Wife Bought A Pair Of Shoes-I bought

[Big George's BBQ]

Very Nice Adams Congrats and Enjoy

[Moose]

Congrats on your purchase. I have one as well. A few things I learned and did, for whatever it's worth:

There are a lot of mods folks do to these cookers, mainly because they leak like a sieve. I welded the firebox to the cooking chamber, as that was the source of the most leaks. Don't think adding insulation around the chamber door and firebox door is really worth it.

If you plan on using this as a wood-fired cooker(and I hope you will), you'll need splits that fit the firebox, which is on the smaller side.

Temps can vary wildly due to the thin metal, so don't expect them to be consistent. The food is done when it's done, whenever that may be. The best gift this cooker gave me was the experience of what food tastes like from a wood fired smoker, which is at another level compared to a charcoal smoker.

I found the OKJ Highland to really excel at cooking large cuts of beef that one would normally grill, like large ribeyes/tomahawks, and Tri Tips. The meat gets a good amount of smoke for most of the cook, then I finish it off over the porcelain grates directly over the hot wood coals. Makes for beautiful crusts:


https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/s...d.php?t=286509




Looking forward to seeing you put it to good use for the MSU Testing Lab.

[16Adams]

Thanks for input. The cooker is put together and has assumed a temporary position on the patio. This is what I was looking for. Except the wheels. Cotter pin gives it a crazy leg look but it is...... I did buy the OK Joe gasket and installed. I did buy the OK Joe fire basket. Cleaning the porcelain grates and will do a Seasoning cook after while.
Will do a burn out later. Obviously first actual cook will be Fattys and perhaps a can of biscuits

[Moose]

I'm not an expert at seasoning cooks on this particular cooker, but I wish I had done this early on:


https://carnivorestyle.com/how-to-se...offset-smoker/


My firebox is pretty rusty at this point, so I need to break out the wire wheel and get rid of the rust, re-paint, and oil it to protect it moving FW.