The weekend is coming, it’s time to blow off steam and forget about the stress that you had during the last week. You now just want to spend time on unforgettable events with your loving ones, right?
Instead of waiting in lines for hours, more and more people prefer staying at home, making food, and happily sharing gathering moments.
One of the most popular and crucial cooking appliances that can perfectly solve the case above is the smoker. However, you are struggling to figure out that, between the two most common types: gas or electric smoker – which is better?
In this article, we will give you some brief introductions about gas and electric smokers, then compare these two on some particular criteria.
Let’s read this post to find out!
Quick Overview on Gas Smoker

The gas smoker is the traditional type of cooking appliance. The operating method is using gas, such as propane, as the heat source to cook food.
When it comes to smoking with a gas smoker, there is a quite complicated process that users must follow to ensure the food quality as well as their safety when cooking. First, open the gas valve to lead the gas flow into the pipe. Then, tighten the connection between the valve and the tank.
Now, you can switch on the smoker and set it to the desired temperature. The chimneys and the vents should be opened, and the door needs to be closed.
Especially, the heat inside a gas smoker can be controlled easily by users. Whenever the temperature is too high, just turn down the heat using the controls and vice versa. Additionally, if you want your dish to be smokier, add wood chips to the span or shelf above the dish as your interests.
The gas smoker is preferred for commercial purposes because installing it is simple and affordable. To run the smoker, you just need a gas supply, so, you can carry the smoker outside without worrying about power outlets.
Additionally, the most crucial point is the food smoked by a gas smoker is tastier than an electric smoker because the taste is more varied and smokier.
Quick Overview on Electric Smoker
The electric smoker, which runs by using electricity to produce heat, is such an innovative household appliance that has gained reliability from most cooking fanatics nowadays.
What makes the electric smoker great is that the machine is equipped with more heating support elements than the traditional smoker. There are valves to control the temperature, but most of the time, you don’t need to worry about it because the heating elements do all the grilling jobs.
Bearing the fact above in mind, users should spend some time on the elements to heat up before cooking. Though this process can be kind of unpleasant to some users, it will soon pay off.
Nowadays, an electric smoker is preferable because of its convenience in controlling temperature. Just put on the temperature controls and walk away until the clock rings, and you will have a mouth-watering smoked dish. How convenient!
Also, the electric smoker is safer than gas smokers because there will be no possibility of gas releasing to be concerned. Finally, if you live the apartment blocks, an electric smoker is more likely to be allowed to take inside the block than a gas smoker.
Gas or Electric Smoker – Which is Better?

Initial Cost
There are many types and brands of gas and electric smokers, so comparing two types, in general, is not objective enough, right? In this post, we will just consider the entry-level smoker because we believe that the experienced users will definitely have their favorites and know what is better for their house.
In terms of the entry-level smoker, according to the market price recently, the gas smoker is usually less expensive than the electric smoker. Even if you buy a cheap and outdated gas smoker without modern features, it will still work well. In contrast, if you buy an old electric smoker, we don’t think you can use that machine to smoke food.
Ease of Use
Among the two types of smokers, electric smokers are more comfortable to use. Just plug in the electric outlet and set it to the desired temperature, then, your job is done. The heating elements will do the remaining process for you.
In contrast, a gas smoker requires lots of effort, skills, and experience to cook a dish. You have to check the temperature, the wood chips, and the gas valve, which is a bit overwhelming for first-time users.
When using the electric smoker, you don’t need to worry about the gas release, but the case is opposite with the gas smoker. If the gas is released outside, it can result in tremendous consequences like burn or explosion, so users must be extra careful to check the gas pipe.
Food Quality

This is a subjective topic because what is delicious with a person can be bad for another.
It can be concluded that electric smokers are mostly automatically operated, so the heat is stable, and the quality of food will be consistent most of the time. So, the electric smoker can work well on such delicate dishes like cheese, fish, or chicken meat.
In contrast, a gas smoker is harder to control. The temperature does not remain the same through the process, so users have to pay attention most of the time.
There could be burnt or unripe dishes if you evaluate the cooking time incorrectly. This fact means the food quality can be alternated according to the condition then.
But this is also the reason why people loves gas smoker. They can flexibly add some wood chips or increase the heat to create a slightly burnt dish, which is considered more delicious.
So, the answer is: it relies upon your style. If you are creative and love experimenting, the gas smoker is better. But if you want to make delicate dishes and love stability, an electric smoker is the best choice.
Temperature Range
On average, the temperature range that an electric smoker can reach is 38 to 135 Celsius degree, which is quite ideal for basic smoking needs.
Meanwhile, the gas smoker has a temperature range of 79 to 204 Celsius degree. We can see that the gas smoker can reach a higher temperature than an average electric smoker.
In general, both smokers are applicable to common smoking needs. However, if users usually make food in the high-temperature range, the gas smoker can be their best fit because the electric smoker is quite less “powerful” in such cases.
Versatility

In terms of versability, an electric smoker is not highly estimated. The best feature of an electric smoker is its ability to cook at the low range of temperature stably, so we trust them for the delicate dish. That’s all about it.
On the other hand, gas smokers can provide many functions. The temperature range is 79 to 204 Celsius degree so that you can cook a more extensive range of food. There is some offset smoker than can even reach 260 Celsius degree, enough to roast or sear meat. To add-in, gas smokers can provide a much smokier dish.
Hence, we will give a plus point to the gas smoker in terms of versatility, especially if you go offset.
Maintenance
Both smokers require further maintenance than just wiping down the grates after the smoke. They must be cleared internally and externally. Racks require washing with soap; rims need to be brushed and furthermore. On the drip pan, the grease must be collected, and ash should be dumped.
However, electric smokers produce less gunk than others. Because of the low heating range and clean power sources (electricity), there won’t be much soot. In contrast, the gas smoker produces carbon during smoking, so the waste stuck on the racks, the rims, and even the food is obviously much.
In brief, the gas smoker takes you more time and effort to clean up after using, so you must consider this factor before buying.
Conclusion – Who is the winner?
We have gone through necessary information about gas and electric smokers as well as their distinctive features to answer the question: Gas or Electric smoker, which is better? After all these introductions given, we believe that you have already had a choice in your mind.
Personally, we will choose gas smoker over electric smoker because it is cheaper, more productive, and more versatile. The gas smoker is also able to make more menu with a smokier flavor.
However, we still believe that each person can have different preferences and conditions to consider before purchasing. So, the final choice is yours.
Wish this information will assist you in selecting the proper smoker for your household. Good luck on your shopping journey!
Thank you for reading!