The Bar-B-Chef offset smoker is probably the best offset smoker available out there in anything like its price range. True, you could blow a lot of money on a Pitts & Spits or something, but this thing costs less than $500, and is
well-built.

There is actually a new model in the BBQ Galore stores now with the standard modifications built in from the factory. For people who are new to barbecue and offset cookers, there is a document out there written by "Dan", on how he modified his New Braunfels Hondo to cook more consistently. You can get the document at http://www.homebbq.com/library/SmokerModifications.pdf. For years, the first thing you'd do when you bought an offset was to run through Dan's modifications, mainly paying attention to the three most important steps:
(1) lower the chimney so it draws from the meat grate level
(2) put a baffle between the firebox and the meat chamber
(3) lower the thermometer so it reads at the meat level.
Apparently Bar-B-Chef found Dan's modifications, and supposedly he actually acted as an advisor to them for the new grill! I've looked over the new model, and it certainly has all three improvements.

Having said all that, the classic model is still an excellent cooker, but the three improvements above really do make a huge difference.

When you first buy this thing, you notice immediately how heavy it is. This thing is a beast! Now, understand that this alone makes it a better choice than anything you can buy in Lowe's, KMart, WalMart, or Home Depot. The metal on those offsets is too thin: these grills are designed to cook for long periods of time at low temperatures. Wind, rain, even ambient heat can all affect your cooking; but the thinner grills shield the food less from those effects. The heavier construction on this grill alone makes it worth the extra you pay to get this one, just for temperature control alone.

The second thing you notice when you assemble this thing is, all the grates in this grill are cast iron. The food grates and the charcoal grates are all cast. Cast iron is the most perfect grilling surface, and if you use this thing like I do: low and slow cooking, the grates will consistently be well-oiled and rust free.

Assembly on this grill isn't trivial. It's not so much that it's difficult, as the pieces are heavy, and you end up doing a lot of grunting as you attempt to hold the a heavy component and out in a tiny screw at the same time. I must say the grill is solid, though. It's been assembled for almost three years now, and it's never been the slightest bit shaky or unstable.

There isn't an included drip can on this grill, although there is a hanger for one. A standard sized Campbell's Soup can works fine in the hanger, but you may find that's not enough capacity. I finally ended up putting one of those disposable aluminum lasagna pans from Costco under the grill, and everything works great. I suppose if I were to clean this grill out occasionally, it would help, but I'm one who believes build-up leads to more flavor.

The work shelf on the front of the grill is stainless, which is good. It shows dirt better than wood, but it lasts way longer, and it's a nice addition.

The grill has a powder coat finish, and I found it relatively easy to damage that with some heat. I actually had the firebox glowing at one point, when I was still learning the grill. Naturally that led to a little rust, but it's only on the firebox. I suppose I ought to fix that with some sandpaper and paint, but it'll have to wait until spring.

The firebox is not nearly airtight enough. Again, some high-temperature silicone would go a long way to fixing that. It does have nice airflow control on the firebox: the top opens completely for loading and unloading, and there is a door on the end to stoke the fire during a burn. There is an adjustable vent in the door, which is probably the heaviest adjustable vent I've ever used. Once again, the construction is solid, but some aftermarket sealing might pay big dividends. I've been meaning to try that for almost three years now.

I only cook barbecue on my grill. That means I really only cook somewhere in the neighborhood of 200F on my cooker. I cook turkeys, chickens, pork butts, pork shoulders, ribs, and beef; but I only cook right around 200F. I have a great big grill for hotter cooking, and I don't go for bona fide under-200F-smoking to make lox or anything.

The thermometer port on this grill is 3/4" in diameter. This means you can't use a New Braunfels smoker thermometer, which has a 13/16" neck. This is a problem, because the New Braunfels thermometer is the cheapest and most readily available of such thermometers. So don't do what I did and try to save a few bucks with the lower-priced thermometer.

Now, I've made my cheaper thermometer work, but it's a little hacked-up. My habit of always cooking at 200F (or close to it) makes calibration easy: I just have to know where my thermometer reads when the grill is at 200F. On my thermometer, that's right around 250F. Easy enough. If I were actually trying more complicated cooking on this grill, I'd have to remount the thermometer lower, and a 13/16" drill bit is expensive. The moral of the story is, buy the thermometer the salesperson recommends for this grill!

I did finally just buy a digital pit thermometer with the wireless display, and it's worth every penny.

This unit is sold as something you can use as either a smoker or a grill. It is certainly true you can do either, but it's far from ideal. There are basically two ways to do that: there is an extra food grate which you can put in the firebox, and there is a set of grates under the food grates in the main body, where you can put charcoal.

I've grilled a couple times on the additional grate in the firebox. It's not a great arrangement, because neither of the grates is adjustable. It does work all right for burgers, but it's not a reasonable replacement for a grill.

I've never tried grilling in the main compartment of this thing, because the cooking grates are not adjustable. In other words, there's no way to control the distance between the fire and the food. If you intend to just cook steaks "Hot", that's not such a big deal, except the food grates are a good way above the charcoal grates: it would take a LOT of charcoal to fill up that space.

I did have a friend who plumbed the main body of his smoker (not the same brand name, but the same basic design) for propane, put some burners in it, and grilled quite happily on it, making great food. So that's an option, and there care companies who produce burners specifically to retrofit these smokers.

If you want to try grilling on the firebox, you can try what I did: put some hot dogs in the main grill, and cook some burgers in the firebox. The firebox vents into the main grill, and the fat from the burgers produces a ton of smoke. The hot dogs end up all smokey, and the burgers are basically burgers. It worked out great!

The chimney on this grill has a sliding cover, which has only on valid use: to keep rain from falling in there when it's not in use. Grilling without the chimney wide open is a mistake, and you should ALWAYS cover your grills when not in use, so it's basically a useless piece of metal. Don't bother putting it on during assembly, and be sure to buy a grill cover for your new smoker!

The shelf under the smoker is nothing special: basically a lightweight metal grid.

In the end, I would certainly recommend this smoker as the one to buy for under $500. The newer model's even better than the one I bought almost three years ago. If you want good barbecue, get this grill, load it with natural lump charcoal, and keep the temperature to 200F. Unbeatable formula for good barbecue.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 250