Electric Vs Pellet Smoker
Electric and pellet smokers are both incredibly popular in food freaks for outdoor cooking. A perfectly infused smoke into vegetables, fruits, and fast foods with ultra-convenient use is what makes these smokers best. Just place your food, set the temperature, and enjoy your party without worrying about anything.
An excellent feature of pellet and electric smokers is that they are ideal for both experienced and beginners. They are equipped with digital control and electric controls to smoke a meal without any hassle. However, choosing the best between these smokers can be one difficult task. Both are similar and different in many ways. This pellet smoker vs. electric smoker in-depth comparison will help you to make the right decision.
Pellet Smoker Vs. Electric Smoker- A Brief Overview
Electric and pellet smoker works with electricity, and both smokers offer great, smoky-tasting food. However, the food results of both electric smokers are different in many ways.
For instance, a pellet smoker cooks at a relatively low temperature and allows you to enjoy the party while cooking the food.
On the other hand, an electric smoker utilizes even low temperatures, which is perfect for smoking meats, warming soups, and sauces.
Electric smokers can’t smoke food quickly and also can’t operate at extreme temperatures. However, various pellet smokers can grill and slow cook the food. Modern electric and pellet smokers use technology to offer a convenient outdoor cooking experience and help you enjoy both food and party.
The best thing is that you don’t need to hassle with ignition modern smokers as most of them feature auto-start ignitions. All you need is to push the button to start the smoker. Also, there are smart devices and remote control options to change the settings of both smokers. Just sit on the chair and modify the settings according to requirements.
There are easy-to-read digital control panels for accurate temperature control and monitoring. You can easily check and control the cooking chamber’s precise temperature. The best thing is that controls are easy to use and helps even beginners to perfectly smoke any food.
The hardwood pellets are effective and easily available in nearby stores and online too. Both electric and pellet smokers don’t create any mess. There are grease trays and water pans available to keep perfectly moist in the food and prevent oil, food, and grease drip from creating a mess in the cooking chamber. Just pull out the grease and ashtray to clean the smoker.
Another excellent feature of pellet and electric smokers is that they are created with durable and corrosion-resistant material. You can enjoy the perfect performance for a long time if maintained properly. The grills located inside the smoking chamber heats the smoker evenly and therefore help to prevent hot and cold spots from preparing perfect smoked foods.
What is an Electric Smoker ?
An electric smoker is less expensive as compared to a pellet smoker. If you are on a budget and want to save some money, the best electric smoker is an ideal choice for you. The vertical design is space-saving and good enough to smoke a large amount of food.
Using an electric smoker is straightforward. It’s just like operating your oven. Nowadays, you can easily find electric smokers with intuitive touch screen display and digital readouts that helps to select the extracted temperature of the cooking chamber.
There are electric smokers with Bluetooth feature that allows monitoring and adjusting the temperature with your smartphone. The wood chip loading system is convenient, and you can also add the chips without opening the smoker door to preserve accumulated heat and smoke.
All you need is to plug the cord, wait for the heat up, place food and enjoy effortless smoking. Another great feature of the electric smoker is that it is environmentally friendly and won’t bother neighbors with drifting smoke. They are a great choice for apartments as they don’t have any outdoor fires and smoke.
An electric smoker is a great choice for smoking meat as the low temperature allows slow cooking. They are also best for heat smaller foods. Whether you want a piece of bread, melt cheese over the meat, or warm nuts, an electric smoker is an all-in-one solution for your needs.
When you are done with cooking, cleaning the electric smoker is effortless. Pull off the grease and ashtray, dispose of the garbage and place them in the chamber.
Benefits of Electric Smoker
- Best for condos and apartments– A shared living space doesn’t allow real fire, and therefore electric smokers can be used to prepare juicy smoked steaks.
- Convenient temperature setting– Similar to the oven, you can set the dial of the desired temperature to cooker slower or faster.
- Compact design– featuring a vertical design, an electric smoker doesn’t take much space and is also super easy to store after use.
- Smart Features– Electric smokers have smart featuring like auto shut off, Bluetooth, and digital control panels to monitor the status of the food without opening the door.
- Affordable price– An electric smoker is one of the affordable cookers available on the market with great features for cooking.
- Super clean– This type of smoker leave virtually no mess. All you need is to clean the surface, remove the grease and ashtrays, and they are ready for the job again.
Drawbacks of electric smokers
- A lighter smoked flavor– although an electric smoker can prepare food effectively but the smoked flavor is not perfect as compared to a pellet smoker.
- Not recommended for grilling– an electric smoker can’t cook food at high temperatures, and therefore, it is not recommended for grilling or searing meat.
- Not for outdoor cooking– this type of smoker needs an electric power source, and that’s why it is not portable and recommended for outdoor cooking.
- Take little practice– It is equipped with a water pan to keep the ideal moist level inside the cooking chamber. You need some practice to get succulent, juicy meat.
What is a Pellet smoker?
This smoker uses an auger to feed wood pellet from its hopper into the bottom of the cooking chamber. The convection fans help to bring air into the chamber, start a small fire and ignite the pellets. A pellet smoker is popular for producing high-quality flavor-infused meat and vegetables. Even an expert can hardly differentiate between the pellet smoked and open fire food.
There is a range of different hardwood pellet flavors to choose from. The best thing is that these pellets are inexpensive, and you can enjoy your favorite flavors in a single sitting. You can enjoy the gathering with family and friends, thanks to the ultra-convenient use of pellet smokers. Just connect the smoker to an electric source, and the auger automatically starts to feed the adequate amount of pellet to heat the food.
You can find pellet smokers with modern technology that helps to adjust the cooking temperature of the chamber with remote control. Such features are best for slow cooking and enjoy the party. Also, you can prepare food at higher heat when needed.
Pellet smokers are incredibly famous among BBQ lovers and Pitmasters. Take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of pellet smokers.
Benefits of Pellet Smoker
- Excellent smoked flavor– There is nothing better than a pellet smoker to enjoy perfectly smoked flavor using hardwood pellets.
- Environmental friendly– as compared to charcoal smokers, pellet smoker doesn’t create a lot of mess and thus considered as environmentally friendly.
- Ultimate cooking experience– just place the food, set the desired temperature, fill the hopper with your favorite wood pellets, and enjoy the party.
- Grill and sear option– There are pellet smokers that allow raising the temperature of the cooking for grilling and searing.
- Works in cold temperatures– featuring a well-insulated body, a pellet smoker is best for smoking food in colder climates.
Drawbacks of a pellet smoker
- Low food capacity– A pellet smoker can’t facilitate much food as compared to an electric smoker.
- Need a power source to work– without an electric connection, a pellet smoker can’t work.
- Need planning– finding a smoking pellet can be a headache sometimes as there are not available in every store. Often, you have to order smoking pellets online.
- High price– When you compare the price of a pellet smoker with an electric one, you will find that a pellet costs more than an electric smoker.
Pellet Smoker vs Electric Smoker-The Comparison Chart
| Category | Pellet Smoker | Electric Smoker | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
Price Range | From $200 to $2000 | From $100 to $1000 | Electric Smoker |
Average temperature range | 150
F° -500
F° | 200
F° - 300
F° | Pellet Smoker |
Durability | Five to twenty years | Five to ten years | Pellet Smoker |
Smoke strength | Stronger than electric smokers | Relevantly weak | Pellet smoker |
Usability | A bit tricky to use | Easy to use | Electric smoker |
Cleaning system | A bit complicated | Easy to clean | Electric smoker |
Conclusion
If you are a beginner and looking for an easy-to-use unit, an electric smoker is best for you. However, if you are interested in natural wood smoker flavor, go for the best pellet smoker. In short, both smokers have their benefits and drawbacks; as mentioned above, you just need to choose the best between the two for your needs.