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New Braunfels offset smoker

6K views 21 replies 9 participants last post by  goodscotch  
#1 ·
A neighbor of mine just bought a new smoker and gave me his very heavy New Braunfels offset smoker/grill. This son of a bitch has got to weigh 200 lbs. I've never used one of this type before. You guys talk about smoking butts and briskets on here all the time. What do I need to learn? Can I use it for jerky?
 
#3 ·
Warning: do not go on the BBQ Brethren forum unless you are ready for a new obsession. :p

As far as your new offset, they will certainly work as is but there are also mods you can make to improve them. Most deal with fire control, airflow or shielding the meat from the direct heat of the fire. You can find all this stuff out easily with a search of the Brethren forum or others such as the KCBS forum: http://www.rbjb.com/rbjb/rbjbboard/ or the TXBBQ Rub forum: http://forum.texasbbqrub.com/

Good luck
 
#6 ·
The only disadvantage of a sfb (side fire box) type smoker I'm aware of is that you have to manage the fire a bit more compared to an upright bullet or cabinet style smoker. Other than that, all smokers have their own requirements. They are not "set it and forget it" so one should have to expect to put some effort in if they expect a good result. As long as the thing is complete I can't see being given a smoker as a bad thing.
 
#8 ·
I don't know what my neighbor bought. I'll have to check it out. His girl friend told him to get that ugly thing off the patio.

79malibu, that guy doesn't have anything good to say about offset smokers, does he. It's been raining here for the past 5 days but it's supposed to be clear next weekend so I will try some ribs. What the heck, it don't hurt to try. If it doesn't work, it goes on craigs list.
 
#9 ·
79malibu, that guy doesn't have anything good to say about offset smokers, does he.
I wouldn't worry too much about that. The biggest drawbacks to non-reverse flow sfb horizontal smokers can be improved by extending the smoke stack down to the grate and by adding a baffle to shield the meat from radiant heat from the fire. You can also build a charcoal basket to make the fire more manageable. This lets you have a smaller fire that will burn down through your fuel rather than a spread out pile that will want to burn too quickly. Some guys even build a square basket with partitions so that the fuel can be lit on one end and will burn in an 's' pattern to the other side of the basket.

Once you get past the initial shortcomings, an sfb horizontal will be a lot more user friendly.
 
#16 ·
I have one of these and use it all the time.

The only thing I have an issue with is temp regulation. I found to load the hot box so it will burn for several hours I need to close the door on the box completely and open the stack fully. This seems to give me a temp around 240. I haven't really played around too much with fixing it as it works fine to me the way it is. I guess I might be happier if I read and improved it the way that has been suggested.
 
#17 ·
My first shot at pulled pork yielded good smokey pork roasts. I way under estimated the time required. I only gave myself 6 hours and that's not enough for 8 lbs of butt. I used 8 lbs of hardwood chunks and 6 lbs of charcoal and was able to keep the temperature at 250 in the middle where I had the meat. I still need to put a difuser plate on the bottom to get even heat all the way across. It was 300 by the firebox and 175 at the other end with everything closed. The firebox and the lid leak like a seive. Just got to start earlier next time.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Yeah, a chunk of pork like that is going to go 8-10 hrs or more at that temp. Glad to hear you had decent control over the heat. That's half the battle right there. The 300 near the firebox would've sped up your cook but then you have to worry about radiant heat overdoing the outside of the meat. You can slide it over there if you wrap it in foil and turn it once in a while. (I put a piece of foil under the wrapped meat so it doesn't stick to the grate and tear)

BTW, you can do pork in 6 hrs but you have to jack up the heat. When I do it hot n fast, I inject with a combination of apple juice, worcestershire, spices etc. (look up Bob Lilly's injection), rub and then smoke at 300 or so. Once the internal temp gets to 165 or so, I wrap it in foil and let it go until it's tender (internal 195-200ish). The finished product is every bit as good as doing it low n slow. Pork is very forgiving.
 
#21 ·
I have a New Braunfels smoker. They do take some time to learn to use. The key is to use wood that is aged. Fresh cut mesquite leaves a nasty taste on the meat. For a 13 to 16 pound whole brisket, I like to put about 20 pounds of lump charcoal (lots less ash than regular charcoal) in the firebox, get the fire going, and add a few mesquite and oak logs. I try to cook at about 225-240 degrees. To do this I leave the damper on the firebox open about 1 1/2 inches, and the lid on the chimney open about 1/4 inch depending on wind and weather. You can fine tune the temperature by adjusting the lid on the chimney. I put the brisket in he center of the grill with the fat end facing the fire. After I put the meat on, I resist the temptation to open the lid over the meat. I might open the lid over the firebox to stir the coals if the fire gets too cool. I let it cook on the smoker until the coals die most of the way down (about 5 1/2 hours). Then I cheat and wrap the meat in foil, put it in a large foil pan, and stick it in a 200-225 degree oven until the internal temp of the meat is about 200 degrees. You will know when the temp starts getting close when the inside of the house starts to smell like brisket. The whole process takes about 12 hours. Let the brisket rest at least 30 minutes before slicing it.