Need tips for using offset smoker?

[DannyW]

My smoker crapped out on me, again, and I got an offset firebox smoker at a reasonable price (free) to replace it. I'm new to the offset smoker game and could use your advice.

What kind of advice? Pretty much anything and everything you can offer from your hands-on experience. What kind of charcoal, what temperature and how to maintain it for long smokes, wood chips or chunks for smoke, etc. Mostly operational stuff for the smoker...I already know the meat prep and when to pull it.

What you got for me? It's going on it's inaugural voyage tomorrow and I want the results to at least be tolerable. Thanks in advance!

 

[Whitefeather]

I use regular Kingsford charcoal to get it started. I use a charcoal chimney to light it. Once it gets hot I use pecan wood about 12” long and split to about 4” in diameter. I remove the bark from my wood. A piece that size keeps my smoker in the 235-250 range. I have to add a piece about every 45-60 minutes. You’re just gonna have to experiment with yours to see how the airflow. Best advice is get an accurate wireless thermometer with probe. Keep it on the rack with the meat. Don’t trust the one that’s on it. They aren’t accurate.

 

[Wire Nut]

Easier to raise the temp than bring it down. The damper on the smoke stack is your friend. You’ll figure out how much to open it to hold at 250 and leave it alone. I too use kingsford to get started in a chimney. After that wood.

 

[sghoghunter]

You can take two identical pits and they won’t cook or act the same. The best thing to do is experiment with it as much as you can. If it’s made out of thinner metal it won’t hold the heat as good as one made out of old propane tanks so you’ll have to keep an eye on it more often

 

[GeorgiaGlockMan]

I like 1/2 lunp charcoal and 1/2 wood in my smoker but it's not an offset.

Have used an offset at deer camp quite a bit. It is about like my waterbath smoker.... load it up with lump and add wet mesquite for smoke and flavor. Using the lump charcoal gets me a more even longer burn without having to add a forearm chunk of wood every 15 minutes.

Good luck. Show pics of the prize.

 

[gawildlife]

Learn the hot spots, in most offsets this is right next to the fire box. Some like to install plates or guards over the opening to funnel the heat down and further in to try to equalize the heat. It also somewhat mimics a reverse flow.
You also want a clean burn so try to avoid choking down the fire in an effort to control heat. I prefer to keep the chimney damper open and close the inlet at the fire box vs the other way around. But it's a balancing act. Mainly you want to avoid a smoldering fire that puts up alot of soot or creosote. Green or poorly seasoned wood is terrible for this.
On seasoning wood there's a line between just right burn down to nice coals and bone dry burn hot and fast.
No harm in doing a trial burn to get a feel for before putting an expensive amount of meat on it.
Most stick burners available from the big boxes are on the small side and easily overheated. Start with a small fire, you can always add more.
I like to aim for 250-275 and get a feel for how long a stick of hickory, basically a hat full of lump charcoal with one or two 8"x2" chunks of split hickory, burns so I can shut it down and leave it shut before I need to add another stick.

 

[gawildlife]

Anyone use the over and under smoker from Academy? That's one that I have my eye on.

 

[Jeff C.]

Good advice above, and they're all different to some extent. I agree with most of what's already been said, so not much to add honestly.

I wish you a good Independence day and a good cook.

 

[treemanjohn]

Never put wood that hasn't been burning in. I like to burn to black edges before I put it in the box. It keeps creosote and steam out of the equation

 

[DAWG1419]

Anyone use the over and under smoker from Academy? That's one that I have my eye on.

Get a BGE/big green egg and never buy another grill/smoker. Been using ours for 18yrs now.

 

[DannyW]

Thanks for all the advice. Three takeaways from the first time:

1. It's a heck of a lot more work than a "set it and forget it" electric smoker.
2. Temperature control seems to be the name of this game
3. I need to get a good thermometer. Not a meat thermometer, I have a Thermopen, I need a chamber thermometer. Just about ruined my Thermopen leaving it stuck in the smoker for most of the day.

The results were okay...everyone complimented me but I knew it wasn't my best effort. Documented the entire process and might do a review over at Paymaster's place.

 

[treemanjohn]

Thanks for all the advice. Three takeaways from the first time:

1. It's a heck of a lot more work than a "set it and forget it" electric smoker.
2. Temperature control seems to be the name of this game
3. I need to get a good thermometer. Not a meat thermometer, I have a Thermopen, I need a chamber thermometer. Just about ruined my Thermopen leaving it stuck in the smoker for most of the day.

The results were okay...everyone complimented me but I knew it wasn't my best effort. Documented the entire process and might do a review over at Paymaster's place.

Offsets take a lot of practice. You can ruin a lot of meat in the meantime. Make sure you have as few air leaks as possible. Once you do the damper system can be a set it and forget it.

I've been using them for decades and it still takes me 1.5 hours to get my firebox ready where I'll add meat. I cant stress enough about only adding burning wood its critical for good eats

Small firebox with small draft = adding small amounts of wood at a time

 

[gawildlife]

Thanks for all the advice. Three takeaways from the first time:

1. It's a heck of a lot more work than a "set it and forget it" electric smoker.
2. Temperature control seems to be the name of this game
3. I need to get a good thermometer. Not a meat thermometer, I have a Thermopen, I need a chamber thermometer. Just about ruined my Thermopen leaving it stuck in the smoker for most of the day.

The results were okay...everyone complimented me but I knew it wasn't my best effort. Documented the entire process and might do a review over at Paymaster's place.

Real wood fueled smokers vs the pellet/electric/automated will always require more monitoring due to the nature of uneven rate of burn of various woods. Much can done to alleviate this by controlling ventilation of the smoker but it will always remain the nature of real wood. JMO, but this is the allure for many of us, not to mention the better flavor.

 

[Whitefeather]

Thanks for all the advice. Three takeaways from the first time:

1. It's a heck of a lot more work than a "set it and forget it" electric smoker.
2. Temperature control seems to be the name of this game
3. I need to get a good thermometer. Not a meat thermometer, I have a Thermopen, I need a chamber thermometer. Just about ruined my Thermopen leaving it stuck in the smoker for most of the day.

The results were okay...everyone complimented me but I knew it wasn't my best effort. Documented the entire process and might do a review over at Paymaster's place.

A good thermometer is the most important piece of equipment when using real wood for BBQ. Mine has an alarm that I set at 250 degrees. It’s wireless so I carry it around with me while I’m cooking.

Temperature is everything

 

[sghoghunter]

Offsets take a lot of practice. You can ruin a lot of meat in the meantime. Make sure you have as few air leaks as possible. Once you do the damper system can be a set it and forget it.

I've been using them for decades and it still takes me 1.5 hours to get my firebox ready where I'll add meat. I cant stress enough about only adding burning wood its critical for good eats

Small firebox with small draft = adding small amounts of wood at a time

What are you calling “burning wood” if I may ask. I think I’ve got an idea but I ain’t real bright at times. When I’m cooking on mine I’ve found that if I lay the wood up on top of the fire box so it gets hot it’ll burn a whole lot cleaner once it goes in the fire box. Mine takes atleast an hour to get box and tank hot enough to put meat on.

 

[treemanjohn]

What are you calling “burning wood” if I may ask. I think I’ve got an idea but I ain’t real bright at times. When I’m cooking on mine I’ve found that if I lay the wood up on top of the fire box so it gets hot it’ll burn a whole lot cleaner once it goes in the fire box. Mine takes atleast an hour to get box and tank hot enough to put meat on.

Watch how your wood burns. First when a log gets hot is boils the water out and produces white smoke, but it really doesn't ignite. Once dehydrated it starts to produce gasses and when it hits around 450 it starts to burn. Unburned gasses will pour out because its not hot enough to burn them all. Around 900 everything will finally ignite. If you put anything on before that point your food will taste like creosote, but people still think it tastes good....

I always build a fire beside my offset and feed it with burning wood or coals only. If you throw a log on that hasn't been ignited it will have to go through the burning process I mentioned above.

Hope that makes sense

 

[sghoghunter]

Yes sir it makes sense. When I put mine on top of the fire box it pretty much does the same thing. If it stays up there to long it catches fire and once it hits the coals it’ll ignite right then

 

[DannyW]

Watch how your wood burns. First when a log gets hot is boils the water out and produces white smoke, but it really doesn't ignite. Once dehydrated it starts to produce gasses and when it hits around 450 it starts to burn. Unburned gasses will pour out because its not hot enough to burn them all. Around 900 everything will finally ignite. If you put anything on before that point your food will taste like creosote, but people still think it tastes good....

I always build a fire beside my offset and feed it with burning wood or coals only. If you throw a log on that hasn't been ignited it will have to go through the burning process I mentioned above.

Hope that makes sense

Interesting concept...I don't really want to build a fire on my patio but wonder if I could get wood chunks going in my charcoal chimney and transfer them to my firebox? Would seem to accomplish the same purpose, although creates more work.

 

[gawildlife]

If you're going to all that trouble you might as well just use lump charcoal. I fully understand the ignition process of wood and agree that excess moisture must be boiled off and excessive off gassing can be bad BUT it is some of these terpenes (I think that's the right word) and wood esters that we use for smoking meat whether it be for their preservative antimicrobial nature as in the case of smoking country hams and some sausages or flavor as in the case of most bacon and cool smoked meats.
IMO, this is where the art of wood fired cooking comes in.
For instance having grown up in the Alabama tradition of hickory only bbq I'm pretty adamant on my fuel of choice and at what moisture content aka seasoning I want my wood to be. And no it doesn't take meters to judge that. I cut my own wood and can judge based on experience knowing size, time, weather and weight. To put it bluntly I can pick my wood by touch and smell as to what I put on the fire.
Now if you were to give me Texas post oak or mesquite to cook with it would be pure guesswork.

 

[DannyW]

Make sure you have as few air leaks as possible.

I noticed this right off...wherever you're losing smoke you're also losing heat. With mine that's mainly around the lids on the firebox and smoker itself. Sealing that up is going to be one of first improvements.