Customer reviews from thefulhamgroup.com
Cuisinart - 16" Vertical Charcoal Smoker - black
Average customer rating
4.1
(48 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 48 reviews
5 Stars
21
4 Stars
16
3 Stars
8
2 Stars
3
1 Star
0
87%of customers recommend this product.
(
40 out of
46)
Customer Reviews for Cuisinart - 16" Vertical Charcoal Smoker - black
Customer Rating
4
Good Value for the Price!
on November 28, 2016
Posted by: DonnaBella72390
from Apache Junction, AZ, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I was so excited to try this smoker that I used it the next day after it arrived. All in all it does the trick and I like that it's vertical, it's a nice looking addition to my patio. A few things I would change 1. The directions were not good, there were pictures but no way to identify some of the screws, took a little time but I figured it out. 2. Once it was assembled I accidentally scratched it so be careful of the paint job, it's a little thin. 3. The screens are flimsy, I was afraid the charcoal would fall through so I put foil on the bottom one and punched some holes in it to let the smoke through which worked well. 4. Clean up wasn't too bad except that you have to tip it to get the water out, not a deal breaker either. 5. Lastly the door would not close properly, had to modify it a little. I love that it has 2 racks for cooking, a thermometer which surprisingly worked very well and that you can add chips and water without getting burned. I will be using this frequently during the holiday for my guests, the chicken I made was delicious! One last thing, there was no cookbook so you may have to go online for recipes.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting thefulhamgroup.com
Customer Rating
4
Fairly Simple To Use, Good Results
on November 29, 2016
Posted by: wonkychez
from Los Angeles, CA, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This smoker is a great size, not too heavy and easy to set up. The trickiest part is really learning what charcoal etc. goes with what meat and getting the temperature right. This is more about smoking as a skill though as the Cuisinart Charcoal Smoker does the job well, it just takes some trial and error to get everything working together.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting thefulhamgroup.com
Customer Rating
4
Solid Starter Smoker with a Great Price
on November 29, 2016
Posted by: koletsb
from Austin, TX, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Overall, I would call this a good WSM imitator. Its $100 cheaper and only comes in 18.5in size.
The smoker has an 18in diameter with two levels of grates. The metal grates feel sturdy and well made. Set up of the smoker was relatively pain free but definitely can be fixed. Between confusing pictures in the setup manual and annoying screw placement, it took just under an hour.
For the most part, the smoker feels very well built and sturdy. The only place this is not the case is the side door panel. Mine came in slightly bent and feels extremely weak. It also does not lay flush against the side of the smoker leading to a decent amount of smoke to exit from the door. I will be looking into making the hinge in the near future. I also added a layer insulation around the door but it made it pretty tough to close it. Still a work in progress.
For my first warm up smoke, I am using the middle minion method (large amount of unlit charcoal with a small batch of hot coals in the middle). For this first cook, I did no food and no water in the bowl. Started with all vents open and got the smoker to 240 and then closed the bottom vent to about 1/8 open. 4 hours in, it dropped to 230. This was door closed the entire time but no other adjustments. Preceded to open bottom vent fully till it got back to 240 and then closed it back. Still learning the proper openings.
For the most part, the smoker feels very well built and sturdy. The only place this is not the case is the side door panel. Mine came in slightly bent and feels extremely weak. It also does not lay flush against the side of the smoker leading to a decent amount of smoke to exit from the door. I will be looking into making the hinge in the near future. I also added a layer insulation around the door but it made it pretty tough to close it. Still a work in progress.
For my first warm up smoke, I am using the middle minion method (large amount of unlit charcoal with a small batch of hot coals in the middle). For this first cook, I did no food and no water in the bowl. Started with all vents open and got the smoker to 240 and then closed the bottom vent to about 1/8 open. 4 hours in, it dropped to 230. This was door closed the entire time but no other adjustments. Preceded to open bottom vent fully till it got back to 240 and then closed it back. Still learning the proper openings.
A few changes I would have made:
1: Better Door
2: Put Screw letters on the back of the packaging so you know which to open up
3: Clean setup manual
1: Better Door
2: Put Screw letters on the back of the packaging so you know which to open up
3: Clean setup manual
Hope you enjoyed.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting thefulhamgroup.com
Customer Rating
4
good smoker
on December 1, 2016
Posted by: pmyers1016
from Missouri, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] after figuring out the instructions, the smoker was ready to use. the meat cooked evenly. Checked meat with own thermometer to make sure it was done. Its the perfect size for family & easy storage
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting thefulhamgroup.com
Customer Rating
5
Easy to Use and Makes Great Meals
on December 1, 2016
Posted by: lllomme
from Pflugerville, TX, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Unboxing
The smoker was well packaged and easy to get out of the box. There was minimal use of Styrofoam, which is always something that I appreciate. The lightweight/thin Styrofoam that was used in the box did crumble significantly during transport, I assume. There were hundreds of these little pieces that puffed out of the box during unpackaging and were stuck to the metal by static electricity. This made quite a mess that required post assembly vacuuming. I also had to vacuum the smoker itself to get all the Styrofoam off so that all the little particles would not burn/melt during first use. This was little more than a minor inconvenience.
The smoker was well packaged and easy to get out of the box. There was minimal use of Styrofoam, which is always something that I appreciate. The lightweight/thin Styrofoam that was used in the box did crumble significantly during transport, I assume. There were hundreds of these little pieces that puffed out of the box during unpackaging and were stuck to the metal by static electricity. This made quite a mess that required post assembly vacuuming. I also had to vacuum the smoker itself to get all the Styrofoam off so that all the little particles would not burn/melt during first use. This was little more than a minor inconvenience.
Assembly
The instructions for assembly were very straightforward and mostly easy to ready. It might have helped a little to have a zoomed in view of the latch assembly for eyes that are not as sharp as they used to be. Having the screws, washers and bolts packaged and labeled in groups was very convenient for easily identifying the required parts in each step.
The instructions stated 15 minutes for assembly with only a screwdriver needed. Total time for unboxing and assembly for me was 40 minutes taking my time to lay everything out and examine the instructions. I found that I needed a couple different size screwdrivers to effectively tighten the different size screws. I also needed a pair of plyers to hold the bolt steady as I tightened the screw. Otherwise the screw and bolt would turn together.
There were only two minor complications during assembly.
First - Placing the latches on was a little tricky by yourself as the screw holes are covered by a piece of metal held in place by a spring…like a clothes pin. I had to hold the metal piece up against resistance as I inserted the screws. I also had to hold the bolts in place with the pliers. This made it a little difficult but not too bad. Probably much easier with another set of hands.
Second - The access door was significantly bent at the corner so that it would not insert and close properly. I was easily able to bend it back so that it would close but the form of the door does not completely conform to the shape of the smoker. I am confident that if I spend a little time manipulating the door, I can get it to where it looks like a perfect fit.
The instructions for assembly were very straightforward and mostly easy to ready. It might have helped a little to have a zoomed in view of the latch assembly for eyes that are not as sharp as they used to be. Having the screws, washers and bolts packaged and labeled in groups was very convenient for easily identifying the required parts in each step.
The instructions stated 15 minutes for assembly with only a screwdriver needed. Total time for unboxing and assembly for me was 40 minutes taking my time to lay everything out and examine the instructions. I found that I needed a couple different size screwdrivers to effectively tighten the different size screws. I also needed a pair of plyers to hold the bolt steady as I tightened the screw. Otherwise the screw and bolt would turn together.
There were only two minor complications during assembly.
First - Placing the latches on was a little tricky by yourself as the screw holes are covered by a piece of metal held in place by a spring…like a clothes pin. I had to hold the metal piece up against resistance as I inserted the screws. I also had to hold the bolts in place with the pliers. This made it a little difficult but not too bad. Probably much easier with another set of hands.
Second - The access door was significantly bent at the corner so that it would not insert and close properly. I was easily able to bend it back so that it would close but the form of the door does not completely conform to the shape of the smoker. I am confident that if I spend a little time manipulating the door, I can get it to where it looks like a perfect fit.
Operation
Working the smoker could not have been easier. The charcoal ring made it very simple to estimate the necessary amount of charcoal. I ran the smoker twice without any food on the grates to burn off manufacturing oils, season the smoker and get an idea of how much the temperature would fluctuate before I had a dinner on the line. I expected difficulty in maintaining a set temperature of 225 to 250 degrees but it just seemed to naturally hover in that area with very little maintenance required from me. I have had side smokers in the past and found the temperature much more difficult to control in those.
For my first meal, I decided to use one of the recipes from the little booklet that came with the smoker…bacon wrapped chicken. I was interested to see how small pieces of meat held up during a several hour smoke. I followed the directions as exactly as possible. Three hours at 250 degrees. I had some trouble initially because I lit the charcoal unevenly. By the time I had all the coals grey, some were already aging and not providing enough heat. This caused my temperature to hit 200 and stay there. I
put a few chunks of mesquite in with the coals and was soon at 225 and was easily able to stay between 225 and 250 for the full three hours. I only added a handful of wood twice during that time. The door provided easy access to the coals when adding wood, though there was not a lot of room to maneuver in there because the water bowl is so close to the coals.
So, even though I had a difficult start (my fault), I found it easy to recover and easy to maintain temperature over the three hours. The bacon wrapped chicken came out very tasty and had a good level of moisture to it. I think next time, for that recipe, I will go for 2 – 2.5 hours instead of three, but in all fairness, it did say three hours or when it looks done.
Coal cleanup was a snap. Simply remove the top barrel and the coal grate and pour the ash into a bucket. It took me all of one minute.
Summary
In summary, I found the smoker easy to assemble and operate. The thinness of the metal and how easily the door was bent gave me concern that the unit would not hold heat well and cause me to have difficulty in maintaining a set temperature. I could not have been more wrong. It was quite easy to maintain a set temperature over those three uses. I can’t stress how much I appreciate that. Having used a smoker with a side box in the past, maintaining a stable temperature has always been a challenge. The lightness of the metal also ensured that I could easily remove and replace the top barrel to have access to the coal bed. I would have no reservations about referring this smoker to others. I really feel like this would be a perfect smoker for someone first entering the world of smoking due to its ease of use and ease in maintaining a set temperature.
Working the smoker could not have been easier. The charcoal ring made it very simple to estimate the necessary amount of charcoal. I ran the smoker twice without any food on the grates to burn off manufacturing oils, season the smoker and get an idea of how much the temperature would fluctuate before I had a dinner on the line. I expected difficulty in maintaining a set temperature of 225 to 250 degrees but it just seemed to naturally hover in that area with very little maintenance required from me. I have had side smokers in the past and found the temperature much more difficult to control in those.
For my first meal, I decided to use one of the recipes from the little booklet that came with the smoker…bacon wrapped chicken. I was interested to see how small pieces of meat held up during a several hour smoke. I followed the directions as exactly as possible. Three hours at 250 degrees. I had some trouble initially because I lit the charcoal unevenly. By the time I had all the coals grey, some were already aging and not providing enough heat. This caused my temperature to hit 200 and stay there. I
put a few chunks of mesquite in with the coals and was soon at 225 and was easily able to stay between 225 and 250 for the full three hours. I only added a handful of wood twice during that time. The door provided easy access to the coals when adding wood, though there was not a lot of room to maneuver in there because the water bowl is so close to the coals.
So, even though I had a difficult start (my fault), I found it easy to recover and easy to maintain temperature over the three hours. The bacon wrapped chicken came out very tasty and had a good level of moisture to it. I think next time, for that recipe, I will go for 2 – 2.5 hours instead of three, but in all fairness, it did say three hours or when it looks done.
Coal cleanup was a snap. Simply remove the top barrel and the coal grate and pour the ash into a bucket. It took me all of one minute.
Summary
In summary, I found the smoker easy to assemble and operate. The thinness of the metal and how easily the door was bent gave me concern that the unit would not hold heat well and cause me to have difficulty in maintaining a set temperature. I could not have been more wrong. It was quite easy to maintain a set temperature over those three uses. I can’t stress how much I appreciate that. Having used a smoker with a side box in the past, maintaining a stable temperature has always been a challenge. The lightness of the metal also ensured that I could easily remove and replace the top barrel to have access to the coal bed. I would have no reservations about referring this smoker to others. I really feel like this would be a perfect smoker for someone first entering the world of smoking due to its ease of use and ease in maintaining a set temperature.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting thefulhamgroup.com
Customer Rating
5
Great smoker!
on December 3, 2016
Posted by: Lacey
from Marshfield, MO, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] We've only had our smoker for a short time but already love it ! It's easy to use and our meat came out delicious! We are new to smoking meats and couldn't be happier with how it turned out .
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting thefulhamgroup.com
Customer Rating
4
Rookie Smoker
on December 3, 2016
Posted by: Logan
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I am 100% a rookie smoker but wanted to start with a basic smoker to test the waters. All in all, I really like this smoker. I have a lot of learning to do so I am sure someone with more experience could get good use out of it!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting thefulhamgroup.com
Customer Rating
4
Good first smoker
on December 13, 2016
Posted by: maylee521
from Centerburg, OH, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] It took a bit longer to set up than expected since the directions aren't very good. Not everything lined up correctly which was surprising, being a Cuisinart. Still, it did a great job on the fish I smoked. I'm not sure how much use this will get, as I'm a pescatarian, but I am looking forward to smoking some salmon and cheese...come springtime when there is no snow on the ground.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting thefulhamgroup.com