Masterbuilt Pro MDS 230S Dual-Fuel Smoker Expired

Have this and it works great. For those on the fence, all smokers have their plus and minus but they all will get the job done if you know how to use it.

Propane like this one, once you get the flame level at the right temp, it is set it and forget it. The flavor comes from the wood smoke but you can keep the heat going at 225 for 24 hours or more on one propane tank. It is also very affordable and probably the cheapest to run next to electric.

Electric: no mess, easy to clean, easy to set temp, and can go very low temp for cheese and others. Drawback, harder to get hot if you want to go higher temp unless you get a high end one. Some models have people complain of not enough "smoke" compared to others.

Charcoal: probably the most common and often looked at as "Old School" not a bad thing, but often leads to the charcoal snobs to come out and say it is the best. Not true, it is just as good or bad as most others. In fact I have been to many BBQ competitions and they often have blind taste tests of Charcoal vs Propane vs Pellet and the results are usually all over the place. most cant tell the difference if the wood and food ingredients are otherwise the same.
(note: nobody uses electric at a competitions. It is mostly charcoal or propane.)
Often cheap to buy or replace. Drawback, you have to baby the fire. To much, the temp is to high, to little, and your temp drops below what you need it. Lots of temp checks and adding charcoal can be time consuming vs other methods that are more set it and forget it till meat probe tells you the meat is done.


Pellet Smoker: most expensive in units and cost to run as pellets price for amount of heat you get = highest cost. Pellet smokers are very popular and work very well, similar results and set it and forget it. Drawback is cost.

Most of these have hybrid smoker and grill but I would keep those separate. Have a dedicated smoker leads to great results and keeps your grill clean and focused on grilling things you dont want smoked.

This one from Home Depot is a great entry level smoker and will yield excellent results. The vertical shelves are ideal for smoking multiple racks of ribs, pork butts, brisket etc.

The one draw back of this and many smokers is keep it dry. Do not leave outside if you can help it as exposure to rain/moisture will lead to rust and other damage that shortens the life of the smoker. Store it inside a garage and you can get 10+ years of use. Store outside and more like 3, even with a cover.

sorry for the long post, hope it helps someone on the fence of this gateway drug called smoking meats.

I just use the propane to start the charcoal/ wood. And with this, you can use wood chunks instead of chips. It'll give you more smoke. Been using this for about 4 years and take like it. Only thing is you have to cut the ribs and brisket in half to fit.

Great price but electric is definitely the easiest way to go. Nothing like running out of propane during a long smoke.