Oaklahoma Joe Highland

B

BBQscott

Full Fledged Farker
Joined
May 18, 2018
Messages
247
Reaction score
178
Points
0
Location
CA, Bay...
Hey Brothers I wanted to get your opinion on this... I’m beginning to save up on getting a nice offset stick burner. I’ve been looking at JH smokers around the L.A area. Looking at the prices ( which are very fair) its going to be quite some time before I get to place my order (Probably 2 years). Here’s the thing, Lowes has the Highland on sale atm for $270. I know they are COS cookers but I figure with a couple mods it would hold me over for the next few years while I save up for a real offset. My wife thinks I should just continue to save and save, but the itch is hard to bare... What are your guys opinions?
 
A lot of good Que comes off the Oklahoma Joe's, sounds like a good plan.
 
Don't go overboard with mods, unless there's extreme issues it will run fine stock and you'll just get annoyed trying to make it perfect.


Throw it together and season it and do a few cheap cooks before you bother investing into mods just because people on the internet say you need to.
 
I have the very unit you are speaking about. It is very serviceable and at a great price.

I bought it because i had moved into a new house and hadnt built the outdoor kitchen yet so i wanted something that i could grill with and smoke occassionally. I now have a gasser that I use for the grilling so the OK Joe has been rendered to smoker only.

Think of it like training wheels on a bike, you got to start somewhere and learn a little bit first.

I have done ribs, turkey, pork butt, and brisket. I am still learning and will one day get a "nice" smoker, but i have other priorities first.
 
The only mods I was thinking about is getting a high temp gasket for leaks and maybe have my neighbor cut me some pieces of metal for tuning plates. Other then that I don’t think it needs much. I think by using this smoker it will make me appreciate the other one that much more...
 
I have one and used it for about 2 years before I ordered my new LSG. The OK Joe works good and I have made sum great food. The metal is a little thin but if your in cali like me your fine. I used mine with mostly charcoal and wood chunks not strait wood burner because I was afraid the fire box would burn out. Your plan is about the same as mine was. I got my OK Joe to see if I would like smoking and found I enjoyed it and wanted to move to a high end stickburner so I ordered the LSG. The OK Joe will help in learning for when you do step up. As for the mods all I did was the high temp silicone and the fire tape. I say go buy it you will enjoy it!!!!
 
I found a used OK Joe to learn on before I found a used Shirley. It worked out great for me. I absolutely say go for it. Also, I agree with using it a few times to see which if any mods you want to do.
 
Scott, which Highland are you looking at? The standard one, or the reverse flow version?
 
Even if you never master the art of the 12 hour brisket you can cook chickens turkeys pig parts and most of all fattys in reasonable time frames. You can also grill reverse grill bake and have a ton of fun. Many years of fun under 3 Benjs. Hell Yea. Buy the Bride something nice and go get your cooker.
 
while serviceable I'd go a bit bigger if you can. a budget of $500 will get you there. who knows, you may decide its enough smoker and you can save the money for a future cooker.

I only say this because I got the longhorn (the larger ok joe) and it has been good to me. I bought it used for $250 as my starter offset. I have used it for years and would only upgrade for what I consider my dream smoker.
 
I say go for it. I had one and learned a lot about how things work in a smoker. It leaked a bit but I didn't change anything. Because I live in a cold climate, it went through a lot of fuel - I was using charcoal and wood. Mine had a worthless temp gauge, so you might want to invest in a thermometer with probes. After I bought an insulated smoker I sold the Ok Joe for about 2/3rds of what I got it for.
 
GO FOR IT!!!
Most people started off with a PITA - COS and still fell in love with smoking. So, go for it.
 
The only caveat I would offer is it is not a stick burner, and I get the impression that is what you want. Do you have a good charcoal grill you can smoke with now? A Weber Kettle or a PK? My point is you can smoke some damn good food with either and then when you get your dream stick burner you still have a great charcoal grill. With the Highland you have only a smoker you may want to get rid of. You will learn just as much about smoking meat too.
 
Do it. I had a COS for 10 years. Didn’t even realize there were mods to make or that the better pits were even available for the first 3 or 4 years. Loved it, learned a ton, and fed a whole bunch of really good food to a whole bunch of people. It will make your wait easier, and you’ll appreciate your new pit even more when you get it.
 
Tannhauser42 said:
Scott, which Highland are you looking at? The standard one, or the reverse flow version?
Click to expand...

The standard version, this is the one that’s on sale, the reverse flow is around $400 I believe.


Mikhail said:
The only caveat I would offer is it is not a stick burner, and I get the impression that is what you want. Do you have a good charcoal grill you can smoke with now? A Weber Kettle or a PK? My point is you can smoke some damn good food with either and then when you get your dream stick burner you still have a great charcoal grill. With the Highland you have only a smoker you may want to get rid of. You will learn just as much about smoking meat too.
Click to expand...


I do have a kettle and a pellet pooper. I love the kettle and have been using it quite often, the smoke profile I get from that just trumps the pellet pooper imo. I use the pellet pooper for when I’m lazy and it has more room then the kettle. But the kettle is pretty small and requires a bit more work when tending the fire and adding fuel. The oak joe may not be a true stick burner but it seems close enough to get me to the crown Jewl! Thanks everyone for your opinions, I think I’m going to pick it up!
 
BBQscott said:
Thanks everyone for your opinions, I think I’m going to pick it up!
Click to expand...

WTG!

It works very well for that price point. I do not regret getting mine at all.

:biggrin1:

26638709598_8ff0e939b2_z.jpg


41063459264_8a68308836_z.jpg
 
That looks great! I went out and got mine tonight, can't wait to season her up! :)
 
Happy cooking, Scott! You are well equipped now.

despite my caveats offered, I know well the lure of the offset..lol. Bought a used Open Range this fall but haven't finished cleaning it up yet. Will start getting it dirty again in the spring.
 
Great purchase, Scott. The OJ Highland was my first offset and I cooked some good food on that. As far as the mods go, you can make yourself crazy trying to seal it and stop leaks. I went through a few rolls of the adhesive felt and tubes of sealant but found, after investigation on this forum, that it wasn't really necessary. Sealing air intakes works best for charcoal/lump cooking where temp control is critical, and I learned here, that for a stickburner, the best temp control is the size of the fire. Simple, I know, but it didn't register with me at the time. I did cut an aluminum pan and used part of that as a baffle to divert the heat from the firebox opening downward as it entered the cook chamber and used the 'flavorizer' bars (sold in any hardware stores) in a spread out position underneath the cook grates to diffuse the heat evenly. Hope you enjoy it and be sure to post some pics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

snadamo
Worth it to cut your teeth on a CoS before spending $$$ on a "premium" offset?
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
snadamo
snadamo
J
New offset options - OC?
Replies
6
Views
657
bned
B
16Adams
My Cheap Offset ....
Replies
13
Views
972
PhredS
P
S
Murillo Metalworks?
Replies
0
Views
393
Smoked&Baked
S
lastmajordude
Observations of an old dude
Replies
13
Views
641
jham0077
jham0077
Back
Top