Monte1076 Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I've got my eye on a couple of horizontal smokers (firebox on the side). Since this will be my first smoker, and I won't be using it often, I'm not looking to spend a ton of money. I've been thinking about a reverse flow smoker. I've heard they're easier to use. I'm also considering using the "minion method" (I've heard it can be used with side fireboxes). Any thoughts? I'm probably going to only be using it occasionally (probably 3 or 4 times a year) for chicken, ribs, and maybe a small brisket. Opinions regarding this topic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnjoyLife Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I know it is cheating...but a couple years ago I bought an electric smoker that uses wood chips. Good results and really easy to use. No more tending the fire hour after hour. I would not go back to an old school smoker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 3 hours ago, EnjoyLife said: I know it is cheating...but a couple years ago I bought an electric smoker that uses wood chips. Good results and really easy to use. No more tending the fire hour after hour. I would not go back to an old school smoker. That's supposed to be one of the things about the "minion" method. It's supposed to hold temp for a LONG time (several hours). I don't know if I'd want an electric smoker. But I'll take it into consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I bought an Oklahoma Joe with the offset firebox on the end from Lowe's a couple of years ago. I also bought a turkey fryer from Academy for $39 and took the propane burner out of it and installed it in the firebox on the end of the OJ. I use both big wood chunks in a cast iron firebox that sits on top of the burner. It's the best of both worlds. I can open the end of the firebox and take the burner out and use straight wood or do a combination of wood and gas. The best thing is I can regulate the temperature just like an oven for long periods of time, even overnight which is great for boston butts or briskets ... I get plenty of smoke and it's cheaper than wood/charcoal ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 An Oklahoma Joe's offset is one I'm actually looking at. As I said, there's only 3 people in my family, and we really don't entertain, so I don't need a HUGE smoker. That, and I won't really be using it that often. I will probably just be using it for small briskets, chicken, ribs, and maybe some rack of lamb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnjoyLife Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 14 hours ago, KirtFalcon said: I bought an Oklahoma Joe with the offset firebox on the end from Lowe's a couple of years ago. I also bought a turkey fryer from Academy for $39 and took the propane burner out of it and installed it in the firebox on the end of the OJ. I use both big wood chunks in a cast iron firebox that sits on top of the burner. It's the best of both worlds. I can open the end of the firebox and take the burner out and use straight wood or do a combination of wood and gas. The best thing is I can regulate the temperature just like an oven for long periods of time, even overnight which is great for boston butts or briskets ... I get plenty of smoke and it's cheaper than wood/charcoal ... Thats a good idea. I saw a guy on tv that had built a smokehouse in his backyard and put wood chunks in a dutch oven and set it on top of a propane burner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 7 hours ago, EnjoyLife said: Thats a good idea. I saw a guy on tv that had built a smokehouse in his backyard and put wood chunks in a dutch oven and set it on top of a propane burner. When we build our new house, I had a propane line run to my fireplace and also to the back of the house on the patio. I have my smoker hooked up to my 300 gallon propane tank so I don't have to worry about changing out propane bottles ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 (edited) 10 hours ago, Monte1076 said: An Oklahoma Joe's offset is one I'm actually looking at. As I said, there's only 3 people in my family, and we really don't entertain, so I don't need a HUGE smoker. That, and I won't really be using it that often. I will probably just be using it for small briskets, chicken, ribs, and maybe some rack of lamb. My favorite thing to smoke are "Tyson" small boneless pork shoulders wrapped in netting ... they are about 3.5 to 4.5 lbs. I get them from Wally World or at the commissary at Barksdale AFB. All I do is sprinkle some Morton's Nature's Seasons on them and put them on the smoker. I smoke them at about 250-275 degrees for about 3 hours then I wrap them in foil and smoke them for about another 4-5 hours ... They always turn out great super tender with a great bark smoke ring and are as good or better than any BBQ you can buy ... I use red oak to smoke them. I can make samiches for week. My wife is not much of a meat eater, but she really likes smoked pork ... Edited March 14, 2018 by KirtFalcon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EasTexHorn Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 I know it is sacrilege to true barbecue aficionados, but I bought an all stainless steel electric smoker from smokin-it.com several years ago. The thing is basically a knock-off of Cookshack smokers which is the top of the line of electric smokers. The Smokin-it units are about half the price of Cookshack. It is built like a tank and gives you a great smoke flavor. In fact you have to be careful not to put in too many wood chunks, or you can leave your meat tasting bitter from too much smoke. Large cuts of meat just need two chunks of wood, and smaller cuts only need one. Being an electric smoker, it does not require much air flow, so the meat will not dry out. Because of this, you don't ever really have to wrap the meat in foil. It is so much less work than a traditional offset smoker. You just plug it in, drop your chunks of wood in the firebox, set the thermostat, and forget it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 (edited) I still have a Brinkman electric smoker I used for years. I filled the bottom under the heating element with lava rocks and had a fire pan on top for wood chunks. it worked great for smoking whole chickens coated in rotisserie seasoning and ribs ... you are right, set it and forget it ... I could have a great smoked chicken in about 2 1/2 hours falling off the bone tender ... I never tried a turkey, but I'll bet it would turn out good ... Edited March 14, 2018 by KirtFalcon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 I wish they still sold those first generation gas grills with the lava rocks over the burners. They were 1,000 times better than those new stainless steel grills ... you might as well cook indoors on the stove/oven as use one of them ... they are terrible .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topher805 Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 I've been looking at either getting one of those Green Eggs or a Treager. I have been afraid of an electric smoker, but maybe I'll give it a deeper look. I'll also look at Oklahoma Joes. I had a cheapo Master Forge that is rusted out after 4 years. Definitely need to upgrade soon, as we grill a lot and I want to start smoking things too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 2 hours ago, topher805 said: I've been loiting at either getting one of those Greinn Eggs or a Treager. I have been afraid of an electric smoker, but maybe I'll give it a deeper look. I'll also look at Oklahoma Joes. I had a cheapo Master Forge that is rusted out after 4 years. Definitely need to upgrade soon, as we grill a lot and I want to start smoking things too. In my opinIon, the Big Green Eggs are way over rated and over priced. Very small cooking area. My brother In law has one, he loves It. My oldest son has a Treager and liked It . I think they are over priced too. For the money, you can't beat an Oklahoma Joe .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CENTEXFAN Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 I just read the title of this thread and thought this turned into a dating website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 On 3/12/2018 at 4:24 PM, Monte1076 said: I've got my eye on a couple of horizontal smokers (firebox on the side). Since this will be my first smoker, and I won't be using it often, I'm not looking to spend a ton of money. I've been thinking about a reverse flow smoker. I've heard they're easier to use. I'm also considering using the "minion method" (I've heard it can be used with side fireboxes). Any thoughts? I'm probably going to only be using it occasionally (probably 3 or 4 times a year) for chicken, ribs, and maybe a small brisket. Opinions regarding this topic? The biggest problem with the "minion method" that I have seen is it doesn't create enough heat to get to the 250-275 temp range unless you have a really small smoker ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted March 21, 2018 Author Share Posted March 21, 2018 29 minutes ago, KirtFalcon said: The biggest problem with the "minion method" that I have seen is it doesn't create enough heat to get to the 250-275 temp range unless you have a really small smoker ... The one I am considering is the Oklahoma Joe's Highland Reverse Flow. The smoke chamber is 619 square inches (a little larger than 30 x 20). The "firebox" is 281 square inches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 4 hours ago, Monte1076 said: The one I am considering is the Oklahoma Joe's Highland Reverse Flow. The smoke chamber is 619 square inches (a little larger than 30 x 20). The "firebox" is 281 square inches. My Oklahoma Joe is 40"x 20" and the firebox is 18" x 20" .... It may work for you, but I had a hard time keeping mine above 200 degrees when I tried the "minion method" .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted March 21, 2018 Author Share Posted March 21, 2018 17 minutes ago, KirtFalcon said: My Oklahoma Joe is 40"x 20" and the firebox is 18" x 20" .... It may work for you, but I had a hard time keeping mine above 200 degrees when I tried the "minion method" .... Thanks. I'll keep that in mind, Kirt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 If you are in the market for a smoker, there’s an old gal three houses up the street from me that smokes about 4 packs a day....😜👌 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 On 3/21/2018 at 7:46 PM, CarthDawg77 said: If you are in the market for a smoker, there’s an old gal three houses up the street from me that smokes about 4 packs a day....😜👌 Ha ha ha ha ha!! Not that kind of smoker... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 Well, there’s an old gal up the street from me that sits out in her yard & probably smokes three or four cartons of butts every day; I think she’s Single too!🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topher805 Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 On 3/18/2018 at 3:06 PM, KirtFalcon said: In my opinIon, the Big Green Eggs are way over rated and over priced. Very small cooking area. My brother In law has one, he loves It. My oldest son has a Treager and liked It . I think they are over priced too. For the money, you can't beat an Oklahoma Joe .... I ended up getting the Char-Griller version of the Egg, called an Acorn. Waaaaay cheaper and works really well. Cooking area isn't huge, but works for me. I was able to smoke three whole chickens standing and that was about all it would hold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 1 minute ago, topher805 said: I ended up getting the Char-Griller version of the Egg, called an Acorn. Waaaaay cheaper and works really well. Cooking area isn't huge, but works for me. I was able to smoke three whole chickens standing and that was about all it would hold. I love smoked chicken, I usually do them in my electric Brinkman smoker with wood chips in the pan ... it's about the most fool proof, set it and forget it way to do a chicken I know ... I have heard the Acorn grills were just as good as the Eggs for a fraction of the cost ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topher805 Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 1 hour ago, KirtFalcon said: I love smoked chicken, I usually do them in my electric Brinkman smoker with wood chips in the pan ... it's about the most fool proof, set it and forget it way to do a chicken I know ... I have heard the Acorn grills were just as good as the Eggs for a fraction of the cost ... So far so good on mine. Just $325 for what would have cost $1,000 if I went with Egg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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