Well it's been about a month and a half since I got my Lone Star Grillz vertical offset so I thought I would post an update with my initial thoughts on the smoker. I think I've smoked at least one thing every weekend since getting it. General opinion is that this thing is awesome. Really happy this is what I decided on.
Things I've Cooked
1. Naked Fatty
2. Spare Ribs
3. Briskets
4. Wings
5. Baby Back Ribs
6. Sausage
7. St Louis Ribs
General Observations
1. Chris Goodlander knows how to build one hell of a smoker. I am sold on their products for life now. The quality of this build is amazing. This thing is going to out live me. Once I get my back patio project complete later this year, Im most likely going to buy a Santa Maria grill from them.
2. Coming from a big horizontal offset, cooking on a vertical offset is a lot different. There is something about the heat that seems a little more direct than what I was use to. Ive noticed I just have to drop my temps about 25-50 degrees from what I use to use get the same results. First couple of cooks kind of caught me off guard but this thing puts off some quality food.
3. The warming oven option is worth the extra cost. SSV3's posts more or less convinced me to get it and it's amazing how versatile it is. The removable divider plate with the adjustable baffles really allows for a lot of different cooking options. Twice now Ive done wings where I took the divider plate completely out and loaded up the charcoal basket and used it for the cook. Im experimenting today with smoking some ribs in there as opposed to the main smoke chamber. So far, so good. Next challenge is to do a pizza.
4. This thing drafts like crazy. The firebox seals up really nice and the temp changes really fast when messing with the damper. One nice thing I realized that is if you get the temp too hot you can just crack the door and level things out. I couldn't really do that on my horizontal offset.
5. Be forewarned that if you get one of these with a warming oven AND a 1/2" thick fire box, its a beast to move around but very doable on concrete. Just don't get in a hurry about moving it around.
6. Getting the front folding table was the way to go. The front table is largely unusable because the main chamber door opening and closing makes it really hard to use. I have a rolling table that is about 5 inches shorter than the front door. I just roll it up, take out what I need, then close the door and do my work on the table. Most things will clear the door sitting on it so it works really well.
Pics!
Things I've Cooked
1. Naked Fatty
2. Spare Ribs
3. Briskets
4. Wings
5. Baby Back Ribs
6. Sausage
7. St Louis Ribs
General Observations
1. Chris Goodlander knows how to build one hell of a smoker. I am sold on their products for life now. The quality of this build is amazing. This thing is going to out live me. Once I get my back patio project complete later this year, Im most likely going to buy a Santa Maria grill from them.
2. Coming from a big horizontal offset, cooking on a vertical offset is a lot different. There is something about the heat that seems a little more direct than what I was use to. Ive noticed I just have to drop my temps about 25-50 degrees from what I use to use get the same results. First couple of cooks kind of caught me off guard but this thing puts off some quality food.
3. The warming oven option is worth the extra cost. SSV3's posts more or less convinced me to get it and it's amazing how versatile it is. The removable divider plate with the adjustable baffles really allows for a lot of different cooking options. Twice now Ive done wings where I took the divider plate completely out and loaded up the charcoal basket and used it for the cook. Im experimenting today with smoking some ribs in there as opposed to the main smoke chamber. So far, so good. Next challenge is to do a pizza.
4. This thing drafts like crazy. The firebox seals up really nice and the temp changes really fast when messing with the damper. One nice thing I realized that is if you get the temp too hot you can just crack the door and level things out. I couldn't really do that on my horizontal offset.
5. Be forewarned that if you get one of these with a warming oven AND a 1/2" thick fire box, its a beast to move around but very doable on concrete. Just don't get in a hurry about moving it around.
6. Getting the front folding table was the way to go. The front table is largely unusable because the main chamber door opening and closing makes it really hard to use. I have a rolling table that is about 5 inches shorter than the front door. I just roll it up, take out what I need, then close the door and do my work on the table. Most things will clear the door sitting on it so it works really well.
Pics!
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