Offset smoker is an ideal choice for people looking to cook up traditionally tasting, high-quality BBQ. Not just that, you can produce these awesome tasting foods with appealing cool looks and feeling like the best pitmaster in the world.
This idea shouldn’t sway your decision. In this post, we’ll discuss the basic things you need to know about choosing the best offset smoker to ensure you make an informed choice. Nevertheless, there’s a detailed review of the top 5 best on the market.
Top 10 Best Offset Smoker on the Market
Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Charcoal Offset Smoker
This product coming top of our list is a highly durable offset smoker. It’s built with heavy-duty steel and features excellent exterior powder coat finish, which makes it highly resistant to very high temperatures. An incredible choice for durability and longevity.
Not just that, it comes with a great cooking space, which shows that the manufacturer had the best users’ interests at heart. Offering an ample of 784 sq inch grilling surface area and vertical design, this unit allows you to cook more food conveniently if manage ridiculously.
The Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Charcoal Offset Smoker features a cast iron burner offering 15 000 BTUs, which should be enough to meet your preferred heat level. Another thing about this charcoal offset smoker is the included wood tray crafted with heavy-duty porcelain coated steel. It helps infuse a wide range of flavours based on the wood loaded in the unit.
The smoke generated from the offset firebox gets drawn into the cooking chamber for evenly distribute flow over the entire racks. This innovative feature helps solve one of the major issues faced by low price offset smokers – not entirely though.
The build is great and feels solid, but the downside is that the smoker leaks a little smoke. Even better, it comes with some heavy-duty handles to allows users to manoeuver this unit easily.
Further, it includes an exterior thermometer which is great, but a lot of users claim it has a poor readability. But in our opinion, this complaint seems to be relative. Considering its impressive strong build and the amount of food this beast can cook, it’s deemed to be a top pick for the best offset smoker.
Pros:
- An ideal option for entry-level use
- Adjustable ashtray and grates
- Impressive size
- Heavy-duty steel body construction
Cons:
- The exterior thermometer may be difficult to read
- The unit may leak smoke
Char-Griller E1224 Smokin Pro 830 Square Inch Charcoal Grill with Side Fire Box
If for any reason, you deem the Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D as a wrong choice for you, then this Smokin Pro from Char-Griller can be a decent alternative. This unit is a traditional offset smoker using a horizontal drum as its cooking chamber.
To begin with, this beast features a side firebox that’s easy to take off and used as a tabletop grill. It uses high quality, powder-enamel steel and large cooking space of 830 sq in plus the side box. Also, there’s a removable charcoal draw allowing users to dump ashes and add charcoal easily. This is a great feature making it simpler and easier to cook and clean.
The Char-Griller Smokin Pro is a decent choice for beginners. Sadly, this unit also suffers from some issues associated with typical offset smokers. While this beast may not feature the reverse flow technology, it still offers impressive even cooking chamber. Keep in mind that food on the right hand side cooks faster than the other side of the chamber.
Furthermore, the build construction could have been better, as the paint peel after a while. Unlike Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D, this unit leak more smoke. On the flip, this thing cooks very well and offers some lovely smoke rings and great taste. Besides, cooking with this model is hassle free.
Other impressive features include two shelves allows you to cook different kinds of food, and a built-in thermometer to ensure you know the precise cooking temperature. That’s not all: it has an adjustable fire grate for total control of the temperature.
Pros:
- Affordable option
- Easy to assemble
- Offers a lot of grilling space
- Adjustable charcoal grates
Cons:
- Can not withstand high temperature
- The thermometer is poorly attached
Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Offset Smoker
When it comes to the smoking world, Char-Broil is one of the best brands offering sturdy and reliable cooking equipment. With an incredible blend of price, features and quality, the brand’s Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Offset Smoker is a winner when it comes to semi-professional or backyard smoking. This all-rounder traditional offset smoker is made from high-temperature steel, which makes it a more durable beast.
What’s more? In the main chamber, this unit has a generous 619 sq in of grilling racks, which should be enough to cook a pork butt and a whole brisket. Controlling the unit’s temperature can not come any easier than this; thanks to its multiple, high-quality dampers, which makes its hassle-free to adjust. Plus, its steel is ultra-thick, allowing the unit to hold heat well regardless of the weather conditions.
The Char-Broil Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Smoker comes with all primary feature to ensure you make BBQ easily. A built-in thermometer, removable shelf for keeping your handy utensils, a heavy-duty cart plus wheels for easy maneuverability, and cool-touch handles.
Let’s dig deeper: its firebox offers an additional 281 sq in for grilling over the coal, which makes a great deal for people with the medium-size cooking area as their priority. Sadly, this unit also leaks some smoke. In my experience, this downside is shared with both high-end and low-priced smoker, but this unit has minimal leakage.
In summary, if you are in the market for a top-notch, traditional offset smoker, Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Offset Smoker should be top of your list. It offers perfectly smoked meats and makes you feel like a pitmaster that you hope.
Pros:
- Wide cooking area
- Excellent sealing doors
- Cool-touch handles
- Extra storage space
Cons:
- Difficult to assemble
- Might drip juice while cooking
Char-Broil American Gourmet Offset Smoker
This is another budget-option smoker offering great value for money. This 3-in-1 model from Char-Broil is versatile with its cooking options – charcoal grill, BBQ and offset smoker. With this wide range of options, you can cook in whichever way you please.
Coming with a massive 670 sq in of cooking surface area; meaning you can cook a whole pig with ease. Even better, it has excellent fuel efficiency using wood chips and charcoal for the best flavours. Also, it includes adjustable fuel trays making it hassle free to cruise at precisely the right heat levels.
For the price, this is an excellent pick with an additional storage rack to keep your utensils handy while cooking and a charcoal case for storing extra fuel. Also, its multiple adjustable dampers give users total control over the heat and chrome-enamelled cool-touch handles to ensure you are safe from burns.
Pros:
- Great value for the price
- No smoke leakages
- Sturdy build
- Impressive food turnout
Cons:
- The inner paint peels in no time
- Burns more wood
Oklahoma Joe’s Charcoal/LP Gas/Smoker Combo
For those who love to have multiple cooking options, this model may be just what you need. This model is crafted with heavy-gauge steel not only for durability but also for traditional smoking. It can be used as a charcoal offset smoker and ensure you achieve high temperature to sear your steak in no time or reverse sear for fantastic cuisine.
While this model you’ll be cooking on a large 1 060 sq in cooking space, but do remember that it’s spilt use. The primary cooking space is 750 sq in; the gas grill offers 275 sq in and the smoker side provides 375 sq in.
Pros:
- Dual temperature gauge
- Porcelain-enamelled cast-iron grates
- Firebox access door
- Cool-touch handles
Cons:
- Doors are not easy to adjust
Things to Consider When Purchasing an Offset Smoker
After thinking about the type of smoker you want over and over again, and finally decide on an offset smoker, here’s a lot of factors to put into consideration before buying.
This section will discuss in detail the key factors to look for in offset smoker to ensure you are purchasing the right unit that suits your needs.
Heavy Metal
If you’re a bit of a grasp of science, then you should understand the most significant part of offset smokers is the offset firebox which the most substantial unit of the equipment. Imagine that the heat is only generated at one side of the machine, then this means the far side will be cooler compared to the other closer side.
An offset smoker crafted with lightweight metals will likely leave you with a cool zone at the far end and a hot area at the other. Therefore, to ensure your cut of meat is probably cooked you should move the meat around, which could be stressful.
To minimize heat loss and ensure consistent temperature at both ends, you need to look for a smoker made with heavy-duty materials. The unit should be made with about ΒΌ-Inch steel. With that in mind, it’s challenging to find a model with high-quality construction coming with a budget-option price tag.
Excellent Ventilation
The temperature offered by an offset smoker is controlled by regulating the flow of oxygen into the equipment. Oxygen is not only an essential element for life but also fire. The more oxygen readily available, the more heat generated. Therefore, if the vents are difficult to adjust or too small, you might find it hard to regulate the cooking temperature or maintain a consistent temperature.
Another vital thing to check out is the internal venting connecting the main chamber and the firebox. To get a proper heat distribution, both have to meet lower than the grill height.
Heat is meant to rise, and it’ll be wrong if the heat is generated at the same height where your cut of meat is. A model with lower internal venting will offer excellent heat dispersion. Another great choice is going for reverse-flow technology smoker where the smoke and heat goes two times the cooking chamber’s length, which ensures all the food is enveloped before getting to the exhaust stack.
Quality Paint Job
Going for a unit with fancy paint may be a wrong choice for smoking, but a quality, high heat painting is an ideal option. The paint should be able to withstand the heat. Thin paint tends to chip off after a while, which leaves you with an exposed metal due to the weather condition will start rusting.
Aside from a rust smoker being ugly, it could result in thinning of the unit’s part; thus, you get a reduced performance due to excellent heat loss.
Thermometer
As with all BBQs and grills, cooking at the right temperature is essential with an offset smoker. While you should (and can) use a meat thermometer to avoid over or undercooking your food, it’s also great to know the temperature inside the smoker. Besides, it’s a handy feature allowing you to know when the smoker has achieved the preferred temperature.
A well-calibrated, built-in temperature gauge with exceptional quality is a must-have element of a smoker.
Handy Rollers
The best smoker is not going to be a lightweight item. You should expect the item to require lots of helping hands to move around. So, if you’ll be moving your smoker around often, then you should opt for models with an excellent set of sturdy wheels to make moving your new beast around the patio a lot easier.
Storage Space
This factor applies to all grills. Good models will offer more storage space even between the legs. Storage space will always need and never be a waste. Some models provide a grate or solid shelf for storing larger items.
Another incredible thing that the best offset smoker should feature is hooks for your cooking utensils. But in my opinion, a front or side shelf is the most important thing. However, I prefer to have space for keeping my spices and sauces, plates, and my favourite beverages.
Conclusion
Overall, you should be able to have a grasp of the essential features to look for in an offset smoker, and have a clear picture of the right unit suitable for your needs. Also, to make the whole decision process painless and quick, we’ve reviewed the top-rated offset smoker on the market. Above all, the choice is yours.
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