Customer Reviews

The Great Outdoors Deluxe Gas Smoker

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have had this Smoky Mountain gas smoker with Stainless cabinet for over a year after using many short lived Brinkman/Mecco type charcoal and electric versions.
(The electric version was terrible with the heating elements failing about every third use.)
This gas smoker works like a champ and I'm only on my second propane bottle after using it almost every weekend. The temperature control is great (hot smoking only)You load the meat and walk away for hours without worry.
There is one issue though and that is my neighbors always want to come over and eat with us.
I was so proud of showing off this unit with a turkey, pork shoulder and ribs all in this cabinet at one time for our first big party. Just before dinner I would open the door and let my guests see all this great smelling barbecue still inside. I was totally ego inflated for weeks.
With use I have learned to use less wood in the smoke box and usually use water soaked pecan chunks now and only one at time. The smoke ring is about a 1/2 inch. When first loading the meat with "rub" on the meat I have the smoker very hot with vents wide open close the door wait 20 minutes and then turn the gas control valve down to low and close down the vents and smoke for atleast six hours for ribs and chicken. Briskets and large turkeys take more time. All meats should fall off the bone and register at least 160 degrees internal temperature.

I bought the Great Outdoors Deluxe Gas Smoker for my first smoker and the first time I used it, I cooked two Pork Boston Butt's. I have never used a smoker before and I was worried about the heat fluxuating,(I think thats how you spell it),alot. Once I got the heat set(in about 20 minutes) I put the two pork butt's on and left it till the next morning. I woke up and checked the temp and it was perfect. Everyone who had some of my smoked pork thought I was a proffesional at smoking with my Great Outdoors Deluxe Gas Smoker. I am doing some beef brisket this weekend to see how it turns out. Alot of people have been saying that thier Smoker was in bad shape because of the packing from the manufacturer but the Smoker I bought from Lowe's was packed in a cardboard box with foam supporting everything and nothing was damaged or scratched on my Smoker. I would recommend this Smoker for anyone that wants a Very Good and easy to use Smoker. OH Yeah' It's also easy to clean!

My smoker arrived dented and chipped, which I wasn't happy about but I could live with -- I don't expect a relatively inexpensive outdoor oven to maintain its new look after some wear and tear anyways. However, the rails along the sides that hold the shelves are not welded together well. In fact, two rails arrived completely broken off (opposite sides and at different levels) and a third was tenuously held in place by a single weld. I thought that the broken-off rails were parts to be used in the oven's assembly; otherwise, I would not have unboxed the smoker and put it together. I would have returned it.

Because I had assembled the unit before realizing that it was broken, I thought that replacing the broken parts would be easier than disassembling the unit, re-crating and returning it. I called the distributor three weeks ago to order replacement parts that have not yet arrived. I've already waited longer than the distributor indicated I would have to before receiving the parts.


If alternative gas-fueled smokers didn't cost a multiple of what this costs, I'd be really angry.

Hands down, this is the most unsatisfactory purchase I've made from Amazon.

In spite of the impairment of not having a fully functioning smoker, I have seasoned it and used it once. The chicken I made was promising. (My hope that my experience with this smoker will improve lets me award a rating of 2 stars based on this one use.) If I ever get the parts I need, I think the smoker will be adequate for initial experimentation with this kind of cooking. If I like the results, I'll replace this smoker with a better one.

This smoker works like a charm! The only regret I have is that it is a bit larger than I expected, I should have bought the next size down. Other than that the times I have used it the results were great. Temperature is easy to control and that was the main concern as I wanted sometime I didn't have to babysit while I was smoking my ribs or pork shoulder. Others have complained about receiving the units damaged, I guess I was lucky, there was a slight crease in one corner but I was able to straighten it out easily. Better packaging would be an improvement. My .02 is that it is well worth the investment.

The Great Outdoors Deluxe Smoker is exactly what I was looking for. The LP gas is great for easy temperature control. All I need to do while smoking is periodically check the level of liquid in the pan (and add more wood chunks if desired). The temomitor is easy to read and appears to be made of good quality. The only complaint I have is the smoker is not foam protected inside the cardboard box when shipped. Thus, my smoker had two minor dents in the corner of the smoker. They do not affect the operation at all.

The only complaint I have with my gas smoker is that it was damaged when delivered (this was also the case of a friend of mine who ordered the same smoker)it was dented in several places.
I have cooked as many as 12 whole chickens at on time and they all came out fully cooked and juicey.
It's a great way to cook. Just put your meat on, adjust your heat then set back and visit with your guest while the smoker does all the work.
After people have tasted my smoked faire they always ask where I got my smoker. Several of my friends have bought this smoker for their own use.

Like several other reviewers, my smoker also came badly damaged. I had bought this to use for a going away party and had planned on smoking 25 lbs. of ribs. When it arrived and I saw how badly damaged it was, I immediately e-mailed Amazon and they shipped me a replacement the next day. My replacement also came damaged (worst than the original). It was one day before the party and I had no choice but to use it even though it was damaged. I must say the ribs turned out great. I am very impressed with this smoker and it's ease of use but had to return them due to the amount of damage both units had. I believe this smoker is well worth the price and would give it 5 stars if they would just package it better.
I also give 5 stars to Amazon for it's great customer service.

I think I've owned every incarnation of bullet smoker on the planet, charcoal and electric. Charcoal is just a pain and if you're not careful you'll end up tasting fuel. Electric is just lousy tasting. I've used offset firebox smokers, fairly large models. I've even played with smoke boxes on my grill, mesquite smoke works great with steak. My favorite BBQ sauce is Gates. The bottom line is, I'm not new at this.

I bought this wide model Great Outdoors and I was skeptical at first, but I'm a believer now. It helps that I bought it on clearance at Wal-Mart for 50 bucks, I swear. Every year sometime around summer they clear out their grills and smokers and drastically reduce the price. That said, I might pay $250 for this. Well...maybe not! If you can get it for less it's a great buy. Naturally, you probably won't find it for $50, but I would shop around and consider the narrower model. It's just skinnier, but you can cut the racks of ribs in half and it's way cheaper.

Pros - I'm smoking a boneless leg of lamb (never done it before, but what the heck) as I write this review i.e., no worries about the fire. It's as easy as it gets in regards to temperature control.
- Consistently good results with quality hickory chunks, and clean tasting food. You taste the food and the smoking wood of choice, not charcoal. I like charcoal, but you have to be kidding when it comes to smoking ribs.
- Fairly economical, although I'm thinking about converting it to NG.
- Easy cleanup. Seriously, I don't use their water pan, I buy those aluminum foil half-size buffet trays that you can get at Sam's Club and they eliminate the need to clean the water pan. The steel grates are sturdy and clean up just fine.
Cons - It does burn a little hot, but I don't mind that at all. I can keep my smoker between 250 - 275 just adjusting the vent and that's fine with me.
- It has no insulation and if it had it they could use a smaller burner and improve the quality of the food smoked. Do you hear me Great Outdoors?

I didn't bother reading the other reviews yet, but I will. I can't imagine how people have had a bad experience with this thing. It's a metal box with a small gas burner and it smokes food wonderfully. What's not to like?

Smoker arrived last week in good condition. No dents or other problems that other reviewers have noted. Assembly took about 1 hour. After assembly started it up and performed the recomended seasoning procedure. Did have to turn it down as low as possible and turn the valve down on the tank to get the recommend 125 degree temperature needed to season. Smoked some pork bellies and a ham so far. No problem in setting and maintaining the required temperature. Took 9 hours to smoke the ham. Water and chip pans are sufficiently large enough that I only had to add chips and water twice. All and all I'm very pleased with this unit.

Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is the cover. The cover fits very tightly and was somewhat difficult to get over the side and front handles. One seam started to tear a little so I don't know how long it will last.

Love my new smoker! My initial use was two briskets for the 4th of July and they turned out great. Being a diehard fan of charcoal smoking, I used a good pan of charcoal with mesquite chunks for the first four hours then removed the charcoal and fired up the propane burner for the next 6 hours. As has been the case with many other buyers of this model, it had three small dents and the two rack holders had some unwelded bars. I called the Great Outdoors people and received two new ones just yesterday. All in all, I'm quite satisfied with my father's day gift.