Offset smokers are generally what grill enthusiasts would consider to be the traditional class of smoker. Using only wood and charcoal, offset smokers allow you to slowly smoke your meat or vegetables until they have a delicious, deep smokey flavor to them. If you’re in the market for a smoker, purchasing an offset smoker would give you the opportunity to learn about smoking the traditional way.
This guide covers what we consider to be 8 of the best offset smokers on the market today. In addition to choosing the best traditional offset smoker, we have also selected a range of other models based on particular attributes that they excel in. Buying an offset smoker should be easy and enjoyable, and we hope this article shows you how!
Table of Contents
Best Overall: the Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Offset Smoker
Oklahoma Joe’s is a heavy hitter in the offset smoker world. Made from heavy-duty steel and offering 619 square inches of cooking space, Oklahoma Joe s highland smoker is our selection for the best all-round smoker that you can find. Heating the smoker and maintaining a steady flow of heat is nearly effortless thanks to the temperature gauge. You can heat and smoke your meat or vegetables in a flash with this offset smoker.
Oklahoma Joe smokers are known for being top of the line, easy to use, and suited for large cooking tasks. The Highland is a fantastic example of that. In addition to smoking, you can use this model for primary cooking applications. With porcelain-coated cooking grates, you can rest assured that the hardware on this model is going to last and last. It even has cool-touch handles built-in, meaning you don’t need to worry about hurting your hands due to excessive heat. Fuel it with charcoal or wood, and this smoker gives you flavor to die for!
The main chamber is capacious and tight. This model also comes with a firebox, which offers 281 square inches of cooking space for grilling. The firebox has been designed so that it is very easy to clean. You can use this smoker as a char griller, too! It’s clear from the design of this model that Oklahoma Joe’s prioritizes the user experience. There is a fantastic shelf for hanging and displaying cooking utensils, making shifting between tasks and tools very easy when using this model. All in all, this is a very high-quality offset smoker, and we would recommend it to just about anybody looking for a great all-round model.
Best Reverse: the Oklahoma Joe’s Longhorn Reverse Flow Smoker
If conventional isn’t enough, then you might need to go big. The Longhorn by Oklahoma Joe can offer you just that. This heavy-duty model has an incredible 751 square inches of cooking space in the cooking chamber alone, with an additional 309 square inches in the firebox if you use it as a charcoal grill. Temperature management is very easy thanks to the several dampers, and you can even transform this model into a conventional offset smoker, too. All you need to do is shift the smoke stacker.
The Longhorn Reverse Flow Offset Smoker is an excellent choice for anybody looking for a large, high-performance, and heavy-duty model. With porcelain-coated cast-iron grates, you know that this machine is more than capable of taking considerable wear and tear. The Longhorn has a large door for clearing out ash, making it very easy to clean. Heat and smoke huge quantities of food in the main cooking chamber with ease!
Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Reverse Flow might just be the best reverse flow offset model you can find. Using a reverse flow smoker gives you more freedom and variety, and Joe s Highland Reverse is an exceptionally well-made appliance, too.
Best Budget: the Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Vertical Offset Charcoal Smoker
A cheap offset smoker doesn’t have to be poor-quality! Though this is a budget offset smoker, it definitely packs a punch. You can use it for all of the same tasks that you might larger or more expensive models, and it generally performs just as well. Despite offering less cooking room than its larger competitors, this model is light and affordable. It is an excellent option for anybody interested in smoking their food without wanting to break the bank on a new cooking appliance.
Best Vertical: the Dyna-Glo Signature Series DGSS1382VCS-D Heavy-Duty Vertical Offset Charcoal Smoker & Grill
The vertical design of this model is one of its greatest strengths. You can cook a considerable amount of food without taking up much space. This offering has multiple racks and offers great temperature maintenance and flavor. In addition, the vertical layout of this model means that it heats evenly throughout and does not leak.
Best High-end: the Good One Marshall Generation III Smoker & Grill
If you’re looking for the best offset smokers in terms of pure performance, it’s difficult to go past the Good One III. This model has been designed to produce maximum smokiness with minimal fuel usage. As such, this might be one of the most efficient offset charcoal smoker models out there and is a great choice for people wanting to limit their carbon footprint when cooking. In addition, it offers an enormous amount of space for cooking and is highly durable. You can count on this model for being able to withstand just about any task.
Best Cutting-edge: the KBQ C-60 BBQ Smoker Pit
If you’ve got a larger budget and want to try something truly unique, then the KBQ might be the choice for you. Largely made of stainless steel, this device has been designed to produce smoked meat that is easy to make and healthier than what most models are capable of. The KBQ directs most of the smoke produced by wood and charcoal in the cooking area away from the meat, resulting in only a fraction of the cleanest smoke actually touching your food.
Anybody can use it, too. It’s hard to overstate what a joy it is to cook with the KBQ! The cooking chamber is enormous, made of stainless steel, and offering a cooking space of 960 square inches. While the KBQ doesn’t operate or look like most offset smokers, there is certainly nothing wrong with that.
Perhaps the only downside to this model is that you need to feed it fuel on a fairly regular basis. When using this charcoal offset smoker, you generally need to put more logs into the firebox every half hour or so. However, that’s the only downside. You don’t need to worry about manually maintaining a consistent temperature or babysitting this vertical offset smoker. As long as there’s meat in the cooking chamber and fuel in the firebox, this model produces consistently fantastic results with minimal effort from the user.
Best for Multiple Fuel Sources: the Oklahoma Joe’s Charcoal/LP Gas/Smoker Combo
Sometimes, it’s best not to be restricted to a single fuel source. This model by Oklahoma Joe makes that possible! With a barrel and main chamber made from heavy-gauge steel, you can use this smoker pit for cooking for gatherings and parties small and large alike. The smoker offers considerable total cooking room and is suitable for both primary cooking tasks and smoking.
Thanks to the fact that this offset smoker can use a variety of different kinds of fuel, you can also utilize this smoker for a range of different tasks. You aren’t limited to smoking your food with Oklahoma Joe offset smokers, and the Combo model is no exception. Grill, sear, or smoke your meat. It’s entirely up to you! If you’re looking for the model that can give you the absolute most freedom when you cook, then the Combo is probably your best bet.
Best Small-scale: the Dyna-Glo DGSS730CBO-D-KIT Signature SeriesBarrel Charcoal Grill & Side Firebox
Not everybody needs the biggest offset smokers they can find. For some, smoking is a smaller part of the overall cooking process, or it might not be something they do frequently. If this is the case for you, investing in larger models might be excessive or unnecessary. This offering from the Dyna Glo Signature Series may well be more than enough.
Even though it’s on the smaller side, this model is definitely more than a cheap offset smoker. Made from heavy-gauge steel and featuring porcelain-coated cooking racks, you can expect a total cooking experience with this model that is comparable to larger, more powerful offset smokers. The primary difference is that this model by Dyna Glo is smaller and therefore offers less space to cook. However, this might be plenty for some home cooks.
If you’re new to smoking your food, choosing a smaller model to begin with might be a better choice in the long run. This gives you the chance to try smoking without making a considerable financial investment in something you aren’t sure you enjoy. Given that it is a genuinely top-quality product, the Dyna Glo might be the best choice for beginners still learning about smoking their food.
