Offset Smoker Recommendations

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Don't have any experience with these, but Franklin's pit, while nice and probably does a great job, is overpriced. There are lots of pits that are just as good for much less $.

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I agree with this. Substantively, I like it, but it is what it is, i.e. no options, no other customization available and still heavy AF with casters.

I can't speak for the ones you have listed, though I'm sure they work well. But I have a Gator Pit out of Houston, and would recommend them to anyone. I have this one, the Party Gator 2040. It's a beast. But they have a wide variety of sizes and options.




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Those are all nice pits by reputable builders. You just need to pick the one that balances the price and features you want along with availability. Franklin makes a nice pit but is on the smaller end of the spectrum for such a high price point. Also I think it’s an extremely long wait to get one.

I will throw another into the mix. Check out Boathouse Smokers. Located in St. Amant, Louisiana. He is pretty active on Facebook. Brian Noble is the owner and he makes some fine rigs. You speak to him when you call and he will customize and make it exactly the way you want.

He uses 3/8 steel on his Texas traditional offsets.

Has anybody on used one of the offset smokers from Buc-ees?

When I had mine built, I looked at many and eventually found one that was right for me. Just find a well-built one with good reviews and pick the one that has the best options for you.

My only sort-of regret is that I got an extra large offset. I figured that if I was going to invest in one, I might as well get a large one. That way, if I needed it, I had it. On hindsight, I wish I just got a normal sized one because I have other options for the larger cooks and it's just large on my patio. A normal sized one would have been easier to handle and look at. But my large baby is a beast and I love her, ha!

Some characteristics to consider: tuning plates vs reverse flow, smoke collector or no smoke collector, Make sure it's 1/4-inch steel and if possible, a 1/2-inch firebox (not needed but it's bad arse if you have one).

I was interested in the looks of each pit as well. I wanted one that would look like my style, nothing odd or fancy, good looking handles, side table, firebox, how the smoke stack looked, the latch used to close the firebox, etc. I love the square fireboxes. A new style now is to have the unfinished rustic steel look vs painted black. You just need to look at them all and see what you like and don't like, that will help you narrow down the brands.

Many brands have facebook fan group pages. Join the group and look through some pictures and see what people are saying about them.



Some I looked at:

Lang
Lone Star Grillz
Klose
Millscale
TMG
East Texas
Matt's
AJs
Pits by JJ
Johnson
Boathouse

My cooking chamber is 48-inches long. I just don't need it that large. A 40-inch or 36-inch would have been just fine. With hindsight, I would choose a 40-inch for a "large" size or a 36-inch for a "normal" size.

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My impression is that reverse flow is only meaningful on large scale cookers. You get better temp consistency but can sacrifice on flavor.

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I'm not sure about sacrificing flavor but maybe that's true. I have a Lang knock-off that I had made. It's very big and on a trailer. Like Sixth said, in hindsight I should have gone smaller but I got it to do larger cooks. And I let people borrow it for community events etc.

Also, I like to do chicken halves and you need the extra grate space for chickens if you want to feed a crowd.

I think reverse flow units will burn more wood to keep the temp you want compared to conventional smokers.

I will say when you cook at higher temps, which I do with chicken halves, you get some extra smell and flavor from the sizzle on the reverse sear plate when juices drop down.

Klose......