The best electric smoker for this price range is the Masterbuilt MB20077618. This smoker is compact but has been designed well enough to hold quite a bit of food. At the same time, the smoker is easy to use and has a powerful heating element and sizable wood chip tray that makes for a great smoking experience.
When I was in culinary school, I was living in a tiny apartment and I was only allowed an electric smoker. The problem was that not only was I broke but I didn’t have much experience with electric smokers either. Luckily for me, one of my classmates was also a pitmaster and he helped me find the right one for me.
In this post I will give you a rundown of the best electric smokers under 200 – I have also included a buying guide to help you make your own decisions!
Here are the best electric smokers for you to choose from:
Best Electric Smoker
I really like the compact size of this electric smoker. It is small and lightweight, making it pretty easy for you to move around – at most, you will need just one another person to help you out here.
Despite the small size, the inside of the cooking chamber is organized really well. There are two cooking racks that can easily fit four chickens, two racks or ribs, or two pork shoulders. So, this isn’t bad especially if you are trying to feed a small family or don’t smoke that often.
If you are new to smoking, then I would definitely suggest this Masterbuilt electric smoker to you. It is so incredibly easy to use! As it is an analog electric smoker, there is just one thermostat to control the temperature and there are no other elements for you to have to set or check on.
As for additional features, the only other one that you will find on this electric smoker is the temperature gauge.
The heating element of this Masterbuilt electric smoker is quite impressive. The 1800 watt produces more than enough heat for the smoking process. Adding to this is that the electric smoker has a sizable wood chip container to smoke larger cuts of meat. The only downside is that it is inside and this means you will need to open the door to reload the container.
While I was testing out this electric smoker, I made a point to keep a close watch over the temperature inside the cooking chamber. There were some fluctuations throughout the cook – some of these were significant but the smoker came back to its original temperature within a short period of time.
Fluctuations do tend to occur with all electric smokers and considering this price point such significant fluctuations aren’t surprising. They can be quite annoying though as you do have to pay closer attention to the cook.
Sure, this electric smoker has its faults but at the end of the day, it really is an excellent smoker. This is especially true considering the price point. In fact, I would actually choose this model even if I did have the pick of more expensive smokers.
Best for Temperature Control
Now with a lot of electric smokers – even expensive ones, accuracy isn’t always guaranteed. This is because across the board, fluctuations tend to occur in electric smokers, it is simply a given.
This is why I was so pleasantly surprised to discover what this electric smoker had in store for me. As I put it through its paces, I kept an eye on the temperature gauge and used a third party thermometer to keep track of the cooking temperature in the electric smoker. At the same time, I also monitored the internal temperature of the meat too.
There were very few fluctuations in temperature – just a few degrees here and there and the smoker corrected itself fairly quickly. As a result, the cooking process was barely affected and the meat was cooked within the proper time frame.
Don’t let the dimensions of this electric smoker fool you – it has quite a bit of cooking surface area inside. To add to this, you can remove the chrome plated cooking grates so that you can fit larger cuts of meat inside of it.
Even keeping the chrome plated cooking racks as they are, you can still fit a lot of good into this electric smoker. Several racks of ribs, several chickens, and a whole lot more!
The only thing that you have to worry about working on this electric smoker is the temperature control. And, as it is completely analog, all you have to do is to twist a knob and you are all set – it really doesn’t get any easier than this is and is a great option for first timers.
On a similar note, the electric smoker is also really easy to clean. Some of the grime and gunk ends up in the well-placed drip pan. This can be removed and cleaned out with ease.
It really was a great experience to smoke with this make and model. As I already said, the temperature control was spot on. The insulated design also helped to keep heat trapped inside the smoker and to keep a more even temperature.
Now, I am not crazy about the fact that the tray for the wood chips is inside the electric smoker. That being said, the tray was right above a powerful heating feature. This meant that more smoke was produced and that the food had a lot better flavor.
In fact, the only big issue that I had with this electric smoker is that it isn’t the most durable model. Therefore, you should try to avoid moving it around as there is a good chance that it may get dinged during the process.
Even though I have put together my fair share of smokers, it isn’t a job that gets any easier. This is why I was pleased to discover that it was really easy to put this electric smoker together.
All I needed was an electric screwdriver and I had the smoker up and running in no time at all. Best of all, I was able to tackle the project by myself.
I like that there is quite a bit of space in this electric smoker. You can easily smoke several racks of ribs, and a few pork butts or shoulders in here. Best of all, these are adjustable racks.
This means that you can easily cook larger cuts of meat – even a brisket – if you arrange the racks in the right way. As a result, this electric smoker is equally good for smoking for small or large crowds.
This is another analog electric smoker but once again this just means that the smoker is really easy to use. If you want to set the temperature, you simply turn the dial and that is all that it takes. If you are only just starting out with smoking, you would be hard pressed to find a simpler machine to work.
As an added bonus, the smoker is really easy to clean as well. All of the grease simply drains away into the grease tray which can be removed externally and emptied out.
I have to say that I did have a lot of fun putting this smoker through its paces. Now, is it perfect? As an electric smoker under 200 of course it isn’t. The insulated walls of this electric smoker aren’t great. So, if you do try to smoke food on a cold day, you are going to struggle.
Also, I don’t love the fact that the wood chips have to be kept in a tray inside the cooking chamber.
Despite this, the smoker does give you some pretty good results. The combination of the wood chips and the water pan means that the food gets that nice smoky flavor and is lovely and moist.
And, on most days, the temperature control on this smoker is pretty good as well and this makes for an easy smoking experience.
This was the first time that I have used an electric smoker like this one. It is actually quite rudimentary but works really well despite this.
Now, unlike other electric smokers, this one has been programmed to operate at only one temperature. Therefore, the temperature stays steady throughout and you don’t have to worry about your meat cooking too fast or at a too high temperature.
Now, while this is a great smoker and feature, it can be frustrating if you do want to smoke your food at a higher temperature or speed up the process. In this way, this smoker may not be suitable for everyone.
It really doesn’t get any easier than this smoker – this is because there is nothing for you to do at all. Just place the wood chips in their tray and keep them in the smoker. Then, turn it on and the smoker will handle the rest, keeping the level at your desired temperature.
So, if you are new to smoking or just can’t be bothered to learn the ins and outs of the smoking process, then this will be the perfect electric smoker for you.
Not only is the cooking surface area much greater than other electric smokers on this list but there are numerous cooking trays as well. This means that you can easily smoke different kinds of food at the same time.
Or, you can remove the racks and make room for larger cuts of meat. The choice is up to you!
I didn’t expect much from this inexpensive electric smoker but it really blew me away in terms of flavor. The smoke flavor completely infused the food, even thicker cuts of meat. At the same time, it doesn’t overwhelm the food either and is a good option for more delicate cuts as well.
If you want the best new electric smoker under 200, then here are the tips and tricks you should remember:
I am going to be honest with you, there aren’t too many smokers with a digital control panel or electric temperature controls at this price range.
However, I know that you may want an electric temperature control, nonetheless. After all, this is likely an interface that you are more used to and it can be easier to use than more traditional controls.
Keep in mind, though, that any such displays in this price range are going to be of very poor quality. So, they may not function properly or fail early on. In any case, the analog temperature control is a lot more reliable in the long run.
The good news is that analog smokers are also a lot easier to use. There is no need to fiddle around with various features or buttons. Instead, just set the temperature control and you are ready to go!
When choosing an electric smoker, it isn’t the size of the smoker that you should be considering. Instead, check out how many square inches of cooking space there is. This will give you a better idea of how much food you can fit into the smoker.
Now, at this price point, you are mostly only going to have small or medium smokers. Still, you can find a smoker that has the kind of cooking space that you need.
If you choose a smoker with adjustable racks, then you can remove these and place them in a different position so that you can fit in larger cuts of meat.
While having a consistent temperature throughout the cook is important, this isn’t something that you can guarantee by looking at the features of a smoker. Instead, it is all about trial and error – of course, if you read the reviews here you will be able to get a glimpse of how your smoker will perform for you.
Apart from this, I would look for a smoker with good insulated design – this ensures that the heat doesn’t escape. A door that shuts tightly is also a good sign.
Now, as you will have noticed from the above reviews all the smokers in this list have trays that are inside the smoker. You will also notice that I have considered this a con in every instance.
So, why am I being so finicky about where the wood chips go?
Well, most wood chip containers in electric smokers are fairly small. This means that you often need to top them up during the cook. If the tray is inside the smoker, then you have to open the door each time you want to add more wood chips.
When you do this, hot air goes out and cold air goes in, messing up the temperature in the cooking chamber. So, if possible, look for a tray insert so that you don’t have to open the door during the cook.
Now, I know what you are thinking whenever you buy a budget smoker you aren’t expecting it to last that long. Well, this isn’t necessarily the case. If you choose a good brand that uses high quality materials, then your smoker can actually last you a few years at the very least.
This is why even when you are looking for a budget option, you should choose a brand that you are familiar with. At the very least, it will be easier to get the smoker fixed or find replaced parts should anything go wrong.
The Masterbuilt is undoubtedly the best electric smoker under 200. It is compact but has plenty of cooking surface area. The smoking performance of this smoker is really good and it also helps that it is very easy to use.
Of course, make sure to check out the other smokers on this list as well. Each makes and model has its own features that could be just what you are looking for!
