Two designs that solve the same problem differently
The Smokehouse Products Big Chief is a rectangular aluminum cabinet with a resistance element in the bottom, a chip pan resting on that element, and five racks above it. There is no thermostat, no fan, no controller and no display. Plug it in and the element runs continuously until you unplug it. In mild weather the cabinet settles around 165°F. That is the entire product, and it has barely changed since 1968.
A Masterbuilt digital electric — the 30-inch is the model most people mean — is an insulated steel cabinet with a thermostatically controlled element, a side-loading chip tray, four racks, a digital panel that accepts a setpoint and a timer, and on many versions a glass door. Set it to 225°F and it cycles the element to hold 225°F. Set it to 120°F and it does the same, with the caveat we get to below.
The Big Chief was designed to do one thing. The Masterbuilt was designed to do most things. When the one thing is fish, the comparison gets interesting.
Head to head on the things that decide it
| Big Chief (dedicated fish) | Masterbuilt 30 (digital electric) | |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature control | None — fixed element, ~165°F in mild weather | Digital setpoint, range listed 100–275°F |
| Smoke at low temp | Continuous — element never cycles off | Drops off at low setpoints as element cycles; smoke tube fixes it |
| Capacity | 5 racks, rated ~50 lb of fish | 4 racks, less total rack area, deeper chamber |
| Insulation | None (blanket sold separately) | Insulated double-wall cabinet |
| Weather recovery | Cannot compensate — needs shelter | Controller adds heat when temperature drops |
| Versatility | Fish, jerky, cheese, sausage at low temp only | Fish through ribs, pork shoulder and poultry |
| Power draw | ~450 W continuous | 800-watt-class element, cycles |
| Cleanup / odor | Bare aluminum wipes clean; easy to dedicate to fish | Removable tray; interior holds fish smell if you also smoke meat |
| Failure points | Element, cord — that is the list | Controller board, element, door seal, chip loader |
| Used market | Strong — decades-old units still run | Moderate — electronics age |
| Price tier | $$ | $$ |
Where the Big Chief wins
Low temperature with continuous smoke. This is the whole argument. Because the element never cycles, the chips in the pan never stop smouldering. Fish sits in steady smoke at a steady low temperature for as long as you leave it plugged in. A digital electric set to a low temperature holds the temperature fine but produces smoke in bursts, because the chips only smoulder when the element is on.
Rack area per dollar. Five shallow racks in a box designed around fillets beats four racks in a chamber designed around a pork shoulder. When the run is on and you are processing thirty pounds at a time, the Big Chief's capacity is the reason people own one.
Nothing to break. An element and a cord. Big Chiefs from the 1980s trade on eBay and still work. There is no controller board to fail, no door gasket to leak, no chip-loader mechanism to jam.
Dedicated to fish. Bare aluminum does not hold odor the way a used insulated cabinet does. Owners who smoke beef and pork in another unit keep the Big Chief for fish specifically so the two never meet.
Where the Masterbuilt wins
It does everything else. A Big Chief cannot cook a rack of ribs or a pork shoulder — it physically cannot reach the temperature. A Masterbuilt covers fish at the low end and full barbecue at the top. If you are buying one smoker, that matters more than any single-task advantage.
Weather. Insulated walls plus a thermostat means the cabinet holds its setpoint in wind and cold. A Big Chief in a 40°F wind may never reach the temperature it holds indoors, and its only fix is a blanket and a windbreak.
Control. If you want 180°F rather than "whatever the element settles at," you can have it. Digital electrics also add a timer and, on some versions, a meat probe and app control.
The smoke problem is solvable. A pellet smoke tube — a perforated stainless tube filled with pellets, lit at one end — sits on the rack and produces smoke for hours regardless of what the element is doing. It is an inexpensive add-on and it closes most of the gap on low-temperature smoke.
Which one should you buy
The verdict
Buy the Big Chief if fish is the main reason you are shopping and you already own something for meat, or you do not smoke meat at all. Buy the Masterbuilt if you are buying one smoker to cover everything, and add a pellet smoke tube for fish season. The households that argue loudest on the forums usually own both — the Big Chief for the run, the electric for the rest of the year.
Smokehouse Products Big Chief (Front Load)
$$The dedicated fish smoker. Fixed ~165°F, five racks, roughly 50 pounds a load, nothing to configure.
- Fixed 450-watt element, no thermostat
- 5 racks, aluminum cabinet
- Insulation blanket sold separately
- 120V standard outlet
Used units are common on eBay and usually work — there is nothing inside to fail but the element.
Masterbuilt 30-inch Digital Electric Smoker
$$The do-everything electric. Dialable setpoint, insulated cabinet, four racks. Pair with a smoke tube for low-temperature fish.
- Digital controller, listed 100–275°F
- Insulated cabinet, side chip loader
- 4 racks
- 800-watt-class element
Brine ratios, pellicle drying and finished internal temperatures for smoked fish is covered on grillguide.co — this article stays on the hardware and what it costs to own.