Can a cheap offset smoker do the same for less $$$? Oklahoma Joes Highland first impressions
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- čas přidán 7. 01. 2023
- I purchased a Oklahoma Joes Highland offset smoker on clearance to find out if a cheap offset smoker can give me the same great results for a fraction of the money as premium backyard offset smokers. This is my first impressions of the OKJ Highland after assembling it, doing a break in burn and biscuit test.
I bought my Smoke North Carlisle offset in fall 2021 and there is a rumour of a second generation pit in the works. Before considering an upgrade I wanted to understand (1) if there is a difference between a cheap offset and a premium backyard offset smoker and (2) if you have an Oklahoma Joes Highland, are there things we can do that close the potential performance gap to offsets costing several times more.
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Another good one! I love how fair and balanced you are, you're not subservient to sponsors or brands and you just show it like it is, this is why I love your channel!
I appreciate that! It sucks financially to have to buy and try and sell and hope ads cover the loss etc but then you speak 100% free and clear without reading talking points people who give free stuff want said
This is hands down one of the most intuitive videos I've ever seen. Kudos to you sir!
Thanks!
Lot's of information on modifying and improving things like smoke leaks. I added a 3" tailpipe with 3" damper to the exhaust to get the exhaust out of my face. Damper makes for super fast heat brake if thing get too hot. Use smaller splits in the summer to keep consistent. Splits the size of 16oz beer cans keep things consistent. As a northern myself, in the winter I use about 25% mulberry to the wood mix for additional heat.
Another great video James…. Like others have said, your unbiased reviews are so well done ( no pun intended), and so incredibly helpful for us “backyard grillers”…… Many thanks for your hard work and sharing….
Much appreciated!
Great video James! Very nice seeing a budget friendly approach to the offset world. Can't wait to see a comparison with ur smoke north.
Thanks! Will do!
My wife just got me this grill/smoker for an early fathers day present. First introduction to actual smoker cooking, and first video I have seen of yours. You have some great tips that I will use! Thanks for what you do!!!
Enjoy the new smoker!
I have had an OKJ Highland for many years, & have cooked a lot of delicious food on it. It is by far an entry level offset smoker. I purchased the coal basket and baffle plate. I also elevated the basket a few inches higher in the firebox. With all that said, in my case, the cooking chamber is very even throughout. Actually 10-25’ warmer at the stack side. I still use the offset, but bought a barrel smoker that I use the majority of the time. The Highland is still used for big smokes because of the cooking area.
I love testing budget and results since I have been pleasantly uprises by the value option more than once
Excellent James. So helpful that you investigate more economical possibilities. Looking forward to the first cook on this seemingly impressive offset.
Thanks Dave.
Great Video! I love your Biscuit trick. I have the Oklahoma Joes highland with a smoke stack mod as well as a heat baffle and it made a world of difference for maintaining a more even temp throughout the cook chamber!
Thanks! I just discovered and subscribed to your blog. I have had a OKJ Highland for a year now. I am looking forward to your Mods and cook!!
Awesome! Thank you!
First cook Thursday and mods to follow
Some more great advise James thanks for the heads up Cheers
I learned to manage fires on an old OKJ my neighbor gave me...every pit since then has been easy!
Just like any other pit you just gotta get used to it and learn the pit...and mod it as you go/learn. Firebricks in the firebox help keep temps more consistent. My neighbor i grew up next to built several 1k gallon smokers and he cooks just as good BBQ on his old handmade small backyard smoker...just takes time...like most things worth learning.
Thanks. I did that for my mod video that’s coming out soon. Gasket, intake relocate and stack extension for $50 ish all in. Worked much better
Great stuff James. I like the idea of preheating the wood.
thanks!
Some of the smartest BBQ content I've seen in a while for sure!
Thanks
This will be unlike any comparison/experiment you have done before. This one will require a lot of time and effort. More so than the other cooker comparisons in your videos. Looking forward to seeing you rise to the challenge.
thanks, will do my best
Another great video. Thanks for your efforts!
Thanks again!
I have the same OKJ smoker/grill, to manage the draft I bought a cheap 3” rotatable vent that I turned to 90* and angled down to just about the grill height. To install I cut 4 small cuts in the male end and pushed it into the draft pipe about 3”. It’s easily removable and can be turned to adjust.
Yea, the Highland is a solid budget smoker. A few small tweaks and it works very well. There are some cheap things, like the wheels being wobbly, etc. But once in play how much do you really move it? If you can get by things like that, and having to silicone with high heat RTV a few spots and then nomex gasket the openings, I'd say buy it.
I have a Yoder Cheyenne which is a high end, entry level back yard off set made from 1/4" steel.
The Yoder brand smokers all have the stack in the upper section of the cooking chamber, and for it to operate properly you need to buy tuning plates or Yoder's baffle plate.
If you try to to use this style of off set without these pieces of equipment you'll be left with very little useable cooking area and will have to be diligent with your fire management.
If you look on line regarding the box store offsets, you seem to have to do a 100 different hacks to get it to run reasonably stable, but no matter what you do, you can't make up for thick steel and good welds.
In my opinion a person may be better off looking at some thing like a gravity fed smoker in the same price range which is easier to run, cheaper to operate, and produces good bbq.
That said, I'm sure James will be able to demonstrate the best way to get the most out of these smokers.
I looked at OJ’s but the stack location and split fire box were two issues that pushed me to the Char-Griller Grand Champ. I took my time sealing seams with 650 degree RTV and seasoned it a few times before the first cook. I’m playing with different mods to see what works best.
I have many grills/smokers.. but when this OKJ Highland was on clearance at Lowe's for $180 I couldn't say no! One of my best briskets I have ever done was on my 2nd cook on the new OKJ. Very happy with this "budget" smoker.
The price to value equation is there. I have some mods in mind that I think will overcome the stock issues for about $50
Congratulations on another new toy. It will be fun and interesting to watch how you'll overcome the challenges of managing fire and temperature in an undersized offset smoker. Anything smaller than your Carlisle, I would consider undersized. Just wondering, will you be upgrading to a new generation Carlisle, or to the Huron such as you had alluded to before? BTW, you are featuring the budget smoker just in time as we are entering into a deep economic recession. A suggestion would also be to feature some budget cuts ot
meats and recipes to BBQ.
I ordered the long horn reverse flow Joe I installed the gaskets and also instead of bolting it together I did a fit and finish and welded all seams of fire box and grill to ensure no leakage also installed fire brick in fire box and fabricated 3/4 fire grates for the fire box it also had tuning plates inside and so far all these mods have really taken the smoker up a level alot of time but well worth it
That was smart to do that before assembly
I have this OKjoe highland for a year now and what bother me is here in Canada compared to the US is the lack of choice for smoker. We either have cheap and availlable smoker or super expensive and hard to find smoker. I personaly prefer offset smoker for the taste we get in those. Your vid will help me see the difference between the 2 smoker, i was looking at your smoke north smoker for a while but dont want to invest 8k if the difference is not that big. Would love to see a graphic comparison of the temps swing on both of them! I will look at your next vid for sure!
You could also try to move your fuel closer the intake vent to keep the flames from coming into your cooking grates. Can't wait to see you pump out some vids on this budget option
For sure. I need to play with the draw as when I did that with the stock stack it was building up more back draft / not venting properly
Using a cheap offset like this with no mods I highly recommend using a combination of charcoal briquettes and wood chunks with the understanding that the more meat in the chamber the more rotation is needed during a cook. Since my buddy had the job perk of a machine shop at his disposal, though, I used a heavy drop in baffle in mine with holes across it that gradually let more heat rise towards the grate. As for the stack, if you add an extension inside the chamber you’re both disrupting airflow and removing cooking space. Since my baffle greatly helped with moderating temps I increased the draw by extending the stack 9” or so with a couple wraps of aluminum flashing. Can’t say I miss that cooker 😂
Interesting. Did you move away from offset smokers or did you get a larger offset smoker?
@@CoolJay77 not much bigger. Found a really good deal on a used Texas Pit Crafters offset.
I have an OEM Highland it's all I could afford and I got it on closeout for $159 a few years ago. My Traeger one Christmas got packed with snow and would not run so the Highland saved my butt bigtime with a nice Prime Rib Roast. My best brisket came off her also using Apple (with bark) from the neighbors tree he cut down. I don't use it much but it works great for me with charcoal plus wood.
Also on mine 320 F on the lid is around 275 F down on the grate. For what that's worth.....
Been on the fence, was thinking about buying one for a while, looking forward to further cooks, thanks James...
Thanks Ian. Won’t keep you long as I think the first cook is Thursday and then the mods / upgrades to solve some of the challenges I faced shortly thereafter
Thanks James!
Thanks for testing this affordable grill/smoker. I'm very interested in the stack modification you proposed. Have you thought of a firebox modification? That metal will burn out prematurely without one.
Yes. First cook is stock but after that comes the mods I made
Always providing valuable info. Great stuff James!!
Thanks
James, I love this. We talked yesterday about you doing a Weber series. This is the same idea. An affordable cooker that hits home with more cooks. I have the Old Country which is similar the This Joe except the stack is at grate level. I’m excited to see what you can do with this.
I do like validating some of these price vs results assumptions marketing tells us to believe lol
Yes sir, love your videos and would enjoy watching some Weber products too! Thanks for sharing
Nice review. I have a Shirley and other non brand name offsets and weber grills (2) and fire pits etc., and a Highlander I picked up this winter for Im not sure why- impulse. the OK Joe Highlander is a fairly decent cooker if you can do some basic mods to extend the chimney, seal leaks, disperse heat. For the money, I know I cook a mean brisket on it (or whatever)
I bought a Oklahoma Joe in 2014 and had plenty of good cooks, I did put a gasket around the cook chamber was losing heat, had some rust issues on the fire box and I do keep it covered. I use a charcoal basket most of the time and splits,. The biggest problem I have is capacity I get five slabs of rib on it and the temp is cooler by the smoke stack but overall I'm very pleased with it and for the price was great 440.00 but I may upgrade to a bigger one.
Enjoy your video
Thanks Clark. I’ve been able to fix the even temps with a 90 elbow to the point with that and other mods was seeing a delta of 1-3f
Love your videos. I was wondering if you would ever consider putting a plug in for Smoke Master D. He has very informative videos about where you can buy all different kinds of smokers. I used that information to get my vertical smoker which was the right choice for me.
Hi James. Great vid and a good analysis. I've cooked on a Highland before, and much like any of these smaller pits, the biggest issue I found was maintaining a consistent temperature. I personally have a pit which is around the same dimensions as the Oklahoma Joe Longhorn, I found the Highland to be a great little unit. However, as in pretty much all of these smaller, thinner steeled, units, if you try and target a temperature, you're looking to give yourself a hard time. Temps will swing, at what would look like an alarming rate if you're used to cooking on either a kamado, or a much larger pit. What I've learned is to just not worry about it much, as long as it's not skyrocketing, your average pit temp will be fine. If it's too low, that really is nothing to worry about, more fire will fix that.
Precision cookers these things are not, but they'll turn out food that can compete with the best with the right technique.
I thought I had it running well for my first cook which comes out Thursday but it didn’t go great. So I went to town making some tweaks based on things my more expensive pit has like a longer stack, semi insulated firebox etc to give it another shot
@@SmokingDadBBQ not gonna lie, my first cook on the highland was a disaster. Took me probably 10 or 12 cooks to dial it in. But it wasn't my pit so I just had to roll with it and couldn't make mods. Looking forward to how you go with it pre and post mod cooks.
Great video. I’ve had an OK joe for a couple years. I am at the point where I can get an amazing cook, but it is such a fight even when you know what you are doing. The leaking, warping, and sensitivity on outside temperature make it an inconsistent experience. While that can be fun, it is challenging when trying to entertain and ensure a quality product.
Been thinking about upgrading for half a year, but struggling to pay for it. Looking forward to your videos to help make me take the leap (or not).
Totally agree! Next video is a stock cook and followed up by upgrades to try and make it act more like a premium pit. My fire box is still warped and flaking so that didn’t go away but I got the leaks fixed with gasket material
Honestly, if you know the pit and are getting great food out of it, why upgrade? Think of all the amazing meat you could cook for the price of a new pit, that you'll have to learn its quirks all over again. It's not the price of the toys that determines the product, but the skill in using it. Sounds like you have the skill, and that's all you really need.
@@adamparisi745 I have had a member offer to buy my Carlisle that gives me a budget to look at the upgrade that’s not unreasonable. If I didn’t do CZcams there is zero need to upgrade whatsoever… but having a channel it creates comparisons/ learnings /insights etc to share which helps keep content for the channel
@@SmokingDadBBQ Absolutely fair, and sharing your knowledge and experience in such a way is commendable. Especially when you're comparing budget options with more expensive items. And as a business it makes total sense. Your content is quality. I was just saying, in reply to the poster who was not sure about upgrading from the OKJ to something more expensive and finding it a little hard to justify is that spending more money won't automatically produce a superior product, that is down to technique, or skill, not the price of the pit.
I've smoked briskets that would make the pros mouths water! Great set up tought would get me started . Still smokin 6 years later.
Awesome. Wasn’t happy with my first cook (Thursday) so follow up is the mods. Let me know what you think when that comes out / if you’ve tried anything different
dang that fire gun lit those pieces of wood instantly 😮
It’s fast forward. Elapsed 1min
@@SmokingDadBBQ still a fast start up ‘ I need one 👍🏻
Great vid. Here in Germany, the choice of smokers is limited. I want to buy an offset with the stack at grate level but that option hasn’t hit the German commercial market yet. I finally found a custom job but they want almost 5k for that. I know some of the brands in the U.S. sell smokers with the stack in the middle so hopefully they will hit the market here soon.
It's pretty easy to use a 55 gallon Drum and make a smoker grill for pretty cheap . I'm sure you can get the plans on the internet . I've used them a few times . Here in California when BBQ season pretty much ends the Stores almost give them away . I bought a Char Griller Western grill for about , $130.00 and later on bought the side box , less than $200.00 and lasted over 10 years . I got rid of it , it was still in good condition . Because , James and other CZcams videos got me hooked on the Kamado grills . I own 3 ! Good luck with your offset grill . Amazon sells everything !
I got one on the Lowe's sale as well her on Vancouver Island. First cook was yesterday. Some mods coming but it turned out great.
Right on. My mods video comes after the first cook which exposed some areas for improvement. Mods fixes the uneven grate temps, draw and firebox
@@SmokingDadBBQ ya lowering the stack and extending it. Sealing the cook chamber and got to do some kind of baffle.
First seasoning question. Do a burn in first. Then season the whole smoker with oil the next use?
Both Lowes in Scarborough have 17 & 19 in stock. You have me thinking about buying an OKJ as my first stick burner.
First cook video comes Thursday followed by some mods I made to make it more like my premium Pitt
It will be interesting to see how easy it is to control 225-250. Never played with one, but I heard stories 😊 🍻
I applaud people that have one. It’s not near as easy as other pits I’ve used
Are you still using the fire brick approach on the Highland vs. using a fire basket? How's that working out?
Where'd you get the gasket material you used on the Oklahoma Joe's? Thanks much.
Hey Jackie, interesting video & def int in seeing your first cook. I’m wondering if tuning plates would help distribute the heat more evenly through the cook chamber. I see people use them on Yoder and Horizon offsets. Are they available for the Highland? Keep on cooking 😊
Sorry meant James
Ha no worries Stacy 😂 jk. Thanks Steve, did the first cook (next) stock to get a baseline and then went to town with some upgrades
Hey James, Smoke North are coming out with second generation pits sometime this month , 85gal and 110gal bigger fireboxes too. I've got me signed up for one.
Congrats… I am getting mine soon. Videos have to catch up lol
@@SmokingDadBBQ Congratulations as well !!! 👍🤝
Lol, I just ordered one from lowes because of the clearance, after I ordered it, I was so worried that I was baited on a scam website because the price seems too good to be true, now seeing you went to the physical store and see the same deal, I felt a lot better now
A great price!
On my cos I put the splits on top of the firebox to warm them. It works well. Sometimes I have to rotate them because they start to smoke. The biggest problem with cos in my experience is that the firebox simply disintegrates from rust. The thin metal gets so hot that it won’t retain any paint and it’s so thin you can’t sand it off more than once.
Reverse flow is the best way to go for a smaller smoker. It addresses a lot of the things you discussed how to avoid. The chamber is just too small to sacrifice for water pans, hot spots, etc. some day I’ll be able to afford one.
Excellent video, I'm a noobie to smoking but I have been grilling for awhile. I'm between an offset and a barrel smoker, is it possible to cook burgers on these as well? Do they function like a traditional charcoal grill if need be? Thanks
You could load up the cook chamber with charcoal and use them like that
This is what I have and had for about 5 years. It's a great entry level smoker. The only complaint I have is where the stack is located but work with it enough and you don't know any better. Bought it for $220 at Lowe's.
the price is just a tremendous value, mine think worked out to 280 USD as this price was CAD
Looking into getting an offset smoker, nothing too crazy in price. Is this the one for the best price?
Coming from a old school drum smoker to my first oss ...boy is this a challenge trying to maintain temperature.
no joke, these smaller offsets are more difficult to control than larger offsets... i have a fire management video coming out soon showing what works for me on this guy. the mods i did made a big difference - czcams.com/video/6CstFU78PgY/video.html
Please update and do a good cook on this for us meer mortals maybe add opinion on mods ext
For alot of us this is as good as were going to get thanks for tour time
I can only imagine the conversation in your home when you roll in with yet another cooker 😂
Not sure you can lol 😂
What gasket did you use?
How does the taste compare to the Kamado Joe ? Similar or Better or ?
Great video James and looking forward to the video of the cook!
Maybe an idea for a second channel would be Tips on how to keep your marriage going when you keep buying BBQs!
Hahaha I have promised to sell the ones I don’t use after making videos. This isn’t sponsored so we bought this so for it to work I have to make enough videos to get ad revenue to cover the loss of selling a used pit
Did you produce a spreadsheet and graph? Sounds a bit like when I justified my joe junior on the basis it would use less fuel for smaller cooks and save money in the long run. Think I have used it 7 or 8 times in 2 years so was surprised when she put up no opposition to the recent Ooni karu pizza oven purchase!
@@WKHC Sarah is pretty awesome with this stuff as we’ve tried to find a way to buy something, make videos, sell it at a loss and cover most of that loss with profit from CZcams ads. It’s not a get rich quick scheme but most often it’s not costing us any money when it’s all said and done in which case she’s really supportive at letting me try different things
Hello im lookong at buying a new smoker. I am from the uk and everything is very pricey over here and hard to come by. I currently use a very very cheap and not very good 100usd smoker. Im looking to buy either the one on this review or a char griller competition pro smoker. Im guessing even though these are both "entry" they will be 100x better then the one im using currently. These smokers in the uk retail for 500pounds which is around 750usd at a guess
Would these be worth the investment and any ideas on what may be better from the ok joe or the char griller ?
Thanks
If you got a new smoker I think I need a new smoker. Seems only fair right?
Logic is sound
Whats dimensions of the TN? Cook chamber/fire box? Wish we could post pics here! Have a local fabricator he had a 40” cook chamber 1/4” thick with 3/8” side plates, collector, 6” stack, 18” diameter overall, 22” long fire box at 3/8” thick. Lots of features! Scored it for 1k USD a steal! But I can see after couple cooks I will want a 24” diameter pipe like a 50” cook chamber, 26” fire box, prob some half insulation feature. As now 2 briskets tops, I def want to be able to do 4-6 if needed. Have you seen the Goldies offset? They do like an 8” elbow to connect firebox to cook chamber!!! They claim its more steady heat and more useable cool space! Btw you need a telegram or something for fans to interact where we can post pics. Smoke away!
I know everyone has their own style of bbq , but don’t you have to season the pit first before cooking on it ?
Worth picking one up if you want to test out an offset. Rather than jumping in on the high dollar pits?
I like it. It’s more work / difficult so maybe a brazos pecos but with the mods I did later in a video this performed amazing for the money
Maybe just add a 90 deg elbow on the inside pointing downwards to get your rainbow smoke pattern
Ya that’s coming after Thursday’s cook video. Did the elbow, stack mod, and semi insulated the fire box
another great video James, you mentioned you added a gasket. What type gasket did you add? Is this something you can buy at Lowes?
thanks Mike, I had some left over felt gasket from a Kamado Joe that i cut in half. Amazon sells 1/4" size that would be easier
I modified my Oaklahoma Joe's smokestack, basically copying the Franklin smoker. It's my poor man's Franklin. Lol
my mods video comes out in a week or two, did the same along with a few more tweaks to copy my expensive offset features
I think you want it because of the name Joe ;)
Haha my subconscious got me
Oklahoma joe costs 1000$ in Russia. I am shouting!😮
Yikes. Any local options?
Yes. I am going to order local realization of texas smoker. Carrying of oklahoma joe smoker is so expensive, i thing.
first view!!!!
🎉
Yikes! Yeah getting an OKJ when one has a proper offset is like going backwards. They’re not the same and even with full mods, it will never compare. I had one fully modded and I sold it to get a Smoke North Carlisle (gen 2). The OKJ does not draw properly, has a poorly positioned smoke stack and a tiny firebox. You get what you pay for, plain and simple.
I think I can do some videos and sell it for next to no loss so I was curious to see what the difference was as sometimes the inexpensive option does just as well
Oh definitely! It took me a day to sell my Highland and got the majority of my cost back. But yeah in terms of performance, there is no comparison. Also, I would suggest not using a miter saw to process your splits and get a chain saw lobber (like Steve Gow has from SmokeTrails BBQ, he does a great video on it).
The whole OK smoker costs less than an accessory for a Carlisle. Of course it doesn't cook as good. This video helps the normal backyard guys work with what we have.
Did you season it well before cooking on it? This could contribute to the taste. I have that smoker. And i get prety decent flavor from it.
I did before this cook but you never know. My next attempt goes better after I made some mods
@@SmokingDadBBQ yea for sure. I spent a couple bucks and modded mine and it actually works prety good. Put a fire basket in, lowerd the exaust intake to grate level and raised the stack. Works much better now. Still alot of work to cook with strait wood on it tho! Fellow canadian here