The offset smoker design was based on traditional brick BBQ pits, whereby the fire is stationed in one room and the resulting smoke is then drawn into the next room and passed through the meat. So, your choice between these two models depends on the size and capacity of the cooking area. If you only use wood to cook, it might give you a bitter taste in the food. My family members especially my mother was a great fan of grilled dishes to and from the love of food. It is always important to learn about the specifics of your smoker. You can control the temperature from the vent of the fire chamber. THEOFFSETSMOKER.COM IS A PARTICIPANT IN THE AMAZON SERVICES LLC ASSOCIATES PROGRAM, AN AFFILIATE ADVERTISING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR SITES TO EARN ADVERTISING FEES BY ADVERTISING AND LINKING TO AMAZON.COM. If you're using a new offset smoker, wipe down the entire smoker with soapy water. You have to wait for the cooking chamber to come to the temperature we want for our meat. Take your cooking chamber to a specific temperature. The chimney should be open,  meanwhile, the temperature will be stable with ease. Avoid making the fire completely with wood because it's hard to regulate and maintain over a long period of time. You'll adjust these during the smoking process to regulate heat and smoke within the smoker. Before you put your meat in, heat up the chamber already. You don't need to soak the wood since the moisture might cool off the coals in the firebox. Almost every smoker with a side firebox allows you to put the water pan on the rack top. After waiting about 20 to 30 minutes, the charcoal should be nice and hot. Add your food to the cooking chamber and then maintain a low temperature as the food smokes. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Never close the chimney more than half. You say to spread the charcoal around the firebox, but your picture shows the person spreading the charcoal around the cooking chamber. Your offset smoker cooks the food through indirect heat. Offset smokers also have a narrow chamber that contains the facility of lighting up the fire. % of people told us that this article helped them. You have to avoid opening the doors frequently. We will tell you the step by step actions to use an offset smoker. Read it thoroughly and you will comfortably ignite your offset smoker under $2000 without hesitation. One solution is to use an offset smoker, which removes the actual coals to a separate firebox and then routes smoke and heat through the main combustion chamber. Starting the Offset Smoker Season the smoker if necessary. In this article, we are going to explain how to use an offset smoker to get flavored food in return. Please consider making a contribution to wikiHow today. Meanwhile, you can throw another piece of wood or log into the firebox for further heat. offset firebox smoker. The main cooking chamber is typically a long grated, metal barrel or box with a lift door and a smokestack. Before we start with the how to use process, you first have to make sure that you choose the best offset smoker model, which fits your needs and is capable of offering you optimal cooking performance.. Next, light a chimney full of briquettes and heat them for 15 minutes, or until they begin to glow and ash over. How to use an offset smoker? After a deep interest in cooking, especially BBQ, I decided to learn every bit of it. As you are concentrating enough to cook the food, the temperature may go down sometimes. You'll need to check the temperature and firebox every 30 minutes or so to ensure that the fire is still going. An offset smoker (commonly called an offset) is a two-part smoker. Let the ashes in the firebox completely cool before sweeping them out. 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