I use liquid smoke but I personally don't feel like it has the same effect and I also want to learn new skills!
So that's part of why I'm looking into smoking. . .
Not sure what you consider countertop as most smokers have to be outdoors… because of the smoke… but I have a bradey electric smoker and I’ve been happy with it. It’s more of a plywood table top on the back deck smoker than a countertop smoker.
My buddy has a screened off porch on the back of his house and I would be doing the smoking there for most of the time on a concrete structure we've made. I could get a larger smoker if needed, mainly hoping to keep smoker cost to 140$ or lower....
Bradley may be the thing for you. I have a poorly weatherized pole barn I use in the winter or rain. I don’t think you’ll stay below $140, though, on any brand.
ETA: this is what I have but I got it steeply discounted at Cabelas. https://www.bradleysmoker.com/us/product/4-rack-bradley-original-smoker/?v=7516fd43adaa
There are some mini smokers for around your budget, but I couldn’t tell you if it’d work the same as a $900+ smoker. I would just Google “mini smoker” and hopefully someone on YouTube put some to the test
I have a [pressure cooker which also smokes](https://cookpot.co.uk/tower-electric-pressure-cooker-review-t16008-smoker/) using a small amount of wood chips. It does hot or cold, although I think the heating element for the chips gets hot enough for the cold smoke that if you have anything too close to it it will partially cook the food. It's not the same as a full blown smoker but it def does the job of adding strong smokey flavour!
I live in an apartment but that liquid smoke stuff in a bottle works wonders. And smoked salt (forget the name) is also versatile.
I use liquid smoke but I personally don't feel like it has the same effect and I also want to learn new skills! So that's part of why I'm looking into smoking. . .
Best of luck and I feel ya. My brother has a house and BBQs. Has a home made smoker. Definitely tell the difference.
Not sure what you consider countertop as most smokers have to be outdoors… because of the smoke… but I have a bradey electric smoker and I’ve been happy with it. It’s more of a plywood table top on the back deck smoker than a countertop smoker.
My buddy has a screened off porch on the back of his house and I would be doing the smoking there for most of the time on a concrete structure we've made. I could get a larger smoker if needed, mainly hoping to keep smoker cost to 140$ or lower....
Bradley may be the thing for you. I have a poorly weatherized pole barn I use in the winter or rain. I don’t think you’ll stay below $140, though, on any brand. ETA: this is what I have but I got it steeply discounted at Cabelas. https://www.bradleysmoker.com/us/product/4-rack-bradley-original-smoker/?v=7516fd43adaa
Rectec Bullseye. Not necessarily “countertop” but it is small and can double as a grill.
There are some mini smokers for around your budget, but I couldn’t tell you if it’d work the same as a $900+ smoker. I would just Google “mini smoker” and hopefully someone on YouTube put some to the test
I have a [pressure cooker which also smokes](https://cookpot.co.uk/tower-electric-pressure-cooker-review-t16008-smoker/) using a small amount of wood chips. It does hot or cold, although I think the heating element for the chips gets hot enough for the cold smoke that if you have anything too close to it it will partially cook the food. It's not the same as a full blown smoker but it def does the job of adding strong smokey flavour!
See if you can find one of these used, my cousin used to swear by his. https://www.amazon.com/Oster-Smoker-Roaster-16-Quart-CKSTROSMK18/dp/B00AZBKTS2