Smokehouse Little Chief Front Load Smoker, Low to Mid Temperature Smoker for Fish, Sausage, Cheese, & Other meats, Smoke Up to 25 Pounds of Meat & Fish

My only regret is not getting the bigger version! This smoker is so easy to use, and produces incredible results. I wish I had known how easy it was to smoke foods years ago. I bought the extra rack, and the plastic drying screens to expand the capacity and smoke smaller items. One of the first things I tried was raw jumbo shrimp. 60-90 minutes and these were the best shrimp I ever had!The smoker itself does a great job keeping the heat at a consistent temperature, and while it seemed somewhat flimsy at first, it's well made and does exactly what it's supposed to do! The front door panel lifts off easily, but also holds in all the smoke during operation. Adding wood chips in the pan is simple with the small door panel so you don't lose all the heat and smoke. You can use this to complete dry meats out to make jerky, or adding some apple cider or water to a tray on the bottom allows food to absorb tons of flavor, but not dry out so you can transfer it to a hot grill for quick searing. I put lean ground beef patties in for about 2 hours, then flash grill for a minute or two and serve. Easily the most flavorful, juicy burgers I've ever had! Finally was able to successfully make incredible baby back ribs myself! And chicken legs turn into a whole new food group after several hours in the smoker, then baked the rest of the way!

This is not my first Little Chief. Orderedit because I know they are a good product, and with neat shortages because of people panicking over covid, I figured it may be a good idea to get one before there is a shortage on these smokers. Anyway, it appears that they have made some changes to the Little Chief. The things you put the racks on are different, and I think it's a little wider now than it used to be. The smoker worked right out of the box, no issues with the hesting element (beyond the fact that there is no temperature control, nor a thermometer (but as I said, I've already owned one of these in the past, so I knew that already) only setup involved was screwing the handles onto it, putting in the racks/drip tray, and, of course, plugging it in. I ordered it on the 22nd of May and it is now the 23rd and am already putting it to good use. This thing is great for beef jerky and smoked salmon. Can't wait to start making those again. Currently, to test it out, I have a giant chunk of pork and some really big boneless chicken breasts in it now. Will update this with pics of the food when it's done, if I remember.Anyway, you can't go wrong with a Little Chief.

Ok, I bought this for a friend of mine, I have the larger version that I have used for at least 20 years. This is a SMOKER. You put your stuff in the box, add some chips, plug it in and smoke your item. Unless you're smoking fish, don't expect this smoke-box to cook your dinner. For fish, it will give you a nice "wet-smoked" fish. For beef, pork, chicken, it will give you excellent smokey flavor. You'll still need to cook the item on a BBQ, Air Fryer, Oven etc. I've smoked pork chops, chicken, brisket and rib roasts and it works excellent. After smoking, the item goes into the oven and cooks like normal. I highly recommend this "Smoker".

Shame on me for not reading up on the description and previous reviews first before buying this thing. While it works fine, 165 degrees is not hot enough to cook anything but very thin strips of meat (i.e. beef jerky, thinly sliced salmon fillets). While I'm planning on keeping the Little Chief, I'm going to have to build an insulated box to (hopefully) get it to do what I wanted it to do. As far as functionality and design as it is intended, it's very nice and user friendly and assembly was a breeze.**update** I "built" a nice insulating box with 1" reflective Styrofoam board (I just taped it together with reflective hvac tape so it's not exactly heavy duty construction) but it works great now for smoking pork, ribs, chicken, etc. If you follow the same idea, please make sure you make the box large enough for about 6" of air space on all sides as well as the top. It doesn't have to be air tight either. A little ventilation is a good thing. I recommend getting a wireless thermometer to monitor your air and meat temperature and watch it closely the first few times you use it to ensure you're getting the results you want.

Like I said, I owned one of the top loaders in the mid 70's back when it was from Luhr Jensen. The front loader was not yet available.This does what it is supposed to do, smoke! This allows me to smoke what I want, and then I finish it off in one of my other barbecues, or indoors.My old one used to get to 148 degrees, not hot enough to cook, not cool enough to cold smoke, but it can make jerkey. So far this one is pretty much the same. I used to smoke most of the usual things, pork, chicken, beef, fish (sturgeon, striped bass, trout). This time I will be adding vegetables to the mix.The temperature control is not the best when it gets cold outside, but it can be insulated with some thought.The "flavor pan" (where you put the wood chips) burns out in about 20 minutes, after it starts smoking.To those who complain that it feels flimsy, This one is the same as I remember, not meant to be sat on, but sturdy enough to last many years.For those who are looking for a "low and slow" smoker, this will not work! This is really for smoking what you put into it, not cooking it. This does not get hot enough.One of the things I like is the electrical cord can be removed from the smoker for storage, this is an awesome upgrade.

This smoker is good for making maybe beef jerky it might smoke fish. This thing runs at a very low temperature do not buy this and think you're going to be able to cook ribs or maybe a pork shoulder or how about a beef brisket. It won't do it and once you buy it and find out by using it you're stuck with it. Do not buy spend a hundred more dollars and get a good one. Please note big chief is the same it has the same heating element I bought this and I wanted to let you know it sucks. That is my honest answer I do not recommend run.