How to build a fire in an offset smoker

How to tame your offset. I chose to build a so called offset smoker where you build a fire in one box and place the food in another named the food chamber. In the bottom of the Reverse Flow Smoker we are building we want the products of combustion to move from the fire box to the cook chamber and then out of the cook chamber and out the stack. Let the smoker dry and then spritz vegetable oil over the inside of the cooking chamber. Normally youll need to have both dampers on your offset smoker at least partially open at all times. You will need to add about 4 pieces of wood to sustain a nice 225 degree fire depending of course on the individual size of your smoker and you will want to add a piece of wood onto the fire approximately every hour or so to maintain a constant temperature.

There is also some reasonably complicated metalwork needed to fit all the parts together and make sure there are no leaks and that the airflow correctly circulates the smoke in the cooking chamber.

Wash the smoker inside and out you want to get rid of any left over flux from welding and paint the smoker with some high heat paint. Start your charcoal I prefer natural lump charcoal in a chimney starter and spread the embers over the charcoal rack at the bottom of the firebox. 2072018 The firebox is the place on your smoker where you build your fire. If either of them are fully closed it will restrict air from entering the firebox resulting in the fire going out. 31122019 To keep the fire going in your offset smoker youll need to adjust the dampers accordingly. Open all of the vents on the smoker and light a fire in the firebox. One of the first steps is to fill your charcoal basket with about one chimney full of unlit lump charcoal. In the case of using wood it is advisable to use large chunks or pieces instead of chips as the latter will burn off much faster and therefore require more often refills and. Rinse the smoker to wash away any dust grease or shavings. I show you how to fire it up how to maintain temp and how to shut it down incl. This is so as the fire burns the smoke and heat will flow up and through the cooking chamber and out the chimney.