Looking for a smoker

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Ajvigs

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 19, 2020
2
0
New member here, and I’m currently looking to upgrade my smoke rig. I’ve been using a Weber classic to smoke occasionally for the past 2 years or so, and I can make a pretty good butt on it.

I was at the local Lowe’s today and saw two smokers that caught my eye:
Oklahoma Joe Bronco
Oklahoma Joe Highland

They both fit my budget (around $300); just unsure which one would work better for smoking/how they compare to one another.
 
The highland would seem to be better for smoking. The offset firebox allows burning wood. I don't know it you can burn whole logs in a barrel smoker. It looks like it is set up for charcoal. Also, if the fire goes out or you run low on fuel, you have to take the food out to add more. Not so on the highland.
 
Don’t forget to checkout FB or Craigslist..

I just found this on FB Marketplace for half the price of new and its barely over a year old.

Now it does need a little bit of touching up, esp the firebox, but overall it’s in great shape and it was only an hour away.
 

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Also, if you want to go new, check out Tractor Supply Co., they have more options and seemed nicer about certain things. Also, the price was a little cheaper on what I was looking at, so that helps, haha.

Good luck! Any questions, don’t hesitate to ask, I know there are loads of people with almost every option out there(and in here).
 
The highland would seem to be better for smoking. The offset firebox allows burning wood. I don't know it you can burn whole logs in a barrel smoker. It looks like it is set up for charcoal. Also, if the fire goes out or you run low on fuel, you have to take the food out to add more. Not so on the highland.

That's right. You technically could burn logs in the Bronco, but that isn't practical. I picked one up for <$200 last year and have been enjoying it. I use it mainly for chicken - thighs, spatchcocked and hanging halves, beef short ribs, and pork loin. It's a bit small for STL ribs - you need to cut off a rib or two if you're going to hang them and you can't fit too many on a 18" grate. I haven't done any all day-cooks but I've seen folks get 12 hours one a single load so you probably can cook just about anything without having to refill charcoal. The shorts ribs I've done took about 9 hours and I still had fuel left. It's pretty heavy, which has advantages and disadvantages. All in all a good cooker but, if it's going to be your only cooker, you can't beat a WSM.
 
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New member here, and I’m currently looking to upgrade my smoke rig. I’ve been using a Weber classic to smoke occasionally for the past 2 years or so, and I can make a pretty good butt on it.

I was at the local Lowe’s today and saw two smokers that caught my eye:
Oklahoma Joe Bronco
Oklahoma Joe Highland

They both fit my budget (around $300); just unsure which one would work better for smoking/how they compare to one another.

I found a Weber 18" Smokey Mountain Smoker on Facebook Marketplace for $90.

Look on there and on craigslist. I've seen them as low as $50 (Olathe, KS) the other day.

I LOOOOOOVE MINE. The temp holds very nice on it's own with little to no manipulation needed. Very impressed.

So add me as a +3 or +4 for the WSM Smoker
 
I have the Bronco and it is a solid unit and holds temps easy. So much so I sold my Highland. Not that there’s anything wrong with the Highland, but found I can get similar results with the Bronco without babysitting the pit. Both are decent units for being mass produced.
I added a second grate to double the capacity on the Bronco.
 
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Thanks for all the replies so far. I was about to jump on a WSM until I made the mistake of walking in to Walmart tonight and right there at the door was an Oklahoma Joe Bronco display model for $184.

It’s now in my garage and will be getting it’s first smoke either tomorrow or Monday.
 
Congrats on the new smoker be sure to post up some qview (pics) of those smokes in it
 
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