I will on Monday be purchasing an offset smoker. Charcoal will be the fuel however I am tossed up on vertical vs horizontal smokers. The main purpose for a vertical smoker would be to hang ribs, chicken etc. Cost would be the same and cooking area is about the same. Is a vertical smoker worth it for hanging meats or are horizontal smokers preferred. Any feedback would be appreciated. I have 2 in both styles picked out.
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To me personally, since I like to add a layer of brown sugar overtop my kinda-spicy rib rub, I don't like hanging ribs, so for me I prefer horizontal to lay my ribs flat. But, hanging them gets you a LOT more capacity so there's that.
There's also the argument that 'heat travels up not sideways' but I find that to not really be a valid talking point since horizontal offsets have worked for decades and will continue to work just fine, the heat still goes up it's just angled.
Lastly I'd just advise you to think about what you'll cook most. Would more horizontal grate space be of benefit, do you fancy yourself cooking a lot of big real estate items like packer briskets that might not fit on the vertical's grates? Or will what you'll cook most often fit on the vertical's grates just fine if you didn't choose to hang?
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Thanks, do you think that the final product is different if the ribs are hung opposed to horizontal in an offset? If there really isn't a difference vertical might not be my choice. -
Whiskeyman53 in a traditional convection-only smoker, no, in my opinion. In a device like a Pit Barrel Cooker or WSM where the hanging meat is dripping on the coals, yes, a huge difference. -
That answers my question of whether or not there would be a noticable difference. I think I'm leaning towards the horizontal.
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One of each! You knew this was coming....
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I have the LSG large insulated cabinet cooker. It comes with 4 nickel plated grates (you can order more). Each will hold 2 pans of food. I cooked 7 racks of ribs flat and didn't fill up 2 of the grates. I can put 1 of the grates in the top slot and hang ribs, or what ever, if I wanted. I have been very happy with the construction and the cooks. With the smaller foot print I vote for vertical. But there is nothing wrong with a horizontal cooker.Comment
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Can you post a link to what you are deciding between? I have a vertical with racks and love it. I also used to love my cheap offsets (after I modified them for leaks). I don’t hang anything in my vertical.Comment
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These are the 3 , if you have other suggestions let me know.
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Of the three I would go with 2. It is the better of the offsets and I think you will be happy with the surface area. I am intrigued by the vertical. Mine is a big old thing that takes a lot of tending. I would not hang things in it, but check the rack length out vs a rack of ribs. If you have to cut a few off, I would go with 2, if you don't, it looks like a toss up to me between 2 and 3.Last edited by tbob4; November 28, 2020, 08:04 PM.
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The main question you have to ask yourself is if you ever want to cook brisket. I got a vertical offset, which I love, but wasn’t cooking brisket at the time - mostly doing pork butts and ribs.
Now I’m a brisket hound, but have to cut them in half to fit in my cook chamber. Hindsight...I would’ve bought a horizontal offset.Comment
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My primary concern with the horizontal is efficiency. My modified COS smoker runs at up to 250 easily, but it still takes a lot of fuel, because of the aforementioned propensity for heat to rise and not go sideways. I ran into trouble Thanksgiving when I had to get the temp over 300 for the turkey. I just about filled the firebox with charcoal and had the firebox vent open, but still couldn't get above 250. I had to open the chimney all the way, and even had to add a 4' long dryer vent to extend the chimney by 4 feet and get more airflow through the cooking chamber. I don't like to cook that way every time, because all the excess airflow through the cooking chamber tends to dry out the meat. I get good results by limiting the airflow to the minimum necessary to get to 225-250 degrees and using a water pan at the top of the opening to the cooking chamber. This consumes about 1/2 - 1 large chimney fire starter of charcoal every 1.5 - 2 hours, depending on weather.
A vertical would be easier to heat and require less fuel in doing so, IMO.
I just looked at your choices linked above and see that #1 has a chimney or smokestack which draws air from the top of the firebox. The problem here is that's where all your hot air will be, at the top, so you don't want to exhaust from there. It's unclear on #2, so you should check. On my COS, I modified the chimney to draw from the very bottom by using a dryer vent. But this slightly reduces your grate area. My COS holds temps within 10-20 degrees from the exhaust side, to 2/3rds of the way to the firebox, which is the entire cooking zone. I also see that the vertical is still offset, but it would still be more efficient and stable than the horizontals. I would still mod the vertical to exhaust air drawing from the bottom.Last edited by Bruceski44; November 29, 2020, 11:30 AM.Comment
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Based on what you seem to be looking for in a smoker, I'm going to suggest looking at the Weber Smokey Mountain 22". It will cost you $439, but it will do everything you describe, and do it better than any of the 3 choices above, imho. I also think it's going to give you many more years of use than any of the above.Comment
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Thanks for the input, I pulled the trigger tonight on a vertical offset that has enough capacity for larger meats like brisket and whole turkey. I almost took advantage of the 25% discount at Dicks for an Oklahoma Joe's Bronco but they would not ship to my store or to my area.Comment
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