FirstBuild's Arden Is A Real Pellet Smoker For Indoor Kitchens

A lot of cookware products these days are advertised as offering smart features, but they don't cover all the ways we want to cook. In fact, some popular cooking methods can't even be done indoors due to safety reasons or because of the smells they produce. Barbecue smokers, for example, are something you can only use outdoors. They're often big, generate a lot of heat, and most importantly, create substantial quantities of smoke that we want to infuse food, not our furniture.

Thus far, no smart appliance has been able to address those issues in a way that results in a smoker safe for indoor use — not to mention, being Internet-connected doesn't really solve the problems anyway. Here to change that is co-creation community FirstBuild, which is stepping up to the challenge with Arden, a barbecue smoker that's designed primarily for use inside one's home, not outdoors.

Barbecue fans can easily discern "authentic" smoked flavors based on how they smell and taste, making indoor-safe options like liquid smoke flavors less than appealing. That same authentic smoking process often involves wood (typically in the form of pellets), which is the preferred medium used by those who consider themselves true barbecue connoisseurs. In a perfect world, one would be able to smoke cheeses, meats, and other products within their own kitchen.

Enter Arden, the first of its kind smoker that manages to do exactly that. In a nutshell, this kitchen appliance is a barbecue smoker that uses wooden pellets and precise thermal management to, the company claims, perfectly barbecue your meats, veggies, and more. The device generates and circulates the smoke from wood pellets to create an authentic smoky smell and taste while also preventing the smoke from escaping and stinking up your house.

It's a dream come true for barbecue fans, but the promises don't end there. Arden's large capacity has room to cook three racks of ribs all at the same time or any combination of meats, corn, cocktail garnishes, and more, according to FirstBuild. Due to its compact size and enclosed structure, the appliance likewise requires a fraction of the number of wood pellets you'd use in a conventional outdoor smoker, as well.

The FirstBuild co-creation community is backed by GE Appliances, a Haier company, so you have the assurances of those big names behind this innovative kitchen appliance. This isn't the company's first rodeo with crowdfunding, either, as it previously launched campaigns for products like the Paragon Smart Cooking System. Right now, Arden is up on Indiegogo with an early bird price of $649, but the expected retail price will jump to $1,099 after the campaign ends.

There are other big names behind Arden, including famed YouTuber Jeremy "MadScientistBBQ" Yoder. That's why there are exclusive add-on perks for backers who can pick from three or five MadScientistBBQ rubs; alternatively, they can also use the crowdfunding campaign to get HeyGrillHey sauces to set the stage for a complete, authentic, and convenient BBQ party inside one's kitchen.

Assuming everything goes as planned, the team says the crowdfunding campaign will end in April, the perks will ship to backers in late summer 2023, and the first Arden smokers will go out around August of the same year.