When you want to smoke a bunch of meat at once, I don’t think there’s a better option than a vertical smoker. Their cabinet shape and multitude of shelves are perfect for optimizing space.
Pit Boss DX Series Vertical Smoker
The Pit Boss DX vertical smoker is at the sweet spot of price and capability. Retailing for $299 (check price), this would be my pick for their new vertical smokers.
What I like about it is it’s a digital smoker that connects to your phone with WiFi or Bluetooth. You can adjust the temperature from 100 degrees F to 300 degrees F in 5 degree increments.
It produces smoke with an electric heat element on the bottom and a tray that you can load with wood chips or pellets. There’s also a removeable grease tray on the bottom to contain all the drippings.
The smoker has four racks that give it 880 square inches of cooking space. That’s enough for eight racks of ribs or multiple whole chickens to feed lots of people. You can adjust the height of the racks to fit whatever you want to cook.
The cabinet design locks in the heat while letting you check on your food through the viewing window. You can also keep an eye on your food with technology because there are two temperature probe ports on the controller and it comes with one probe.
With this smoker’s digital controller and the its ability to get to a low temperature, you could also use it as a holding oven. You can get your food ready earlier than it’s time to eat and keep it food-safe above 140 degrees F. That avoids the panic when the meat isn’t ready on time.
DX Analog Vertical Smoker
If your budget is a little tighter, the Pit Boss DX analog vertical smoker is a good option. Its retail price is $229 (check price), so it’s $70 cheaper than the digital option.
The difference between a digital and analog smoker is the digital smoker has a control panel where you can set the temperature. An analog smoker has a dial like you’d find on a gas grill to set the temperature.
This version has the same cooking capabilities of the digital version, it just relies on you to dial it in. It also doesn’t have a viewing window, instead opting for a metal front with an analog thermometer.