As one of the most popular smokers in the Cookshack line, the Amerique boasts durable construction and a digital controller. In our experience, not all smokers are tough enough to handle a big crowd, so we tested this model to see if it’s up to the challenge.
Pros:
Cons
Compared to other traditional smokers, this electric smoker presents itself as a more premium model with its great aesthetics. It has an elegant stainless steel finish and feels very solid with 304 stainless steel construction.
What’s great about the design is the Spin-Glas insulation, which works so the exterior remains fairly cold to the touch. Unlike other smokers, you won’t have to worry about accidentally touching the Amerique because it doesn’t get very hot on the outside.
If you want to move your smoker around, it’s mounted on three-inch locking casters for easy portability. This is actually one of the problems we encounter on other freestanding units, but the Amerique moved smoothly when transferring to another spot.
Inside the electric smoker, you’ll find four racks of cooking space. Cookshack offers two-rack and three-rack models as well, so it really depends on your preferences. The space inside is large and the capacity is great, but more about this later.
Other extras that come with your purchase include a stainless steel drip pan, a cookbook with Cookshack recipes, and a user manual. Everything in the model is manufactured in the US as well, so that’s a great way to keep the money at home.
(Considering a pellet grill? Read our reviews of the best Memphis grills here.)
The Cookshack Amerique provides a large cooking space that’s ideal for serving big parties. The racks are made of 14x18 inches of nickel-plated steel, so it’s extremely durable. In our testing session, we’ve used the 4-rack model, so that’s what we’re going to talk about.
You get 1,008 square inches of cooking space and great 50-pound capacity. That’s enough if you’re serving a large crowd. It’s enough to fit 50 pounds of pork butt, 28 pounds of ribs, 12 St. Louis-cut slabs, or 8 whole chickens [1].
If you’ve purchased a 2 or 3-rack model and you decide you want to add more shelves, you can actually buy more to maximize your smoker.
An advantage of Cookshack smokers over other brands like SmokinTex is that they have a higher temperature range. For the Amerique, you can set the temperature from anywhere between 140° to 300°, giving you more flexibility with the recipes you can cook.
Under the smoker box, you’ll find the 1000-watt 7-amp heating element. Everything is controlled by a digital controller that sits on top of the Amerique. It has a LED panel that displays the temperature, cooking time, and the internal meat temperature as well.
It’s pretty simple to use. To turn the smoker on, press the on/off button and the LED display will flash “Off”. Now, you can set the different settings for temperature, time, and the probe.
To set the temperature, press the “Temp” button for two seconds until you hear a double beep. Then, use the up and down arrows to set the temperature you want.
To set the cook time, press the “Time” button for two seconds and the hours column will appear. Once you’ve set the desired number of hours, press the “Time” button once and the minutes column will appear for adjustment.
And if you’re using the meat probe to detect the internal temperature of the meat, press “Probe” until you hear the double beep, and adjust the temperature you want. The controller will switch to a hold mode once the meat reaches your desired internal temperature.
The meat probe is a very handy tool when it comes to temperature control. It will alert you when your settings are reached to prevent the meat from drying out. As such, you don’t have to worry about the results because the Amerique provides a set-it-and-forget-it experience.
(Read about the correct temperature in cooking steaks on a gas grill.)
Cleaning up after smoking can often be a hassle, and we’ve gathered enough cleanup horror stories ourselves that we don’t want to go into.
But in all fairness to the Amerique, it’s definitely one of the easiest smokers we’ve cleaned after use. When we’re done cooking for the day, we remove the racks and simply put them in the dishwasher or under running water. The removal is simple because you just slide them out.
Exterior cleaning is super easy as well. We just apply a little bit of appliance cleaner (or any of these best grill cleaners) or some soapy water and wipe it down. The surface of the stainless steel finish is smooth so everything just glides over.
Using the Cookshack Amerique is a breeze. It was easy to figure out everything and there were no complicated parts. For total newbies, you can easily consult the included manual if you need help.
The Spin-Glas insulation is a great feature because it encloses the smoker very well. And when a smoker is able to keep the heat in, it works more efficiently. It doesn’t need a lot of wood, therefore lessening fuel costs as well.
Overall, the experience was very easy. We just place the meats we’ve prepped, set the time and temperature on the controller, close and seal the door, and just walk away. After the time’s up, we just open the smoker door and the food has already been cooked to perfection.
Since the Amerique does a great job at maintaining an even temperature throughout, the food was not overcooked nor dehydrated when we took them out of the smoker. We got really great results with the Amerique whether it was smoked wings, brisket, cold-smoked salmon, or even cookies.
The Cookshack Amerique is an impressive electric smoker that delivers reliable performance and premium results.
With its stainless steel construction, Spin-Glass insulation, digital controller, and high-capacity cooking area, it poses a really strong competition even among modern smokers.
So if you want a durable and heavy-duty electric smoker, the Amerique is an excellent partner for your smoking needs.
For more Cookshack reviews, head over to our article on the PG1000.
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