joeljenewein
Well-known member
I've spent the last 48 hours while my account has been in moderation going through a ton of topics here and there has been some serious pit envy, I'm looking forward to being a part of this community.
I've had a Traeger for the last three years, it was the first "smoker" I had ever purchased, I just got the smallest one from Costco so I could learn on it and figure out if it was something I really wanted to get into. Long story short, I went to a buddies not too long ago who had a traditional offset smoker that had been given to him and hadn't been touched in years. He invited me over to re-break it in since I had a basic understanding of how offsets worked, and I smoked four racks of spare ribs that day. They were the best ribs I'd ever smoked in my life and it wasn't even close, I couldn't believe the WORLD of a difference from my Traeger to a legit offset, so now here I am trying to make a fist time buyers decision.
Here's where you guys come in - every time I think I've narrowed down my options something else pops up, so I'm hoping to get some insight. I really love the idea of a traditional flowing offset, and Lone Star Grillz seems to make a great product. I believe in buy once cry once, so while my budget isn't unlimited, I'm willing to drop some some cash on this for it to last a couple decades (at least thats my sales pitch to my wife). In browsing this forum, I saw quite a few folks mention LSG's vertical offset, and the cooking capacity provided by that blew my mind. Seemed like a no brainer, but I do have to ask, is a vertical offset going to provide more of a "direct heat" as opposed to a smoky taste? I'm in this for the taste first and foremost, while I don't think I'd ever fill up a vertical offset, it'd be nice to try. But if it's not going to have the same smokiness as a horizontal, I don't think that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Also stumbled upon Shirley Fabrication today, I'm going to send them an email but everything I've read involves a very long wait time, and I'm simply not that patient, although they look very impressive as well.
All input is appreciated!
I've had a Traeger for the last three years, it was the first "smoker" I had ever purchased, I just got the smallest one from Costco so I could learn on it and figure out if it was something I really wanted to get into. Long story short, I went to a buddies not too long ago who had a traditional offset smoker that had been given to him and hadn't been touched in years. He invited me over to re-break it in since I had a basic understanding of how offsets worked, and I smoked four racks of spare ribs that day. They were the best ribs I'd ever smoked in my life and it wasn't even close, I couldn't believe the WORLD of a difference from my Traeger to a legit offset, so now here I am trying to make a fist time buyers decision.
Here's where you guys come in - every time I think I've narrowed down my options something else pops up, so I'm hoping to get some insight. I really love the idea of a traditional flowing offset, and Lone Star Grillz seems to make a great product. I believe in buy once cry once, so while my budget isn't unlimited, I'm willing to drop some some cash on this for it to last a couple decades (at least thats my sales pitch to my wife). In browsing this forum, I saw quite a few folks mention LSG's vertical offset, and the cooking capacity provided by that blew my mind. Seemed like a no brainer, but I do have to ask, is a vertical offset going to provide more of a "direct heat" as opposed to a smoky taste? I'm in this for the taste first and foremost, while I don't think I'd ever fill up a vertical offset, it'd be nice to try. But if it's not going to have the same smokiness as a horizontal, I don't think that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Also stumbled upon Shirley Fabrication today, I'm going to send them an email but everything I've read involves a very long wait time, and I'm simply not that patient, although they look very impressive as well.
All input is appreciated!