looking to buy/build a decent smoker-suggestions?

[oinco]

I don't know all the ins/outs of cold vs hot smoking.....when I lived in AK, we cold smoked a few pounds and hot smoked hundreds of pounds of salmon every year...don't expect to do much fish, mostly red meats and hopefully some elk. Although a smoked white lasagna sounds pretty good.

I'll check out the BP electric version- the electrics seem to be less maintenance to keep an even temp?

[Colorado Osprey]

You also need to decide if you hot smoke if you want to dry or wet smoke.
I'm not referring to the debate of wet vs dry wood for smoke but whether you plan to use a water pan.

Both have their advantages.
You can add flavors in the liquid during wet smoking. It is almost impossible to dry out a chicken or fish when wet smoking.
Wet smoking will not create a bark on beef and pork though.

If you like your meats to break down and get tender electric and gas smokers usually cook too fast to allow this to happen. Will they break down, sure, but not like a wood or charcoal smoker.

If you plan on just trying smoking you might get a kettle type that allows both wet and dry smoking and if you like it you can upgrade and get an electric element for it. These are relatively cheap (around $40) from Walmart. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Brinkmann-...-Smoker/876295

Electric Conversion: ($40)
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Smoke...h-All+Products

These kettles are plenty big enough to do 2 turkeys or about 30-40#'s of meat at a time.
You can also charcoal grill on these too.

I highly recommend wood chunks instead of ships and purchase of a good book like "Cooking with Fire and Smoke" to learn different methods, suggested woods for certain meats and cooking times, etc.