ProQ BBQ Smoker (Frontier V4) - 4in1 Charcoal Meat Smoker BBQ - Outdoor Smokers and Grills - BBQ with Smoker

The smoker comes ready assembled apart from the legs which only take a few minutes to fit. The instruction manual is well written.Would recommend getting a chimney to start the coals to cut down on the time it takes to get to temperature for cooking.There's plenty of space to cook and the modular design makes it easy to switch from smoking to grilling.

Honestly this is the best combination bbq and smoker that I’ve owned. The built quality is great, nothing flimsy about this unit. The modular design provides options for direct grilling over high heat, or low and slow. There is also the option to hang large joints or several fish from the horizontal bar that is fixed into the roof of the top lid/dome. Great for slow cooking/smoking whole chickens or whole fish.The two access hatches allow wood chips to be added or additional fuel. I’ve found it fairly straight forward to maintain a ~ 100c temperature for several hours by forming a line of good quality charcoal piled quite high straight down the centre of the coal grate, leaving space either side. Then light one end with a blowtorch. I start with the three base vents left 50% open then usually close two of them a bit more when approaching 100cHighly recommended.

Good bits:It's brilliant to cook with! Easy to use, easy to control the temperature (by adjusting the vents and doors), feels pretty solid, loads of cooking space inside, great results.The use of the vents to control the temperature takes a bit of practice, but they're really responsive - just a small adjustment to a vent can let you see a near-instant change in the temperature recorded by the top probe.So far we've done a whole smoked chicken, smoked duck, hot smoked salmon and even made some fantastic bread in it.Less good bits:I'm being picky here...1. The legs bolt on, with only a tiny diagram to show the arrangement of washers. When you tighten the bolts up to what you think is about right, the enamel coating around the bolt holes splinters off... Then, when you use it, the heat cycle means the bolts work loose, so you need to retighten them every time you empty the ash out.2. There is no waterproof cover included (there is a cover, I understand, "coming soon", but as yet not in stock) and there is no drain hole in the base. It's not waterproof itself, obviously, due to being made of various sections and having doors, temperature probe holes, vents, etc. Therefore, when it's been raining, the base part becomes a hidden pond that you'll only find the next time you come to use it. Really, this smoker should have a cover included - yes it'll push the price up a bit, but it's something you're almost certainly going to buy anyway, at greater total expense and hassle than if it was included. Also a small drain hole in the base would be a plus... I'd drill one myself, but, see comment about the enamel splintering off when tightening the legs up. I don't want to cause more damage!3. The fire basket is not rustproof. There must be a reason the basket isn't stainless, when the grilling racks are - cost, I imagine - and to "prevent" rust it's painted or coated in something. Unfortunately that something is something that completely falls off the first time you use it, meaning the fire basket then goes rusty before the second time you use it, because, see above about not being waterproof or supplied with a cover. This seems a false economy as it gives a poor impression of attention to detail, in what is generally a really nice product.

I took a long time reading reviews on all kinds of smokers, from bullet smokers like this to off set smokers and tried to work out which was best. I decided on this one as consistently the reviews stated that temperature control was easiest and the least hassle. Off set smokers are great, but really need to be made of thick metal to retain the heat other wise you'll be forever topping up the coals. I ordered this with a cover, and had a slight panic at the pick up place for the delivery as there was only one box, turns out the guys at Pro Q just put the cover in with the smoker, so no need to panic. Assembly was a doddle and the instructions were clear. My first attempt at smoking was a great success, the trick to having really good tasting meat is to allow time to marinade it, at least 24 hrs preferable especially with tough meats like Brisket. For the first time I only used one stack and the temp needle never went over 250F which is ideal, I had to replenish the coals every 3hrs or so, but with a chimney starter (A MUST HAVE ITEM) it was simple. I threw one handful of pre-soaked wood chips on every hour and after 6 hrs the food was ready :D AMAZING FLAVOUR took me straight back to Texas. The second time I used both stacks, it's worth noting that the temp in the top stack was lower by about 30 degrees (as its further away from the heat) so bear that in mind if you're doing a cook out, might be worth rotating the meat during long periods. All in all I have to say I love this smoker, it cooks brilliantly and with the water pan in there the food doesn't dry out. Just dont do what I did which was put the water pan back in the smoker after the food was done, as the water and fat all boiled down into a black char (the coals, although not hot was still warm enough for the water to evaporate *FACEPALM*). Although slightly more expensive than some other options on here, it really is a case of "you get what you pay for" I saw other offset smokers in DIY stores and the thickness of the metal was not good. There are probably better smokers out there (green egg etc.) but they cost as much as the greek deficit, and I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.