9 Electric Smoker Tips and Tricks to Make the Most of Your Purchase

This article is packed with useful electric smoker tips and tidbits to help you enjoy your purchase to the fullest.

From maintenance to wood chip management, and what you can do other than standard smoking, this handy reference guide will help you love your electric smoker even more.

I figure if you’re reading this, you probably fall into one of three categories:

Either you’ve recently bought an electric smoker, and you want to max out on its usefulness. Or, you’re thinking about buying an electric smoker, and you want to learn all about them. Or, you’ve ordered an electric smoker, and you’re trying to keep yourself busy until it shows up!

Whatever your story is, this article will benefit you. Here, in no particular order, are t nine top tips to make the most of your electric smoker.

1. Regularly Clean Your Smoker

While you do want a seasoned smoker (more on that in Tip #2), you don’t want a dirty smoker.

Many outdoor cooks believe (and there are numerous online “experts” to back them up) that residue build-up on grates adds “extra flavor.” Here’s a tip for you: filth does not equal flavor.

What you’re looking at isn’t true seasoning, it’s burnt, caked-on old food. If you’ve ever accidentally bitten down on a bit of this stuff, you know it tastes bitter and acrid. Not what you want to add to your prized brisket.

Not only does it ruin the flavor, but it also spoils the presentation, leaving nasty black flecks on your food.

Clean your grates as per the manufacturer’s instructions. That may involve a scraping with a quality grill brush or paddle scraper, a wipe-down with a grill cleaner, or even a trip to the dishwasher.

And our recommendation is to clean your electric smoker out thoroughly once every 3 to 5 uses or so, depending on how long it’s used, what is smoked for how long, and how there is in the way of drippings and grease generated.

2. Season Your Smoker Before Its First Use

Even though electric smokers are basically plug-and-play, you still need to season yours before you pop in that first rack of ribs. I know you’re champing at the bit, but this is a necessary step.

First off, you have no idea what kind of chemical residue was left behind by the manufacturer. There could be cleaning fluids, solvents, or any number or other non-edible compounds in there.

Running the smoker empty burns off all that nastiness, making it safe for use.

That first run also coats and seals the inside your smoker, making it operate more efficiently. That layer of smoke also enhances the overall smokiness added to your food. And that’s what we’re after, isn’t it?

We have a dedicated article that you can follow, for a step-by-step process for seasoning your new electric smoker.

3. Don’t Overdo It With the Smoke

Some people think there’s no such thing as too much smoke. That’s a matter of personal preference, but I tend to disagree. However, you won’t know until you know if you catch my meaning.

When you first start smoking food, go easy with the smoke. One tray of pellets or chips is almost always plenty for infusing a noticeable but not overwhelming amount of smoke to your food.

In fact, you might even want to start with less and then try adding more on subsequent cooks until you’ve hit your personal sweet spot.

Remember, some wood types deliver stronger flavor than others; the amount that’s right for, say, maple, won’t necessarily be right for mesquite.

4. Temperature Swings Happen — But They Can Be Controlled

It happens with all smokers — temperatures yoyoing over and under the target — but electrics are especially well-known for it, particularly at the start of cooks (while the temperature tends to settle after a few initial swings.) Here’s what happens:

You set a target temperature of, for example, 225F. Once the internal sensor registers 225, thermostat shuts off the heating element. But, the temperature will continue to rise thanks to residual heat and a lag in timing. Before you know it, you’re up to as much as 240F.

Eventually, the temperature will drop back below 225F, at which point thermostat fires up the element once more. But, again, it’s a bit late to the party, and the temperature will drop below the target for a while.

Your average temperature over the duration of the cook will be spot on, but it won’t be consistent throughout.

Usually, thanks to ‘clever electronics’ in the digital controllers, the temperature will eventually settle. And the swings are often only prominent at the start of cooks. Here is something you can do to minimize this.

To beat the swing, when you start to cook, simply set your target temp 10F below what you actually want it. For our example, that would be 215F.

When it inevitably shoots past 215 and reaches 225 to 230F, at that point, you reset your target to 225 F. This will significantly reduce the size of the swing, the smoker will settle on your target temperature more quickly, and your food will cook more quickly and evenly.

5. Open Your Vent All the Way

Vents on charcoal or wood smokers are meant for adjusting airflow to control the temperature. On an electric smoker, they’re there solely to let the smoke out.

Leaving the vent (or vents) fully open keeps the smoke inside from getting stale. It also reduces the accumulation of creosote, the tar-like substance that gums up all smokers and grills. A bit of it is good for flavor, but too much of it tastes awful.

The only reason to close the vent on an electric smoker is to hold in the heat after all the wood chips are spent, and the smoke has dissipated, and you want to build up the temperature a bit to get the job done. Especially useful on a cold day when your smoker is working hard to keep up.

6. Leave Your Wood Chips Dry

This one is a bit controversial. I can’t count how many sites swear by soaking your wood chips in water before use to slow down the burn and increase the smoke.

Please don’t do it.

Wet chips are cold chips, and your smoker will have to work overtime to compensate for their cooling effect on the ambient temperature.

Furthermore, what looks like big fluffy clouds of delicious smoke is actually just steam escaping from your soggy chips. If you’ve ever had a hot shower, you know that steam has zero flavor.

So, while wet chips may last longer than dry ones, they’ll have no other positive effects on your smoke session. We have a guide here on how to use wood chips for smoking. Give it a quick once over, then come back. I’ll wait.

7. Wrap Your Racks with Foil for Quick and Easy Clean Up

Sometimes the simplest tips and tricks are the best. Cleaning anything sucks, so it’s worth an extra effort to minimize the time lost to menial tasks. Since, as we covered in Tip #1, clean racks are vital to enjoying delicious smoked food, what if you could prevent them from ever getting dirty?

Cover your racks with heavy-duty aluminum foil before you switch on the smoker and change it for fresh foil for every session. Your racks will look like new forever, and you’ll barely ever have to wash them.

Your food will benefit from being turned over regularly so that the bottom is exposed to smoke if you do wrap your grates, but it’s a mild inconvenience compared to hard scouring.

8. Your Smoker Can Double as an Outdoor Oven (Maybe)

Not every electric smoker can get as hot as a conventional oven. But if yours does, however, why not take advantage and use it just like you would your kitchen oven?

Why would you bother? Well, this is one my favorite electric smoker tips, as I only have a single oven. Need to cook meat at 355 F and roast potatoes at 425 F? Put the meat in the electric smoker.

Also, well, any excuse to get outside on a beautiful day is a good one! Plus, it’s a perfect way to keep your kitchen from overheating on a hot day when company comes.

Or, use it as a second oven when you need to cook multiple items at different temperatures. You can even use it as a warming oven to keep cooked food at the perfect serving temperature until your guests are ready.

Just remember not to add wood chips if you don’t want smoke infused into your food, then your electric smoker really is just an oven replacement.

9. Try Cold Smoking for Something New

Did you know your electric smoker can double as a cold smoker?

The sealed cabinet is the perfect environment for cold smoking, and some manufacturers make cold smoke generators designed especially for their smokers.

Cold smoking happens at temperatures as low as 90F, far below what the smoker can do on its own. In a nutshell, you leave the heating element off, and the generator blows smoke and a small amount of heat into the cook chamber.

Even if your maker doesn’t have a purpose-built cold smoker attachment, you can buy a 3rd-party unit to get the job done.

To review some of the best on the market, and learn more about cold smoking, hop over to this article on the best cold smoke generators.

Final Thoughts on Electric Smoker Tips

Owning an electric smoker is a lot of fun. Hopefully, with these tips and tricks for electric smokers in mind, it’ll be even more fun for years to come. And if you’re still on the fence about buying one, maybe a few of these tips will open your eyes to the possibilities of owning an electric smoker provides.

Got a tip I missed? Send it along in the comments below, and maybe I’ll add it to a future article!

And if you have questions about smokers, electric or otherwise, just ask. Of course, you might find the answers elsewhere on the site, so poke around and see what you turn up.

Thanks for your visit, and go ahead and share the link to this and any other article freely. Someday, maybe between us, we can make mediocre barbecue become just an unpleasant distant memory! 🙂