Do I want an offset?

Offsets are a lot of work with a big learning curve. They require much more attention than most smokers. With that being said I still love them. I love how food smoked on offsets taste when I'm successful at it.

Stick burners are alot of work, think if u go with a minion method on an offset the work could be reduced alot.

$699

I only have a cheapo offset but love cooking on it and the food. The Shirley's are soo much better, I'd almost move to bama!

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182649

$599

Ive been cooking on offsets forever so I don't find them a pain but I also have always cooked on big offsets which really doesn't require a lot of attention once you get the coal bed established. I can generally get by with adding a stick once and hour or so. The challenge with offsets comes from smaller cheaper offsets made out of thinner materials with small fireboxes. Fire management in general is just more difficult on them. Under the $1500 range, You can get a Lang 36 but that wouldn't include the deliver fee which is around $500 I think. Ive heard they are great little smokers though and that they are fairly idiot proof to run after a few cooks.

Old Country Brazos $999

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/old-country-bbq-pits-all-american-brazos-smoker#repChildCatid=650566

Old Country Pecos $399

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=204003

Like most others hear I'll tell ya that an offset does need a lot of attention, but I love the quality of the food that comes off it. I would do it right the first time and get a good quality pit. Something that's made from 1/4" steel. Yoder, Lang, Shirley, etc. Look on Craigslist and ya might get lucky, that's how I got my Lang 84 deluxe. Happy hunting!

i have 5 offsets. A double lang 84, A klose backyard Chef, My Old Bandera, and an old Silver Smoker and a Huge Shirley..

the double langs and the backyard chef, once up to temps need a stick every 45 minutes to an hour, if your ok with larger swings in the heat, you can go to 2 sticks every 90-120 minutes, but you will spike the temps buy about 50-75 degrees. the cheaper offsets use smaller sticks., but need to be fed more often.. the big shirley gets fed every 75 minutes.

Temps in offsets are controlled more by fire size than draft.. Smaller cleaner burning fires with open draft is what i shoot for. Making the fires too big, and then dampering down causes the fires to choke out and you risk some bitter smoke..

with all this being said, I love the offsets.. you get to learn fire control, smoke control, pit characteristics, controlling draft, when to keep heat in, when to dump it, spike the pit to get thru a stall, then level out to finish.. cooking on and offset, on a summer day while your fiddling around in the yard is a therapy cook.. the smell of the wood, and the rub and the meats while your mowing the lawn or vacuming the pool is therapy... and it makes the neighbors drool.

An untuned horizontal offset will give you a versatile pit with heat zones across the length of the chamber. These zones, once understood, allow you to cook different meats at differnt temps. A reverse flow offset, or a tuned horizontal will give you a more even, left to right chamber temps. I always enjoyed the science involved, learning the pits characteristics, draft control, damper effects, etc.. .. etc.. and IMHO, there is nothing that can beat the depth of flavor imparted by an all wood cook.. Ive done many side by side comparisons with lots of guinea pigs(aka, friends and families) comparing the stick burners to the pellet cookers and the bullets and the stickburners won 100% of the time.

dont let them spook you.. yes there is a learnign curve, but thats what BBQ is all about.. its a craft.. learn the craft, have fun.. and reap the rewards by sitting at a table of awesome bbq, a few beers, family, friends and dirty napkins.

Like you... Got an Akorn for lots of my grilling cooks, have a UDS that I love for my powercooks on quick porkbutts, ribs and briskest but have carved out this need for a stickburner. I looked at everything, talked to great folks here and talked to the top offset builders. Talked to Texas Pitmasters, competitors and it was an easy choice for me.

Decided to go with a pipe smoker with Dave Klose. Take a look at his pipe smokers and backyard chefs. Call him.... He TAKES YOUR CALL. Great experience and walks you through everything. If I can help in any way PM me

If it helps, I went through the exact thought process that you are going through. Had a Steel Keg, and wanted more 1. Cooking area 2. More authentic smoke flavour 3. Different style of cooking.

First step was to a pellet smoker. Hated it. 1. Tried a variety of pellets and just didn't get much of a bbq flavour tasted too much like oven cooked meat. 2. Had some reliability issues with my unit. Sold it as quick as I could!

2nd step - Yoder offset (wichita) - Love it. There is a learning curve. This is a bonus not a negative. Its great fun to cook on and the food is delicious with a very different and improved flavour profile to the Keg.

All good info given. But you will have to decide if tending the smoker like mentioned is for you. I really enjoy my offset. But in the cold winter I stick to using coal/wood in my cookers. You also need to see if your set up for storing wood, splitting to the size you need, making kindling. Which is all part of using a stick burner. Depending on the wood you get, you might need to get a log splitter. Seasoned wood splits quite easily. Non seasoned like apple can be a bugger! I have some I had to give away as my 10 ton splitter wouldn't touch it. And a maul just bounces off.
Just some other things to think about.

I love tending the fire on my offset.

the food that comes off of it is unmatched imo.

I have a UDS for days when I don't have time to tend to a fire, but if I am home I am using the offset. once you get fire management down, its pretty simple to control. just throw a stick on every 45 minutes to an hour.

you will need a ready supply of wood for sure. if you don't have access or the capability to cut the wood yourself try and find a landscaper that splits wood. he would gladly give you his small splits and knots that he cant sell anyways for a couple racks of ribs every now and then. and then once he gets hook on the que he will be searching out different harder to find woods for you to burn

I have a bunch of different smokers...Akorn, Yoder Pellet, Cabinet, Insulated Cabinet, Drum, Offset...etc

I would say the all around smoker the insulated cabinet is the best of everything. A nice moist cook, great flavor and something I dont have to babysit every 30-45 min.

That being said, something about cooking on the offset stick burner is fun and packs a taste that is tough to match. If you have the time, the wood, patience and realize there is a learning curve and not all cooks are the same you are good.

Find one from a reputable builder and IMO reverse flow will give you the hassle free even temps. Look up a good wood source local to you and weigh the costs. Not all smokers will consume the same amount of wood. I pay around $150-200 per cord of wood, I buy 1/2 at a time. A good saw, splitting mall and axe are handy to have around as well.

Awesome Post Chef 33

My favorite cooker is my stickburner - I love when I have time to fiddle with the fire and the flavor can't be beat. I don't always have that kind of time - not often enough, in fact. On busier days I'll use verticals or a kettle - but if I had my 'druthers, I'd cook on an offset all the time.

And yeah - fantastic post Poobah!:clap2: