Cuisinart 36” Vertical Propane Smoker, 4 Removable Racks, Spacious BBQ Smoker with Wood and Water Trays, 15,000 BTU Heat for Smoked Meat, Brisket, Jerky, Fish, Perfect for Tailgates, Backyard, Camping

I'm new to smoking food. I have used my Weber propane grill to smoke a little bit, but I wanted a "real" smoker. I decided to go with propane since it seemed like there would be less work to maintain the temperature and smoke. Assembly was very easy and instructions were clear and easy to follow. I did go out and buy a set of four locking casters to install on the bottom of the legs. I did have to drill holes through the bottom of the feet to attach the casters. Smoker is heavy, so having locking wheels is a must since I will store this in my shed when not in use. Before my first use, I decided I should season the smoker. I was surprised that the manufacturer did not have any mention in the manual about seasoning the smoker. I found a lot of online recommendations for doing this and figured it would be worth it, plus I could get use to the temperature adjustments without risking any food... I wiped down the interior of the smoker with a lite coat of canola oil and filled the wood tray with dry apple would chips. I started the burner (first click on the igniter!) and let the smoker go on high for about two hours. It took about 15 min for the wood chips to start smoking. I also noticed quite a bit of smoke coming out of the edges on the main door, so I ordered some grill gasket tape, which I will install next week. The next day I smoked a pork shoulder for over 12 hours and some sausage links for about two hours. Both turned out perfect. I'll never have crock-pot pulled pork again.... The temperature was easy to maintain and having the separate door to add additional wood chips definitely helped maintain the temperature. I would highly recommend this smoker to any beginner. It will be interesting to see if the door gasket will help, not completely sure it's 100% necessary, but others have recommended it so we will see. One other thing, which is no surprise, the thermometer on the door was not very accurate. I used the NutriChef (PWIRBBQ80) (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076B36HF9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) Bluetooth thermometer and monitored the temperature of the pork shoulder and the smoke chamber. Definitely a must have. Now I cant wait to use this more. Beef ribs are next! **Updated: Sept 24th 2020** After one full summer of smoking, I can honestly say that I love the food I have made with this smoker (and so does my neighbor). I have burned through at least a dozen propane tanks. I've smoked everything from salmon, beef, pork, chicken, vegetables, including eggplant for baba ghanoush, and even made my own chipotles and smoked cayenne peppers, which were awesome is my smoked cast-iron baked beans... My Bluetooth thermometer also held up all season. The smoker has held up well, there's a small brisket flat on there now. There is one burn spot on the outside rear of the smoker where the burner is, but has not hurt the integrity of the smoker box. I keep the smoker covered when not in use. The door gasket tape was a must and has definitely helped contain the smoke in the smoker. I used the "FireBlack Hi Temp BBQ Smoker Gasket Self Stick 15 ft High Heat 1/2 x 1/8 Black", from Amazon, which fit both doors perfectly. I think this is a pretty standard upgrade for any smoker, based on all the reviews I've read. I agree with a lot of the reviews about the poorly designed wood/water tray. I do not put water in the water/wood chip tray, I use disposable aluminum trays for the water on the bottom shelf and overload the wood chip tray with one or two larger wood chunks and a bunch of presoaked wood chips. I have not had any problems with not having enough smoke. I have not wanted for more shelves, but do think I will be upgrading to a larger smoker at some point, so I can fit full slabs of ribs and full briskets (just need the wife's permission). The shelves are a little too small for this (14 x 14 inches), so ribs have to be cut in half and it only fits smaller cuts of brisket. But as an intro to smoking, this was a huge success. I also built a cedar cabinet with a cement countertop to go with this smoker, that provides much needed counter space and storage for the propane tank, wood chips, and trays (picture attached). If you are thinking of trying out a smoker, as a beginner, I think this smoker is a good bet. It made me a smoking addict.

I read dozens of reviews and found the 2 consistent issues with any smoker on the market; thermometer accuracy and smoke production without flareups. So lets talk about this unit concerning these issues. I purchased the propane COS-244. Temperature control: I took a trusted thermometer and checked several temperatures in my house oven to verify the calibration and then fired up the smoker. When the thermometer was on the top rack near the door thermometer, they agreed within 5 degrees. The best I could get out of this unit in the default configuration was 210F. However, as soon as I moved that thermometer towards the center where the meat would realistically reside, it easily reached 260F with nothing else changed on the unit. I ran test with various gas valve settings damper positions and thermometer positions door, middle and back of the top rack. In every case I could achieve at least 200F and a top temperature of 325F with the position of the thermometer being the biggest variable. During my actual first production run of 2 ea 8lb pork shoulders set on the 2 middle racks, the only time I had to fiddle with the gas valve setting was right after adding water or wood chips. After 15 min on high, I had to dial it back to 25% to hold 230F (as indicated on my thermometer centered on the top rack) on a 60F day. 12 hours later, the meat was perfect. I spent about 4 hours experimenting with the unit before ever attempting the first piece of meat. Smoke production: I used DRY hickory and apple wood chunks plastered on the entire, dry, chip tray with cherry chips filling the gaps. I used the tray like a baking sheet vs the little circle that they suggested the wood should be placed. Within 10 min I had tons of smoke (damper 25% open). This setup lasted about 2 hours before the smoke died off with the gas valve at 25% to hold my cooking temp. I used the included auxiliary water tray on the lowest rack with nothing but water in it and it too lasted about 2 hours and still had some water in it. After 6 hours and 2 refills, I had no flareups and medium heavy smoke production. So in the end, I definitely recommend this unit. In the stock configuration it performs as advertised, you just have to read between the lines when it comes to the actual setup come grilling time. If you want to trust the door thermometer, remember, it is out of the heat flow path so it will read a lot lower than the center o the unit where the work is really happening. In my experiment and test runs, I was seeing a consistent 30F less on the door thermometer than the known oven thermometer centered on the top rack. When you get the unit, please run some tests using a trusted thermometer before ruining a piece of meat or trash talking this, or any unit. One more tip, put some foil in the water pan, it's terrible to clean if you let the drippings caramelize in it.

I just got this smoker yesterday and have yet to fire it up, but wanted to leave my initial impressions. Material seems to be top quality. In total it weighed 75 lbs. came packed in a very organized manner and the instructions were extremely easy to follow, although I recommend you have someone to assist, not because it’s hard, but holding the burner and doors on while you get you screws started will make things easier. Still not difficult by yourself but easier. They do include a tray for extra water, which some reviews mentioned the water reservoir was small. Chip bowl is pretty small but I think will be fine as it is easy to add more. I’ll be cooking with it this weekend and will add additional info then. UPDATE: Okay I have now cooked a couple of times and here is what I find. I still give this smoker a 4* rating, however you do have to make a few small adjustments. 1st time using I simply could not get the temperature above 200 on high with my tank turned all the way up. After several hours of fiddling with it I finally pulled the bottom water/wood pan out and the temp shot up to over 350 almost instantly. It appears the issue is the bottom pan is pretty thick and fits just above the burner that it doesn't allow heat to flow up into the smoker very well, creates and essential blockage and the heat just leaves through the bottom. The 2nd time I used it I took the extra water pan and placed it on the bottom just above the burner, this proved to work a lot better, but what to do with my wood chips. I went out and bought two small bread pans from the dollar tree and placed wood chips in one of those pans and sat it on the bottom rack. The problem with this was the wood wouldn't heat up enough to smoke, so about halfway through I moved the wood/break pan into the water pan. Once the water ran out the wood would create the smoke I was looking for, but you need water, so this solution wasn't ideal. FINAL SOLUTION: placed the extra water pan just above the burner, by removing the original, thick black pan from smoker, placed a small break pan with wood chunks inside that pan and then another small break pan with water inside it as well. This allowed the wood chips to heat up enough to provide lots of smoke and still provided the water you need to keep food moist. With these minor adjustments that cost $3 at the Dollar Store this machine is perfect. Maintained 250 degrees for 5 hours set on low and gas about 25% on all while cooking short ribs, turkey breast, and a whole chicken.

Very happy. I gave this a workout the day after I received it to test it out, and am going to use it again over the weekend. Assembly was easy, however, to tighten the vent damper in the back of the unit, I used a socket wrench with an extension because my arms are not long enough to hold the screw driver while reaching around and through the cabinet to hold the nut while centering the damper over the special nuts. And, it will be easier if you have someone hold the burner box in place while you center a couple of the screws. I also used "Lock-Tite", as there were no lock washers, and from experience, I know that screws tend to come loose during cycles of expansion and contraction. The directions are quite clear and easy to follow, however, they do not list the tools. For the screws, you can use either a common screw driver, or a #2 philips. I cheated and used an electric driver, but I recommend final tightening by hand so that the threads, or the screw head do not get stripped. Also, to make it easier when tightening nuts, use #9, #10 and #11 metric sockets. You could use an open end or box wrench, but I found using sockets to be easiest. This is solid construction, and all of the parts were packed securely, and fit into place without having to tweak anything here or there to make them fit. I do think that the chip bin is a bit small, but dumping and replacing with new chips was not a hassle; just be sure to use gloves. Unlike my old charcoal smoker, temperature recovery is very quick, if you have to open either the bottom or top doors for any reason. Most of the time, the control knob was set on the lowest setting, after preheating. I put the meat on the rack directly and put a catch pan on the rack beneath. The rack was easy to clean, and fit nicely in my dishwasher. In fact, I also put the water/wood chip pan in the dishwasher after a quick rinse. I do question the need for a "match holder" though. If the piezoelectric igniter doesn't work, I am not going to get down on my hands and knees to stick a match through a tiny hole. Instead, I would use my propane torch, or butane match to light it through the bottom firebox door. It must have been some sort of ISO requirement. Lighting with the piezoelectric igniter will take two clicks though, because I turn may gas off at both the unit and the tank, so that means that the line from the tank to the burner is going to have air in it, the first time you open the gas valve, so before the burner lights, all of the air has to be clear out of the line. The first click pushes the air out and gets the gas flowing, then turn the knob off, and click it again, and it will light. Anyway, I am very happy with the Cuisinart propane smoker, and it fits nicely beside my charcoal bar-b-que.

This is a nice smoker with a fairly compact footprint. Great for small patios or decks. It was very easy to assemble taking me less than 1 hour to put it together. It comes with a water pan with a circular wood chip holder in the middle. The pan sits in rails above the burner. A space saving design with a drawback. The pan holds small amounts of chips and water. So I found myself constantly going into the firebox to add water and chips. Also the lack of a drip pan means that drippings fall onto the chips. Enough drippings fall into the wood chip pan extinguishing the smoke. I used it for the first time to smoke a trimmed off brisket flat on one shelf. The point, for burnt ends, on another shelf and a rack of ribs on the third shelf. It was an 9 hour cook in total. Setting the burner dial down to 1/4 off the lowest setting held the temp at 275 F. A good amount of smoke was produced after 15 minutes. The smoke lasted 20 minutes tops and the temperature was creeping up. When I opened the firebox, the water had evaporated and the wood chips burned down too fast. After that I found myself in and out of the firebox every 30 minutes. Which was a pain because I also had a grill going with other stuff. One of my fellow reviewers suggested using the extra water pan and placing it on the lowest shelf, and using the combo pan for wood chips. Great suggestion, but the extra water pan I find too shallow so I'll be using a foil tray as a drip/water pan. The combo pan will be used for wood chips as suggested. As to the end result of the smoke; everyone raved about the smokiness and taste of the brisket, burnt ends, and ribs. So the Cuisinart cos-244 did its job. I will update this review after my next smoke using the foil tray as a water/drip pan. UPDATE: I smoked 12 pork chops on my next cook. I used the water/chip tray as strictly a chip tray. I used a small foil pan as a drip/water tray. The smoker maintained 275F during the 2 hour cook. Plenty of consistent smoke was produced with less opening of the doors to replenish the chips or water. At the end of the cook when the chops hit 140F, there was plenty of chips and water left. The chops had great color and were moist. Update 07/24/19: Had two more cooks in this smoker; babyback ribs, pork shoulder, flank steak and top rump roast. I used the included water/drip pan both times. I found that in a 4 hour smoke I had to fill it twice. Maintaining the temperature was not bad. Though there is a some smoke leakage top the top sides. I'm considering sealing the top with Lava lock sealant. So far so good. The meat is juicy and smokey. I've had nothing but compliments about the meat that comes out of that smoker. I am very happy with it.

I purchased this as a gift for my husband, and it also became a gift to myself. My husband loves to cook, and he has consistently smoked fantastic meals since getting it. Every time he wants to try something new, I know I'm going to benefit from his efforts. It's so easy to use that I've even smoked things in it a few times. This smoker has been a fantastic addition to our home. The quality and design are fantastic.

I've been using for three years now with no discernable wear and tear. The design seems to have improved a bit since I purchased mine; so, my criticisms may not be à propos to the newer model. That said, I don't have many complaints. The biggest ones are that is not easy to do a long cook in this unit as it often requires attention to maintain temperature and smoke levels, and you will probably find that it will take a few cooks to get the hang of regulating smoke and temperature. I find it perfect for a cook up to 4 hours or 5 hours. I mostly use it to make killer ribs, wings and chicken thighs. Recommend you add a food and ambient temperature thermometer to your purchase, as the built-in thermometer is not that accurate. Love the way that the stainless racks clean-up. My racks look new after three years of use. All-in-all I'd say this has been one of my better purchases.

It's not bad. Well packaged and arrived pretty fast. Assembly was quick enough, however the screws can strip easily and I had to use a stubby Phillips to get some in. Specifically when installing the burner assembly. I was a bit surprised the directions didn't include anything about seasoning it before 1st use. I thought that was a universal thing.... so I did it anyway. Coat the inside with canola or vegetable oil, get it as hot as you can and leave it for a couple hours. I only have two real complaints: 1) There aren't any gaskets on the doors and they don't seal very well out of the box. I highly suggest picking up some gasket material. 2) There's no drip pan. There's a pan included that you can use to hold more water and keep stuff from drying out, but I wouldn't advise using that as a drip pan. I also wouldn't advise not using anything at all. With all that fat dripping down it would make a huge mess and likely cause unsafe flare-ups if allowed to drip right on your wood and burner pan. I used some 16x11 disposable aluminum cookie pans from Glad to keep that from happening. Safer and makes cleanup easier. As for the smoker itself, it seems to maintain a constant temp without constant attention and I've been pleased with the results so far. Much better than the little bullet charcoal smoker I've been using. It might need a fire-proof blanket to help insulate when outdoor temps start to drop (I smoke year round) but that's a bridge I'll cross later...

I recently got my hands on a smoker, and let me tell you—it's been a game changer for my backyard barbecues! From the moment I fired it up, the intoxicating aroma of wood smoke filled the air. The setup was a breeze, and the instructions were clear. I loved experimenting with different types of wood chips to achieve that perfect smoky flavor. What’s really fantastic is how versatile this smoker is. I’ve smoked everything from brisket to vegetables, and each dish has been a delicious adventure. Overall, this smoker has not only elevated my cooking game but has also brought friends and family together for some unforgettable meals. If you’re considering getting one, do it! Your taste buds will thank you, and your BBQ parties will never be the same!

Amazing all around! Better kept temp for smoking.

This smoker was very easy to assemble. I did it in my dining room in 45 minutes or so. Instructions are good enough for anyone with any mechanical ability to figure out. I will say that Cuisinart should not even bother including tools. They fit the fasteners very poorly, and honestly, if you don’t have the required philips screwdriver and a couple of basic wrenches, you probably shouldn’t be tackling this project. Anyway, I’ve smoked some pork tenderloin and ribs since I’ve had it, and both turned out perfect. I took some advice from other reviewers and used the extra pan for water on the bottom rack and filled the chip/water tray with chips. Worked excellent. The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is because I feel that temperature control is a bit touchy. I may add a different style vent. Overall, great value for the money.

I bought it for the brand name and I'm not disappointed at all so far. He's up great and the tray is awesome for the wood chips.

A Christmas gift for my husband. All research said it was a good intro model for us. My husband is TICKLED with it. The only downside is that we live in a place where the air outside hurts during winter. So, my husband has to wait until Spring Thaw before he can play with it. He has promised smoked brisket in the future. Easy to assemble. No glass window, which is fine because once the smoke starts, you can't see anything anyway.