smokers--both Masterbuilt, and I had success with them . . . as long as they worked. They were easy enough to fix when it was just a matter of replacing a circuit board, but eventually they both burned through their ridiculously thin wires (they need much heavier-duty wiring). This time around I thought I'd try the gas option. One thing it has going for it is its simplicity--not a whole lot that can go wrong. Assembly was simple enough (took me about three hours by myself), after which I cured it for an hour or so. The first test for the smoker was a big one: Thanksgiving turkeys, and it passed the test with flying colors. The turkey meat tasted smoky and delicious, and it was super moist, too. As much as I like it I will have to do some mods for this smoker, however. I should have read the description more closely, but I thought it would be like the other Masterbuilt smokers and be constructed with thick, insulating walls. Unfortunately only the door is thick enough to hold in the heat (every other gas smoker I researched was built basically the same way: with one layer of sheet metal all around. Don't know why the electrical ones tend to be insulated and the gas not . . . is it some sort of industry-wide conspiracy?). I've found some easy fixes online for this issue in particular (simple wrap-around with the foil-covered insulation blankets that can be found in any Home Depot--should do the trick). I look forward to many years of great smoked meats with this unit!

they are not quite forth coming on operating instructions on how to control temperature. Also door was bent on receiving and the replaced it right away. The Thermometer did not work.. and after four emails and a couple calls they have not replaced it yet. Te cooking temperatures and times that they sent me per request are a lot different than what they say on their online cook book for cooking products. I guess it is just a trial and area on some of these.. I did do two whole chickens, some bone in thighs and party wings DSP. Dead solid perfect. I also did some fresh brats. they were good but really changed the flavor of that product.