Thanks for posting, I started with kettles and off sets and graduated to the KJBJ. Off sets are fun when you have the time. My KJBJ gives me the same or very close to the same results without so much work. A very big Thank You to Old Country for building a very good affordable backyard off set smoker. Please keep posting!!!!
I recently picked up one of these as a first offset experience. The efficiency in fire management appealed to me and have used kamado style and pellet smokers quite a bit. A couple of cooks in and I really like it! First cook (ribs) got a little dirty as I was figuring things out, but second was pulled pork that came out really well. Looking forward to more content on the grill, with a large(ish) water pan I do feel like I was able to burn more wood a little cleaner with fewer temp swings, but it’s definitely a learning curve for me to figure out the cadence. I did remove the charcoal grate as a felt by the time I dropped to 230ish my coal bed was almost too depleted to light another split, so removing the grate let me maintain a larger coal bed and cut down on the burn efficiency a bit
I’ve been looking at the G2. I want to get an offset smoker again. It’s been way too long. I’ve been only using pellets for past 3 years now. I have had great luck with the pellets but want to get back to that full fire.
I just picked up the G2 a couple weeks ago. Seasoned it and have done 2 cooks on it. I'm still working on learning the fire management side of things, but this is a great smoker to be sure. I removed the tuning plates, fire box plate, etc., put on 3 tell true thermometers, and a ball valve. Temps are even across the bottom rack, about 50 degrees hotter on the top, very standard stuff. I would recommend this to anyone.
Great video. I was thinking of getting an Outlaw Patio - gorgeous smoker - but it too is small, fully-insulated and runs one small stick at a time. I’ve always wondered if the flavor would be “enough.” I was promised by many that pellet grills brought the flavor, and that proved to be NOT the case in my experience.
When I (relatively new KJ owner) saw this video I was like, "oh no...should I have gotten this instead?" and then at the end of the video I was like, "nope! I made the right choice for me!" I love how your videos always cover the thinking--everyone's use case is just a little different and your videos always cover enough of the thinking to allow for other use cases to arrive at an informed decision. Thank you again for a great video!
Much appreciated and I am with you on the choice. This is interesting and I will enjoy testing it but it’s not something I foresee continuing on with long term when I already have offsets that hold more and pack the offset flavour
A KJ and a offset are completely different things. I love a Kamado for all it can do. An offset is strictly for smoking. As an offset will give you a far better bbq flavor than a kamado. I’d never give up my kamado just for the versatility.
With your comment on the efficiency being too good, and a result of giving not enough smoke; my next test for this I would like to see is a two stage cook. That meaning a lower more smoldering dirty smoke for the first couple hours, and a gradual increase on temperature to run a cleaner smoke fire around 275 to render and finish a brisket. Just super curious how this may affect its finish. I might add, that I've chosen to go with this pit to add to my growing arsenal of cooking methods and this is the direction I may go with running this pit. Thanks James, love your informative videos
Another amazing video. I can’t help but think how envious your neighbours are with that amazing smoke wafting over the fence. The smell vision on my phone isn’t there yet.
Nice video, thank you! I am looking to upgrade from my Oki Joe and really considering this smoker. I've noticed that some of the earlier G2 smokers don't have the longer top shelf as you mentioned or full rails on the bottom grate, or the full width collector. There can never be a con to a insulated FB except maybe having to use smaller splits IMO.
Great review! I own this cooker too and really appreciate your thorough analysis. Looking forward to more tests on this offset. As a newbie to offsets, I'm eager to see your experiments. Can you please test how to achieve balanced temperatures across the cook chamber using water container, tuning plate, and baffle combinations? I've struggled with a hot zone in the middle and would love your insights. Thanks!
The price seems good. And, the build quality looks good. And, the main thing, it would be easy to move around. Maybe a Brisket would be hard to do without staying up all night. How about a pork butt? Not up all night and you could see how the temps and smoke hold? Always like seeing a new video too...
1st smoke on my newly purchased G2 was a pork butt. Temp control was a challenge, had a hard time keeping it under 300. Just purchased the Lone Star Fire Management Basket, hopefully this will help with providing a more consistent temp range. Very well built, great value for the price. Had it shipped to Northern California. Haha…had the same issue getting it off the pallet. Thx for the review!
I guess a brisket is the next cook to see what happens with long cooks and taste. You were spraying something onto the new cooker. Was that oil to season or something else to clean the shipping grease? I am very interested in this smaller offset and if it can create great offset BBQ like your bigger offsets, maybe this will fit my backyard and wood availability better. Thanks for continuing testing new items.
Buffalo is 40min from us so we can cheat a little. I did get a message from someone who ordered direct and figured out shipping to Markham, ON so that could be an option too
Thank you. I’m very interested in one of these for my first offset. Have you ever heard of, or used a Blue Smoke Smoker? It’s the same gentleman that is behind Bigphils. 3/8” 12*48 handmade for 2100. Those are my choices. Have a great day!
Nice comparison even if it is not as dramatic as you say with the percentages. It's for instance not 271% more.. instead it is simply 271% compared to the cheapest.
I have been looking at this grill as an upgrade from my old Brinkmann offset. The problem with the Brinkmann is not construction as it is 3/16" throughout, but rather it is the small size. It is almost impossible to keep the temperature under 275 while burning oak in full flame. Choking it back causes dirty smoke. The G2 with the insulated firebox seems to take me right back to the same problem...burning tiny logs one at a time and still wrestling with smoke/temperature control. This design seems to solve nothing for me, so I think the Brazos would be a better design. I live in oak/hickory country on 20 acers so saving on wood use is not a concern. Would you agree that, with wood use not being a concern, that the Brazos is not only cheaper but superior in terms of smoke/temp control?
Question. You said you landed on one log at a time. Do you recall roughly how often that was? Just got my order placed for my g2. Trying to have as much info as i can beforehand lol.
Hey James, great video! I saw some other first impressions on this a month or 2 ago and the old country pits, whether it be the Brazos or this one seem to be very good, more mid range offsets. Being that you probably have a sizeable Canadian audience, did old country maybe include some details about if their pits will start to be sold up here? Or as usual do we need to jump through all the hoops/cost to import?
I got a message from a follower in Markham who contacted them directly and was able to sort out shipping and duties instead of driving to Buffalo and or using Cross Boarder Pickups type services
It’s a tricky one. The build quality / construction materials almost can’t be mentioned in the same sentence. The paint has flaked off a few spots on the firebox already, the size is a fraction of the cooking space and the smoke is more like a really well done grill with smoke wood cook than what an offset normally does which has a super clean penetration smoke…. But then there is the price. I don’t know what call it, at 2k it’s not a cheap offset but it shares attributes with both premium pits and cheaper pits all together in one package
A day in the life at Smoking Dad Manor.... Smoking Dad: "Oh boy! A new offset to test!" Smoking Mom: "Damn! A new offset on the patio!" Smoking Kids: "Hurry up Dad! When's dinner?"
Seems too pricey to me. Not sure there are $1000 worth of upgrades from the Brazos. $1,500 would be more reasonable to me. I would opt for the Horizon 20” Marshall before I would get this. The quality of the build would be better even if it didn’t have an insulated firebox. Have you done any reviews of the Horizon smokers?
$1899? Seems high to me, got the gen 1 last summer for $499 . I do appreciate the improvements and it appears to be a good value compared to some of the competitors so I'm sure it will sell well, what are your thoughts on this?
I’m torn what to call it. At 2k it’s not cheap.. yet it shares some things / experiences like paint flaking or rust that you experience with big box offsets but it also has some premium features done well at pits costing a lot more than when you touch them feel almost worth a lot more. It’s also by far ridiculously easy to use … but that trade off is at the expense of more clean fire / smoke which is the point of an offset. I’m not 100% sure how to make sense of the various pros and cons just yet. If I built this, I would remove the insulation material and do a semi insulated FB and want a larger cook chamber as this is on the borderline too small size.
@SmokingDadBBQ I think you are right. You need semi insulated to get wood to burn in its happy temp zone while also radiating some heat to atmosphere. Something like a goldee pit with insulated firebox floor. Smoke North style I guess. The goldees in turn eats too much wood for cold climates.
I just bought your recommended mods for the Oklahoma Joe to make the most of it… but I’m curious, how does the flavor from the ribs you made on the modified Oklahoma Joe compare to this gen2?
my modified OKJ were better... this wasn't terrible but its not a 10/10 offset cook so now that i have the fire figured out for this model need to see if we can't get a little closer to where we left off with that one. My modified OKJ performed great.. the only drawback it had post mods is the frequency of fire management and wood prep but food wise it was solid
ANY 1/4" smoker is going to give you an advantage vs cooking on china joe built 2.5mm smoker. thermodynamics and extra insulation of thicker metal are your friends.
@SmokingDadBBQ lol if price wasn't a determining factor and only based on performance would you take the old country? I have $2500 and I'm looking for my next 10+ year smoker... what would you suggest because I was honestly thinking of the country G2. Thanks for your help!!!
@@shawnsummers4569 I have some hesitation on this so far. It’s not cheap and it’s not made the same as expensive offsets, it’s not large and it’s so efficient I am not 100% sure that’s a good idea / tastes like how an offset should just yet. Doing some more tests but I’m leaning to this being good for people most concerned about fire management and fuel costs and less oriented for people wanting the best offset result
@@shawnsummers4569 Hi Shawn, I have a G2 and probably like you have been BBQ all my life, in my case since the 70's and I have to say, this ranks right up there as one of the best smokers I have ever used. Remember, the reviews these channels provide are very useful, but also very subjective, only one mans opinion. Contrary to this review, the G2 offers off the charts flavor profile, IMO. Don't regret one single bit having purchased it and I highly recommend it.
Old Country is the standard if you want bang for your buck. The fact that a lot of smokers are in the 3K-5K range says more about what people are willing to pay for their toys to impress people than what the smokers can actually do. This isn't a Ferrari vs Ford debate either. The Old Country can do exactly what the 3K smoker can do.
I don't think leaving a smoker run overnight in my area would be a good idea. We have bears and big cats around. I'm not sure I'd wake up to a finished cook in the morning.
No disrespect to old country but I would rather pay $2000 extra for the Goldee’s backyard smoker. This smoker is small and not worth the $2500 they’re charging.
It’s in odd spot. On one hand it has features of pits costing a lot more for a big discount … BUT it also has some similarities to big box offsets that 2k feels like a lot for. I fell in love with the echo reverse flow I am borrowing / testing and plan to buy it and sell my Huron
How did I know that as i was watching this that the Old country was going to be way cheaper then the "Competitors." Come on lets be genuine with these video and find actual price compared pits. Feels more like paid advertising. I do understand that Old country as far as store bought offsets pretty much own that 1200 - 2000 dollar price range.
What competitor has a collector, insulated firebox, min 1/4” steel and a decent sized chimney for this price point? I didn’t get a dollar to make this video or say anything one way or the other about it.. clearly you haven’t finished yet if you think it’s all sunshine and praise
Hello to The channel...thank you I Work actually in old country...thank you as been hard to change from the engineers the design AND G2 Was the outcome, from Welding throught the complete design Was a team effort... Thank you all From Masters to beginners in this fascinanting Industry to AKnowledge the effort of the TEAMs AND Staff that contributed to The effort...from our TEAMs thank you For the support.. Sweeding hard AND teaching Welding long working hours ... Finally came out...
I use Kamado Joe charcoal and a lot of it is very large lump. I wonder if selecting those big chunks for this overnight cook would have any effect like extend the cook time or even out the temps.
Watching the video and you were saying the G2 is a full 1/4” smoker is that correct ?? I ask this when you pulled the weight comparison chart yes, the G2 is some what on the smaller size but the weight difference was really a big difference for this smoker to be a full 1/4” offset smoker. Thanks
testing the memory, they were reasonable. a friend called shortly after and got one to Markham ON and it was similar. email Enrique (the info@ address is him)
all those comparisions, except for the old country, are some of the MOST EXPENSIVE smokers out there. an excellent value 1/4" smoker is available from HORIZON SMOKERS. over $5K for a franklin smoker, no thanks. you could buy FOUR horizon smokers for same price. 1/4" steel, made in usa, excellent quality product and people.
How much did this cost in CAD after taxes and shipping? I'm in the market for an offset and I'd like to get one a bit better quality than an oklahoma joe. This seems like it might be the next best option.
@@SmokingDadBBQ Would have to fly all the way to New Zealand to sample my goods haha. I have quite a basic offset and its difficult to say the least. After watching your mods video, I think I will have to try some to see if it helps. Going to try some chicken this weekend so fingers crossed! Thanks for the content dude.
It’s more offset still than charcoal as I did cook the ribs with a wood only fire …. But the smoke wasn’t as clean or as deep as normal for an offset. At least first attempt… despite that, leap years ahead of the pellet ribs I just did
I saw in other comments about the paint flaking off. I don't really get why any outdoor cooking tool should have paint on it. Surely the heat + paint equation isn't ideal for cooking applications.
The only 1/4" steel I noticed is the lower cooking chamber. The sides and top are 3/16". I'm not sure af actual dimensions of the firebox. With that and the shorter length I think I'd rather the less expensive Brazos.
I've seen this reviewed a few times and always laugh. It's supposedly affordable, but it's $700 more expensive than my custom smoker with thinner steel and smaller
You’re not wrong. In some ways my mind wants to call it a cheap offset but it’s really not. 2000 is a lot of money It’s not a lot of space, it’s not constructed the same as expensive pits and it’s maybe too energy efficient? In either case it has some pros and cons and I am still making up my mind about the blend of how all those come together
I'm glad you got one of these to test. I want to see a brisket once you are comfortable with the cadence of wood split timing, etc. When you mentioned bad offset ribs, did you mean dirty smoke or was it a tenderness thing? How did your wife like the ribs from the first cook?
It might be over insulated for the size I agree. The flip side is this is so much easier to run than the okj was and it costs less on fuel but fuel is flavour so not sure that trade off will appeal to everyone. Ease of use is a big factor and this actually a massive step easier compared to most small big box store offsets I’ve used
Thanks for the well done video! I'm mainly a pellet and Kamado (webber summit) guy but have been wanting to try out an offset. I really appreciate you sharing your experience and knowledge
Great video. I've been waiting for you to get one of these. I'd be intrested in doing ribs with the tuner plates in. And of course brisket. And/or a temp/airflow test with and without the tuner plates.
I will see what I can rig up to record the differences. I am still not sure what to make of it. By comparison it’s so much less money than premium pits …. But it’s also kinda obvious to the point where spending more for a little better QC might feel justified. It’s also so easy to run compared to any small offset I’ve used it’s ridiculous and that appeals to many people so I don’t want to discount that …. But at the same time there’s a marked smoke difference between it and my other offsets you start to wonder what problem it solves and at what cost / trade offs
cant add but so many wood splits at one time as they will all ignite and you would get huge temp spike and short burn time. cooking with wood splits is TIME and FIRE MANAGEMENT intensive, but worth it. average split burn time in offset smoker (1-2 splits at a time) will yield approximately 30-45 minutes of cook time......depending on a long list of factors.
kj has HORRIBLE backlog situation on replacement parts. ive been waiting paitently for almost a year on replacement hinge for BIG JOE, to no avail. kj customer service is aware, has no idea when the next big boat will arrive from china with replacement parts to update inventory on kj website. VISION is in the same boat, so to speak. frustrating thing is, both companies keep selling NEW complete product with no problems.......yet no replacement parts to be found anywhere.
