Chargriller Outlaw or Landmann Kentucky offset smoker?

[zurek]

Completely new to posting on the forum, but have been lurking around for some time. I want to get into offset smoking, I think that it's a great way to learn. Someone said if you can master offsets, you will be able to smoke on anything.

I can get either Char-Griller Outlaw(with Firebox) or the Landmann Kentucky for a very good price. The Char-Griller is approx. £70 more expensive so my question is, is it worth the extra spend in terms of built quality, metal thickness etc?

I know they're very much starter smokers and will have to do some modifications to either one of them but for pure out-of-the-box quality, which one would you recommend?

Thanks a lot!

[Smokin Monkey]

Once again Zurek, welcome to the Forum. Not sure on the build quality of either smoker as I do not own one.

You could do a search on the forum, I know there are post about offsets and what mods have been done to them.

[Icefever]

6 hours ago, zurek said:

I know they're very much starter smokers and will have to do some modifications to either one of them

Zurek hi........I know of the Char griller, but never used one. On the other hand I do own a Landmann.  Would I buy one now I've used one??? no....but that's because I find a bullit smoker more my style.

As you already know of some of the mods that you may have to do, your half way there....I didn't.. 😂

 

Ice.

[zurek]

On 3/22/2020 at 6:56 PM, Icefever said:

Zurek hi........I know of the Char griller, but never used one. On the other hand I do own a Landmann.  Would I buy one now I've used one??? no....but that's because I find a bullit smoker more my style.

As you already know of some of the mods that you may have to do, your half way there....I didn't.. 😂

 

Ice.

Thanks a mil. I went with the Chargriller. Heavy bastard! I will be setting it up tomorrow, both heat silicone and stove tape arrived from Amazon already. I think I have enough theoretical knowledge to get started, we'll see what curve balls will reality throw at me 😂

Also, I'm having trouble finding proper smoking wood at the moment, for obvious reasons and was wondering if  Kiln Dried Hardwood logs from Homebase be suitable for smoking. I have no idea what wood is it, looks Birchy to me, but no clue😂

Thanks again

Edited March 27, 2020 by zurek

[Icefever]

Never used logs from Homebase, or anywhere other than wood from bbq stores.  You never know what wood is in the H/base ones, could add a nasty taste to your food??

 

Ice.

[sotv]

Congrats on your purchase. Look forward to seeing the results of some of your cooks in the future. 

[zurek]

Ok so a good few curve balls alright! Applied silicone and stove tape as I was building so joints are pretty sealed up. Gap at the back of the chamber is too big for tape to seal, will have to figure something out, it leaks like crazy.

Main problem - runs really hot

First burn I got excited and dunked a full chimney of briquettes followed by a half split oak log. The temp SKYROCKETED to 280c so clearly too much fuel. 

Today I started it off with half chimney and a fist size chunk cut from the log. Even with that the temp seems to go above 140c and have to keep adding same sized chunks every 15mins. I can bring it down to 120 ish but only for short amount of time.

What am I doing wrong? Can't be going this hot with just a tiny bit of wood!? Seen people use big logs on similar sized offsets?!

Thanks!

 

 

[Smokin Monkey]

I have never used on of these.

A picture of what’s in the fire box and temperature might help people figure this out.

[Diggerg]

Personally I wouldn't rely on the gauge fitted in the lid either. Either a good quality dial gauge or a digital

[zurek]

1 hour ago, Smokin Monkey said:

I have never used on of these.

A picture of what’s in the fire box and temperature might help people figure this out.

Thanks, will take a pic tomorrow. Didn't change anything inside, no baffle plates or any modifications.

9 minutes ago, Diggerg said:

Personally I wouldn't rely on the gauge fitted in the lid either. Either a good quality dial gauge or a digital

So I knew before buying that the thermometer is rubbish, serves more as a decoration. Got a Thermopro TP17 with a grill clip and I go by this.

Just for some reason I assumed I'm gonna have the opposite problem in the beginning, not enough heat. Wasn't expecting too much to be the case.

Thanks both!

[Icefever]

Running an offset in an art, there is a YT video about it, if I can find it I'll post.

 

Take a look at these.............. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Running+an+offset+smoker

 

Ice.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Icefever

[zurek]

17 hours ago, Smokin Monkey said:

I have never used on of these.

A picture of what’s in the fire box and temperature might help people figure this out.

So here's a few pics of the Firebox and main chamber.

The charcoal rack in the main part is movable up and down, so I had an idea to turn it upside down and hang just above the inlet from fire box, suppose to spread heat more evenly and hopefully run a bit cooler so I can put larger wood chunks and not worry about going too hot. Haven't tested it yet though.

What you guys think?

4 hours ago, Icefever said:

Running an offset in an art, there is a YT video about it, if I can find it I'll post.

 

Take a look at these.............. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Running+an+offset+smoker

 

Ice.

I literally have 99% of those videos saved and watched. They're extremely helpful! Most though deal with what to do if your temp is not high enough, I must be the only one with the opposite problem 🤦‍♂️

The amount of fuel is defo going to make the difference, and will do 1 small chunk at a time, just wanted to get to a place where I can add a big enough log and manage temps then with the vents.

[Lordlarry2510]

Hi can I ask where you got your outlaw from please ??

 

thanks Larry 

[zurek]

On 4/9/2020 at 11:15 PM, Lordlarry2510 said:

Hi can I ask where you got your outlaw from please ??

 

thanks Larry 

I got it in Homebase. It's last year's stock so it was heavily discounted. Not every store will have it.

[Dialatech]

On 3/30/2020 at 6:24 PM, zurek said:

Ok so a good few curve balls alright! Applied silicone and stove tape as I was building so joints are pretty sealed up. Gap at the back of the chamber is too big for tape to seal, will have to figure something out, it leaks like crazy.

Main problem - runs really hot

First burn I got excited and dunked a full chimney of briquettes followed by a half split oak log. The temp SKYROCKETED to 280c so clearly too much fuel. 

Today I started it off with half chimney and a fist size chunk cut from the log. Even with that the temp seems to go above 140c and have to keep adding same sized chunks every 15mins. I can bring it down to 120 ish but only for short amount of time.

What am I doing wrong? Can't be going this hot with just a tiny bit of wood!? Seen people use big logs on similar sized offsets?!

Thanks!

 

 

What did you do about the Gap at the back of the chamber? I've just got this BBQ a few weeks ago and i have had quite alot of issues with assembly but ive manage to get it all up now after being told from BBQ Land to just cut the space tubers. But i have this huge gap at the back of the camber aswell.

[zurek]

8 minutes ago, Dialatech said:

What did you do about the Gap at the back of the chamber? I've just got this BBQ a few weeks ago and i have had quite alot of issues with assembly but ive manage to get it all up now after being told from BBQ Land to just cut the space tubers. But i have this huge gap at the back of the camber aswell.

Yeah had same problem with length of spacers but I used 3 nuts together instead of it. In terms of the gap at the back, didn't do anything permanent yet, just stuffed it with thick aluminium foil, kinda rolled it up towards the gap and it sealed it nicely.

Hope this helps

[Carl Martin]

I think the quality is still good. I also have a Chargriller series oven, which is not bad, and the taste is good. It has been used for a long time, and I will consider using this brand again next time.

[Justin]

https://www.woodsmokeforum.uk/search/?q=chargll offset&quick=1https://www.woodsmokeforum.uk/search/?q=chargll offset&quick=1

[SmokeyMonkey]

On 4/26/2020 at 4:20 PM, Dialatech said:

What did you do about the Gap at the back of the chamber? I've just got this BBQ a few weeks ago and i have had quite alot of issues with assembly but ive manage to get it all up now after being told from BBQ Land to just cut the space tubers. But i have this huge gap at the back of the camber aswell.

I've got the landmann one. Leaks like a sieve. I got some Aluminium flat bar and some aluminium angle bar from Screwfix and riveted that onto the back and both sides, put stove tape on the point where the lid closes onto and again round the sides... Most of the stove tape fell off after a few cooks though (self adhesive) so you might want to use a heat proof silicone to stick it on. Only prob with the stove tape is that is dusts up.. not what you want in your food. 

I've put myself on the list for a Frankilns BBQ pit.... The landmann is shite really and for the money other available smokers in the uk aren't close. Should have saved up enough to afford it by the time I get through the waitlist. 

[SmokeyMonkey]

On 3/27/2020 at 11:52 AM, zurek said:

Thanks a mil. I went with the Chargriller. Heavy bastard! I will be setting it up tomorrow, both heat silicone and stove tape arrived from Amazon already. I think I have enough theoretical knowledge to get started, we'll see what curve balls will reality throw at me 😂

Also, I'm having trouble finding proper smoking wood at the moment, for obvious reasons and was wondering if  Kiln Dried Hardwood logs from Homebase be suitable for smoking. I have no idea what wood is it, looks Birchy to me, but no clue😂

Thanks again

Steer clear of using Homebase/B&Q, petrol station, kiln dried wood. It burns very hot and fast and is most probably treated with creosote and all kinds of nasty chemicals and is designed to heat and not for cooking. Some of the chemicals could make you ill.

If possible use BBQ wood suppliers. With that type of smoker you want to be using lumpwood charcoal and wood chunks rather than trying to build a full wood fire. the firebox just isn't big enough to support the type of fire you're seeing on the youtube videos and you'll end up swinging temps wildly, constantly opening the firebox to release heat, wasting wood and just generally fighting yourself... Trust me.

Add a few chunks of oak or whatever you choose for the meat you want to smoke to the firebox then put lit coals over the top. maintain temp with coals and add chunks as needed to maintain the wispy blue smoke. If you're doing a long smoke and wrapping for the last part you dont eevn need to use the chunks for the last part, just maintain temp with lumpwood charcoal.

I've used the olive wood and air dried hardwood logs sold in some garden centres, split it up with an axe and used small logs to build an all wood fire with some success but due to the sizes of the logs you need to be adding and watching it constantly.

 

 

[SmokeyMonkey]

My last thought on this is to build a bigger firebox for the smoker... Maybe with a barrel or something, then you could have a decent size fire and control temps with the door/vents etc.

 

[zurek]

21 minutes ago, SmokeyMonkey said:

Steer clear of using Homebase/B&Q, petrol station, kiln dried wood. It burns very hot and fast and is most probably treated with creosote and all kinds of nasty chemicals and is designed to heat and not for cooking. Some of the chemicals could make you ill.

If possible use BBQ wood suppliers. With that type of smoker you want to be using lumpwood charcoal and wood chunks rather than trying to build a full wood fire. the firebox just isn't big enough to support the type of fire you're seeing on the youtube videos and you'll end up swinging temps wildly, constantly opening the firebox to release heat, wasting wood and just generally fighting yourself... Trust me.

Add a few chunks of oak or whatever you choose for the meat you want to smoke to the firebox then put lit coals over the top. maintain temp with coals and add chunks as needed to maintain the wispy blue smoke. If you're doing a long smoke and wrapping for the last part you dont eevn need to use the chunks for the last part, just maintain temp with lumpwood charcoal.

I've used the olive wood and air dried hardwood logs sold in some garden centres, split it up with an axe and used small logs to build an all wood fire with some success but due to the sizes of the logs you need to be adding and watching it constantly.

 

 

After using the offset for nearly a year now I think I have a decent handle on maintaining temps/clean fire.

I start off with a bed of lump wood and use quarter splits of whatever wood I have (currently mostly olive and cherry) approx every 40mins.

After numerous cooks I'm happy enough with it, especially for the price I paid.

Whoever said the learning curve on an offset, especially a cheap one, is steep was definitely on the ball, but nothing like trial and error and now no brisket will scare me 😅

 

[SmokeyMonkey]

On 3/22/2021 at 6:16 PM, zurek said:

After using the offset for nearly a year now I think I have a decent handle on maintaining temps/clean fire.

I start off with a bed of lump wood and use quarter splits of whatever wood I have (currently mostly olive and cherry) approx every 40mins.

After numerous cooks I'm happy enough with it, especially for the price I paid.

Whoever said the learning curve on an offset, especially a cheap one, is steep was definitely on the ball, but nothing like trial and error and now no brisket will scare me 😅

 

Ha yeah, steep and expensive. I've been having to split logs and do as you say. It's labour intensive to say the least. I really want to be able to build a fire that doesn't need such high maintenance. Got on the list for a Franklins pit so I am frantically saving and just waiting for the call. Unless something as good and cheaper becomes available in the UK.

 

 

[Tomato dip]

Great thread. I’ve just ordered one of the Outlaws so thanks for all the advice. I will keep looking out for the tips.

[zurek]

2 hours ago, Tomato dip said:

Great thread. I’ve just ordered one of the Outlaws so thanks for all the advice. I will keep looking out for the tips.

Start with something forgiving, like a whole chicken - this was my first cook and although my temps fluctuated greatly(would go up to 320F after adding a new log) the meat that came off blew my mind - juicest chicken I ever had. I was hooked!

Spatchcock it, generously cover with favourite rub and enjoy!

If you need any help, shout! been cooking on it for ages now.

PS. paint on the firebox will burn off in the centre - don't get scared that's normal. You can eventually sand it and spray it with high heat black paint or leave as is but season the bare metal with veg oil to limit rusting.

Happy smoking!