Tips for offset smokers

T

TheFied

2,500+ Posts
I have an offset smoker that I got ~ 1 year ago. I have done a couple of beer can chickens on it.

But I have had problems getting the offset smoker part above 200F. I use charcoal and mesquite logs. I want to smoke a turkey next week but need to get it ~300F. Any tips on how to get my smoker hotter? I think part of the reason is I have a grill on the fire box part and I have before had the grill on there. I intend on taking that off and having it full of mesquite logs. Any other advice???
 
1) Airflow - Make sure that your coals have some brathing space underneath and between the damper on the firebox, so that you don't suffocate the fire.

2) Make sure you're checking the temp at the right spot. One cook I thought I was getting consistently low temps, but my probe was too low and it was actually much hotter than I thought.

3) Don't open the lid to check your meat. If you are having problems getting the temperature up, the last thing you want to do is open the lid unless absolutely necessary - it will kill the heat in the chamber.
 
2a) Make sure you're using a reliable thermometer. Some smokers have them mounted on the lid. You shouldn't trust this until you can back up the results with a probe.
 
Last summer I bought a digital remote thermometer with a meat probe and smoker probe. I generally mount the smoker probe with a clip next to the meat.

I am going to smoke a turkey this Friday and I am going to see how it goes. I think one issue that I have had before is I have had my grill on the firebox (which is where I grill stuff). I am going to take that out so I can really fill it up with wood and coals.

I generally use a chimney starter to get it started with coals. And then dump the coals in my firebox. If I have a full chimney starter with coals, how many more coals should I put in? How much wood logs? I want to get this to ~300F in the offset smoker part so I need to get this hot.

And I agree, those are all solid points.
 
You may want to try having a separate fire (in another gill, campfire, whatever) to get coals ready. That way you can add heat without adding charcoal, logs, or (gasp) dumping lighter fluid on it. This prevents you from waiting for the heat to "ramp up" while the additional logs catch fire. It just makes it easier to keep a good consistant temperature.
 
I have a fairly large smoker with a large offset box, so it takes a fair amount of fire to get it hot.

I typically use one chimney's worth of charcoal and get it going, and then toss it in the firebox with about the same amount of unlit charcoal, and about 3 or 4 small logs. Within 30-45 minutes, this usually gets me up to the 200-250 degree range that I like, and I add more small logs as necessary to maintain the temperature.
 
UTEE, will be my 1st time to use to actually smoke something. I grill quite a bit and do beer can chickens on the smoker part every once in a while...

I'll try what you are saying. 1 chimney starter full of lit coals roughly equal amount of unlit coals and then start adding my mesquite wood/logs until I can hopefully get it to 300F.

Trying it on Friday. Turkey is dethawing right now, going to brine it Thursday night.........
 
It's definitely a matter of experience, because every pit is different depending on the size and thickness of the steel. Mine takes a while to heat up, so I try to get it burning pretty hot full-bore and then dampen down the intake to control the air flow and temperature.

If you have people who are counting on you, you might want to give yourself an extra hour or so at the front-end in case your fire doesn't start up the way you like (it could either get too hot and force you to dampen down, or it could start too cold/slow).

But, after you do it a couple of times, you should have a feel for it.

Good luck!
 
Oh, one other thing, mesquite tends to burn a bit hotter and faster than oak or apple or pecan/hickory, so you'll want to keep an eye on that as well.
 
I have had a cheap New Braufels offset smoker for 3 years. This is the simple way I build my fire for smoking:

Just set a few logs in the fire box with a rack below them to keep air flowing underneath. Soak them in lighter fluid and let it sit for a few minutes (it is important to let it soak in to the wood).

Light the logs with the lid open to let it burn high. After it burns down a little, shut the lid and choke down the intake to about 2 square inches. I add less than one log per hour, and get plenty of smoke and about 225 degrees of heat.

If it is windy, I choke down the intake more and face it in to the wind.
 
Gallo -- you're on the right track. But I really would encourage you to get a charcoal chimney, and start your fire with burning charcoal. Stack the logs on top of it, and you're good to go.

I used to do it your way, but it's really nice to get lighter fluid out of the equation. That, and the charcoal chimney gives me a guaranteed fire every time (no burning out the fluid and having to re-light, ever).
 
I used to start with half charcoal / half wood, but I haven't noticed any difference after eliminating it. The reason I eliminated charcoal is because I was tired of waiting for it to ash before I put my meat on.

I may be wrong, but once the fire burns down on the wood I assume that all the petrolium product is out of my smoker, but with charcoal it still there until it all ashes (unless you are using lump charcoal).

Have you noticed any difference in time doing it with a chimney?
 
No time difference, really. It takes a good amount of time for my logs to get going, if I do the fluid route. If I do the charcoal chimney route, it takes about 15 minutes for the charcoal to get good and lit (I don't wait for it to ash -- I put it on when it's still flaming, as that helps light the logs better), and then that fire lights the logs pretty quickly.

Probably about the same amount of time, but I never have the chimney fire fail like a lighter fire sometimes does, and I don't have any of the lighter fluid or byproducts. Plus, I never need to buy fluid again (chimney pays for itself in a year or so).
 
I don't use lighter fluid at all. Don't even own it. I filled the chimney starter full of standard Kingsford coals. It took about 30min to get it white hot. I then filled my firebox with about equal amount of unlit coals. I then dumped the lit coals on top and used a rod to rearrange them some. I then put 3 small mesquite logs on. The smoker (per my remote thermometer) is at 290F right now which is about what I want to put the turkey on at. I pulled the turkey out of the fridge about 20min ago and want it to cool off some.
 
You totally lost me @ lighter fluid.
pukey.gif


It's really just a small amout of time management because when you're doing a 4+ hour smoke, 15 minutes of tinkering (@ worst) isn't that big an issue for me. But that's me.

I think I'm going to post a PSA on my next thought... Kingsford lump.

texasflag.gif
hookem.gif
texasflag.gif
hookem.gif
texasflag.gif
 
Mesquite is fine. It has a pretty strong flavor that I hear some people find to be a bit overpowering on a long smoke, and it burns a little hotter and faster than some other woods, so I tpyically use it for grilling rather than BBQ, primarily because that's a bit easier. But personally, I love the flavor of mesquite-smoked meat, so no issues for me there.

Post some pics when you're done, would love to see the BBQ pr0n.
 
I took some pictures but need to find a way to post them....

So the good news is that it took only 4 hours and not say 8 hours for a brisket. I would say that the mesquite didn't overpower the turkey but maybe if I had done it longer.
 
I was actually able to get the smoker up to 300F easier than I thought. The wood did the trick. Now I need to do a better job of keeping the fire at the right temp by varying the intake vent.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top