Seasoning Oklahoma Joe's Highland Reverse Flow Smoker

[RiversideSm0ker]

For the lid there are two pre tapped mounting nipples. I tossed the gauge that came with mine because it clouded up with moisture after the first rain. I replaced that and installed a second one on the right that were matching. Again from Amazon. They have the color coding that makes it very easy to tell where you are at. From experience I know that the lid mounted temp gauges are about 25-30 degrees hotter than the grate. If I wanted to I could just use the lid mounts as a guide but subtracting the difference. They are very accurate.


They look just like these. I don't recall if this was the brand I bought but if they aren't then they are near doppelgangers.

George

 

[atomicsmoke]

Wasi has another set of therms mounted on the lid at grate level. I was curious how those were installed as there are no factory mounts there.

 

[atomicsmoke]

Xray,

How does the smoker work in winter time?

 

[atomicsmoke]

Atomic, I have to say that for now I have just ignored the paint peeling issue. The only areas that peeled for me were the areas that I did not get oil on before I did my first seasoning burn. It was the bottom of the firebox and the lower side of the firebox under the cooking chamber. It was just me being a bit lazy when I first applied the oil to the outside. The inside is perfect. No problems at all for me on the internal part. I am going to do a full cleanup of my smoker soon and then reseason it. I will just get some of that high temp paint and touch those affected areas up before I fire it up again. Of course, I will let the paint set and then do an actual rub down with WD40 on the outside I believe. My friend from work with the same unit has had no trouble at all with the finish on his and he rubbed down the exterior with WD40 before his first seasoning. So I figure it's worth a try. Once that paint is really bonded to the metal through that seasoning process I hear it is pretty tough to get off. Hope that helps.

George

Wd40 won't give off some foul smell when "cooked"?

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

You only apply it to the outside. Once it's cured I am told the smell is insignificant. Apparently, some of the big boy brands of smokers that go for $1K plus also recommend WD40 for the outside. I'm guessing it's OK. I just wont get any of it inside of the cooking chamber or firebox.

George

 

[atomicsmoke]

Thanks George. I better bookmark this thread. Lots of good info.

Do you smoke with wood or charcoal only? I am wondering how the firebox handles all wood fire.

 

[atomicsmoke]

Charbroil took some aftermarkets mods (plates and basket) incorporated them into their process and launched a new product (charging more than the base model). Great business model - why spend on R&D when the users do it for you.

Others should take note.

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

If I had a good source of free wood I certainly would give it a try but I live in the concrete jungle of So Cal. I use Embers charcoal on the advice of Ray here at the forum and then I use wood chunks from the far away jungle of Walmart lol. I use pecan chunks mostly but I will mix in cherry or hickory and sometimes mesquite. I find that charcoal is very consistent. Especially this Embers stuff which is a Royal Oak rebrand for Home Depot. It's the same as the Royal Oak Ridge and is a few cents less that $5 a bag. I can do a six to seven hour cook on one bag of this charcoal when it's warm out. About another half bag when it is cold. We are talking So Cal cold not the frozen tundra of Minnesota. I can't speak for how it holds up in a very cold environment. Down to about 40 or so it does pretty well. By all accounts a pure wood fire is ideal and there are a ton of YouTube videos of guys cooking on an OKJ with all wood fires. You should do great if you have a good wood source. You just have to make sure that it's hardwood. No pine or soft wood that will be too acrid.

George

 

[Wasi]

I just a 7/8" drill bit and made the whole 7" from the end and 3" up from the bottom.

 

[Wasi]

xray,

The legs get places in and tightened by a bolt but there is no hole so I can adjust it if I really wanted to. Not sure that I will.

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

Charbroil took some aftermarkets mods (plates and basket) incorporated them into their process and launched a new product (charging more than the base model). Great business model - why spend on R&D when the users do it for you.

Others should take note.

Do you mean the reverse flow model? I know that it has the charcoal basket and all of the baffle plates to force the reverse flow. I looked into buying those plates for my OKJ before I actually had a chance to use it the first time. I guess that model does incorporate some unique lip for the plates to work with to keep them from working in a normal model OKJ without alteration. My thought at the time though was to just see what I had to work with before sinking a bunch of money into things that might not be needed. In my case, they have not been needed.

George

 

[atomicsmoke]

Do you mean the reverse flow model? I know that it has the charcoal basket and all of the baffle plates to force the reverse flow. I looked into buying those plates for my OKJ before I actually had a chance to use it the first time. I guess that model does incorporate some unique lip for the plates to work with to keep them from working in a normal model OKJ without alteration. My thought at the time though was to just see what I had to work with before sinking a bunch of money into things that might not be needed. In my case, they have not been needed.

George

Yes.

Needed or not is interesting how these after market mods were picked up by the manufacturer.

 

[Wasi]

That was the main reason I bought it. Most of the extra mods to make the regular one work better were included. Plus I caught it in sale at farm and fleet for $279.

 

[atomicsmoke]

Good score Wasi.

 

[Wasi]

Well I was finally able to season the smoker today and I had a few spots where smoked leaked that I am going to try and fix but like a lot of other users paint came off the bottom of the fire box so it looks like I need to get some automotive header paint and touch that up. Still going to smoke some ribs tomorrow and will post pics of the finished product.

 

[Jamie L]

Nice looking smoker.

You will be fine. Especially since you washed with soap and water. Go ahead and season it before you start your first fire.

When I seasoned mine, i just wiped away whatever oil I could and then seasoned.

 

[Jamie L]

Im new at this and probably posting wrong, but I just bought a Oklahoma Joe’s Longhorn. My question is, when seasoning, do I wipe down and season the gas side , too or just the charcoal side?

 

[phatbac]

Congrats on the new smoker! To protect the paint on the new smoker on the firebox may i suggest using some mineral oil or something that i have recently discovered works well for the inside of the CC for seasoning or general greasing before cooking and the outside of the FB... Crisco grilling spray. Spray on the outside of the FB all around and when you fire it up it will bond to the paint and prevent the peeling.

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[Jamie L]

Congrats on the new smoker! To protect the paint on the new smoker on the firebox may i suggest using some mineral oil or something that i have recently discovered works well for the inside of the CC for seasoning or general greasing before cooking and the outside of the FB... Crisco grilling spray. Spray on the outside of the FB all around and when you fire it up it will bond to the paint and prevent the peeling.

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

Do I need to season the gas burner side the same way, inside and out?

 

[atomicsmoke]

Wasi

How is the RF smoker performing? Temps even? Do you like the RF plates? Aren't they mounted a little too high?