Scouting my next Smoker

RichUT

RichUT

250+ Posts
So I've started to get the itch to upgrade my smoker from the starter Charbroil version I have now:

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to something a little more serious.

I'd like this one to last me the next 10+ years, so I'm looking at grills in the $400-$500 range. I'm currently looking at two options.

1. Oklahoma Joe's Longhorn Smoker ($449 at Academy)

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Pros: Great Size, decent build quality, and it has the word Longhorn in it.

Cons: Pieces are bolted together as opposed to welded, and it has the state of Oklahoma on it.
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2. Old Country Smoker ($499 at Academy)

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Pros: Pieces are welded together, slightly thicker materials, slide out grills, and an upper rack that might work for ribs (but little else)

Cons: Main grill area is smaller than the other model, which limits how much I can cook.

I really don't want to spend any more than $500, as I really think anything more than that is going to be overkill for my purposes.

I'm anticipating using this thing for the family (4 of us) maybe 70% of the time, while cooking for larger crowds 30% of the time.

Any opinions on either of these models from people who own them?

Any other models sub $500 that I should look into? (Horizontal smokers only, please)

Thanks in advance.
 
Go with the Old Country on this. Thicker metal + welded seams = win. Plus, IIRC, the Old Country has 2 racks in the main chamber, so it should have plenty of surface area for meat.

Am I the only one who hates the move towards the "ash drawer"? It's pointless feature (it is not hard to clean out the ash with a shovel) and it adds more seams to the firebox that will only make it harder to regulate airflow.
 
If you're looking at $500, and you're willing to time it right, you might be able to find a Big Green Egg. It retails much higher, but if you buy a demo from an eggfest or something, that might be in the mix. It will be a lot more versatile than a typical smoker. And it meets your needs. I'm smokinng about 30 pounds of meat in one cook this afternoon so it can handle the occasional large groups.
 
Agree with looking for a used or demo BGE. You can call BBQ Outfitters and see if they have any left from this years eggfest. Call Scott at (512) 347-1988. Also, the Egg will last you as long as you want to keep it.
 
I'm familiar with the BGE, but it just feels like such a foreign concept to me. I don't want to rule it out, but there is something about a good old fashioned horizontal pit that says Texas to me.

Am I crazy?
 
I own the old country and it will hold three racks of ribs or three briskets, it's plenty big enough. Plus, it's awesome
 
Not crazy. I considered BGE but went with the Longhorn Smoker.
It's the way my dad did it. It's the way his dad did it and it's worked pretty well so far.

I still need to get that f-ing oklahoma off of my pit.
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UofT,

Can you get two racks of spare ribs on the upper rack without much issue? If I knew that was possible, it would probably push me over the edge.

celis,

General thoughts on the Longhorn? It doesn't have the baffle that the Old Country has, so it sounds like smoking next to the fire box might be a little harder. Have you experienced that?

Thanks guys.
 
Overall I am pleased with the Longhorn smoker. It's heavy and keeps a pretty good temp.

I have not maxed out the space inside so I have not had to put anything close to the fire box so not having a baffle has not been an issue.

It might tomorrow because I am going to smoke a mess of ribs. If I need to I will use some heavy duty tin foil to act as a baffle. If you do a Google search I believe someone has instructions on how to modify the smoker for real baffle.

Another mod I would consider is drilling a small hole for my digital thermometer.
 
Drill that hole right through the rivets for the dirt burglar emblem... then insert your temp guage in one of the holes.

There's just something criminal about the words 'Okie" & "Longhorn" on the same sentence, unless it's "Longhorns stomp mudhole in Oklahoma."

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That's an idea.

I was thinking about painting a longhorn over it with some high heat paint.

I just put 30 lbs of ribs on 9lbs of baby backs and 21lbs of spare. I have not done ribs in awhile so I hope I don't f this up.
 
My Longhorn smoker maintained 220 for about 3 hours without any help from me.

The ribs turned out pretty good. Very tender. Almost fall off the bone tender and very well received.

I just smoked them for about 4.5 hours. Wrapped them in foil and put them in the cooler for about another 30 minutes.

My rub might have needed a little bit more salt. But overall pretty good.
 
You could always look into a Lyfe Tyme or Texas Longhorn pits. Lyfe Tyme is even selling through the super HEB near my house. Might cost you and extra $100 or 2, but with the price of steel, that's not too much of a suprise.

I have a TL pit and love it. The TL pits are made by a guy who worked for Lyfe Tyme then went out on his own. Either one should make you happy, if you can find a way to pull the trigger.
 
I hadn't seen the Lyfe Tyme grills, but I am familiar with the TL options.

At the end of the day, $500 is my absolute upper limit, and I think the Old Country is going to be my choice. Need to save up a little more scratch and then I will take the plunge.

netslave, pretty sure the old one is going to the father in law, but good try.
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hornian loves my Lyfetyme. Soon I will too.

I think a smoker is something that splurging a little bit on is well worth it in longevity and quality that is made up quickly rather than over time. But there has to be a ceiling to it all.

If you can hang on a couple of weeks the prices may come down as the summer comes to an end but is not yet over. Also, people get transferred, move or whatever and sometimes don't move their grill with 'em. Hit up Craigslist religiously and you may get something like a Lyfetyme or similiar quality for a total bargain.

Or you can get uber lucky like I did and inherit a Lyfetyme from a dear friend worth their weight in wine and cheese.
 
The purchase isn't imminent by any means. I got some money/gift cards for my birthday, but I'm not there ($500) yet. We're expecting our 2nd child in about 2 months, so I can't see buying it until sometime after he arrives and things settle down. Probably October or November in all reality.

The biggest challenge to doing something that isn't at Academy is that I have $150 worth of gift cards there. Of course, they could always be sold, but I would want to make sure I am getting at least 80 to 90 cents on the dollar. Could be difficult.

We'll see how it goes.
 
I started hitting up craigslist every day, eventually found this New Braunfels smoker for $75. It's three years old and in great shape. The previous owner was moving to Colorado and unable to take it with him. I found quite a few good deals on craigslist when I was looking, the hardest part was getting in touch with the seller before someone else snatched it up.
 
guapo, I saw that within a couple of minutes of when it was posted and notified hornian about it. But he did not act quick enough. You are welcome!
 
Rich, not sure what part of town you're in, but keep an eye out at the Super HEBs. They always start discounting stuff in late-July/August. The won't want to have those Lyfetyme pits in there very long, and it's not like they can disassembe them and put 'em in boxes.

I'll bet if you watch, you could save up to a couple hundred bucks if you timed it right.
 
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