Looking at buying an offset stick burner.

If you enjoy messing with the wood burning oven...get a stick burner. I always loved playing with a fireplace or campfire and the stick burner is the same way.

The only advise on 16 vs 20 is that a full rack of spare ribs is about 17-18 inches long. With a 16 you have to lay them side to side. The 20 they can go front to back. May not matter if you are just cooking for close family and a few friends. But something to consider.

you havent mentioned what your budget is. If its in the <$500 range, I would SERIOUSLY look at the Oklahoma Joe Bandera. Its a reasonably priced vertical offset and what I started on almost 30 years ago(also he cornerstone of where this Forum started). Due to the vertical nature, capacity is much more than the horizontals. A bandera can easily handle 8-10 racks of ribs or 2 turkeys, where a similarly priced horizontal would do half that. Its fairly easy to run, we can help with some mods to aid in performance and will give you a good taste of fire management and smoke control.

I have the OK Joe Highland and after a few mods, I love it. Same here, just me and the Mrs. and sometimes the family....about 10 more people. I use the OK Joe and the Weber kettle and have plenty of room. I also added a hover grill to the weber for some additional space.

Being in Belgium throws a wrench in things for many of us on this side of the Atlantic as we don't know what shipping and VAT adds to the overall purchase process.

What is your budget? What do some of the smokers you see over there cost? What size constraints do you have?

I know there are a couple people from Switzerland who really like the Shirley Fabrication smokers and I have seen a few Langs in Europe as well. Whether there are builders in Europe that make a good offset smoker is a mystery to me but, I know smokers are becoming more popular in Europe and traditional grilling (BBQ to some) is very popular as well.

With the USD dollar falling in value relative to the Euro, getting an offset smoker in the USA and shipping it might not be as costly (expensive) as it has been the past few years.

For a 'very rough' price for a good entry level offset smoker, a 120-gallon cook chamber in a 'patio' model (not trailer mounted) will be roughly 1/4 inch stock thickness (~6mm) which is typically heavier than most 'big box store' smokers made overseas. I'm looking at one right now that is 24"x51" for $900USD. I have seen some in the 20"x42" range that were ~$600USD.

I have looked at shipping a car back from Europe but, never something that was less than a 'container load' so, I can't venture a reliable guess on what it would cost to crate and ship one of these to Europe. Then there is the pickup at the 'port of entry' and transport back to your home along with VAT and any other 'import' fees.

The main advice I have as you start your shopping, don't buy a 16" diameter smoker. I get meat portion sizes in Europe are much smaller than over here but, you will want to smoke a Turkey, Lamb, Pig/Piglet, etc. at some point. You will want the capability to do so even though you don't see the need right now. The larger height also allows you to smoke larger boned meats like a ham. Then there are beef ribs and briskets to consider, which while not a frequent cook, just like a piglet you will want to cook one at some point.

A 20Kg piglet or lamb for Christmas, especially 'racing style' in a smoker is a wonderful thing! Or, I'm sure on national Belgian holidays when you have friends over and the presentation makes everyone stare in appreciation.
:eusa_clap

Yikes, I just noticed that you're in Belgium. Shipping is going to be a killer if you don't find a local manufacturer/distributor.

That said, I think Old Country offers a pretty good pit for the money:

https://www.academy.com/shop/browse...cooking/smokers?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051

I would definitely go for a 20". The trick to running a stick burner is managing a fire. I think it would be more difficult to maintain a small fire in a 16".

That and most cuts of meat are under 20"...

Just my $0.02,

David

I wouldn't go under 20" diameter. As to getting an offset where you're at - you might want to holler at Phubar - he and his Lowland Smokers team from Utrecht are active in the comp circuit over there and he may be able to steer you to where you can source an offset without having to ship from the US. There are a few custom rigs I've seen in EU and they're usually very cool. You can also find some offsets in the UK. I think there is a Meadow Creek or Yoder distributor in the UK - not sure though.

Don Marco, another Brethren here, might be able to give you some tips as well. He sells BBQ stuff (I'm not sure if he sells cookers) and he is farking serious. He's in Germany and his site is here.

In the US Shirley Fabrication makes the best offset smoker in my opinion - getting to Belgium would be an expensive endeavor however. Tyler Shirley & Co make a great product.

With the cost of the smoker and shipping would it be possible to find a fabricator over your way to have one custom built? It might be cheaper that way and even possibly be built better. Just a thought anyway

The Horizon Smokers 20” rd special is a widely respected pit. I have definitely heard of a Europe based distributor for Horizon. Perhaps email Horizon head office and ask for details?

You get what you pay for with offsets. More money buys thicker steel. Thicker steel buys more stable temps, less babysitting, less frustration.

20x42" minimum. 24x48" is Perfect.

[QUOTE I have found some nice new stuff over here in Europe, if anybody has some good brands in Europe let me know![/QUOTE]

https://www.bbqeurope.com/

I’m in the UK and when I was looking around I came across a company that supply’s Yoder smokers there are BBQ Europe https://www.bbqeurope.com/ I hope it is ok to post the link. Have a look at what they have and they will ship to you.

I was going to get one but decided to build my own. I built a 24” x 42”. I purchased all the steel and welder and equipment to go with and built it t to my needs and it cost me about £1200. That includes everything from start to finish.

Forgot to eat I built an offset smoker and love it. I thought that it might be to big for the wife and i. But so far I’ve cooked for a number of friends. They supply the meat and I use my rubs and cook it for them and get the needed practise in smoking them

LordRiffenstein said:

Yeah, I didn´t mention it because because I am not sure to get 2nd hand or new. A new OK Joe 16" in 6mm is about 1500-1600euro so for a 2nd hand one I´d say around 900 would be an ok price.

Not sure a OK Joe Bandera is available over here in Europe, there are some shops in Belgium/Holland/Germany selling OK Joe though.

Overall, budget wise, I´d like to keep it around 1500euro MAX, for a new one, knowing that I´d be buying something for the rest of my life.

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Are you sure we are discussing comparable models? If im correct the exchange rates 1.2?

1500 euro is 1200 us?

The longer ok joe is the longhorn here, the shorter one is the highland. I thought the were the same diameter but not sure 100%

The longhorn goes for under $600 and the highland is around 300.

If these are comparable models your best to find a fab shop and see what they can do. I can't see it being more for something the level of our ok joe product line

I have a kettle I love and use a lot. I have had 2 16" horizontal offsets. A Brinkman Pro and an old Oklahoma Joe. Due to temp difference even with a convection plate I find the space very limited. If I got another horizontal it would be no less than 20" even though it's just me and the wife. Right now I am in the process of getting a Bandera vertical offset clone. So I would recommend the Bandera or a 20" horizontal. That's just my experience and thoughts on the matter. Good luck. Choosing is hard!

Well, this is gonna be an outside-the-box suggestion, but I think you should look at the Karubecue. Look it up on-line and you'll find the KBQ website. It was invented by an engineer in Texas to burn wood and produce ideal BBQ'ing smoke with minimal expertise and effort. All you have to do is add wood every 30-45 min. Also check out the reviews on AmazingRibs.com.

I think it would be particularly good for you because it ships in two boxes, is much lighter than a typical offset smoker, and therefore should be much cheaper to ship overseas. It also uses wood pieces the size of bricks, which should be more efficient for your wood situation in Europe. I lived in England for 5 years and shipped my smoker when I moved over, but if I hadn't also stuck 300 lbs of smoking logs in the sealander with my furniture, wood would have been a big problem.

I believe the inventor still makes them in his Texas garage, to a high standard, so there's also a cool home built factor in buying one. Anyway, that's my pov.

Good luck!