So I want a smoker

U

UofTOrange

250+ Posts
I have a cabinet type smoker and it works okay, but I want an offset smoker. I'm thinking I can convince the wife to spend 500-700 on it. Is that enough? Should I be sucking it up and spending a little more? I want it to be nice and last quite a long time. I know care has a lot to do with that and I will care for it well, but I want something with a decent amount of cooking surface as well. Ideas?
 
Q: What's the ABSOLUTE MOST $$ you think you could get away with?

Q: If you were to try & wait another bunch of months, say closer to a birthday, could you add onto that prior smoker reserve & go even bigger & nicer? They have some smaller trailer rigs @ various places & $ 1,500.00 might get you there.

Not that I'd want to pay their markup, but Cabela's in Buda (if you're in the Austin / San Antonio market) has some triple offset* trailer units that I'm covetous of if only I could figure out who their mfg was & how to order direct & in a burnt orange paint scheme vs. red.

Some of the Cabela's units have a single or double propane stand for doing gumbos, mudbugs, frying, etc. & the tank also T's off to propane kick the firebox.

Granted, you may not be able to fit much less actually want a trailer rig but there it is.

If a trailer isn't in your range but you do want a solid, long lasting offset, then that price range you already have is most certainly going to provide you a well built unit, i.e. a LifeTyme or some other product with a smoke & firebox comparable to what you'd find in H.E.B. or Academy but with a thicker (read: longer lasting / won't burn through) wall.

I've had my Bandera for about 7 years now & use it a LOT; it can fit a lotta food in there & I've cooked for up to 60 people before, provided you cycle things out correctly (brisket first, take off for 4 hour wrap & cooler - ribs on for 2 hours, then ribs off for cooler wrap - chicken on for 1-1/2 hours). It's a double offset, i.e. fire & smoke & there are 'hop ups' available on the web to make it work better; my biggest issue is the low grate for the fire wood. Ash builds up too easily.

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Mine costs a bit less than $ 300.00 @ Academy however I think mfg. has shifted to China & the steel is a bit thinner than mine is. The firebox lid seems to have a rusting issue with the steel somewhere & I can't get it to close all the way down unless I put a heavy piece of wood on the lid.

I hear the Big Green Egg is in the price range you list but that might be for a smaller food surface area unit.

*Triple = firebox, "main" smoke chamber & offset warming box.

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I might be able to convince her of the 1500 amount if I can tie in multiple uses and longevity, but would probably like to stay under that. Portability is awesome, but obviously has a price associated with it. I like the Bandera and have thought about that but read in a few places, including here, that the metal was thinner, and I definitely want something that is going to last a good while
 
I'm looking for a good grill/smoker combo myself, though my budget is about half of yours. Does anyone have one of these?

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Link
 
Idig, if I was to get one of those the first thing I'd do is drill out the rivets & remove the Dirt Burglar logo...

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That probably will be the first thing I do. Other than the logo, it seems like a pretty solid grill, especially at that price. No one has one?
 
idig, if you go back one page on that link, i have the one to the right of the one you posted a photo of (well, that general model, i got it 3 1/2 years ago as a wedding present).

i love it, and i think thats a good price. i have heard, but don't know for a fact, that oklahoma joes either got bought out by, or merged with new braunfels, and the quality went down a bit, cheaper materials, thinner metal. if anyone knows for sure i'd be interested.

i have helped a couple friends shop for smokers and the academy stores seem to have a few of the old oklahoma joe models still in stock (at least in the past year or so), and they do seem to be thicker steel.

all that being said, if i were starting from scratch, i'd get a big green egg. i've cooked on them and they are awesome. however, considering i have my oklahoma joe's, a weber kettle, and a tabletop weber for taking to the sotfball fields, i doubt my wife would be down with a 4th one
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idig, if you go back one page on that link, i have the one to the right of the one you posted a photo of. i got it 3 1/2 years ago as a wedding present.

i love it, and i think thats a good price. i have heard, but don't know for a fact, that oklahoma joes either got bought out by, or merged with new braunfels, and the quality went down a bit, cheaper materials, thinner metal. if anyone knows for sure i'd be interested.

i have helped a couple friends shop for smokers and the academy stores seem to have a few of the old oklahoma joe models still in stock (at least in the past year or so), and they do seem to be thicker steel.

all that being said, if i were starting from scratch, i'd get a big green egg. i've cooked on them and they are awesome. however, considering i have my oklahoma joe's, a weber kettle, and a tabletop weber for taking to the sotfball fields, i doubt my wife would be down with a 4th one
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Gak, the Longhorn was my first choice of what Academy has, but it's a little more than we can spend right now, and frankly, it is probably more grill than we need. The model I posted seems to be the Longhorn's little brother. I'm glad they didn't call it the Aggie. The ones I looked at seem to be of decent quality, and I think they may have even been branded as New Braunfels instead of Oklahoma Joe's. Regardless, I'm fairly sure that Char-Broil owns both brands now. I don't know how to tell if the model at Academy is an older one or a more flimsy new one. If the metal is as thick as what's on the floor model, I'll be a happy camper.
 
I Dig is correct; both the "Dirt Burglar Doug" unit as well as the New Braunfels built units are now under the ownership of Char Broil & YES, Gak, quality took a major slide in metal thickness...

But this can be overcome with an added plate or fire bricks in the bottom of the firebox & never using the smoke chamber for grilling. There are also ways to better seal up any leaky spots where you might see smoke escaping...

I think Academy might have some of the thicker metalled ones still around.

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Check out the heavy-duty pits here : Linky

There are some in your price range or a bit higher and these are much heavier than the ones at Academy.
 
I went with the Wild West Traditions S.E. Smoker from Academy. It really isn't a bad grill, especially for $329. The steel thickness is 1/4" or really close to it. It's seasoning right now. No smoke leaks as far as I can tell. The way I see it, if I need a new grill in 5 years, I haven't wasted a whole lot of money and maybe I'll be able to get something more high-end. Considering that I've gotten by on just a little Weber Aussie for the past 6 years, I think I'll be OK.
 
I second the Big Green Egg, its incredible. The only issue you may have is surface area, though its not hard to get creative and stack meats under the dome. It will last you a lifetime.
 
I have never seen an Egg (except on the web) but it seems like an excellent idea. If I didn't already have my deck looking like BBQ showroom I would own one
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The guys that did run the old "Oklahoma Joes" are still in Perry, Oklahoma making smokers. They go by the name of Horizon Smokers now and they make a quality product. I don't think they build the variety of cookers that they did before however.

horizonbbqsmokers.com/index.html
 
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