All smokers include:

• Basic set of grill racks
• Wood to break a new smoker in
• Smoking and cooking instructions
• Owner’s manual

For more details about what each smoker model comes with, please see our Pro Series smoker comparison chart.

Your new smoker will arrive fully assembled, just attach the wheels and you're ready to start smokin'!

Yes, we recommend seasoning your smoker with the included break-in wood.

Put the break-in wood into the smokebox, set the temperature to 225°F, and let it smoke for about 4 hours.

For easy cleanup, we recommend lining the inside bottom of your smoker with a piece of aluminum foil, just make sure to poke a hole for the drippings!

You can also wrap the "roof" of the smokebox in foil so the drippings are easy to clear away when you're done smoking.

Our smoker design is very efficient at retaining the wood smoke flavor. We recommend starting with a small amount of wood until you know how much smoke you like.

If you're using wood chips, we recommend starting with a quarter cup of wood chips. A little goes a long way!

The wood included with the smoker is only to season it for the first time and should not be used to smoke food. Browse our selection of wood chips and learn what flavors you love!

If you are seasoning a new smoker or smoking your first couple of meals, smoke escaping is normal. With use, a seal around the door will form.

Anything you want to add that great smoky flavor. Virtually any meat, poultry or fish can be smoked. You can also add that great smoky flavor to baked potatoes, baked beans and other vegetables. Smoked nuts and cheese are a big hit! Suggestions are added to our web site as we find them, either from our own experience or from our customers discovering new uses. Please remember to let us know by email about any new use you've discovered that is not in our recipe book or on our online site so we can add it so other users can try your ideas and recipes.

Alder: The hickory of the West Coast. Alder's delicate sweet flavor enriches all fish, seafood, and meats.

Apple: Slightly sweet, fruity smoke that's mild enough for chicken or turkey. Great with all pork.

Cherry: Cherry produces a similar taste to apple - it produces a very mild and fruity flavor. Great with chicken, turkey, and fish or flavoring ham.

Hickory: In the southern barbecue belt, a lot of folks think this is the only wood to use. For everything. Most BBQ places use nothing else. The strong, hearty taste is perfect for brisket, ribs, and pork shoulder. Also great with any red meat or poultry.

Maple: Mildly smoky and sweet, maple goes well with poultry, ham, and vegetables. Try with brisket.

Mesquite: The wood of Texas, it's great for grilling but not great for smoking. It burns very hot and can make your food taste bitter. Get your smoker smoking really well, turn it off, and put in a few steaks. Smoke for 10 minutes, then finish on a hot grill. Great flavor!

Oak: It's the most versatile of the hardwoods, blending well with a wide range of foods. Gives a great flavor to brisket.

Pecan: Preferred wood by a lot of non-BBQ restaurants. Pecan burns cooler and offers a subtle richness of character. Often referred to as a mellow version of hickory.

Shop our selection of wood chips.

Ribs: 4-5 hours

Whole Chicken: 3+ hours

Brisket: 12 hours for a 11 lbs.

Pork shoulder/butt: 8-10 hours

Turkey: 50 mins per pound

These smoking/cooking times are whether you're smoking for example 1 chicken or fill the smoker up with chickens.

There is a drain hole on the bottom of the smoker and the grease runs out there into the stainless steel drip pan for easy removal, cleaning and replacement. Be sure to poke a hole in the foil you place on the floor of your smoker.

Yes, line the bottom of the wood box with foil to prevent the wood chips falling through the holes. Or purchase our Wood Chip Insert for use with wood chips. Shop our available wood chips.

Smoke at 225ºF for 2 to 3 hours until the internal temperature reaches 165º F to 170º F.

All you have to do is wrap it up in some foil and put your favorite bbq sauce or apple juice on it and put it in the oven @ 250º F degrees.

You can either put it on the grill until crispy, put it in your oven at a high temperature, or even use the broiler after smoking. Leave it in just long enough to get the skin crispy. Dusting the skin with cornstarch can also help the skin crisp.

If you don't have a lot of fat on it wrap it up in some foil and add some water to it and put it back into the smoker @ 200º- 210º F degrees until the internal temperature reaches 150º F degrees.

With other smokers you have fire to heat up your wood and then you have to add water to create more smoke.

SmokinTex uses a heating element to heat up the wood which burns it slow and creates more smoke but without the fire. We feel it's a more even application of the smoke flavor to your meat or fish.

If it is a cured ham its already cooked and all you have to do is warm it up and add smoke flavor, then you would smoke/cook for about 2 hrs at about 190°F degrees or until you get the internal temperature at 110°F degrees.

If it is a fresh ham smoke/cook for 5 hrs at 130°F degrees then 5 hrs at 200°F degrees or until the internal temperature reaches 150°F degrees.

Start by smoking them for 2 hours, pull them and wrap them in foil and put some water in the bottom of the foil, put back in the smoker for 4 hours at 225º F degrees.

Sometimes there is extra gas trapped in the wood itself and it gets heated up and releases causing the “popping”. This is similar to what can happen in a wood burning fireplace from time to time. It is nothing to worry about and should stop shortly.

First and foremost, SmokinTex gives you a full three-year warranty — one of the best and longest in the industry. The extent of the warranty is a reflection of the confidence we have in our smokers.

SmokinTex smokers are all stainless steel inside and out for easier maintenance and cleaning and, of course, durability. We are insulated so that, according to our Alaska customers our smoker will operate at 30 degrees below zero. The insulation also means that you don’t have to worry about burning yourself if you touch the smoker while it’s in operation, a great safety feature when it’s in your backyard and you have kids or pets around.

SmokinTex smokers have about 30% more capacity than the comparably priced smoker which is our nearest competitor.

Virtually all other smokers are not built to last, ours is. They have plastic parts, poorly built locking systems, little or no insulation, parts that rust, and few, if any, repair or replacement parts.

We feel our smokers are a once in a lifetime purchase and our outstanding customer service is recognized all over the industry and, most importantly, by our customers.

The smokers have a temp range of 100°F - 250°F degrees. We don’t have a recipe above 225°F degrees.

All of our smokers have an electric heating element that sits beneath the smoke box where you place your wood. The thermostat heats up the heating element, which causes the wood to smoke.

Lil' Tex (1100): One 350 watt heating element

The OG (1400): One 700 watt heating element

The Pitmaster (1460): One 700 watt heating element

The XL (1500): Two 700 watt heating element

PRO 1500-C: Two 700 watt heating element

PRO 1500-CXLD: Two 700 watt heating element

Lil' Tex (1100): ~23 lbs.

The OG (1400): ~38 lbs.

The Pitmaster (1460): ~60 lbs.

The XL (1500): ~80 lbs.

PRO 1500: ~80 lbs.

PRO 1500: ~120 lbs.

See our comparison chart for more details.

The power cord is 6 feet long.

The temperature will swing 15-20º F degrees either way from the set point. This is caused by the heat still being produced by the wood box after the thermostat turns the heating element off. This is very normal in any electric smoker. We are smoking/cooking at a low temperature and it is the average between the high and low that we look at.

Our smokers are fully insulated and made from thick, high quality, stainless steel.

During smoking, the exterior will be warm to the touch, but does not get hot enough to burn you.

We recommend leaving the door closed for at least the first hour or two to prevent the smoke from escaping.

Try to limit how frequently you open the door during smoking as it may increase the overall time needed to smoke your food. We recommend using SmokinTex probe thermometer to know when your food is cooked to the appropriate internal temperature.

Please remember the interior of the smoker will be very hot and may burn exposed skin.

For the first two hours the smoker is on, it will burn the wood and produce heavy smoke. During this time, you will need to have proper ventilation for the smoke.

After the smoke cycle is finished, the smoker may produce some steam from the smoke hole, but it no longer requires ventilation.

Yes, all of our wheel sets have two locking wheels to keep the smoker in place during use.

All of our Residential Smokers plug into a standard 110 outlet.

The deflector plate can either increase or reduce moisture in the smoker by directing the drippings onto or away from the wood box.

Place the deflector plate in the bottom shelf, right above the smoke box.

If the deflector plate is pointed up like a roof, it will increase the moisture in the smoker by directing the drippings to fall on the smoke box and create steam.

If the deflector plate is pointing down in “v” shape, it will reduce moisture in the smoker by directing the drippings away from the smoke box, and into the drip pan.

Place the plate into the smoker with the flat side down.

Wipe clean with a warm, damp cloth.

Do not immerse the plate in liquid as this may damage the insulation.

Yes, our grill racks are high quality stainless steel and are safe to clean in the dishwasher.

We recommend lining the bottom of the smoker and the "roof" of the wood box with foil so they can be changed with each use.

As you use your smoker, a patina will form on the interior. For best results, we recommend leaving the patina as is, but you can wipe down the interior with warm water and a non-abrasive sponge.

The grill racks can be run through the dishwasher, or washed by hand.

We have some replacement parts available for purchase on our website here.

If you aren't sure what part you need, or you don't see the part available, please contact us so we can assist.

After turning the temperature knob all the way down, unplug the smoker.

Using a Phillips-head screw driver, remove the back panel of the smoker.

Take the two wires off the thermostat and hold them together with an open paper clip.

Plug the smoker back in and turn the temperature knob to 120°F.

If the heating element begins to glow after a few minutes, it’s most likely the thermostat that needs replacing.

If the heating element does not heat up, then it’s the heating element that needs replacing.

All of our smokers come with a 3 year warranty, one of the longest in the industry!