Why an Offset BBQ Smoker Still Rules Real Backyard Cooking
If you’ve been around BBQ long enough, you know trends come and go. Pellets had their big moment. Gas smokers promised “easy mode.” And yeah, they work. Sort of. But when folks talk about real smoke flavor, the kind that sticks to your ribs and your memory, they usually circle back to the same thing: the offset BBQ smoker . I didn’t grow up with one. I learned the hard way. Burnt brisket. Dry chicken. Ash everywhere. But once you figure out how offset smokers work, something clicks. It’s not just cooking. It’s managing fire. That’s a different game. 1. You Actually Control the Fire With an offset BBQ smoker, the fire sits in a separate firebox. Not under your meat. Not blasting it directly. You feed it wood, manage airflow, and let the heat roll into the cooking chamber. This means you control how hot it runs and how clean that smoke is. No computer chips. No “set it and forget it” lies. You’re in charge. And yeah, that sounds like work, but that’s also the point. Fire too hot? C...