The East Oak Pitmate™ Wants to Make Smoking Easier for Everyday Cooks

Barbecue has always been about slowing down. Fire up the smoker, settle into a lawn chair, crack open a cold drink, and let the afternoon unfold. Not every barbecue starts in a big backyard anymore, and not every weekend leaves room for an all-day smoke. With three out of four Americans still enjoying barbecue at least once a week, the appetite hasn’t changed. The way people cook it has. 

East Oak is stepping into this space with the Pitmate™ Tabletop Electric Smoker, a 20-inch BBQ companion designed for everyday use. Not those occasional “all-day project” cooking sessions! Since 2021, East Oak has built a lineup of outdoor cooking gear focused on making backyard cooking a little more approachable.

The Pitmate™ Tabletop Electric Smoker will open for early bird pre-orders on August 12, offering an Early Bird price exclusively to customers who subscribe through the East Oak website. The introductory offer will be limited to the first 300 units.

The idea behind a small smoker is simple: Smoked food should not require a learning curve that prevents beginners from enjoying a nice slice of brisket in their backyards. Smoking mustn’t feel like a weekend apprenticeship, but something easy & approachable.

Rethinking What a Smoker Needs to Be

In the world of smart charcoal grills, traditional BBQ setups seem to be losing steam, especially when there’s a 20 inch electric smoker offering a different approach. Traditional smokers tend to be either too large and charcoal-driven, which need experienced hands & constant attention. Or… they are too small, and their compact size sacrifices both capacity and consistency. East Oak is trying to thread the middle with this 20-inch which can fit a full rack of ribs, and a 3000g（6.6lbs）brisket.

This smoker is perfect for smaller outdoor footprints. It also offers enough room for real meals. So, it gives you 544 square inches of cooking space across three racks. You can handle staples like ribs, brisket, chicken, or a full spread for a small gathering. This 20 inch tabletop electric smoker varies from your usual older-school setups in many ways:

Beyond the smaller footprint, the appeal comes down to everyday usability. It’s the kind of smoker that’s just as comfortable cooking ribs on a Tuesday night as it is tackling brisket over the weekend, all without demanding the space or attention of a traditional setup.

Built for Modern Outdoor Spaces

Did you know that two-thirds of Americans consider summer grilling season their favorite time of the year? As housing trends shift toward smaller yards, townhomes, apartments with shared or limited outdoor space, etc., oversized cooking equipment is becoming less practical for most households… a rarity even! Most households today need a compact electric smoker.

So, the Pitmate™ leans into this reality with an electric smoker for beginners. This smoker fits patios and decks without dominating them. But “compact” doesn’t mean stripped down; East Oak emphasizes that this smoker delivers full cooking capacity in a smaller frame, something that’s increasingly important for folks who want genuine barbecue without dedicating an entire corner of their outdoor space to it.

It’s also part of a broader trend in outdoor cooking: appliances that behave more like indoor kitchen tools. Predictable, repeatable, and less dependent on experience. It’s an electric smoker with a glass door that has convenience embedded in it as a design choice.

Smoke Without the Guesswork

Traditional smokers can demand as much attention as the meal itself. The Pitmate™ takes a more relaxed approach. Setup is simple enough that firing it up doesn’t have to be reserved for long weekends, while its insulated design helps maintain steady cooking temperatures from start to finish. A built-in meat probe and glass viewing window make it easy to keep tabs on dinner without constantly opening the door, and the side-loading wood-chip system lets you add more smoke without interrupting the cook. Less time managing the smoker, more time enjoying everything that comes with firing one up.

A Smoker That Fits Into Everyday Cooking

In the words of award-winning chef Chris McKenna, adding mayonnaise is one of his secret ingredients when grilling, but in the world of barbecuing, you don’t need secret ingredients; you need an insulated electric smoker. In fact, compact smokers change when people choose to cook smoked food. No need to reserve smokers for long weekends or special occasions. You can turn smoking into something you can fit into your weekday meals or casual dinners.

This shift in behavior is important for home cooks who already use grilling as a regular cooking method but have been hesitant to step into smoking. The Pitmate™ is aimed at that crossover audience: first-time smokers, small households, and anyone who wants smoked flavor without committing to the traditional setup. 

Get The Best Electric Smoker For Small Outdoor Space

EAST OAK will open pre-orders for the Pitmate™ on August 12, introducing the smoker with a limited Early Bird allocation of 300 units at its lowest introductory price. Customers interested in securing Early Bird pricing can subscribe through the East Oak website ahead of the pre-order launch. Once the initial allocation is claimed, pricing will increase for the remainder of the pre-order campaign. Pre-orders will remain open through September 13, ahead of the product’s official launch on September 14, when the Pitmate™ will transition to standard retail pricing.

The Pitmate™ opens for early-bird pre-orders on August 12 before its September retail launch. For cooks looking for the best electric smoker that doesn’t take over the backyard, it’s a new option worth considering.