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Who won’t drool over the thought of satisfying cold-smokes dishes? It is salivating, isn’t it?
Smoking food does not always require you to cook it on fire. In fact, there is more to the story. Cold smokers are the most convenient alternative to hot smoking for adding a refined and unique smoky flavor in your dishes.
Take some time and look at the top-rated cold smokers on the market that ensure optimal results and fantastic tasting food.
Here we go!
At a Glance: Our Top Picks for Cold Smoker
- OUR TOP PICK: Smokehouse Smoke Chief Cold Smoke Generator
- RUNNER-UP: Smoke Daddy Big Kahuna Cold Smoke Generator
- BEST BUDGET OPTION: Chefhut Portable Handheld Cold Smoking Gun
Comparison Chart of the Best Cold Smokers
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What is a Cold Smoker?
Cold smoking is a convenient way of flavoring and preserving food. A cold smoker is generally used to fulfill this purpose. The main objective of cold smoking is to infuse the raw meat, fish, or eggs with an exquisite smoky flavor and transform it into delicious treats for a party.
Chefhut Portable Handheld Cold Smoking Gun
A cold smoker is designed in such a way to keep the food separate from the firebox or any heating element. That means there is no cooking involved. The part that is responsible for producing smoke is usually kept separate from the food storing part of the equipment. In simple words, the food gets infused with delicious smoky flavors without heating it up.
How Does a Cold Smoker Work?
A cold smoker is typically designed to introduce a smoky flavor in the food and turn it into a tasty dish. The basic principle of all the models is more or less the same. The smoke is produced in the chamber; however, there is no transference of any heat, unlike hot smoking.
The temperature requirement is usually below 140 degrees F. Wood chips are generally used to produce intense smoke in the chamber. The food that needs to be infused with flavor is either placed on or hung from a rack and left for some time. Meanwhile, the smoke covers the food and gets absorbed to impart a delicious flavor.
How to Choose a Cold Smoker
Cold smoking is still used by people for creating low-temperature smoke and less heat to cook the food. Since the market is filled with a plethora of options, it is recommended never to jump to the final pick. The availability of so many options might confuse you.
Well, let’s help you here. This section has summarized a couple of important features that you must look for in order to make a valued purchase.
Quality Construction
The most prominent feature of any reliable smoker is the sturdy built. They are generally made from aluminum and silicon. Make sure to pick a model that incorporates fine composition and tends to serve you with high-end performance for a longer period of time.
Portable
Portability can be an important factor if you frequently plan barbecue parties at your place. The weight of any object greatly alters its portability. Therefore, you should opt for a lightweight cold smoker that can be easily moved around to meet your indoor and outdoor requirements.
Ease of Installation
Attaching a cold smoker to any grill can be a tough nut to crack. Therefore, it is advised to look for a model that exhibits a user-friendly design and can be attached to the grill in no time. With a flawless design, you can enjoy smoky flavors in your food without struggling much for it.
Smokehouse Smoke Chief Cold Smoke Generator is made of high-quality materials.
Pocket-Friendly
Cold smokers vary in their prices. This generally depends on the brand and the incorporation of advanced features. You should be really careful about this and always set your budget first. Make sure to choose a model that has almost all the essential features and still favors your wallet.
Willy's Top Picks - Best Cold Smokers
Review of the Best Cold Smokers
Hopefully, you are now capable of choosing the right model by looking at the prominent features. Moving forward, we have a detailed review of some of the trending cold smokers that need your definite consideration.
Let’s get started!
Best Overall:
Smokehouse Smoke Chief Cold Smoke Generator
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
Users have found this cold smoker extremely useful when it comes to adding a smoky flavor to the meat. They report that the construction is just top-notch, plus it is very user-friendly. You can easily use this model for adding a smoky flavor to your food. Moreover, it just requires 1 cup of pellet for hours of tasty grilling.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This premium model from Smokehouse is composed of fine materials that are meant to last long. Talking about the design, the user-friendly design can be operated by either 110V AC or 12V DC power. It is compatible with almost any type of grill and takes only 1 cup of pellet for providing 3 hours of smoky flavors.
Who Will Use This Most
It is an ideal choice for those who are a lot into barbecuing. If you are planning a get together at your place, then you should definitely consider this model. It works well with smokers, charcoal grills, pellet grills, gas grills, and a number of other outdoor cooking devices. With this smoker, you can add a unique taste to all types of food, from chicken to meat, eggs, fish, ribs, and much more.
Bottom Line
A highly versatile unit, this smoker is known for its quality construction and user-friendly design. It is compatible with tons of outdoor cooking units and tends to add a smoky flavor to a variety of food. Overall, it is a reliable option and worth the investment.
Runner-up:
Smoke Daddy Big Kahuna Cold Smoke Generator
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
This smoker has earned great ratings from its customers for its versatility. They report that there is no question about its durable built. Similarly, the user-friendly design does not require you to oversee it during operation. Finally, it can be used with various grilling devices to enhance the smoky flavor in your food.
Why it Stands Out to Us
Well, this runner-up smoker is composed of heavy-duty aluminum to easily tackle harsh conditions without compromising on the performance. This model boasts a user-friendly design and incorporates a reliable pump with adjustable airflow to produce plenty of smoke according to your needs. Finally, it is leak-proof and easily meets your barbecuing applications.
Who Will Use This Most
If you are looking for a smoker that is capable of providing both hot and cold services, then you must consider this smoker. It has a nice built and works well with a variety of grills and other outdoor devices. The fine features make it highly suitable for adding a smoky touch in your food, be it meat or eggs.
Bottom Line
An extraordinary smoker with a well-balanced design, this model is worth the investment. It is built to last and requires minimum effort during installation. Moreover, it works well with tons of devices and offers a remarkable result when it comes to barbecuing. In short, with this smoker, you can master cold smoking faster than with anything else.
Best for the Money:
Chefhut Portable Handheld Cold Smoking Gun
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
This smoker has satisfied most of its customers by offering exceptional services. According to them, this durable smoker is coupled with tons of amazing features to provide a great barbecuing experience. Not only is it user-friendly, but it is also available at a reasonable price to attract many new customers.
Why it Stands Out to Us
A great product from Chefhut, this smoker is made from high-quality aluminum and silicone to ensure durability. It has got a user-friendly design and can be used for various applications. Coming to the functionality, it offers reliable performance and adds natural smoky flavors to your food. It takes only 4AA batteries to run this smoker, and you are good to go.
Who Will Use This Most
Available at a very affordable price, this smoker is immensely popular among budget-conscious people. The user-friendly design makes it highly suitable for beginners to perfect cold smoking. It can be used for both indoor and outdoor barbecuing activities. Moreover, it fits various grills and, therefore, can be used whenever you plan a party at your place.
Bottom Line
This cold smoker has everything that you are looking for. Whether we talk about the quality of the incredible features, this model won't do you wrong. The most popular aspect is that it is highly versatile and offers compatibility with a number of outdoor grilling devices.
Best Electric Cold Smoker:
homia Smoking Gun Wood Smoke Infuser
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
This smoker has become quite popular among customers for its user-friendly design and high-end construction. It is highly recommended for adding a beautiful smoky flavor in your food and even drinks. Moreover, there is an appreciable 3-year warranty on this smoker to save the customer from hefty expenditures of maintenance.
Why it Stands Out to Us
Simply put, this cold smoker from Homia mainly stands out to us for its premium construction and versatile design. It uses 4xAA batteries to run efficiently and add an exotic smoky flavor in all types of food. Similarly, the user-friendly design allows you to choose from 2 speeds for generating intense smoke. The smoke gets absorbed in the food in almost no time.
Who Will Use This Most
It is a great choice for those who love an intense smoky flavor in their food. Whether it is a drink or some sort of meat, this smoker takes care of everything. You just need to adjust the speed according to your choice and leave the rest to this amazing cold smoker. It improves the taste of any food and drink without taking long.
Bottom Line
A powerhouse of features, this cold smoker generates smoke to introduce a smoky flavor in your food. The user-friendly design makes it worth the investment. Plus, manufacturers offer a great 3-year warranty on this smoker to enhance the confidence of the customers. What else would you want?
Best Masterbuilt Cold Smoker:
Masterbuilt MB20071117 Digital Electric Smoker
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
Similar to our other reviewed cold smokers, this model offers incredible performance when we talk about barbecue. According to users, this model has a premium design and works great in adding a smoky flavor to your food. Moreover, it is very easy to use and offers a steady smoking experience.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This cold smoker from Masterbuilt makes its way to our list for exhibiting a great set of exceptional features. First of all, the construction is reliable, plus the design is extremely user-friendly. It comes with a fully-insulated body to retain maximum heat. Moreover, the incorporation of the digital panel helps you monitor the temperature and time consistently.
Who Will Use This Most
It is regarded as the best Masterbuilt cold smoker for providing a steading smoke for hours. The small and sturdy design makes it highly suitable for beginners. Moreover, it can be used for a variety of foods, including meat, eggs, ribs, fish, and much more. The thermostat temperature control ensures even smoking to improve the overall experience.
Bottom Line
One of the finest cold smokers on the market, this model is a perfect mix of quality and performance. It greatly improves the flavor of your food by adding an exotic smoky touch. Similarly, the construction is extremely durable, and the overall design ensures a smooth and consistent smoke production for a long time.
Cold Smoker vs Hot Smoker – Comparison Overview
Everyone loves the salivating taste of smoke in their food. While there are different techniques to do so, here we will compare the most prominent ones. Let’s have a brief comparison between a cold smoker and a hot smoker.
Temperature Range
The first and foremost difference between cold smoking and hot smoking is the key temperature the meat is smoked at. Hot smoking generally takes place at a higher temperature. For cold smoking, the temperature is set below 140 degrees F, while it ranges from 225-250 degrees F when it comes to hot smoking.
That means the temperature in a hot smoker chamber is almost 3 times higher than the cold smoker.
Cooking Capability
In a hot smoker, the process of hot smoking cooks your food in addition to adding a smoky flavor in the food to treat your taste buds. Contrary to this, cold smokers only introduce a smoky touch to your food.
Heating Element
The heat source in a hot smoker is generally placed close to the food. This way, the food gets the heat and absorbs the smoke simultaneously to develop a unique flavor to tantalize your taste buds. On the other hand, there is no transference of heat in a cold smoker as the food is placed completely separate from the firebox.
Verdict
Overall, a hot smoker is generally much easier to use than a cold smoker as it attains the adequate conditions much more quickly. Moreover, the high temperature kills the pathogens and eliminates the risk of poisoning and diseases.
Pros and Cons of Cold Smokers
Cold smokers are specially designed for intense smoking of food without having to cook it. These models are extremely useful in making your food the talk of any party. Here, we will discuss some of the major advantages and disadvantages that are associated with this type of smokers.
Pros
This piece of equipment brings tons of advantages to its users. Some of them are listed below.
Imparts a Natural Smoky Flavor
The foremost purpose of any cold smoker is to beautifully indulge a smoky flavor in the food. It ensures complete penetration of smoke and provides you with delicious meals at any time of day. You just need some wood chips to generate an intense smoke and leave the rest up to your cold smoker.
Suitable For a Variety of Food
Well, a cold smoker is best for any food. If you love smoky flavors, this equipment helps you try it on just everything. Whether you intend to enjoy a smoky flavor in your food, this device is at your rescue. It can easily take care of all types of food, including raw meat, fish, turkey, eggs, cheese, curd, and even a variety of drinks.
User-Friendly
A cold smoker is highly versatile in its functionality. Most of these models incorporate a user-friendly design to make it suitable for even beginners in order to master their cold smoking skills. That's not all!
With this device, you can meet tons of barbecuing requirements. It is equally good for outdoor and indoor activities and serves you flawlessly in an hour of need.
Cons
While there are many positive points of getting a reliable cold smoke, it has a few drawbacks as well.
Unable to Cook Food
A cold smoker can only be used to add a smoky flavor since there is no cooking involved. This leads to some potential health dangers. The food is subjected to a relatively low temperature that makes avoiding bacterial contamination a risky business for cold smokers.
homia Smoking Gun Wood Smoke Infuser
Conclusion
With a reliable cold smoker, you can add an exotic smoky flavor to your food without needing any heat at all. All you need is a quality smoke generator and the right type of wood to achieve precise smoking.
Well, this brings us to the end of this detailed buying guide. By now, you should be capable of picking the best cold smoker for your needs. However, if you still have any confusion, go through the major considerations in order to ease your search.
