Customer reviews from Char-Broil, LLC
Char-Broil - Simple Smoker - Black
Average customer rating
3.9
(44 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 44 reviews
5 Stars
25
4 Stars
8
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
1
1 Star
8
77%of customers recommend this product.
(
33 out of
43)
Customer Reviews for Char-Broil - Simple Smoker - Black
Customer Rating
5
Great smoker for medium smoking jobs
on August 5, 2016
Posted by: carpetbagger
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 month
I love this smoker. It is easy to use and the ability to custom set temp and time through the smartphone is great. It took a little time to get the smoker and the smartphone to sync, but once it did it works great. The only shortcoming is that you have to be able to connect to wifi. It might be good if it could connect through Bluetooth. It is easy and everything we have cooked was great.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from Char-Broil, LLCBy SME, March 5, 2024
Thank you for your review.
Written by a customer while visiting Char-Broil, LLC
Customer Rating
5
Satisfied User
on May 24, 2016
Posted by: GeneBa
Gender:Male
Level of expertise:Intermediate
Length of ownership:1 month
I've had this smoker for several months now. I've cooked brisket, ribs, meatloaf, and baked potatoes. I use it pretty much every weekend. I've used the internal temp settings, as well as the time settings. It consistently turns out a flavorful, moist product. This is a great, simple, fast way to get into smoking various meats.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from Char-Broil, LLCBy SME, March 15, 2024
Thank you for your review.
Written by a customer while visiting Char-Broil, LLC
Customer Rating
5
Simple Smoker with SmartChef Technology
on November 19, 2015
Posted by: JasonJ
from Marietta, GA, United States
Gender:Male
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Love this product. It was nice to download the app and receive notifications via my smartphone, letting me know that the meat was almost ready. You simply put your meat on the smoker, tell the app what you are cooking and then you go about your day! We added the Cherry Wood chips as well and the flavor was fantastic.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from Char-Broil, LLCBy SME, March 14, 2024
Thank you for your review.
Written by a customer while visiting Char-Broil, LLC
Customer Rating
4
SIMPLE smoker
on February 26, 2016
Posted by: Moondougie
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 month
I was originally going to rate this smoker as a 3, but then I remembered it's name, "Simple Smoker with SmartChef Technology."
Two Thanksgivings ago, I tried smoking a Turkey on my Charbroil gas grill and was so pleased with the result that I wanted to get a dedicated smoker and learn how to do it right. I did a little research and was set to ask for a barrel smoker for Christmas when I saw Charbroil's announcement for an electric smoker that worked with WiFi and an iPhone. It boasted a "library of recipes" and the simplicity of electricity. As I was new to smoking and this smoker looked simple, I asked for it instead of my first option.
I have to admit that I've had some struggles (as you can no doubt see from my posts in the Questions section.) But, I've been able to get answers to most of them. I've been frustrated with the size as from time to time, the things I wanted to smoke didn't always fit well in this smoker. I wanted to smoke some recipes that I found on Charbroil's site (i.e. Creamy Smoked Mac and Cheese, and Smoked Corn on the Cob) but couldn't figure out how to setup the smoker as it requires using the temperature probe.
My final frustration was with the iPhone app. The recipes I find there are well done, but extremely limited. There are only two each for Beef, Chicken, Pork, and Turkey. One of the Chicken recipes is listed as "Friend Whole Chicken" even though, once you look at the recipe you see it is actually for SMOKED chicken. There's only one Turkey recipe and it too is listed as "Fried Whole Turkey" and my problem with that recipe was that the smallest setting it had was for a 10b turkey and my first smoke was two Turkey breasts; one 8 lb and one 6 lb breast. Again, the recipe, once I looked at the details was actually for a smoked, rather than fried, turkey.
I realize that from reading this review so far, you might think I don't like my smoker and may be wondering why I rated it 4 out of 5 stars…
That's because, as I thought about writing this review, I realized three things: I was new to smoking, the product is relatively new, and the product is called a SIMPLE smoker. I have already learned a lot about smoking in the three months I've had this smoker. I've been able to find workarounds for smoking items that require time rather than temperature. I've been told that the company which develops the iPhone app is working on updates, including one that will allow us to smoke by time and not internal temperature. And, I wanted SIMPLE, especially as I entered this world of smoking.
I've successfully smoked two turkey breasts, pulled pork, baby back ribs, pork tenderloin, tri-tip, ribeye steaks, a sirloin tip roast, and bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken thighs. All of these were incredibly tasty. I've also been (mostly) successful at smoking things like: corn on the cob (regular and bacon-wrapped), macaroni and cheese, and au gratin potatoes.
IF they ever add the ability to smoke by time rather than internal temperature (with the attached probe) and add recipes to the app (letting us add them as users would be a great idea…) then I would happily change my rating from 4 to 5 stars.
I am pleased enough with this product, and like smoking so much that there is a good chance that next Christmas I may be asking for the Digital Electric Smoker with SmartChef Technology as I would love the added flexibility and increased size that smoker should provide.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from Char-Broil, LLCBy SME, November 24, 2023
Thank you for your review.
Written by a customer while visiting Char-Broil, LLC
Customer Rating
4
Great features
on March 6, 2016
Posted by: Smoker 27
from Kenton, OH, United States
Gender:Male
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I received the smoker in December, and I have used this smoker 10 times now.
The smoker works and cooks to perfection. The only problem that I ran into was it only runs off your phone, and you must have Internet. I live out in the country with terrible Internet options, so if I lose connection I can not cook with this smoker.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from Char-Broil, LLCBy Dustin, SME, March 8, 2016
Thank you for the feedback. We value you as a Char-Broil customer and are happy to hear that you are enjoying your Simple Smoker. Have you been able to use the presets? There are presets built into this Simple Smoker that can be used whenever you are unable to connect to WiFi. Please follow this link to the product guide and take a look at page ten for more information... http://content.wcbradley.com/wcb/char-broil/product/manuals/15102042-a1%20operations%20guide,%20english,%20french,%20spanish.pdf
Written by a customer while visiting Char-Broil, LLC
Customer Rating
5
Simplicity at it's best!
on December 21, 2015
Posted by: Maggiefo
from Charlotte, NC, United States
Gender:Female
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Being that our family had never owned a smoker before, I was nervous it would be difficult or operate and I wasn't sure if the flavor would be too heavy of a smokey flavor and overwhelm the meat. Wow were we wrong! We smoked turkey recently and the flavor came out perfectly balanced- not too smokey but just smokey enough. The meat was tender and pulled right off the bone. Yum! As far as ease of use, the device is so so
Simple. Once we download the Charbroiled app, we went about our day and were alerted of the turkey's progress as it cooked. I felt secure knowing we would not burn or over smoke the meat-a great feature for busy families! I can't wait to try salmon next.
Simple. Once we download the Charbroiled app, we went about our day and were alerted of the turkey's progress as it cooked. I felt secure knowing we would not burn or over smoke the meat-a great feature for busy families! I can't wait to try salmon next.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from Char-Broil, LLCBy SME, March 15, 2024
Thank you for your review.
Written by a customer while visiting Char-Broil, LLC
Customer Rating
1
Wifi connection stinks
on December 28, 2015
Posted by: Craigjames
Length of ownership:1 week
I have been dealing with wifi connections all day with it. I had to bring it in my house to do the firmware update!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from Char-Broil, LLCBy Dustin, SME, January 12, 2016
We're very sorry to hear this. Have you been able to get this Simple Smoker working? Please give us a call at 1-800-241-7548 and we will be able to best assist. We value you as a Char-Broil customer and want you to enjoy using this smoker.
Written by a customer while visiting Char-Broil, LLC
Customer Rating
1
unhappy customer
on December 29, 2015
Posted by: skullzz1313
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 week
I bought this smoker to make my Christmas dinner however I was never able to get the app working so needless to say my Christmas dinner was ruined. Unfortunately I didn't read the app reviews until I was already having trouble with it. NEVER got to use the smoker and am returning.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from Char-Broil, LLCBy Dustin, SME, January 12, 2016
We're very sorry to hear this. Do you still have this Simple Smoker? We value you as a Char-Broil customer and want you to enjoy using this product. Was a case created with us? Please give us a call at 1-800-241-7548 and we will be able to best investigate and assist.
Written by a customer while visiting Char-Broil, LLC