Cuisinart Smoker Not Smoking [5 Easy Solutions]

Usually, we use the Cuisinart smoker to smoke poultry, meat, fish, etc. But if there is something wrong with your Cuisinart smoker, it may stop smoking.

Various reasons are responsible for Cuisinart smoker not smoking including dry wood chips, improper air circulation in smoke, insufficient heat, soot build-up in smoker’s door, etc.

All these factors are equally responsible for stopping the regular operation of the smoker. Let’s go through all the causes and solutions to this problem. 

Cuisinart Smoker Not Smoking [5 Easy Solutions]

A common problem of Cuisinart electric smokers is that it doesn’t produce smoke from the wood chips. The following reasons are responsible for not smoking the Cuisinart smoker.

1. Dry Wood Chips

The most common wood chips for Cuisinart smokers are mesquite and hickory for smoking food. Your Cuisinart will stop smoking if the chips are not soaked in liquid.

Complete liquid-soaked wood chips ensure proper and sufficient smoke. Therefore before using the chips saturated, it completely.

Solution:

To ensure enough smoking from your Cuisinart smoker, you should thoroughly saturate the dry wood chips. Liquid-soaked chips provide smoke in a reasonable amount.

Dry wood chips produce very little smoke, but they brunt easily. The most used liquid is water for soaking, but you can also use juice, beverage, wine, etc.

Note: You can also read how to keep wood chips from burning in smoker. 

2. Improper Air Circulation

Proper air circulation and ventilation are some of the main components of producing smoke in Cuisinart smokers.

Air moves through the smoker and produces smoke. But if there is improper air circulation or ventilation in your Cuisinart smoker, it will stop smoking.

Solution:

Ensuring proper air circulation is the key solution to this problem. Typically, the Cuisinart electric smoker’s bottom consists of an adjustable door, and it uses it to ensure proper air supply.

It also allows adequate ventilation on top of it. Therefore, you can provide enough air to the smoker by adjusting this door. Moreover, the door allows easy burning of the chips and ensures proper moving of the smoke.

3. Insufficient Heat

The heat helps the Cuisinart smoker to produce enough smoke. The commonly used heat temperature is between 225-285 degrees Fahrenheit. If the Cuisinart smoker doesn’t get sufficient heat from this range, it will not create adequate smoke.

Therefore, the problem with your electric heating element is responsible for Cuisinart smokers’ low-volume smoke or not smoking.

Solution:

If your Cuisinart smoker stops producing smoke because of the low heat range, you can do the following to solve the problem. The solutions are:

• Ensure the supply of heat temperature is between 225-285 degrees
• Ensure correct and even working conditions of the electric heating element
• Contact a technician to replace the faulty electric heating element

4. Soot Build-up in Smoker’s Door

When the edge and front door of the Cuisinart smoker is covered with soot or dirt build-up, it will hinder producing smoke. In addition, the smoker’s door eventually gets sealed because of the soot build-up.

Solution:

Soot build-up in the Cuisinart smoker’s door hinders proper ventilation. As a result, the smoker failed to produce smoke. The other solutions to solve the problem are the following:

• Apply warm water with a cleaning pad, and your soot problem will solve in a minute
• Adjust the door seal tightness by turning the latch and lengthening the screw
• Only for 15 minutes soak the chips and use a paper towel to dry them

5. Over-Soaking Chips

Dry wood chips hinder the production of smoke, as well as soaking chips, will not produce smoke in your Cuisinart smoker. If you soak the chips overnight, it will bring a negative result.

Solution:

• Only for 30 minutes, you should soak the wood chips, not overnight
• Use water, juice, liquid, or wine to soak the chips

FAQ:

How do I get more smoke from the Cuisinart electric smoker?

You can get more smoke flavor from your Cuisinart electric smoker by seasoning the electric smoker. Don’t soak the wood chips, use enough wood chips, add a smoking tube, use more robust wood chips, and unnecessarily don’t open the door.

Should I see smoke from my Cuisinart electric smoker?

Your Cuisinart electric smoker will create smoke; place the perfect size wood chunk between the smoker element and it will produce smoke. You will get smoke for approximately 1-1.5 hours from a wood chunk.

What temperature should be set at the Cuisinart electric smoker?

Up to 275 degrees, you can crank the heat, and then you should close the unit, and it will run for approximately three hours. After that, according to your requirement, you can set the temperature of your Cuisinart electric smoker.

How long does it take for a Cuisinart electric smoker to start smoking?

A Cuisinart electric smoker takes on average 40-45 minutes from the cold for sound preheating. Next, set the required temperature for your Cuisinart smoker of undercooked food. For example, the internal temperature for cooking a brisket should be 190F at least.

How often do I need to add wood chips to my Cuisinart electric smoker?

How often you add wood chips to the smoker depends on the type of smoker. For example, at 45 minutes intervals, you should add wood to the Cuisinart electric smoker. But in the case of a gas smoker, the interval time should be 5-6 hours to change the wood.

Conclusion

Cuisinart smoker not smoking is a severe problem, and various causes act responsibly behind this problem. Hopefully, all the reasons are now crystal clear to you for which smoking stops in Cuisinart smokers.

However, if you face any other causes that we forget to discuss, inform us in the comment box.