There is so much fun in grilling or barbecuing some meat, fish, chicken, or other food outdoor. The aroma that emanates from grilling is enough to whet the appetite of people sitting around it.
Enjoying your barbecue with some of your favorite drinks marks the peak of the fun. So, it is not surprising that smokers and grills are in high demand. People want to have it at home so they can do some grilling as often as they like.
There are several kinds of smokers and grills and they all come at different prices. The best offset smokers are very expensive and they cost more than $2,000.
They’re suited for commercial use. If you love any of them and you have the financial strength, you can go for any of them. However, not many people can afford a $2,000-offset smoker.
This is why this article has outlined the best ones whose prices are not up to $2,000. Check each of them out and also find out what makes them a good choice.
By the time you’re through, you’ll know some of the best offset smokers to purchase and you will also know the features to look for in an offset smoker. This is necessary because no single offset smoker is suitable for everyone.
Furthermore, the most expensive smokers may not be suitable for you. These machines are very expensive. Buying any of them is a real investment. It will be too bad to buy the one that you can’t use.
Imagine paying $500 for an offset smoker only to realize that it is not suitable for you. It can even be worse if you realize it after the 30-day return window.
Your money will go down the drain and if you’re going to sell it, you’ll have to sell it at an amount lower than the amount you bought it.
Our Picks of 10 Best Offset Smoker Under 2000:
1. Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Charcoal Offset Smoker
This Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Charcoal Offset Smoker is one of the most durable, most rugged, and the best offset charcoal smokers.
What makes it the best offset charcoal smoker is its burner that is made of cast iron. This means it can withstand the highest heat and it can also withstand harsh weather conditions.
Its dual-door design helps to minimize loss of heat while cooking.
Features:
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- The smoker runs on either charcoal or wood pellets.
- It has 6 cooking grates.
- It burns efficiently.
- It cooks fast and evenly.
- The device weighs about 57 pounds.
- Its body is made of steel.
- Its burner is made of cast iron.
- Having two doors help to reduce loss of heat.
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2. 18-1/2 in. Classic Pit Barrel Cooker Package
This smoker is completely different from others. It comes in the form of a cylindrical barrel and you have to use it while it stands upright.
Depending on your choice and what you’re cooking, you can hang the food and leave it suspended inside the barrel or put a grate at the middle (inside) to place your food on the it. Both techniques are equally effective.
Features:
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- It has the shape of a cylindrical barrel.
- It comes with 8 stainless steel hooks for hanging your meat.
- It also has a standard grate for searing and grilling.
- It is very easy to set up.
- It is simple to operate.
- You will get a hook removal tool.
- The package includes a charcoal basket.
- It weighs 57 pounds.
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3. Char-Broil American Gourmet Offset Smoker
It is important to let you know that this smoker is currently not available.
However, you could run into a used one. It made this list because it cooks effectively and it also has several other great features.
It has a clean-out door that makes ash removal very easy. The height of its fire grate is adjustable. You can easily move it around with its pair of wheels.
Features:
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- The smoker cooks fast, effectively, and evenly.
- The height of its fire grate is adjustable.
- It has a pair of wheels to move around.
- Its clean-out door makes ash removal easy.
- You love its 140 sq. inch cooking surface.
- It is fuel with wood or charcoal.
- It weighs 46.5 pounds.
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4. Dyna-Glo Signature Series Vertical Offset Smoker & Grill
This is another smoker that stands upright. It has a big door that gives access to its interior. It has 5 chrome-plated grates and this gives 5 different layers to place your food for cooking.
The food that needs the most heat will be at the bottommost grate which is the closest to the firebox. The number of grates gives a total cooking space of 1382 sq. inches.
Features:
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- It has a total cooking area of 1382 sq. inches.
- It comes with 5 chrome-plated grates.
- Its oversized steel wheels enhance mobility before and after use.
- Its spring handles are cool to touch.
- Its grill and smoke zones have indicators for ideal cooking temperature.
- Its charcoal grate and ash pan are removable.
- It weighs 124.3 pounds.
- It is fuelled with either wood or charcoal.
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5. Char-Griller 1224 Smoking Offset Smoker
This charcoal grill will attract you with its elegant look. Its cast-iron cooking grates promote even heating and that leads to even cooking.
With its removable charcoal drawers, you can easily add more charcoal and dump ashes. Its temperature gauge will help you monitor the temperature at the cook chamber.
You’ll also like the storage rack. Moving it around is as easy as breeze. Thanks to its two wheels. Just raise it at the other end and you can push or pull it around.
Features:
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- Its cast-iron grates make for even heating.
- Its cook chamber has a temperature gauge.
- Adding charcoal and dumping ashes are easily done through its removable charcoal drawers.
- Its steel body enhances durability.
- Since it has 2 strong wheels, mobility won’t be an issue.
- It offers a total cooking area of 830 sq. inches.
- It weighs 113 pounds.
- It runs on charcoal.
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6. Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Offset Smoker
You will love its all-round steel body that makes for durability. It requires little or no maintenance.
You only need to clean it with a wet piece of cloth and it will retain its original look for years.
Although it is quite heavy, its 2 strong wheels make mobility a breeze. Most importantly, it has up to 4 baffles and they help to control the temperature in the cooking area.
Features:
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- It has a wide cooking area.
- It comes with 4 baffle plates.
- It is rugged and durable.
- It has little or no maintenance.
- The smoker cooks fast and effectively.
- Its couple of wheels enhances mobility.
- It weighs 176 pounds.
- It runs on only wood and charcoal.
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7. Oklahoma Joe’s Longhorn Reverse Flow Smoker
This smoker shares numerous similar features with the one above. The only difference is that it has a wider cooking area because it is slightly bigger.
It is also 20 pounds heavier. Well, what matters is that this smoker cooks food fast and evenly.
So, if cost is not a constraint, you can choose this one ahead of the one above.
Features:
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- It has a wide cooking area.
- It comes with 4 baffle plates.
- It is rugged and durable.
- It has little or no maintenance cost.
- The smoker cooks fast and effectively.
- Its couple of wheels enhances mobility.
- It weighs 196 pounds.
- It runs on only wood and charcoal.
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8. Smoke Hollow 4-in-1 LP Gas Charcoal Smoker
This smoker is completely different from the others in many ways. It is powered by both LP gas and charcoal. While others have 2 wheels, this one comes with 4 swivel wheels.
So, you can push it around easily. Its gas grill is large enough to cook up to 20 hamburgers at the same time.
You will also love the fact that it has a couple of temperature gauges for different zones.
Features:
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- The smoker uses both LP gas and charcoal.
- It has infrared searing burner to sear meat.
- It has 4 grilling options
- You’ll like its couple of temperature gauges.
- It has 4 swivel tires for mobility.
- It weighs 218 pounds.
- Its wide grilling area can cook up to 20 hamburgers at the same time.
- It is currently not available.
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9. Oklahoma Joe’s Charcoal LP Gas Smoker Combo
The main selling point of this smoker is its wide cooking surface. With a total cooking surface of 1,060 sq. inches, you’ll have enough room to cook as much food as you want at the same time.
Coming with as many as 6 grates is another feature that people will like. With three 12,000-BTU burners, you can be sure that your food will be ready in no time.
You can choose to fuel with LP gas or charcoal. Use the one that’s cheaper and more convenient for you to get.
Features:
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- The smoker weighs 205 pounds.
- It has a couple of wheels.
- It comes with a total of 6 grates.
- You’ll enjoy its 1,060 sq. inches total cooking surface area.
- It is fueled by charcoal and LP gas.
- It has three different 12,000 BTU burners.
- Its handles are cool to touch.
- It comes with 2 separate cooking chambers.
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10. Char-Griller Competition Pro 8125 Charcoal Grill
You can’t possibly get a new one of this grill in the market. The ones on Amazon are refurbished ones. However, they are still great grills because they have great features.
Its cook chamber has a temperature gauge so you can monitor the temperature.
Its over-sized steel wheels will make it easy to move it around and the steel material enhances durability.
Features:
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- It is a refurbished smoker but it definitely passed QA tests.
- It has a steel body that makes it rugged and tough.
- It is resistant to corrosion and rust.
- The smoker weighs 140 pounds
- It comes with a pair of oversized steel wheels.
- Its cook chamber has a temperature gauge.
- The handles of the cook chamber and firebox are cool to touch.
- Its cook chamber has 3 steel grates.
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What is an Offset Smoker?
It is simply a smoker or grill whose source of heat (firebox) is different from the cook chamber. Its heat is set off from the firebox to the cook chamber.
There’s an opening that links the firebox to the cook chamber and the heat and smoke generated from the firebox passes through the opening to get into the cook chamber and heat your food before rising to the base of the chimney on their way out.
The opening is control by baffle plates. When the temperature gets too high, the plate reduces the amount of heat and smoke that will go through the opening but if the temperature is too low, it releases more heat and smoke.
Every smoker comes with a certain number of grates on which you’ll place your meat or other food to be grilled, smoked, warmed, seared, or barbecued.
It is also important that the grates in the cook chamber are higher than the opening that links the firebox to the cook chamber.
This will help to enhance even distribution of smoke and heat. It is also very important that the cook chamber has a thermometer or other forms of temperature gauge so you can monitor the temperature in the chamber.
Every meat or food has its own initial temperature before you put them in the chamber. The temperature gauge will ensure the temperature in the chamber gets to the required threshold before you put your food.
While many of the smokers are fueled with only wood and charcoal, others add LP gas to the mix.
How to Use an Offset Smoker Grill – 9 Important Tips
1. Start the fire
Before you start any fire you must have set everything up and checked that everything is intact. Even if you plan to burn wood, it is better to start your fire with charcoal. Light the coal with a chimney starter and dump them into your firebox.
After that, add the logs of wood into the firebox. Don’t put them on the burning coal immediately. Put them beside the hot coal for some minutes so they can get dry. After that, you can put them on the hot coal.
While wood comes in different sizes, the ideal size is the diameter of soda can. Wait for some time for the fire to come up to temperature.
If your firebox has no space for all the logs of wood at the same time, you can place them in one after the other. Whenever you put any log inside fire, put another one beside the fire so it can be drying out.
Dry logs burn faster and more smoothly because they don’t produce white smoke. Leave the vent and the firebox open until the cook chamber is heated to temperature.
2. Set the temperature
The in-built thermometer may be unreliable because it measures the temperature at the top and that is usually cooler than the one at the base where the grates are. So, you may need to check the temperature with another temperature gauge.
When you hit the desired temperature, you can close the vent and the chimney cap by 2/3 and ½ respectively. This means that the vent will be 1/3 open while the chimney cap will be ½ open.
Here is the hardest part. You will need to keep checking the temperature in the cook chamber all through your cooking. This is because the type of wood,
outside temperature, and the wind can affect the temperature. Don’t forget to start heating another log of wood the moment you roll one into fire in the firebox.
3. Manage the fire while you cook
You need to check the firebox and put a new log every 45 minutes to one hour. At the same time, you need to check the temperature every 20 minutes. This will help you detect any problem very early.
For instance, if you observe white smoke coming out, there may be a problem in the firebox. If the temperature drops, you need to roll in more logs of wood into the fire box.
After adding new logs of word, you need to leave the firebox open for the wood to crack up. This will be for a few minutes.
Sometimes the temperature varies widely between one part of the cook chamber and another. This will definitely lead to uneven cooking. This is why you should rotate the meats to make them cook evenly.
4. Combine wood with charcoal
All offset smokers are fueled by either charcoal or wood. Some people use only charcoal while others use only wood but you’ll get better results when you combine both.
If you use wood alone, it will take some time before it begins to burn smoothly. Charcoal burns faster but not as long as wood.
When you use charcoal alone, you will expend more coal and also miss out on the flavor that wood adds to your food. So, it is better to combine both charcoal and wood. Start the fire with coal and add logs of wood to it bit by bit.
5. Preheat the smoker before adding your food
Heat the smoker to a certain level before you add your meat. This will get your food done faster and more evenly. As the cook chamber gets hotter, the heat gets more evenly distributed.
So, you need to heat it up before you put your food as a way to promote even cooking.
6. Monitor the temperatures at both ends of the chamber
Initially, the firebox end of the chamber is usually hotter than the other end. Sometimes the difference in their temperature can be more than 50°F.
And the in-built temperature gauge may not be reliable because of this anomaly.
So, you may need to drill a hole each at both ends of the chamber and add a thermometer at both ends if temperature accuracy is a concern to you.
7. Open the lids when necessary
Of course, you need to open the firebox to top up the fuel but you need to understand that letting too much air into the firebox will hinder its performance.
Yes, fire needs air to burn properly but when anything becomes excessive, it loses taste. This is applicable to the firebox too.
When you let too much air into the firebox, it will lower the temperature so you should open the firebox only when it is absolutely necessary.
8. Rotate the meat being cooked
No matter how hard you try, it is almost impossible to get the same temperature in every part of the cook chamber. The parts that are closer to the firebox are usually hotter than the parts at the other end.
The implication is that if you leave your meat in the same position all through the cooking, you’ll likely get unevenly cooked pieces of meat.
So, you need to keep changing their positions. Even if you’re grilling only a single piece of meat, rotate it.
9. Never shut the vents totally
There are two vents on a smoker – the one for the firebox and the one for the chimney. When you shut both of them up, they’ll run out of oxygen and won’t burn properly.
So, you need to leave them open until the temperature of the cook chamber has remained stable for up to 30 minutes. You can now shut the chimney vent half way and close the firebox by two-third.
10. Consider the weather
The amount of charcoal or wood you need to smoke your meat on a sunny day won’t be the amount of you’ll need on a rainy day. The latter will require more fuel.
Wind and cold tend to reduce the temperature in the cook chamber, so you should make up for the difference with more fuel.
Offset smokers are meant only for outdoor use and can never be used inside. So, the weather condition is very important.
11. Regulate the temperature with a water pan
A water pan can be used to regulate the temperature in the cook chamber. Just add an additional rack in the firebox and place a water-filled tray or pan on the rack and that’s all. It will help to regulate the temperature.
12. Practice and practice
No matter how many YouTube videos you have watched and no matter how many articles you read on how to use an offset smoker, you’re not likely to get it right the first time. You need to practice several times before you get it right.
You will only get generalized information on YouTube videos and on articles but every situation is unique. This is why you should practice with a little quantity of food or meat.
If it turns out bad, you won’t lose much. When you realize that you’ve gotten a hang of it, you can then step up the quantity. Practicing will also let you figure out some tips and tricks on your own.
What is The Best Offset Smoker?
Now that you already know how to use an offset smoker, it is also necessary to select the best offset smoker under 2000.
After comparing the features and cost of all the great offset smokers on this list, Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Charcoal Offset Smoker came out the best. It has great features and it is available at the right price.
The few smokers that have better features are a little too expensive. So, the smoker offers fantastic features and it also strikes a very good balance between features and cost.
To remind you, here are some of the attractive features of the smoker. They are its major selling points.
- The smoker runs on either charcoal or wood pellets.
- It has 6 cooking grates.
- It burns efficiently.
- It cooks fast and evenly.
- The device weighs about 57 pounds.
- Its body is made of steel.
- Its burner is made of cast iron.
- Having two doors helps to reduce loss of heat.
If you have to pick one smoker among the best offset smoker under 2000 outlined above, choose Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Charcoal Offset Smoker. It is highly recommended. It is well priced and it offers real value for money.
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