So a freak coal flair has caused my 270 to warp and it is dead. I've had it for nearly 3 years and purchased it used so now I'm left with a decision on what is next. I have the chance to pick up a Backwoods G3 Chubby for 900 or I hold money for a bit and get a Old Country Gravity fed smoker or their off-set which are both around 1700 at my local shop. If I go down the route of the G3 it'll have the smallest learning curve and from everything I've been told it will do what I need it to do. but I feel like I need to learn how to do things on an off stack to be a better pit tender.
Welcome your feedback.
The best reason to get an offset is because you enjoy the more intensive cooking process and extra work involved and really prefer the smoke flavor. It doesn’t make you a better pit master as you can deliver world-class brisket on just about anything if you know what you are doing.
The G3 Chubby sounds like a pretty sweet deal and with no learning curve. Hard to pass that up.
Smokin-It 3D
Weber Kettle with an SNS
Masterbuilt kettle that I call the $30 wonder grill
Bullet by Bull Grills gasser
Anova WiFi sous vide machine
Thermoworks Thermapen and Chef Alarm
Hi, welcome to the Pit. Are you thinking of getting an offset cooker because you enjoy the intense cooking process? If not, go with the easier cooker. You won’t get a merit badge for cooking on an offset.
Welcome to The Pit.
The real question for me is do I want to b tied to the cooker for a long cook. For me, the answer is no. I want to set it up and be able to do other things without worrying about checking the cooker every 30 min to an hour. However, some people really enjoy that process, so you need to decide which works better for you.
So I've never cooked with an offset before. My progression was 2012(age 22) cheap gas grill with indirect heat. 2013 vertical gas smoker (180 bucks from walmart). 2016 GMG (catered my own wedding on it). 2017 pit barrel added. 2020 270 cabinet smoker (multiple fundraisers, a wedding, couple dozen parties etc.) The offset is the one I haven't gotten the experience with yet.
I unfortunately have a pretty severe case of IBS (haven't been able to eat pork or beef in 2 years and garlic and onion have been off the list for even longer) in which 95% of my smoking is done for others.
Gear includes: Char-Griller's Grand Champ off set stick burner/smoker, SnS Kamado Deluxe, Weber 22, PBC, Victory gasser, Victory 36 griddle, Smoke Hollow electric smoker. ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk4, Smoke, Signals, and RFX4, Meater+, SNS-500, roti fits 22 n gasser, Emeril countertop TO, InkBird Sous Vide, Potane Vac/Sealer. Fire&Ice griddle/cooler ensemble.
3-pkg of Collapsible Prep Tubs
Junior, Original, Xtra Lg. SS D. Norcross
Complete set (Tx PJ!) Wusthof Knives n block.
Dalstrong:
Phantom Series Paring knife
Shogun SeriesX 6" Chef knife
Gladiator Series 12"Cleaver knife
Just got into charcoal Dec ‘21 (PBC)
fav is brisky. Love Turkey on PBC. also Turkey in the glass,(any nice bourbon)
Bud has always been my barley pop.
Been smoking a handful of years, just got serious in the last two or three years. Thanks to AR n @glemn picked up an SnS Kamado for appx 1/3 price of new. I dont think he used it twice. Love AR! keep calm n smoke on! Miss you Bonesy.
I am fortunate to have won the "Great Giveaway" 2nd place prize in September, the Grand Champ XD by Char-Griller! It is quite a bit more substantial than the lookalike at the big box store. $600 for the Model #8250. If you have access to a nice supply of hardwood, this is the real deal for not a lot more than a gasser or decent pellet. Or even the PBX for that matter. Assembly in appx an hour. With the help of a two wheel dolly, I was able to do everything myself. If you purchase thru AR They get benefits that cost you nothing. Always wanted a stick burner. This is Great! 275lbs
Gear includes: Char-Griller's Grand Champ off set stick burner/smoker, SnS Kamado Deluxe, Weber 22, PBC, Victory gasser, Victory 36 griddle, Smoke Hollow electric smoker. ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk4, Smoke, Signals, and RFX4, Meater+, SNS-500, roti fits 22 n gasser, Emeril countertop TO, InkBird Sous Vide, Potane Vac/Sealer. Fire&Ice griddle/cooler ensemble.
3-pkg of Collapsible Prep Tubs
Junior, Original, Xtra Lg. SS D. Norcross
Complete set (Tx PJ!) Wusthof Knives n block.
Dalstrong:
Phantom Series Paring knife
Shogun SeriesX 6" Chef knife
Gladiator Series 12"Cleaver knife
Just got into charcoal Dec ‘21 (PBC)
fav is brisky. Love Turkey on PBC. also Turkey in the glass,(any nice bourbon)
Bud has always been my barley pop.
Been smoking a handful of years, just got serious in the last two or three years. Thanks to AR n @glemn picked up an SnS Kamado for appx 1/3 price of new. I dont think he used it twice. Love AR! keep calm n smoke on! Miss you Bonesy.
What else do you have in your outdoor cooking arsenal? A kettle? If so, you can smoke on that short term and ponder longer on what you really want to do. If not, tis the time of year for people getting rid of them on FB and CL. Seen a few people post hella deals recently.
If you’re thinking offset, you’re going to want to make sure you have a good spot to store wood and a good source to supply it before buying the cooker. From what I’ve seen on Old Country is you want to see the one you are buying before buying it as the welding quality varies from cooker to cooker.
What else do you have in your outdoor cooking arsenal? A kettle? If so, you can smoke on that short term and ponder longer on what you really want to do. If not, tis the time of year for people getting rid of them on FB and CL. Seen a few people post hella deals recently.
If you’re thinking offset, you’re going to want to make sure you have a good spot to store wood and a good source to supply it before buying the cooker. From what I’ve seen on Old Country is you want to see the one you are buying before buying it as the welding quality varies from cooker to cooker.
I have a napoleon gas grill, A weber kettle grill, a blackstone and a roccbox.
I have had great luck finding custom offsets locally (withing 2-3 hours from the house...I would check FB market Place and search custom grills or Metal Fabricators.....Love a great off-set
About nine years ago I switched to stick burning in an offset smoker and haven’t looked back. Yes, it’s a lot of work and you won’t be able to multitask the way you can with other cookers, but you’ll be rewarded with the pride of building and maintaining a well burning fire, and you’ll eat some of the best barbecue you’ve ever had!
At this point I can’t imagine ever running anything other than a stickburner.
Since everyone here has the expertise and experience I’ll pose a follow on. If it is something like a well used meadow creek pig roaster rc-60 at 900 listed in “Facebook fair” condition worth the chance. Are well used smokers from a higher build quality like meadow creek worth the risk of buying used from proper commercial use?
Charcoal/pellet/ electric smokers are very good, but for me nothing beats the flavor of smoke from burning wood. That being said - cooking with live fire is a dedicated process with unique safety risks. It is the opposite of set it and forget it. Hence the popularity of the other methods. 👍
Have you looked at a KBQ? It is an offset, but also has a temperature controller for the fan. So it operates as a convection oven. Cooks your meat a bit faster, but great smokey flavor. a tad more than $1700 though.
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