Prago 36-Inch Outdoor Propane Vertical Smoker Review
Manufacturer: Prago
Propane or Natural Gas: Propane
List Price: $369.99
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Late last month, I was invited over to a friend’s house for some Kansas City BBQ that he was preparing on the back patio.
He had just purchased this Prago 36 Inch Outdoor Propane Vertical Smoker, and this was his second experiment with KC barbecue.
I was looking around for gas smoker myself, and I was pleasantly surprised at some of the features of the Prago gas/propane smoker he had bought.
The Prago 36 Inch Vertical Smoker
I had heard about a lot of problems with gas smokers, but this Prago vertical smoker didn’t seem to have any of them.
Fist off, it looked nice with a brushed aluminum exterior; but upon closer inspection, I discovered that it was more than just another pretty face.
“The turkey that I smoked for Christmas was the best turkey my family had EVER had…”
It had a fully welded, heavy gauge, black-coated steel cooking cabinet that was ample enough for the brisket, ribs, and halibut that he was smoking.
It also has a rotary ignition that easily fires up the smoker every time, and a fully adjustable propane fuel delivery system that made it easy to keep an even temperature.
There was also an easy to read external temperature gauge that made monitoring the interior temperature of the smoker a breeze; and it was surprisingly accurate.
Having heard horror stories about some other gas/propane smokers that were either too hot or too cool, we actually checked the interior temperature of the Prago 36 inch vertical smoker using an oven thermometer; and it was usually within 5-7 degrees.
Other Cool Features of the Prago 36 Inch Vertical Smoker
The Prago 36 inch vertical smoker comes in at about 80 pounds; so it is not too heavy to be moved around the patio by one person.
It measures 17.5 x17.5 x 37.5 inches; which equates to over 11,000 cubic inches of smoking space; which is more than enough for whatever combination of meats or poultry you want to smoke in it.
It has adjustable racks inside, along with 2 sausage hangers that other smokers seemed to lack.
And the propane regulator was spot on for temperature adjustment; another feature I liked that I had heard negative stories about with other models of gas/propane BBQ smokers.
The construction of the cabinet was strong and durable; and it kept the smoke inside the cabinet where it was supposed to be. Very little smoke escaped from the Prago, which told me about quality of construction after seeing it in use.
One Strange Thing About The Prago 36 Inch Vertical Smoker
While going through the manual provided with my friend’s Prago smoker, I found full instructions for assembly. And apparently, it was not very difficult; as my friend assembled his in about 40 minutes.
However, there were no instructions included for operation; which I found strange.
Granted, you don’t need to work at NASA to figure out this gas smoker, but I found it odd that there was no operation manual included.
However, there are not a lot of moving parts with this unit; a propane hookup is idiot proof, and the temperature and fuel flow adjustment knobs on the front are self explanatory as well.
The Prago 36 Inch vertical Smoker- Thumbs Up
Overall, I really liked this gas/propane smoker; and the meat came out delicious.
The smoking was uniform for the Kansas City BBQ, and it was relatively easy to maintain the temperature (again, a problem I have read about with these gas/propane smokers).
The cast iron chip tray is a little heavy and unwieldy; I would have preferred something lighter like steel or aluminum.
But the end product was great. The meat was moist, tender, and had a great mesquite flavor. And he had also smoked some halibut steaks for his wife that came out moist and tasty as well.
He paid around $300 for his Prago 36 inch vertical smoker and, in my opinion, he got a great deal for his money.
Next week, we are going to try out some chicken breast; and give those sausage hooks a workout as well.
Tagged: below $300, below $400, featured, gas smokers, prago, racks, sausage hangers
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