A smoker apparatus is disclosed that provides a smoker cabinet having upper and lower end portions. The cabinet has a top, a bottom and a side wall or walls and an interior. The cabinet includes a plurality of vertically spaced apart shelves mounted within the cabinet interior. A cabinet door that enables access to the shelves. A gaseous fuel supplied burner element is positioned next to the lower end portion of the cabinet, the burner element being removably connectable to a source of gaseous fuel. A pair of containers is mounted within the cabinet below the shelves and above the burner element. One of the containers is preferably a water container for containing water. The other of the containers being a wood chips container for containing wood chips, wherein the wood chips container is positioned in between the water container and the burner element. A slide bracket supports the containers, the slide bracket positioned generally in between the burner element and the shelves. An access door is provided that is much smaller than the cabinet door, the access door extending vertically a distance at least spanning the vertical dimension of the containers. Either container can be removed laterally from the cabinet at least a partial distance by sliding it laterally upon the slide bracket and at least partially through the access door.

Disclosed is an air circulation device for an outdoor cooking appliance such as a grill. The device helps circulate air more consistently and efficiently by providing slats that direct rising air in a cyclonic arrangement. By providing this cyclonic effect, the air circulation device can distribute heat and smoke more evenly to the food being cooked and improve smoke penetration, heat efficiency, and the evenness of cooking.

A grilling device includes an auger feeder system, a heating element, a blower and a temperature control system. The temperature control system includes at least a first temperature sensor inside the firepot and a second temperature sensor inside a cooking chamber above the firepot. The heating element can also serve as the first temperature sensor. A method for controlling the temperature of the grill can include receiving temperature feedback information from one or more of the temperature sensors and adjusting power provided to the auger feeder system, heating element, and blower. The temperature control system produces cold smoke resulting from the combustion of lignin in solid wood fuel while minimizing temperatures inside the cooking chamber.

Disclosed herein is a cold smoke smoker for cold smoking foods using materials heated to a controlled temperature for use in food service, commercial, and residential environments. The cold smoke smoker comprises a blower fan which blows smoke up through a vent, past an ignition plate smoking the materials, and through tubing into a food package containing food. The materials that are smoked can include natural wood chips, herbs, spices, or blends of the fore mentioned materials.

Embodiments of an outdoor cooking station with a cooking chamber configured to be heated with smoke. The outdoor cooking station includes a pivoting hood to move the hood between closed and open positions. In one embodiment, upon the hood being in the closed position, the hood includes a vertically oriented surface with openings to vent the heated smoke.

The smoker device disclosed herein provides a small profile device with more control than existing technologies for both cold smoking and smoking in an electric or compact grill. One of the main advantages of the design disclosed herein is a dual concentric or nesting fuel/housing dual structure that allows for adjusting the amount of smoke or aroma that a user wants the smoker device to emit during the smoking process.

An electric food smoker includes a heating element that provides a main source of heat and a separate smoke element that is controlled independently from the heating element and provides heat to a wood chip box. Separate control of the heating element and the smoke element allows providing a cold smoke cycle for the food smoker. A hot smoke cycle provides independent control of the heating element and the smoke element according to a hot smoke program. A fast smoke cycle allows adding more smoke during any existing cycle.

Implementations of a vertical smoker and cooker for food are provided. In some implementations, the vertical smoker and cooker may be configured to cook and smoke food using charcoal briquettes and wood chips while maintaining a constant cooking temperature within the cooking chamber. In some implementations, the vertical smoker and cooker may be configured to protect the contents of the cooking chamber from direct exposure to the radiant heat coming from the fire box and prevent meat drippings from falling into the fire box. In some implementations, the vertical smoker and cooker may comprise a housing having an interior cooking chamber accessible through a first door, and a fire box chamber accessible through a second door, and an array of drip guides positioned between the cooking chamber and the fire box chamber.

An outdoor cooking station configured to simultaneously and independently cook food with separate cooking modes. The cooking station includes a main body defining separate first and second cooking portions fueled by separate fuel sources for cooking food in the separate modes. The first cooking portion includes gas-fueled first heating elements configured to heat a first cooking surface associated with the first cooking portion of the main body. The second cooking portion of the main body extends to define a chamber, the chamber being accessible with a door or hood pivotably coupled to the main body. The chamber includes an upper region and a lower region separated by an inner panel, the upper region including a second cooking surface suspended within the upper region. The lower region includes a second heating element sized and configured to electrically heat pellet elements to supply heat and smoke to the upper region.

A cooking system includes a housing having a hollow interior, a heating element operable to heat to said hollow interior, a food support surface arranged within said hollow interior, and a combustible substrate module removably positionable in said housing. When positioned in the housing, the combustible substrate module is arranged in fluid communication with the hollow interior and the combustible substrate module is disposed remote of the food support surface.