Gas-fired smoker with digital temperature control

A gas-fired smoker for cooking a food product using a smoking process comprising:

• a. a cabinet with a top, a bottom, sides, a back, an access door, and at least one rack vertically located within the cabinet for holding the food product to be cooked;
• b. a gas burner located adjacent the bottom and connected to a source of flammable gas by means of a gas valve;
• c. a pilot light for igniting the flammable gas at the gas burner;
• and
• d. a control circuit including:
• i. a controller;
• ii. a DC power source for powering the control circuit including the controller;
• iii. a temperature set module connected to the controller for setting a cabinet temperature value for the cabinet temperature inside the cabinet;
• iv. a temperature sensor connected to the controller for sensing the cabinet temperature inside the cabinet, wherein the temperature sensor is located in the cabinet at a position representative of the average temperature within the cabinet based on averaging a plurality of different temperatures measured in the cabinet;
• v. a display connected to the controller;
• vi. wherein the controller:
• (a) in response to sensing the cabinet temperature and based on the cabinet temperature value set by the temperature set module, controls the gas valve to start the gas burner and to extinguish the gas burner in order to maintain a range of cabinet temperatures related to the cabinet temperature value set by the temperature set module;
• and
• (b) controls the display to display parameters selected from the cabinet temperature inside the cabinet, status of the gas burner, status of the pilot light, status of the source of flammable gas, or status of the DC power source.