Oklahoma Joe advice needed

I got one last year and need to use it more to improve my ability on it. It's not a year-round cooker considering the weather where I live.
I will say that if Academy Sports shipped to Ontario, I would have seriously considered one of their Old Country offsets. I'd suggest your buddy take a look at those before making a final decision. From what I've read here on the forum,they are more solid than the OK Joe Highland.

I cant tell you how many times I have heard, I only want to cook a couple of times a year. It always starts like that, but in the end its a couple of times a month. I will not discourage anyone from buying any smoker to start out with, what I will suggest is you get what you pay for, pay once cry once.

I have one myself, and it's a great cooker for the price point. Keep in mind that it is in fact a stick burner and not a set and forget cooker. I have to add a split or two every 30-45 minutes throughout the entire cook to keep her running strong. That's all part of cookin on an offset and part of the enjoyment of cookin good BBQ IMO. If your friend wants something he can load with coal and not look at for a few hours I would suggest something else like a weber smoky mountain or other drum-type smoker.
Re the okie joe, while some will say you can run them on charcoal (which you can although it will CONSUME it) they really do best with straight wood and good fire management. Good luck!

Edit- I'll als agree with the above reply that an old country pit might be a better option if you can swing a little more on cost and you have a store that carries them nearby. I did not have them available to me so I went with the okie joe... I did however take the time to weld it together upon assembly which made it a lot more of a solid cooker in the end.

J-Rod said:

I have one myself, and it's a great cooker for the price point. Keep in mind that it is in fact a stick burner and not a set and forget cooker. I have to add a split or two every 30-45 minutes throughout the entire cook to keep her running strong. That's all part of cookin on an offset and part of the enjoyment of cookin good BBQ IMO. If your friend wants something he can load with coal and not look at for a few hours I would suggest something else like a weber smoky mountain or other drum-type smoker.
Re the okie joe, while some will say you can run them on charcoal (which you can although it will CONSUME it) they really do best with straight wood and good fire management. Good luck!

Click to expand...

X2. Advise your friend accordingly.

I too had looked at getting an offset like the one above, But after reading some other post on this site I think the Old Country over/under is a superior product for a few dollars more. I think it will be worth your friends time to take a look it.

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/old-country-bbq-pits-over-and-under-smoker

Oklahoma Joe started out as a decent cooker, then Char-Broil bought them out.

I agree that Old Country would be a better choice for entry level smokers.

I have that cooker. Wanted to see if stick burning was for me ,before I invested in a high end offset. Did the recommended mods. Tuning plate, atv sealant around the firebox. Gaskets to seal cooking chamber and fire box doors. I have a 25 degree difference from side to side. Holds temp very well for me. It get good reviews from me for the price. I cook on it very regular. If your price range is three hundred dollars I do recommend it.

It's Decent for a starter pit. Will need tunning plates or convection plate. I'd prefer the Ok Joe Longhorn - it's bigger. I like the Old Country Pecos best.

PM sent.

I am very satisfied with my Oklahoma Joe. I added the tuning plate and sealed the firebox/cooker connection and gasketed the lid. I have about a five or ten degree difference between the two thermometers. I have not had trouble maintaining temp.