Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava
Go with the charcoal for sure. The flavours that you get with a real fire are so much better than the electric. My neighbours have never complained about the smoke (and really its not like there are huge plumes forever!).
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"Quoted For Truth"
Most of the rest of this applies to drying jerky... for actual cooking, tending a charcoal smoker for a couple hours at 225 degrees plus isn't hard... but if you're going for under 225 degrees it gets cumbersome.
I've had charcoal based smokers (in my case, it was a smoker with an offset charcoal burning unit), and electric (in my case, a Bradley).
I love the smell of a genuine charcoal fire. It can't be beat, nor can the flavours it produces.
Using the charcoal, it takes a whole Saturday or Sunday of monitoring to get good results if you're trying to dry jerky. I'd have to start the fire, tend it, and rotate the meat often because of the heat differences from the left to the right side of the smoker, and also regularly put chips on the coals to ensure the smoking continued. It is fun but is also a serious commitment.
Done properly, I've made my best jerky on a charcoal unit, though in every batch I get some parts overdried/overcooked (the heat differential is large in an offset unit). And it takes 12 hours of labour.
Using the Bradley, I get results that are subtly less flavourful, but much easier and requiring much less labour.
Now, I use charcoal when I have the time, its just fun and rewarding to smoke or cook that way... (mmmmmm smoked brisket......) but most often use the Bradley because I get consistent, awesome results without having to check on it every 15 minutes.
PS.... did you try the rib recipe?
Smoking Up (Ribs that is)
