Emerilware 5-in-1 Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Smoker

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my sister and she says she's used it a couple of times so far and it's great. My brother-in-law is looking forward to using it for bbq ribs!

Overall, I'm happy with the Emerilware smoker. It doesn't seem to be quite as big as I thought it would be, after seeing the one in the cooking show. But, it worked fine for a couple of good sized salmon fillets. And, there are other ways besides smoking that you can use the cooker. Overall, it's a nice heavy cooker with a lot of uses.

This review is intended to clear up a couple areas of confusion for the 4-in-1 smoker and the 5-in-1 smokers. First off, they are the same thing. I've laid them out new, side-by-side, in the store, and there is no visible difference. I bought the former because they were putting it on clearance in favor of the latter.

The "fifth" feature on the new version is deep fryer. It doesn't include any new equipment in support of that feature. I didn't flip through the new recipe cards, but I suspect they've added a new recipe or two from Emeril that uses frying. Even without his help, I dare say you could fry in either one (though I probably wouldn't, dumping oil out of a shallow 30 pound iron pan ain't easy).

Some seem to believe the new one is bigger. It isn't. Amazon lists the box size as the "Product Dimensions." The ovens themselves are both 13-1/2 by 9 by 3 inches inside (it's actually about 5 inches tall, an extra inch of usable space coming from the lid, an inch of space used up by the pan and rack). I can see why you might want it bigger, especially if you want to smoke a big bird. But the thing already weighs a ton, for most purposes this is on the high end of the size-weight trade-off. If you really must smoke that turkey whole, you could leave the lid off and tent the thing with tin foil if you were very meticulous about folding your sheets together. Alternatively, for those special occasions, I recommend using a nice giant oval enameled cast iron roaster and placing the tray and rack from this unit (or similar) inside it (though an oven that size will cost you 2-4 times what this thing does).

Some have suggested the new version is pre-seasoned but not the old. I can't say for certain that the new version doesn't have a better treatment. But it wasn't visible, and my appraisal is that the old one was seasoned as well (it had a deep black sheen out of the box, not the dull grayish color unseasoned iron usually has). That said, I always season unenameled iron before a first use just to be safe, so while pre-seasoning is nice it's not worth paying too much for. If you are going to own this piece, you'll have to learn to do it eventually for occasional maintenance. Google will show you the way. My only tip you might not see in some guides is to place the pieces face down on the oven rack so that any excess oil drips out rather than pooling and hardening inside.

As for how the product actually works, I'd say rather well. It is well constructed and has superior performance to the steel smokers on the market (which are also generally smaller, though they do have the advantage of being easier to store). But because it is cast iron, the lid is also a useful broiling/grilling pan and it makes a nice large-shallow Dutch oven for certain purposes. I'm imagining simultaneously browning and braising 3 large pork loins at once (the marketing guys reading this are doubtless already drawing up plans to for a "new" 6-in-1 or 7-in-1 smoker).

Finally, though you may have seen this used on Iron Chef, don't expect the real smoked rib experience in 60 minutes. While the enclosed container allows more efficient retention of smoke than an open chimney smoker, the smoke penetrates some meats more quickly than others; most seafood great, thick chicken breasts less so. And for some dishes, part of the virtue of smoking is that it tenderizes with long, low-temp cooking. But if you were willing to monitor it and add occasional new chips (and give them a bit of extra heat to get them going), you could probably get an amazing result with this by smoking spareribs for 6-10 hours in an oven at 200 degrees or so. I haven't had the time or inclination to do that yet, but football season is coming, and that might be a good use of commercial breaks.

I had to return mine. The size that is advertised, or was advertised when I bought mine was the size of the outer deminsions of the box that it came in with all of the thick styrofoam packing inside the box. The actual smoker was too small. I was very disappointed because it was a very nice, top quality smoker but way too small. I still have not been able to find one that is a decent size.

Alex

Emerilware 5-in-1 Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Smoker
Before I bought the 5-in-1 smoker through Amazon, I bought the same 5-in-1 smoker through eBay. In each instance I received a 4-in-1 sized smoker (15"x11"x5") not the 5-in-1 sized smoker (21.7"x11.3"x6.2"), but in 5-in-1 packaging. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed. Something is wrong here and I do not believe this is a coincidence. The difference between the two smokers is the size. I checked the specs before ordering. Amazon should check their source for this item and resolve this matter. Other consumers might have had the same experience, though unknowingly. Also, there were no recipes or wood chips in the package. The good thing in this transaction is that Amazon did not charge me shipping and handling. In conclusion,-

I DO NOT RECOMMEND BUYING THE 5-in-1 SMOKER UNTIL THE VENDOR GUARANTEES THAT THE 5-in-1 SIZED SMOKER IS IN THE 5-in-1 PACKAGE.