Commercial Smokers Product Guide

There are both gas and electrically powered units in our commercial smokers product guide. Some are mounted on trailers but if you're looking to purchase for a mobile catering business then take a look at our guide to trailer mounted smokers too.

When it comes to running a commercial operation two things are absolutely critical:-

The capability to smoke a large amount of product at one time.
Consistency and reproducibility. So that you get great results every time.

The units discussed in our commercial smokers product guide clearly meet these standards and then some.

Southern Pride Commercial Smokers

Based at their factory in Alamo, Tennessee the company is American, Southern and well…proud of what it does. And that is building very fine electric and gas commercial smokers. All of which arrive on your doorstep fully assembled and stamped with UL, ULC, & NSF approvals.

Southern Pride claim that they have a model to suit any commercial situation so to start out I am looking at the SC-200-SM and DH-65 electric versions.

Electric

For the technical minded Southern Pride operate a ‘Vortex Convection air system’ which means temperature uniformity and thus even cooking. The beauty of this system is that you get a reduced cooking time that by default reduces shrinkage and retains moisture. This means that you can also cook at lower temperatures (as low as 150 degrees) and for full versatility if you want to cold smoke then simply leave the main element off. There aren't many commercial smokers out there that allow you to cold smoke as well as hot so that's got to be a plus.

Another nice touch is that should there by any chance be ‘power or component failure’ with your Southern Pride Smoker, then ‘the unique wood burning feature of this equipment allows for the cooking process to continue’.

Both the SC-200-SM and DH65 are easy to operate and clean and are of the ‘cabinet’ design; have a digital controller that is capable of handling up to 40 programs for additional cooking needs; are of a compact ‘cabinet’ size and easily moved; they carry a 1 year limited warranty.

The Electric Range Of Commercial Smokers:-

SC-200-SM

18 Gauge stainless steel construction
Internal Smoker Element with Wood Chip Box
Use With or Without Sheet Pans
Fully Insulated Cabinet
Easy-Load Sliding Racks
Thermostatically Controlled With High Limit Safety
Flue Damper

DH-65

Digital Roast & Hold Control
4500 watt main heating element
18 gauge stainless steel construction
5 Vertical Rib Racks to hold up to 65 slabs of 2 1/2 lb. and smaller ribs
Internal 750 watt smoker element w/ chip box
Flue damper

Gas

Gas or electric, what stands Southern Pride commercial smokers out from the crowd is that their ovens use fireplace size logs to obtain their special flavor, aroma, color and texture.

The company claims that with their unique ovens, there's no need for any professional cooking ability and you don’t need to ‘micro-manage’ any of their units.

I love the marketing angle that from a pure economics point of view they also highlight the fact that you can actually save money as there is no need to spend time on training employees to cook the food for you. I quote: ‘Simply load the product, set the thermostat, and forget about it until your taste-tempting barbecue is ready’.

Every Southern Pride Smoker:-

Is shipped fully assembled.
Is UL, ULC, & UL EPH approved.
Has a pre-stressed chain drive rotisserie system with ‘overload protection’, is self- basting thereby reduces shrinkage and retains moisture. In conjunction with the convection system, the rotisserie also eliminates the need to ‘turn the food’ while it cooks.
Has an electronic ignition (Natural Gas or Propane)
Possesses large double doors with 4 hinges in each door for extra strength and automatic closers
Is thermostatically controlled with high limit safety, hitting temperatures in the140˚- 350˚F range
Has a stainless steel interior
Has digital roast and hold control
Comes with interior Teflon coated lights x 2
Has a rotisserie advance foot pedal
Has a patented ‘Subterthermic (tm)’ Flue
Comes vent hood and smoke extractor ready
Uses a 2 Speed Low Velocity Convection Fan
Carries a 1-Year Limited Warranty

Vital Statistics:

The difference between commercial meat smoker is their capacity

SP-1000

Pork Butts (7-8 lb): 144 total,
St. Louis Ribs (2.75 lb): 96 total with 12 Rib Racks: 252 total
Whole Chickens (3-4 lb): 216 total
Beef Brisket (11-13 lb): 60 total
Spare Ribs (4-5 lb): 60 total

SPX-300

Pork Butts (7-8 lb): 48 total
St. Louis Ribs (2.75 lb): 48 total
Whole Chickens (3-4 lb): 64 total
Beef Brisket (11-13 lb): 24 total
Spare Ribs (4-5 lb): 24 total

SPK-500

Pork Butts (7-8 lb): 80 total
St. Louis Ribs (2.75 lb): 75 total
Whole Chickens (3-4 lb): 120 total
Beef Brisket (11-13 lb): 40 total
Spare Ribs (4-5 lb): 45 total

SPK-750

Pork Butts (7-8 lb): 120 total
St. Louis Ribs (2.75 lb): 100 total
Whole Chickens (3-4 lb): 144 total
Beef Brisket (11-13 lb): 48 total
Spare Ribs (4-5 lb): 60 total

XLR-600

St. Louis Ribs (2.75 lb): 48 total/132 lbs total with 12 Rib Racks: 120 total/330 lbs total
Spare Ribs (3.5 lb): 36 total/126 lbs total
Pork Butts (7 lb): 108 total/756 lbs total
Beef Brisket (12 lb): 54 total/648 lbs total
Turkeys, Hams, Shoulders, Prime Rib (12-14 lb): 54 total/702 lbs total
Whole Chickens (3 lb): 144 total/432 lbs total

XLR-1400

St. Louis Ribs (2.75 lb): 180 total/412 lbs total
Spare Ribs (3.5 lb): 120 total/420 lbs total
Pork Butts (7 lb): 180 total/1440 lbs total
Beef Brisket (12 lb): 72 total/864 lbs total
Turkeys, Hams, Shoulders, Prime Rib (12-14 lb): 72 total/1008 lbs total
Whole Chickens (3 lb): 216 total/648 lbs total

Traeger Commercial Smokers

There are three electric commercial smokers in the Traeger range using exactly the same technology developed successfully in the range of domestic smokers.

Because of the size however and the need for portability they are all on wheels and the larger two are conveniently housed in a trailer.

Powered by electricity, a microprocessor control board regulates the burn time of the wood pellets so determining whether it’s a smoker or a grill. There’s three settings, high, medium and smoke.

It all works off 110 volt electricity that powers the feed of the wood pellets, the fire pot that generates the heat or smoke and a fan that distributes the heat / smoke mix around the food

There are three in the range starting with

SMK150

Popular with delis and small restaurants this grill has 13 square feet of cooking surface, it can cater for parties of up to 150. Features include a stainless steel hopper lid that doubles as a work area, a stainless warming area on top, heavy duty legs and industrial-grade, locking casters.

SMK190

Effectively two SMK150’s mounted on a trailer that allows you to set up in the middle of the crowd. It therefore has twice the capacity of the SMK150 and will serve up meals for 300 people. One additional feature is a small cargo box on the front of the tow bar.

SMK200

Get maximum capacity with minimum labour. This unit has 50 square feet of cooking space and so houses up to 224 chicken quarters. It’s ideal for serving large crowds simultaneously and Traeger claim that you can even do a whole hog in it!

Traeger commercial smokers can pretty much be set off and left alone although one of our readers has this piece of advice in his Traeger Grill Review about the pellet feed.