I stole a new smoker

[16Adams]

I knew these were solid drums. My desire was to get a PBC Jr but about the time I was ready to buy they were removed from the market. Urge kind of faded by the time they returned. I’ve lifted the lid on these many times and couldn’t find anything to not like. When they had the intake pipe problem it was cussed and discussed quite a bit. I nearly bought one at Walmart in Lubbock for 185. Passed. But I didn’t quit liking them. Then Mr Clark posts the Academy deal (matched Walmart pricing)and I couldn’t resist. Academy is really really close. Something about a drum and meat makes sense to me. PBC taught me how to leave things alone and let the heat and meat do it’s thing. I’ll always appreciate that and to this day recommend The a PBC to beginners. However most of them want an extension cord and a bag of pellets.
I know I will have 124$ worth of good times and great food from The Oklahoma Joe Bronco. Seasoning has begun.
Thank You Mr Clark,and congratulations on your new cooker.

 

[AClarke44]

I knew these were solid drums. My desire was to get a PBC Jr but about the time I was ready to buy they were removed from the market. Urge kind of faded by the time they returned. I’ve lifted the lid on these many times and couldn’t find anything to not like. When they had the intake pipe problem it was cussed and discussed quite a bit. I nearly bought one at Walmart in Lubbock for 185. Passed. But I didn’t quit liking them. Then Mr Clark posts the Academy deal (matched Walmart pricing)and I couldn’t resist. Academy is really really close. Something about a drum and meat makes sense to me. PBC taught me how to leave things alone and let the heat and meat do it’s thing. I’ll always appreciate that and to this day recommend The a PBC to beginners. However most of them want an extension cord and a bag of pellets.
I know I will have 124$ worth of good times and great food from The Oklahoma Joe Bronco. Seasoning has begun.
Thank You Mr Clark,and congratulations on your new cooker.

You described that perfectly! I have very similar feelings about why I bough my Bronco. Glad my post “talked you into it” and glad you were able to Get the same great deal!


A side not to you all. More like a hint...If your Walmart shows the $124 price and that they have 1 or 2 in stock online but they are really sold out, Academy will still price match. Just sayin..:biggrin1:

 

[16Adams]

3/4 load of coals everything wide open it hit 450 and had made it back to 250 at hour six. Sprayed with oil avoiding gaskets and added a full chimney of lit briquettes. Dialed down intake to 1 and left the top wide open. Ceremonial 1.5# Nekkid Fatty and some Johnson’s Beer Brats. Feels good to have a Barrel on the patio again

 

[16Adams]

Almost completed inaugural cook. It’s a keeper

 

[AClarke44]

Adams, are you just using the manual gauge on the from of the smoker or do you have a probe in the cooker too? Reason I asked is because when I seasoned mine I put a temp probe in and noticed about a 10 degree difference around 250 (as read on the Bronco), about 25ish around 300-325 and 50-75 degrees difference when the Bronco was at 450. So the cooker reads high and is more inaccurate as the temp rises. Not a big deal to me though.

 

[16Adams]

Adams, are you just using the manual gauge on the from of the smoker or do you have a probe in the cooker too? Reason I asked is because when I seasoned mine I put a temp probe in and noticed about a 10 degree difference around 250 (as read on the Bronco), about 25ish around 300-325 and 50-75 degrees difference when the Bronco was at 450. So the cooker reads high and is more inaccurate as the temp rises. Not a big deal to me though.

I did not monitor pit temps. Only used the units thermometer. I used Thermapen when Brats looked tight and they were 178. At same time inserted Inkbird probe into Fatty and it read 141. It didn’t take long for Fatty to hit 165* Always use my Thermapen and sometimes use the Inkbird. Most of the long cooks I do aren’t overly temp sensitive. I miss more grilled than smoked-think high side steak temps than anything. Like you I don’t worry about fluctuations

 

[AClarke44]

Will probably make a separate thread about the cook today but this thing rocked! Here are the chickens about 10 min before they were done.

 

[16Adams]

Will probably make a separate thread about the cook today but this thing rocked! Here are the chickens about 10 min before they were done.

Thank you for allowing me to draft off your lead

Thanks again

 

[mcyork28]

My temp probe is all over the place. I don't even look at it anymore. I always use a wireless.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[AClarke44]

Thank you for allowing me to draft off your lead

Thanks again

Anytime brother!! :thumb:

 

[Lahawk1]

I picked one up last year for 84.00 on clearance. I really like this smoker but wish it was larger diameter. Any brisket over about 12 lbs requires trimming to make it fit. I know they have a larger one but I have never seen a deal on them. I made an extension for the charcoal pan to make it about 3 inches deeper which allows easy 12 hour cooks, then had to make 3 more for friends that have Broncos as well.

 

[AClarke44]

I picked one up last year for 84.00 on clearance. I really like this smoker but wish it was larger diameter. Any brisket over about 12 lbs requires trimming to make it fit. I know they have a larger one but I have never seen a deal on them. I made an extension for the charcoal pan to make it about 3 inches deeper which allows easy 12 hour cooks, then had to make 3 more for friends that have Broncos as well.

$4!!!!!! Wow! And I thought I “stole” mine! That’s awesome!
The size doesn’t bother me. I don’t cook a lot of brisket and when I do it’s usually only about a 12-14 lbs anyway. I’m coming from a PBC which uses the same diameter grate. Plus I like the hanging method which I plan to continue to use. I’ve never needed more than about 10 hrs of coal which the OJB should be able to handle.

 

[16Adams]

I read (pretty sure I didn’t dream it) where a Bronco owner put B&B Char Logs at bottom then covered with a full chimney of lit briquettes and got a couple extra hours. In my PBC days I was always mixing up lump and briquettes. May as well keep on doing that. Just seems right. I do have a small brisket to cook and a friend who had a bad brisket fail this weekend. I may cook & share. In the name of research.