Hi folks...I'm a newbie to the site and a newbie to smoking anything besides tobacco. Growing up Dad always had the charcoal grill going, and as an adult, being a true red blooded, testosterone filled American male I always have had a grill...but between a busy life with a bit of lazainess thrown in I've always had a gas grill.
Well, my last grill died, and since retiring my life isn't as busy (though I am still lazy) and the wife nixed another gas grill, wanting charcoal. I started looking around and charcoal grills were either cheap sheet metal garbage or too expensive for someone on Social Security. The same was true of smokers I found. A grand and up is outside of my budget.
And then I saw it. I was in the garden center at my local Walmart (yes, Walmart...hush up) and there, beside the cheapo Char-Broill that would rust out in about three days (IF I kept it covered) was a thing of beauty...An Oklahoma Joe Highland for just a tad over $250.00. It's not quarter inch steel but its not sheet metal either.
I know, I know...Its not a Yoder or a Lang, but you know what else its not? A thousand bucks and up, that's what. I did a few tweaks and its now doing a good job, and even with the tweaks I've still spent under $375.00 (people actually spend $50.00-75.00 on a coal basket and $90.00+ for a tuning plate? Why? I made both for under $25.00 in steel and a couple hours easy work.)
Anyway, I've got it smokin' right along and now here I am, hoping to learn to turn out some Good Eats with it.
***note*** One disappointment with the paid version of the site so far. Meathead, if you are reading this, one of your selling points on the free side to encourage people to join is a promise that this (paid) side is ad free, so I join and what is the first thing I see? A right hand sidebar jammed with ads, with an ad for your book right up at the top. The misrepresentation is disappointing.
Well, my last grill died, and since retiring my life isn't as busy (though I am still lazy) and the wife nixed another gas grill, wanting charcoal. I started looking around and charcoal grills were either cheap sheet metal garbage or too expensive for someone on Social Security. The same was true of smokers I found. A grand and up is outside of my budget.
And then I saw it. I was in the garden center at my local Walmart (yes, Walmart...hush up) and there, beside the cheapo Char-Broill that would rust out in about three days (IF I kept it covered) was a thing of beauty...An Oklahoma Joe Highland for just a tad over $250.00. It's not quarter inch steel but its not sheet metal either.
I know, I know...Its not a Yoder or a Lang, but you know what else its not? A thousand bucks and up, that's what. I did a few tweaks and its now doing a good job, and even with the tweaks I've still spent under $375.00 (people actually spend $50.00-75.00 on a coal basket and $90.00+ for a tuning plate? Why? I made both for under $25.00 in steel and a couple hours easy work.)
Anyway, I've got it smokin' right along and now here I am, hoping to learn to turn out some Good Eats with it.
***note*** One disappointment with the paid version of the site so far. Meathead, if you are reading this, one of your selling points on the free side to encourage people to join is a promise that this (paid) side is ad free, so I join and what is the first thing I see? A right hand sidebar jammed with ads, with an ad for your book right up at the top. The misrepresentation is disappointing.
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