REVIEW β I love to grill and smoke food for my family. During the summer, itβs usually a weekly occurrence to fire up the grill and cook dinner. Smoking food, however, takes a little more planning and time. The smoker I had was a charcoal grill with a side firebox. This meant I had to take the day before to prep, gather, or buy some wood, season the meat, etc.Β Then the next day it was up a daylight to start the fire, get the grill to temperature, and start smoking. The rest of the day was spent monitoring the heat, adding wood, and closing or opening vents. Youβve got to be vigilant. And even though the results were fantastic, the opportunity and time to smoke this way just disappeared after a while. But what about an electric smoker? Now that sounded like a good idea, but most of the ones I looked at were expensive, and the ones in my price range didnβt look like they would last very long. The build quality was less than desirable. Then, along comes East Oak and offers one of their smokers to review. Now Iβm not saying I threatened anyone with physical violence in order to get it. I mean, implication not really threatening is it? Regardless, I got the East OakΒ Ridgewood Pro 30β³ digital electric smoker and have spent the last month smoking everything I could. How good is it? Keep reading to find out. Oh, and the threats of violence? Thatβs just a joke. Iβm a lover, not a fighter.
β¬οΈΒ Jump to summaryΒ (pros/cons)
Price: $299.99
Where to buy: East Oak or Amazon
What is it?
The East Oak Ridgewood Pro is a 30β³ electric smoker with 725 square inches of cooking space, digital controls and probe, with a leg kit.
Whatβs included?
- East Oak Ridgewood smoker
- Leg kit
- Installation hardware
- User manual
Tech specs
Weight: 59 lbs
Material: Cold Rolled Steel & Steel
Fuel Type: Wood Chips
Temperature Settings: 100Β°F to 275Β°F (38Β°C to 135Β°C)
Power: 800 Watt
Cooking Surface Area: 725 Square Inches
Rack Count: 4 Racks
Wheel: 2 Rear Wheels
Warranty Term: 3 Years
Design and features
The East Oak Ridgewood Pro smoker has 4 grill racks that give you up to 725β³ sq of cooking space, meaning you can put a lot of food in it at once, depending on how many people you need to cook for.
The glass door allows you to see whatβs going on without having to open the door and lose all your heat and smoke.
The smoker also has digital controls that are easy to operate, so you can control your time up to 12 hours, the temperature anywhere from 100 to 275 degrees Fahrenheit, and the probe reading.
The unit also has essentially 2 drip pans. Thereβs an interior one that will drain into the water pan and then one that slides into the bottom of the whole cabinet. It catches the drips from any of the food that hangs over past the internal pan.
The East Oak Ridgwood Pro uses an 800-watt heating tube to generate the heat for the smoker. It looks similar to a heating element from a stove top and heats up the interior of the box while also causing the wood chips to burn. Yes, wood chips, not wood chunks or pellets. You can only use wood chips for the Ridgewood Pro.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
There is some assembly required of the leg kit that comes with the smoker. The instructions could use some better pictures, but my 25-year-old son got it done in no time.
It looked more complicated than it actually is. Once the legs are put together and then onto the smoker itself, all you do is insert the racks, drip pans, and chip box. Voila! Youβre ready to season the smoker. Yep, you arenβt ready to cook just yet. Next, East Oak tells you to clean the interior, then lightly coat the interior and accoutrements with cooking oil. Now itβs time to power on the smoker, set the temperature to 275 degrees, and set the time to 2 hours. After itβs done and cooled down, youβre ready to cook.
Performance
The Ridgewood Pro smoker performs well overall. It does a great job of maintaining heat. Itβs not always at the temperature you set it to in the beginning, but I only ever saw it a degree or two off between cycles of the element going on and off.
The meat probe works well, but we did have some issues where it would read a temp that basically meant the food was done when it wasnβt. Iβm going to chalk that up to user error. Iβm thinking we just didnβt have it in the ideal spot, whether too close to the surface of the meat or too close to a bone.
The only real qualm I have with the East Oak Ridgewood Pro smoker is airflow, where the wood chip box is concerned. The box has a perforated lid that is supposed to remain on at all times. The issue I had was that the chips would turn to charcoal and then no longer burn. After doing some Googling and finding the issue to be airflow, I removed the lid, and the problem went away. I got much more smoke after that.
Final thoughts
The East Oak Ridgewood smoker is great if you want to dip your toe into smoking meats yourself. Itβs priced reasonably in that βmiddle of the roadβ range where it isnβt the cheapest, but it also doesnβt choke you when you see the price tag. I think the build quality of the smoker is fantastic for the price. The door creates a good seal, and you can still keep an eye on whatβs going on inside it. My family and I have loved using it this past month. Weβve smoked pork, beef, turkey, and salmon. Everything has come out with that wonderful smoky flavor that we all love.
Itβs as close to set and forget as you can get. You really only have to monitor your meatβs temperature and check on the wood chip box every now and again.
What I like about the East Oak Ridgewood Pro electric digital smoker
- Easy to use
- Seems well built to me
- Good seal around the door
- Great results
- The price
What needs to be improved?
- Air flow
Price: $299.99
Where to buy: East Oak or Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by East Oak. East Oak did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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