Price. What is the bottom line? Prices range from $50 for cheapo charcoal bullet-shaped cookers up to $5,000 for all-in-one grills. Make sure to ask if there is a shipping charge or if there is sales tax.

Access. Look for easy access to the firebox to add fuel if you buy a charcoal or wood smoker. If you use chips, chunks, or pellets for smoke, you will need easy access to the place they go. Most important, you want access to the food. Front-loading, cabinet-style smokers give you much easier access to all shelves than top-loading bullet-style smokers.

Capacity. If all you cook is an occasional slab of ribs for you and your spouse, then a small bullet will do the job. That's me most of the time. But then there's the annual Fourth of July party we throw when I need to be able to crank out 13 slabs or more. For that, I use an offset fire box charcoal pit that I have modified by adding an extra row of racks below the racks that are installed by the factory.

Footprint. A bullet will only take up a space of about 3' x 3', allowing for a little space around it. That means it will fit on a tiny condo balcony. On the other hand, an offset firebox pit can take up 9' x 4' plus space around it.

Tall enough for large turkeys. You will want enough room to smoke a turkey, so make there is enough headspace between a rack and the top of about 1'.

Wheels. You may want to move the thing when you set it up, so it should have wheels or come apart easily. If it has wheels, how sturdy are they, and are they large enough to roll smoothly on a rough surface such a deck, concrete, pavers, or the lawn.

High heat production and/or well insulated for cooking in winter, rain, or wind. BTUs for gas or electric units are an indicator, but they are related to the amount of space to be heated.

Brazier. Some offset cookers have a rack that allow you to use the fire box as a brazier. A good example is the New Braunfels Bandera, shown at right. Some bullets can be easily converted to a brazier by removing the water pan. This is a nice feature. Sometimes I like to put my ribs over an open flame just before serving them to sizzle the sauce. If there is a brazier, can you control the heat? Can you move the fire closer to or away from the meat or move the meat closer to or further from the fire?

Moveable shelves. It's nice to remove shelves to adjust the interior configuration so it can handle large slabs of ribs, half slabs, or pork butts and even large objects like turkeys. Removeable shelves make cleanup easier.

Can you add fuel, wood, water, and check the meat without losing much heat. Peeking at the meat is bad. It lets out heat. Every time you lift the lid to peak at your meat, to add wood or check the water, you add 15-30 minutes to the cooking time, and you mess with the humidity and smoke in the oven. If you're lookin', you ain't cookin'. So a good smoker should allow you to add charcoal, wood, and water without messing with the oven's environment much. This can be a real problem with bullets and cabinets. Look for units that let you do these tasks without disrupting the cooking environment. For example, the Meco, at right, has a sliding door for water and another for coal and wood.

Water pan. Many smokers, especially bullets, have a pan that is placed above the heat source. You can fill it with water, beer, wine, herbs, and whatever. The liquid moderates the temperature fluctuations in the oven. The moisture raises the humidity in the unit and helps keep the meat from drying out while the aromatics penetrate the meat, adding subtle flavor. The pan can also catch drippings, which can be used to make a sauce. The standard bowl is 5-6 quarts. The bigger the better.

Dampers. With wood and charcoal cookers, we control the heat by cutting back on the oxygen supply to the fire. To do this, we need to have a damper on the fire box and another on the chimney. For electric and gas cookers, a damper on the chimney can help copntrol the amount of smoke in the oven.

Drip pan. Fats and othr fluids often drip from the food. Sometimes it is nice to have these liquids fall onto the heat source and create steam and smoke. Sometimes it is nice to gather the drippings for sauces. Most of the time we just want to get rid of drippings, and a good smoker must have a way to collect them for disposal.

Easy cleaning. Cleaning the exterior is optional. But cleaning the interior is not. If you invest in a shiny stainless-steel exterior, you'll probably want to cover it between uses and polish it so that it shines brighter than Uncle Bill's bald head. If you don't want the hassle, get the black finish and don't worry if there are bird droppings on it. The inside is another thing altogether. How easy is it to remove ash from charcoal units or ash from wood chunks in gas or electric units? When you cook, fat, seasonings, and juices will drip off and splatter. They can become breeding grounds for bacteria. Cranking the unit up will kill most everything, but you still want to clean out all surfaces that come into contact with the meat. That means racks. Stainless is easiest to clean, Plated grates will wear out with time and then rust. See if the grates, drip pan, and water pan will fit in your diswasher. Can you hose down the interior? Will water get into the insulation? I have been known to take my pressure washer to the interior of my offset firebox pit. Before you buy, study the unit and ask yourself how you will clean it and if you are willing to do it. If not, then you won't use it and you'll be wasting your money.

Work surfaces and storage. Some cookers come with built-in tables and other work surfaces. We need these to put tools on, sauces, cutting boards, mitts, etc. The more work surfaces, the better. Some cookers also come with storage bins and cabinets for wood, tongs, etc. Those are also nice.

This page was revised 2/12/2009