Product Name: Masterbuilt 30-inch Digital Electric Smoker
Brand: Masterbuilt
Rating: 4 of 5
Shipping: FREE Shipping
Material: Powder Coated Steel
Color: Black
Power Source: Electric
Dimension: 33.5 inches x 20 inches x 17 inches
The Masterbuilt 20070910 30-Inch Black Electric Digital Smoker is a solid electric smoker for the most seasoned pit master as well as someone looking for their first smoker. It’s well-constructed and has just enough capacity to cook for large groups.
Located in Columbus, GA Masterbuilt is a 3rd generation family run business which has been manufacturing indoor and outdoor cooking products since the early 80’s. If fact they created the first outdoor turkey fryer. They are known for reasonably priced smokers, fryers, and grills.
Electric Smokers
Whether new to smoking cookers or used to the traditional methods of controlling heat with wood, pellets, or chunk wood you’ll immediately find that electric smokers are a lot less labor intensive as you the burner controls the heat rather than fire which can run hot or cold. The precision of electrical heat control lets the pit master pretty much set it and forget it. The Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smoker is no exception as it is well insulated and will maintain the desired temperature even in cold and windy conditions. If you don’t want to be constantly monitoring temperatures and adding coal / wood, electric smokers are a nice alternative to traditional smokers.
Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smoking Method
With no flame, the Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smoker achieves its smokey flavor by adding wood chips into the cleverly designed wood chip tray. The tray sits above the burner and water soaked wood chips
eventually start to smoke. With easy-to-use side wood chip loader, it isn’t necessary to open the smoker door and lose heat to add chips. Simply fill the loader with your favorite wood chips, slide it into the side of the smoker, and watch it smoke. This method actually does create smokey flavor depending on the type of wood chips you use. So much so that pit masters need to be wary of using too many chips so the meat doesn’t become bitter.
Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smoker Capacity
The total cooking capacity of the Masterbuilt is 730 sq. inches. This is achieved by adding the 4 chrome plated racks. Remove the racks for cooking larger / taller items like turkeys and hams for more room. While there is enough room to cook all of the BBQ favorites like ribs, chicken, and brisket we did find the cooking box to be a bit narrow and meats can get crowded in there pretty fast. Masterbuilt does offer larger models which are a bit more expensive. If you can live with the 730 sq. inches we recommend this model based on its price.
Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smoker Features
- Top Mounted Digital Temperature Control allows for easy to view digital control. Set temperatures from 100 degrees to 275 degrees. The control panel includes a 24-hour timer with an automatic shutoff so you don’t have to babysit your meat if the weather is lousy.
- Removable Drip Pan loads and unloads from the back of the smoker for relatively easy access.
- Removable Water Pan lets you easily add water or liquids like apple cider vinegar or orange juice for juicier more flavorful meat.
- Side Wood Chip Loader as noted above.
What We Like About The Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smoker: Pros
There are many pros to this cooker. First off is the price. Priced below $200 this smoker will get you up and running immediately. Secondly this is a well-insulated cooker which is very important. Even in the wind and cold conditions it holds its temperature consistently making sure you don’t have any surprises when you check on your ribs, brisket, or chicken. Lastly, the easy side loading wood chip loader makes it a breeze to add wood chips as you see fit.
What’s Not So Great About The Masterbuilt Electric Smoker: Cons
While the 730 Sq. inches of cooking space is ample enough to cook for large groups it does tend to get crowded and if you intend to cook a lot of different meats some planning and forethought is required. While the cooking racks and drip pan are easily removable for cleaning the inside of the smoker’s cooking box in another matter. I can be hard to clean all of the nooks and cranny’s especially if you don’t have the smoker on a stand or table.
Bottom Line
This is a solid well constructed electric smoker for both the seasoned veteran or someone looking for their first smoker. It doesn’t have a lot of fancy bells and whistles other than the digital controls, but we’ve found the more bells and whistles the more problems occur in terms of features breaking. The art of slow smoking meat is a fairly basic one and if you’re looking for a basic, reasonably priced electric smoker with good temperature control and decent capacity you’ll be happy with the Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smoker.
Great review! You really put a lot of detail here and answered all the questions I had on this smoker. I am concerned a little about the size because we do a lot of entertaining, but for that price I may just get this one as my first starter smoker. It seems like it’s really well-constructed and won’t take up a lot of space. Thanks!
I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how much you’re able to fit in this electric smoker. One thing I’d look into is the masterbuilt stand built for this model as it elevates the smoker and makes it easier to operate. Good luck!