Better Food from Offset Smoker?

[Count Porcula]

I saw a guy claiming his old offset made better food than a Smokin-It. I used to use a home-built smoker with an external fire box, which is basically like an offset, only better. Now I have a Smokin-It. Far as I can tell, the food that comes out of the Smokin-It is as good or better.

Is there any reason why an offset would make better food?

 

[BigW.]

Lot of different tools to get a tasty result. I could also see a larger margin of error for an off set. If you have a bad fire and bad smoke could be a disaster. My pellet smoker does an decent job and really like my kettle for most things.

 

[Count Porcula]

I found some websites that said wood-powered or charcoal-powered smokers made better food, but they all belonged to companies that sold old-fashioned smokers.

 

[bill1]

Is there any reason why an offset would make better food?

A whole lot of experience with one?

it's also true that a lot of offsets get bought and soon fall into disuse.
If you bought a quality vertical like a Smokin'-IT and you're getting good food from it, I'd say you're in great shape.

 

[pineywoods]

OK I'll say it first in my opinion
Best food-- smoker burning real wood splits being run correctly
Then it would be WSM's and those like them
Then pellet poopers they just don't get enough smoke unless adding additional smoke
Then electric smoker MES type

All smokers will produce good food if run correctly and all will produce sub par if not run correctly

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Kinda depends on each persons taste. I do prefer the flavor from a stick burner, but everyone is different. A lot of things come into play. For me I just don’t have the time to tend to a stick burner all day with kids running all over so I settle for my Weber happy median between flavor and ease of use.

 

[dr k]

The more smoke you make smoldering wood the more creosote even when it ultimately burns to ash. The hotter you burn wood the less smoke and you burn up creosote that has those favorable organic aromatic Phenols. Syringols and alcohols that have a more complex smell and taste on the food. It's like a wood burning fireplace/stove that needs clean burning hardwoods to get the chimney up to 500+ to keep down creosote build up since creosote still condenses at 250°. I also have had an offset but it rusted out and now I wouldn't get one to babysit it for the little amount of food cooked anymore. Making a fire with a little charcoal or lump and throwing chunks and small splits in a grill to burn and char the wood and have coals to shovel into the fire box of an offset would be my favorite flavor since you need much more fuel to get the heat with the horizontal chamber to get down to your food at the temp you want but a pellet maze with my Mes in the mailbox mod is just fine to me.

 

[old sarge]

If there is a difference in taste, you won't notice after the first couple of smokes. Some people still believe the smoke ring adds flavor!

 

[LOW_IN_SLO]

You're going to get a better cold smoke on the Smokin-it if your recipes include precise temperature(s) over a given time. Think fine sausages and European cold cuts. But I would put my money on a proven offset smoker in a Texas bbq cook off. That special seasoned plate steel holds a lot magic flavor.

 

[mike243]

I can get more smoke out of my MB electric than any pellet smoker if ran it how the instructions state. love all my cooking tools and have yet to have bad food, some times the smokes just right lol

 

[Smokin Okie]

I bought my first WSM in 2002. Was very content with the barbecue I was making for about 15 years. But was inspired to try an offset and found a used Old Country Brazos. My first cook on the Brazos was pork butt and my first taste of that meat told me this was something different. And I liked the difference. I've not looked back.

 

[LOW_IN_SLO]

I bought my first WSM in 2002. Was very content with the barbecue I was making for about 15 years. But was inspired to try an offset and found a used Old Country Brazos. My first cook on the Brazos was pork butt and my first taste of that meat told me this was something different. And I liked the difference. I've not looked back.

Similar story for me... Used a WSM and Kamado style for years until a guy posted a Texas Smokemaster offset made from 1/4" plate in perfect condition. Hard to use anything else.

 

[chp]

I also like the flavor from burning wood. I enjoy tending a fire and I’m learning all the time how tending that fire leads to the best flavor. Too many variables to know exactly why, but maybe that’s why I prefer my offset.

 

[Displaced Texan]

I'm guessing the best barbecue restaurants use offset smokers and for very good reason.

 

[Smokin Okie]

I'm guessing the best barbecue restaurants use offset smokers and for very good reason.

Maybe in Texas, but there's a lot of good barbecue that's not Texas centric that's smoked on variety of smokers.

Depends entirely on individual tastes.

Here in OKC, we have a couple of places who do central Texas style on large offsets, one uses a 1K propane tank smoker built by Primitive Pits. Both are very good.

But we also have a restaurant with the menu designed by Travis Clark, whose won all the big comps, i.e. Jack Daniels, American Royal, and dominates on regional KCBS comps. They use a mix of smokers, they have Camelback offsets but also, what I believe, is a JR oyler Roti. Its very good.

And there's Butcher BBQ stand, operated by Dave Bouska's son. Dave was on BBQ Pitmasters two or three seasons, he's been very successful in comps, he's had a good seasoning business. They cook on Cookshack commercial pellet smokers. Its very good.

I lean to the central Texas joint because its closest to me. But not easy decision. While the Texas style brisket is the best, there's other meats on the menus.

 

[zwiller]

Great responses. My take is it's the person manning the pit more than the smoker. Guy with a lowly MES running TBS will best a guy that doesn't have his offset dialed in. From here, injections rubs etc have more of a profound impact on the finished product than smoker type IMO.

 

[Count Porcula]

I like my Smokin-It, but sometimes crud slides over the hole in the bottom while it's in use.

I have been thinking about opening that hole up slightly so the wood always gets a little oxygen and the smoke stays as thin as possible. Good idea, or misguided?

 

[jcam222]

I have had an MES40 electric, Bradley electric and Traeger pellet grill. I currently own a Vision Kamado, 270 Charcoal Cabinet and Lang 85D. I will say for my taste none of them stack up to the Lang stick burner. They put out good q just not as good for my taste. That said I have to admit my buddies meat out of his MB Gravity feed using a mix of lump B&B and wood chunks in the hopper are darn meant impossible to tell from stick burner results. I may add one of those to use for smaller hands off cooks.

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

Electric smokers are more prone to smoldering fires. They also often suffer from poor convection. That said, I'd love to have a Smoking-It smoker in my arsenal for processing sausage and bacon where you really want to dial in those low temps. They look like really nice units.

 

[daspyknows]

Great responses. My take is it's the person manning the pit more than the smoker. Guy with a lowly MES running TBS will best a guy that doesn't have his offset dialed in. From here, injections rubs etc have more of a profound impact on the finished product than smoker type IMO.

This is true with many endeavors. Better tools produce a better end product all other things being equal, but if someone can't use the tools then they really don't matter. If the expensive tools are there for show and rarely used, the person who has lesser tools but uses them often will produce a better end-product. Something about practice and experience.

For me, cooking on an offset with different kinds of wood gives me the smoke flavor I like and using rubs, injections and other techniques is what makes the bbq I enjoy eating and sharing.