The classic offset smoker got to be the coolest smoker you’ve ever had. It lets you cook large amounts of delicious foods (and/or different types of meats) at a go. Its firebox and cooking chamber are separate, so you can add fuel to your smoker without letting heat and smoke escape.

For an inexperienced smoker, finding the right offset smoker is a tricky process. There are numerous cheaply made models out there that can stand in your way when looking a high-quality smoker. You just can’t easily tell a good offset smoker from a bad one.

This is where we come in…our expert guide below will help you find the best offset smoker for your needs. You’ll discover helpful buying tips plus the most popular and reliable offset smokers you can buy today.

Preview
Top Choice
Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Vertical Offset Charcoal Smoker
Best Value
Royal Gourmet CC1830S 30" BBQ Charcoal Grill and Offset Smoker | 811 Square Inch cooking surface, Outdoor for Camping | Black
Runner up
Oklahoma Joe's Longhorn Reverse Flow Offset Smoker - 17202053
Title
Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Vertical Offset Charcoal Smoker
Royal Gourmet CC1830S 30" BBQ Charcoal Grill and Offset Smoker | 811 Square Inch cooking surface, Outdoor for Camping | Black
Oklahoma Joe's Longhorn Reverse Flow Offset Smoker - 17202053
Top Choice
Preview
Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Vertical Offset Charcoal Smoker
Title
Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Vertical Offset Charcoal Smoker
More Information
Best Value
Preview
Royal Gourmet CC1830S 30" BBQ Charcoal Grill and Offset Smoker | 811 Square Inch cooking surface, Outdoor for Camping | Black
Title
Royal Gourmet CC1830S 30" BBQ Charcoal Grill and Offset Smoker | 811 Square Inch cooking surface, Outdoor for Camping | Black
More Information
Runner up
Preview
Oklahoma Joe's Longhorn Reverse Flow Offset Smoker - 17202053
Title
Oklahoma Joe's Longhorn Reverse Flow Offset Smoker - 17202053
More Information

 

Our best offset smoker reviews:

1. Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Charcoal Offset Smoker

Proudly designed by Dyna-Glo, this is one of the top-rated offset smokers you can get today. If you prefer smoking your foods with charcoal, this durable steel smoker will be a great choice! It lets you smoke your favorite food with your favorite wood chips plus your favorite fuel—charcoal.

The Dyan-Glo engineers have designed this offset smoker with up to 6 height adjustable cooking grates to ensure maximum infusion of your foods with the smoke flavor. What’s more, this smoker offers you an incredibly spacious cooking chamber (up to 1176 square inches) to allow you to cook different types and sizes of foods without any problems.

The designers behind this smoker also understand that indirect heat is ideal for slow cooking and, thus, perfectly infusing smoke flavor. This offset smoker’s functionality comes deigned to keep direct heat away from your food—ensuring your foods at the bottom cooks slow. The result? You get evenly and thoroughly cooked, sumptuous, delicious food!

The charcoal chamber features porcelain enameled grates and will keep your briquettes tightly stacked for great burning efficiency. You’ll appreciate that this smoker comes with a removable steel ash pan that can hold large ash amounts to grant you hours of maintenance-free cooking.

Highlighted Features:

  • Heavy-duty steel body
  • Heavy-duty steel wood chip box
  • 15000BTUs heavy-duty cast iron burner
  • Spacious 784sq. in smoking space
  • Dual door design for minimal hot loss
  • Durable temp powder coat finish

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2. Royal Gourmet 30″ BBQ Charcoal Grill and Offset Smoker

Also boasting a spot on our top offset smoker reviews is this charcoal grill and smoker combo from Royal Gourmet. The attractive price tag and compact design of this smoker makes it an irresistible deal for all your outdoor smoking needs.

The smoker comes fully dedicated to helping you prepare delicious meals for your family. It comes as an offset and charcoal grill combo to let you experience grilled and smoked meats hassle-freely. With two adjustable dampers and adjustable fire pan, you’ll be in total control of the amount of heat needed to cook your favorite meat.

We love the porcelain coated cooking grates which excellently retain heat to help rock in juices in your and make you meat more tender. With a spacious cooking space, you’ll be able to smoke more food for your family/friends. The removable ash pan ensures easy ash disposal.

Thanks to the smoker’s compact and lightweight design (weighs less than 60 pounds), you’ll have no problems taking this smoker with you anywhere you go. Not to forget it comes with a pair of wheels plus a scald-proof handle to make it easy for you to carry or transport it to any place.

Highlighted Features:

  • Charcoal grill and smoker combo
  • Porcelain coated cooking grates
  • Up to 800 sq. inch cooking space
  • Lid-mounted temperature gauge
  • Main chamber features adjustable fire grate
  • Scald-free handle for easy carry
  • Removable charcoal, ashes pan

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3. Oklahoma Joe’s Longhorn Reverse Flow Smoker

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4. Char-Griller E1224 Smokin Pro 830 Square Inch Charcoal Grill

Are you desperate for a Texas-style BBQ smoker? If yes, look no further! The Char-Griller E1224 is a great BBQ smoker that meats the high demands of Texas-style BBQ smokers. The grill comes at an affordable cost but has more features than most of the grills featuring twice its cost. It’s the perfect choice for both backyard enthusiasts and professional BBQ’ers.

The grills offers you up to 580 square inches cooking space in the main grill, enough for hosting a family barbeque in the backyard. It offers you an additional  250 square inch cooking space in the charcoal side firebox where you can roast a side dish or corn or veggies kish.

The grill’s barrel boasts heavy-gauge steel construction in addition to a durable powder coat finish to enable it to withstand high heats and serve you for longer. It also boasts double bottom design for increased durability. The cooking grates are made of cast iron for even heat and flavor distribution to your meats as they cook. The heat gauge integrated in the hood ensures easy temperature monitoring.

You can easily alter the grate height to accommodate different types of foods. The slide-out coal drawers will let you easily add charcoal without necessarily removing the grill grates and dump the ash produced easily.

Remember this grill comes with 4 sturdy legs plus two sturdy feet and 2 sturdy wheels to promote easy transportation from one point to the next.

Highlighted Features:

  • Heavy-duty steel construction
  • Cast iron cooking grates
  • 830 sq/in total cooking area
  • Easy dump ash pan
  • Features adjustable fire grate
  • Powder coat finish for durability

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5. Broil King 958050 Offset Smoker

If you can’t figure out a great gift for your backyard enthusiast hubby on his special day, get him this Broil King 958050 Offset Smoker. This great offset wood smoker bridges the gap between the high-end and the cheap big box hardware store models.

It offers you a cool 625 square inch primary cooking space which is quite fair considering you’ll get a similar space with models higher up on the price ladder. This space is sufficient for a dedicated hobbyist and will offer you sufficient cooking for space for a large family or gathering of people.

Quality is well cared for in this unit. It comes in a thick (2mm) and durable steel body to hold up to high heats exposure and last longer. It also features thick cast iron cooking grids that deliver better heat retention that stainless steel and, thus, better heat and flavor distribution over your food.

The smoker also comes with 3 cast aluminum dampers that efficiently control air and get your grill to the perfect temperature. The lid features a centrally placed single thermometer to give you accurate temperatures of the cooking chamber. The lid is also armed with a large stainless steel handle and swings wide open to give you full access to the cooking chamber interior.

Additional features you’ll get when you order this smoker include removable ashtrays, utensils hooks, lower storage shelf, and even a bottle opener!

Highlighted Features:

  • Solid 2mm steel body
  • Heavy-duty cast iron cooking grids
  • 625 sq. in. primary cooking space
  • Feature air vent system
  • Dual-purpose smoke diffusing charcoal trays
  • Removable ash tray

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6. Wakrays BBQ Grill Charcoal Barbecue Pit Smoker

We also feature this little BBQ grill on our most popular and reliable offset smoker reviews. The model features a great combo of offset smoker plus charcoal grill to allow for versatile usage.

It comes with a smoker firebox to heat and add a delicious smoked flavor to your food. The highly visible side vent supplies the much-needed airflow to this cooker for excellently smoked food. . An easy to read thermometer is connected to the main lid to ensure convenient grilling of your meat.

Featuring a fair price tag, this unit comes with sturdy construction with rust-resistant cold rolled steel to last for years to come. It also features angled legs for increased stability and sturdiness.

You’ll appreciate the ample storage space offer by this smoker in the form of 2 shelves, one in the front and the other on the side. The smoker also comes with a metal grate below to provide you with maximum space for accommodating all your grilling essentials and accessories.

For your own safety, this model comes equipped with 100% wooden handles that stay cool to the touch, no matter how high the grill temperatures are, preventing your hands from getting burnt. Above all, this grill features a set of two wheels to let you smoothly move the smoker from one location to another.

Highlighted Features:

  • Two wheels for easy mobility
  • Easy-to-read thermometer on main lid
  • Stay-cool wooden handles
  • Rust-resistant cold rolled steel construction
  • Features 2 shelves for storage

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7. Char-Broil 12201570-A1 American Gourmet Offset Smoker

If you’re a after a compact sized offset smoker to use in your small balcony, backyard, or anywhere else where space is limited, this Char-Broil12201570-A1 is a viable option. The model is also a great smoker if you want to get started in the smoking world.

The smoker features a cooking space of up to 430 square inch total cooking space. The main cooking space offers you 290 square inch which is sufficient for preparing up to 18 delicious burgers plus it offers you up to 140 square inch firebox for your grilling needs.

It also comes equipped with multiple dampers that you open/close to adjust the flow or air, thus controlling the cooking chamber heat and temperature. The lid also features a thermometer mounted on it to let you easily monitor the internal temperature.

With the clean-out door on the firebox, removing the ash will be easy, fast, and mess-free. The two stationary legs plus two large wheels make this smoker easy to maneuver across your patio or yard.

Additional features include side shelf for storing your grilling accessories and cool-touch handles to protect your hands.

Highlighted Features:

  • 290 sq. inch cooking space in main chamber
  • 140 sq. inch cooking space in firebox
  • Adjustable height fire grate
  • Adjustable built-in damper
  • Clean-out door for easy ash removal
  • Porcelain-coated cooking grates

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8. Char-Broil American Gourmet 300 Series Offset Charcoal Smoker

You’re not going to easily find the best offset smokers at a price that this model comes with. And despite its low pricing, this grill offers you a durable and reliable way of smoking your meat to perfection.

The heavy-duty smoker presents you with easy-access drawers to let you easily replenish water and wood chips. It boasts a solid steel construction and square legs that makes it one of the most stable and sturdiest smokers you can find on the market today.

Many cheaply made smokers have a leaking issue which greatly compromise their cooking efficiency. But this model comes with an expertly welded cooking chamber to keep all the smoke flavor inside. This ensures you get as much flavor in your foods as possible.

The smoker also grants you full control over how hot you want it to get, thanks to its adjustable heat control. Its adjustable top chimney vent helps keep the smoke under control.

With the included steel box, you can easily feed this smoker with wood chips without necessarily opening the cooking chamber. The attached side handles are designed to stay cool to the touch and work together with the two wheels to make this smoker easy to move from place to place.

Highlighted Features:

  • Porcelain coated cooking grates
  • Lid mounted temperature gauge
  • All-black steel construction
  • Features cool-touch handles
  • Offers 290 sq/in cooking surface
  • 140 sq. in. warming rack

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9. Char-Broil American Gourmet 40” Offset Smoker

Another great offset smoker from Char-Broil appears on our second last spot. The unit will take you back to smoking basics with its classic smoke chamber. Being one of the versatile models out there, you can use this smoker as an offset smoker or charcoal grill.

The durable steel smoker offers you extra-large 895 sq./in cooking space in the primary chamber measuring up to 40-inch wide and 22-inch deep. This translates to ample space for smoking as many as 36 burgers. The main compartment incorporates porcelain-coated grates which are resistant to rust, easy to clean and long-lasting.

Like its siblings from Char-Broil, this model also comes with an easy to read temperature gauge mounted on the lid to let you easily monitor the temperatures inside the grill. You’ll appreciate how the smoke chamber reduces air draft to help control the temperatures inside while the adjustable top damper promotes easy heat and smoke control.

Because the firebox comes with an ash door, you’ll have a really easy time removing ash after a grilling session. The side and bottom shelves offer you sufficient prep, work, and storage space. And the large 8-inch wheels make the smoker easy to move around on your deck or patio.

Highlighted Features:

  • 739 sq. in primary cooking space
  • 75 sq in secondary cooking space
  • 3-piece cooking chamber
  • Porcelain coated cooking grates
  • Firebox with cleanout door
  • Includes a convenient side shelf

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10. Char-Broil American Gourmet 30” Offset Smoker

Last, but not the least one on our offset smoker reviews, we have this 30-inch smoker from Char-Broil. This model is simply a smaller version of the smoker we have just discussed above. This makes it your go-to option if you want all the features of the previous smoker but in a smaller package.

It shares nearly all the features with its sibling above. It boasts quality steel construction to make it a reliable and long-lasting smoker. It also presents you with a traditional smoke chamber that aids in temperature control by reducing the air draft.

Being the smaller version of Char-Broil American Gourmet smoker, this model has a slightly smaller cooking surface—measuring up to 605 square inch. Nonetheless, this is still sufficient space for smoking up to 24 burgers.

Cleanup has been simplified in this smoker with the porcelain-coated cooking grates and the easy-access firebox ash door.

When you purchase this smoker, you’ll also receive up to 3 charcoal grates that help extend the use of this model as a smoker or a charcoal grill. You’ll also note that the smoker’s main lid has temperature gauge to help you monitor the internal temperatures.

Additional features include a side and bottom to offer you extra storage space for your grilling accessories, adjustable top damper for heat and smoke control, and large 8-inch wheels for easy mobility.

Highlighted Features:

  • 605 sq.in primary cooking space
  • Porcelain coated cooking grates
  • Firebox with ash door
  • Features 3-piece cooking chamber
  • Lid-mounted temperature gauge
  • Sturdy and reliable steel construction

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What Makes The Right Offset Smoker?

In this part, we’ll walk you through the most important factors that you should look for when shopping for the best reverse flow smoker for your smoking needs.

Build quality

One of the key factors to look out for is how the offset is put together. As we said at the beginning of this guide, the build quality can make or break an offset smoker. You’ll realize that there are many cheaply models featuring thin metal construction. These don’t retain or transfer heat really well and end up not doing their intended job really well.

The perfect smoker should be made of thick enough metal to facilitate proper heat retention and transfer and, thus, high efficiency. Thicker metal will also be able to withstand the high heats it gets exposed to so that it serves you for an incredibly long period of time. While still at it, make sure the smoker you buy feature proper ventilation system to get the smoke flowing just as you’d want.

Additional features that make up a high-quality offset smoker include quality seals. These create greater temperature control, improve the smoke retention and minimize the usage of fuel. Ensure the model also features damper that seal excellently and open and close easily.

Offset Smoker

Size

Just a quick look at the different smokers out there, you’ll realize they come in varying cooking space and overall physical sizes. For this reason, you’ll need to decide on the right size of smoker to buy.

Let’s start with the cooking space. If you’re on the market for a smoker for preparing delicious meals for your family or few friends, then a model with smaller cooking surface will work for you. For a larger group of people, you might want to look for a larger smoker.

You’ll also need to take into account the amount of storage space available. If you go for a big offset smoker, make sure you have sufficient space to store to avoid frustrations. We suggest that you get a smoker that you can easily fit in the storage space available.

Ease of maintenance

Cleaning a charcoal grill can be a real hassle for you. Luckily, this doesn’t have to be the case if you take your time to choose the right smoker. Make sure the model you buy comes optimized for easy cleaning and maintenance. Models that come with a removable ash pan make cleaning easy for you. Additional features like access doors, drawers, and slide lids also contribute to the ease of cleaning of any given smoker.

Temperature gauge

Let’s be honest…you can’t barbecue without a temperature gauge. As the experienced BBQ’ers say, a barbecue with no het gauge is a barbecue blind.

With this in mind, you’ll need to ensure the smoker you buy features a quality built-in thermometer. This will do the job of giving you accurate reading of the temperatures inside and give you a better understanding of what’s going on under the hood.

Most offset smokers come with an easy to read thermometer integrated into the lid, so you don’t have to open the hood, loose a lot of heat and smoke and interrupt the cooking process.

Portability

Would you be moving around with your new offset smoker? If so, then you’d want to make sure you get a model that you can hassle-freely move around. Look at its size and how heavy it is. Generally, the compact and lightweight models are the most portable. Also, a highly portable should come equipped with a set of sturdy wheels and handles to make it easy to move around.

Are offset smokers any good than vertical?

If you’re new to smoking world, it’s easy to get confused on whether an offset smoker is a better choice than a vertical smoker. In this part, we’ll clear the air regarding these two types of smokers.

An offset (horizontal) smoker involves the heat source being directly to the side of cooking food. And for a vertical smoker, the heat source sits right below the food being cooked.

A typical offset smoker features a firebox mounted just a few inches lower, and on the other side of the cooking chamber. The smoke gets fileted from firebox through to cooking chamber where food is placed. This type of smoker cooks food slowly and at low temperatures. This means your meat will get well penetrated, giving you an authentic barbecue—with smoky taste that’s moist and soft on the side and crispy on the outside.

Thanks to the additional  grates included in the firebox, these smokers double as grill where you can flame grill some of your foods while you smoke others.

The offset smokers are designed to use charcoal and wood, which further makes them authentic smokers. And you can be assured that the best stick burner smoker will give you genuinely delicious smoked flavor.

In a vertical smoker, the heat source comes directly below the cooking chamber and cooks your food faster. In other words, this smoker is perfect for high-heat grilling and searing.

Though vertical smokers are designed to use charcoal and wood, you can also come across some models that use gas or electricity. These smokers have smaller designs for easy storage/carry. They come at an affordable cost and will make the perfect choice for a beginner.

Due to their small size, vertical smokers have limited cooling surface. They also tend to lose heat fast as they you’ll need to keep opening them to check your food.

Overall, an offset smoker enables you to cook a lot meat at a time, save energy and fuel. It lets you add fuel to your smoker without opening the cooking chamber, further increasing its cooking efficiency. The vertical smoker beats an offset smoker in that it’s affordable and highly portable; they’re smaller and take up less storage space.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What’s the best offset smoker?

The best offset smoker for you is one that meets your unique expectations and fits your budget. You can get a decent model from chain stores or online stores for a few hundred dollars. Or you can go for a handmade smoker featuring thicker steel construction for several thousand dollars.

Q: Why use offset smoker?

The biggest advantage of using an offset smoker is that you can add wood chips, logs, chunks, or pellets without having to open the cooking chamber. This ensures you don’t give heat and smoke a chance to escape and interrupt the cooking process. Another big benefit of using these smokers is that they offer huge cooking surface for cooking large amounts of food.  They also feature shelves in the cooking chamber to let you cook different types of meat at the same time.

Q: What is a reverse smoker?

A reverse flow smoker forces air to travel further inside to help achieve more uniform temperature inside the smoker and greater flavor. As the air enters the smoking chamber, it moves through the cook chamber in reverse chamber in a reverse direction, and finally exits in the stack on the firebox of your smoker.

Q: How thick should the steel be for a smoker?

Thick steel construction for smoker is essential for better heat retention and longevity. The perfect thickness for your offset smoker should be ½-inch for the firebox and ¼-inch for smoke chamber.

Q: Can you grill on offset smoker?

An offset is usually intended for cooking with indirect heat. They’re used for low and slow cooking, though you can also fire them hotter to cook meats faster with indirect heat. This kind of setup isn’t ideal for grilling and searing. Some offset smokers, however, allow you to add a grilling pan to turn them into direct heat grills.

Final Verdict

Buying an offset smoker for a beginner smoker can be intimidating as you have no clue where to start, what to look for, and things to avoid. We have simplified everything for you in this guide. We have outlined the top factors to consider and we’re confident that by now you have a clear mind picture of the best offset smoker you want. With our top favorite offset smokers list, you’ll have plenty of choices to compare and choose from for your next backyard, patio, balcony, or outdoor barbecuing.