Customer Reviews

Smokehouse Products Little Chief Top Load Electric Smoker

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've owned a Mini Chief smoker for more than 10 years, and I still use it at least weekly.

I've smoked many pounds of Salmon, whole chickens, turkey legs, ribs, etc.

When I follow directions, it works perfectly. The problem is that many users don't understand how to properly smoke.

If you can fit it in the smoker, it will smoke it. As with any smoker, meat should be cooked "low and slow", with low heat, over several hours.

A whole fryer chicken, which I brined over night, took about 6 hours, and was as tender, juicy and delicious as any other method I've used to cook a chicken. I snack on delicious smoked Salmon daily, and it's as good or better than any that I've bought in the store.

Btw, I highly recommend Alder wood for fish and poultry - do a web search for "justsmokedsalmon" for more info, recipes and great prices on Alder wood chips.

The Mini Chief maintains an internal temp of about 250-275 degrees, the perfect temperature for proper smoking.

It does get harder to maintain proper temps in cold and/or windy weather, but I just use it in a semi-sheltered corner area next to my porch. I've used it on windy, 15 degree days with no problem other than adding 30-60 minutes on to the cooking time. I set the thermo. up so I can see it from my kitchen window, so I don't have to run outside to check it.

Also, I use a thermometer with a remote probe so I can monitor the temp. of the meat without removing the lid, otherwise you lose the heat you built up and will add hours onto the cooking time and/or dry out the meat. I highly recommend you get one, you won't be sorry.

Oh, yeah, the book contains instructions for smoking cheese. You can cold smoke with it if you are careful.

The only issue I would have if I were to buy another one is the size. Depending on what and how much you intend to smoke, you may do better with a larger smoker, but it will be almost twice the price. Also, it would be nice to have a front loading model, but that has never really caused a problem, it would just add convenience.

Had a Little Chief smoker (20 years old). Decided for my type of smoking I would get a mini-chief. It was 3 shelves vs 4 shelves, but being much shorter in height,I really liked that feature. I mainly smoke lake trout and venison. Smoker worked excellent. Took about 5-6 hours smoking time and the results were fantastic. Bought the insulated blanket which I thinks really helps a lot. Also purchased the shelf pads which greatly helps in laying the fish and meat strips on the racks. They are easy to clean.

I've used the Luhr Jensen Little Chief top loading smoker for years and it has never let me down. Good warm smoke, doesn't get too hot like the grill smokers do, the idea is not to cook it in the smoker, but to add the smoky flavor and draw out much of the water. The "cooking" is done in the brining solution for fish and jerky. I have also used it to flavor meats before grilling and it adds just the right amount of smokiness. There is a terrific recipe in the included book for brining turkey legs, you would swear that you were eating ham they are so delicious. Have even been able to do some smoked cheeses with this, either on the very top rack, or take the top off and make a "cold box" on top. I have even bought this as a wedding present for some students of mine who were moving to Montana since they loved the smoked salmon I made in mine. Used to be made by Luhr-Jensen down in Hood River, OR. I think they are just focusing on fishing tackle now and have sold this product line off though based on the name change to Smokehouse.

This is one great product. My husband got one as a gift over 25 years ago and we use it regularly. Still have the original box which we use as insulator. We smoked a turkey with cherry wood and it was the most delicious and juicy bird we ever had. The racks are getting rusty and we need to get replacements but after all the use it's expected. Cannot recommend this product enough-makes THE BEST Jerky also! Thanks!!

This past year, I purchased this smoker for my husband for Christmas. The only thing he's smoked in it so far is salmon, but OH MY GOODNESS!!! It tastes amazing! The smoker comes with a little recipe book and it's full of delicious sounding foods that we can't wait to try when the weather gets colder. The smoker is compact and well built. The wood chips that come with it smell amazing even before you burn them. The racks are EASY to clean and if you happen to burn something on them a little Easy Off oven spray does the trick. We invert the box and put it on top of the smoker instead of buying the insulating blanket and it works just fine. No fires, no burned cardboard. It's a trick we learned from my dad who has the same model, only 15 years older.

We got a Little Chief top-load smoker (the only version made back then) for our wedding in 1971. We caught lots of salmon back then, and half of it went into this smoker. Alder wood is best with salmon, and I just finished smoking 3 pounds of it this afternoon. That same little smoker works every time, and should last a few more years, at least. I actually looked into getting another, but decided to use this until the heating element finally quits (it's the original). It's old, dark, and crusty, and I think we've used it over 250 times, but after 41 years of great service, it now is part of the family (a smelly part, though). Happy smoking!

Larry

P.S. Realize that this unit is a smoker, but NOT a cooker. Some meats will need to be cooked in another, hotter, appliance in addition to being smoked with the Little Chief. Salmon, however, does just fine with only smoking. Sometimes I smoke the brined chunks for 6 hours or so. The fish chunks get darkened on the outside, but the interior is mildly smoked, moist and tasty. Other times, I smoke the fish for 12-15 hours. In that case, the fish shrinks in size, gets very dark and rich, and the texture is more chewy. The intense smokey salmon flavor is awesome, but too strong for some. My favorite brine was found online. It contains white wine, soy sauce, brown sugar, onion salt and water. Once you get your new smoker, experiment with different recipes and species. Have fun!

I bought my husband a mini smoker for CHristmas so we could eat more locally. He fishes and we smoked the trout that he caught. The taste is like candy believe it or not! It is so sweet and delicious. The reason I gave it only 4 stars is because it really smokes and no matter how far away from the house it is, smoke and smell get everywhere.

Purchased this smoker after looking around for a top loader. Used it to smoke a batch of salmon and was very happy with the results. Good size for keeping next to the bbq and works great thus far. It did come with Alder chips instead of Hickory as shown in the picture which was kind of a bummer.

Item arrived on time and is as advertised. We are very pleased with the smoker.

INEFFECTIVE SMOKE

The mini chief smoker only smokes food -- it does not actually get hot enough to safely cook meats to eat out of the smoker. Beef and chicken have to be removed from the smoker and put in the oven to finish the cooking process. This can be a big mess, makes for more dirty pans to clean and is not at all convient.

The smoker then is to hot to smoke cheese. The cheese will melt and ran down through the cooker grates. The "cold smoke" method the manufacture suggested is a joke; turn the empty box upside on top of the open smoker. The flimsy box will last about a week and you still do not have a cold smoked product as a result.

DANGEROUS CHIEF SMOKER

The mini chief I purchased started to trip the ground fault. I though the problem was with the GFI and purchased and installed a new one. The GFI continued to trip. I then thought it was some internal wiring in that location of the house and plugged the mini chief smoker into another outlet. This time the result was near disastrous. The entire smoker went up in flames and smoke. The problem was with the supplied electrical cord. It appears to have sorted out and burned through about an inch from the back of the unit. Anyways, some quick thinking and the help of a garden hose put the fire out. There was minor damage to the house that I will now repair, or make an insurance claim for.

VERY BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE

I contacted the manufacture, [...] and offered to send the unit back if they provided a UPS call tag, or I could take photos of the damage to the driveway, house damaged electrical cord and ruined smoker. The Luhr Jensen smoker rep e mailed me that a call tag would be sent. Photos were not requested. Days went by and another rep got involved and asked questions (ie location of smoker when fire occurred) that had already been addressed. The rep now was requesting photos, etc. After additional delays I was told to just take the mini chief smoker back to the store where I bought it! Why wasn't that said when the whole process started?

RECOMMENDATION

There are other very good smokers out there to buy. Read thier reviews, here on Amazon (which I think is a great web site) before you buy! You will pay less, or maybe the same as a Chief Smoker and you will get a product that actually works, is not dangerous and if needed, I'm sure, provide good customer service!

CONCLUSION

This matter had to be settled in Small Claims Court due to the manufactures unwillness to accept their responsibilities. After the Judgement against the manufacture was made, it still took numerous phone calls and faxes to the manufacture before the settlement was finally paid.