Customer Reviews

Camerons Products Gourmet Mini Smoker

5 star:		(154)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I just tried my stovetop smoker and was amazed at the results. I've used a large outdoor smoker for years, and was skeptical about the stovetop smoker. I used it to prepare chicken breasts, and they cooked fast and were juicy and tender, and had just the right amount of smoke flavor. I'm looking forward to using my stovetop smoker for seafood and vegetables. It's a great way to add flavor to food, and a very healthy way to cook.

The smoker is constructed from heavy steel and is well made. I could smell the smoke as the food cooked, but it wasn't intense and there was no smoke in the house. I'll still use my outdoor smoker for batch cooking or for smoking large birds, but expect to get a lot of use out of the stovetop smoker.

I lived in a condo for years and really missed cooking outdoors and the tremendous flavor of food slow smoked in a smoker. I bought this awhile ago and have been pretty happy with it. It's stainless steel, durable and comes with samples of 4 different types of wood chips. You can buy more from Cameron international or Amazon.com. I use it all the time and never have any problems with smoke filling up the kitchen and the smoke detector never goes off. It's a closed unit so virtually all of the smoke stays inside. If there is a problem with smoke escaping, the instructions include tips on how to correct the problem. Usually, the lid just needs a little tweaking.

I think the first thing I smoked in it was salmon and let me tell you it was delicious! I have also smoked chicken, turkey wings, sweet potatoes, potatoes, shrimp, burgers, and cheese all with excellent results. I put the potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes to shorten the cooking time. The chicken doesn't brown as in a traditional outdoor smoker or grill but you can finish cooking it in the oven to brown it. If it's smoke flavor you are after, this is a very good alternative to outdoor smoking!

Cleaning the smoker is a breeze if you first spray the rack with cooking spray. Also if you line the base of the smoker and the drip pan with aluminum foil all you have to do is let it cool completely and dump the foil in the trash. This will help to keep your pans from getting black and shortens clean up time.

As a city dweller, this is the best available product for smoking food indoors. Smoking is a wonderful cooking methodology which imparts flavor into food through the type of wood used and the smoke it produces.

To use the product, simply place the wood chips inside the base of the smoker and put the food that you wish to smoke in the tray on top. Virtually any food can be smoked. The guide that comes with the smoker provides suggestions for cooking times and a series of recipes to try. Or simply try your own. Personally, I love cooking pork loin ribs low (250 degrees) and slow (4 1/2 hours) in the oven in the smoker.

The smoker is made of heavy-duty stainless steel and can be washed in the dishwasher.

I'm not kidding - this smoker has been a revolution in our kitchen. The most important thing is to understand that it is like a Dutch oven- so while your food is smoking it's also roasting. Salmon comes out roasted, but with the most wonderful smoke flavor - pork ribs are more juicy than if you grill them, and you have to work to dry anything out (we over cooked venison chops - thin meat doesn't need much time!). Most foods cook in 25 minutes - although a full size chicken will smoke/roast for an hour and a half.

We have a weekly dinner party and I've been running out of ideas - this smoker has added an extensive list of options to the menu! I just ordered my second one as I'll need two for the quantity of foods I'm smoking. I use the smoker to make appetizers (smoked salmon pate, smoked wings, smoked sauces and veggies...) and I've used it to smoke all sorts of meats - salmon, venison, chicken breasts, whole chickens, turkey breasts, pork ribs, baby back ribs... We spend our trips to the grocer looking for inspiration for our smoker!

The most surprising thing for me has been smoking vegetables. They come out moist, full of flavor and you would swear the rich smoke flavor should be adding calories! It's hard to believe something that tastes so rich could be healthy! Smoked asparagus, cauliflower, tomatoes, artichokes... fantastic!

I use a layer of foil over the top to add an extra seal - for items to large for the space provided you just leave the lid off and make a foil tent (whole chickens and turkeys) it's very easy. We haven't had a smoky kitchen yet -

I've been sending these to my family for gifts - if it's back ordered, trust me, it's worth the wait!

Have fun smoking!

This is a nice product for those of us who aren't fortunate enough to have a backyard grill and want to add a lite smoke flavor to the foods we cook. However, if you've ever used a real outdoor smoker, don't expecting results anywhere near as good.

Also, the smoker I got seemed to leak quite a bit. I followed the directions about adjusting the lid but it didn't help. What I did to fix the problem was to take a pair of pliers and clamp down on the runners/guides of the lid to make a tighter seal. This helped quite a bit but I wouldn't recommend it unless you know you're going to keep your smoker as it left marks.

This is the greatest item to have in your kitchen. You do not need to use any extra spices or salt on your meet because the meat take on the tast of the wood chips. This item can also be used for steaming and poaching. You can even smoke a large turkey in it, just by tenting it with foil paper.

I used my stovetop smoker for the first time today, and all I can say is that it works exactly as advertised. I live in a small apartment with no decent ventilation and a very rudimentary exhaust fan; and all I got was a faint, pleasant, hickory aroma as I smoked 5 lbs. worth of brisket. The results? I had my 2 boys over for dinner today and I now have 0 Lbs of brisket left over.

After just 2 uses (I also used it on Brussels Sprouts while the brisket was finishing in the oven), I do have one strong recommendarion. Line the drip pan with foil; especially if you used a rub or marinade. I neglected to do so, and I have now 2 lumps of carbonized sugar that may never come off that thing.

Anyway, the reason I am here tonight writing this is because I need to order more assorted wood chips. The quantities that are shipped are sample-sized and won't last very long. I would suggest that if you know what you want to do with the smoker, order extra chips as well. Otherwise, just sample and decide what you like best.

If, like me, you live in an urban apartment with no place to cook out, this and a cast iron grill pan are an excellent substitute BBQ solution. Quite frankly; based solely on flavor, I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the brisket I did today, and one done all day on an outdoor. The texture will be different, but c'est la vie.

This smoker works as advertised. With appropriate care and attention, you can easily smoke a wide variety of foods and ingredients. At the right temperature, the small leakage of smoke from the unit is not a problem.

However, recognize that this is a HOT smoker. If you are looking to smoke meats and other ingredients for long-term preservation, this is not the unit to use. Because of its small size, with the heat turned high enough to produce adequate smoke, you will easily reach temperatures of 250-300 degrees inside the pan, hot enough to roast many meats and birds. Fresh ham slices, for example, while infusing a wonderful flavor from the smoke, will cook to well done and beyond if you're not careful. Certainly far beyond where I would want to cook them for use in bean and soup dishes.

I purchased the regular size unit (11x15x3) new, about 2 years ago locally for the price of

$35.oo, the regular unit does a very good job - the smaller (11x7x3) will work just as well.

I feel that the price of $29.95 is a little high, if it wasn't for free shipping, i would have

passed it by. I feel that both units should be 5 inches high for use with thicker pieces

of meat, that way you needn't use a foil balloon top to replace the cover.Other items of

interest - - You can buy a large bag of shredded wood chips for about $2.oo locally.

If the smoker top releases to much smoke it can be carefully warped (see instructions )

to lessen the amount of smoke released. To insure that most of the smoke goes up

your kitchen range hood, place a sheet-pan or plywood on top of your stove burners

(Burners Off !) on top of this place a One burner electric Hot Plate set to medium heat,

on top of this place your smoker ! - smoke for 15 to 20 minutes - finish your product in

the oven if necessary. To make cleanup easier (charred wood residue) use foil, 2 pieces

6x6 inches - press one into the ridges on the bottom of the smoker pan, them add the

shredded wood chips into the ridges, then just lay the second piece on top of the chips.

then assemble as per the instructions.

You have to learn by doing - try - try again till you get it perfect

I originally bought this because I wanted to make my own hot-smoked sausages. I live in an apartment and don't have anyplace for an outdoor smoker. I was a bit leery that it would smoke up my kitchen, but I gave it a shot anyway.

And I am so glad I did. It did not smoke up my kitchen at all...a little bit of smoke escaped, but not much to be noticeable. The sausages themselves came out awesome.

I have since used this to smoke chicken, fish, pork and beef, all with excellent results. You can smoke the larger items, such as whole birds, by tenting it with a piece of heavy-duty foil, making sure to fasten it tightly around the edges.

As a previous reviewer said, I recommend that you buy the wood chips directly from Camerons (www.cameronssmoker.com). I have found that it is difficult to find them in stores around here, and you get a better price when buying direct. You will receive small containers of 4 different types of wood. But once you start to use this thing, you'll be looking for foods to smoke, and you'll need more chips quickly enough.

Happy smoking!