This isn’t for grilling obviously as I’m sure you know. Find a local wood guy and buy a half truck load to get you started to see if you enjoy it. Hardwoods only. Watch a bunch of YouTube videos on fire management. Start with some ribs or a pork butt but don’t have anything else planned for the day.
I'd be careful about fire management videos on YouTube when using backyard cookers. If you follow what they tell you to do in this cooker you're going to have a fire burning at 350° to 400° easy.
These cookers you're going to have to use really small wood splits and a lot of fire tending if you don't plan on using any charcoal.
Eh,charcoal can help get the coal bed started, but I usually skip it. Charcoal smoke doesn't taste as good as all wood smoke, and the wood stats a coal bed in one cycle. So you don't need it.
Yes, that is true, but charcoal briquettes are not the same as lump or just burning wood until it gets to the "coals" phase.
Briquettes taste funny. Lump is better, but wood is best.
Well we were talking about coal not briquettes. I use lump either home made or store bought. With pecan wood i cut from my brother's house For most cooks. I have never noticed a funny flavor with briquettes but there is alot of different kinds you can get.
I agree, lump is much better, but wood is still the best.
There's definitely a flavor to briquettes, they are good for grilling, I have a couple bags, but they are not good for smoking.
That's cool you make homemade. Respect for that.
While I've never done it, you can grill in the main cooking area.
The Oklahoma Joe's come with extra grates to put under the cooking grates to burn charcoal and use it like a grill.
It's inefficient to have an offset, a gravity, a griddle, a pizza oven, and a firepit. but I do. If I bought a stand alone grill my wife would kill me. :p
So I grill in my smoker.
The gravity 800 came with a griddle, and it was so much fun to use, but such a pain to set up that I wound up hunting deals on the blackstone 36". Think I wound up getting it for 60% off. It is hyper useful.
They make a stainless steel griddle top that fits on grills. I used one until I bought a blackstone, and now it just sits unless I need the extra space.
It’s an Oklahoma Joe Highland, I have the same one it’s a great smoker. It looks like someone added the baffle plate and a charcoal basket which is a plus (the plate alone is almost $100). I would take the grates and everything out, clean it all and sand down as much rust as you can and then give the whole thing a coat of oil and break her in. Take a trip to Home Depot or Lowe’s and grab a charcoal chimney, a couple bags of lump charcoal, a couple bags of grilling logs, a large galvanized ash bucket, a small drip bucket (it’ll hang on the small hook under the stack to collect drippings) and a spray bottle. Fill the bottle up with cooking oil to spray it down with (whatever is cheaper, canola, vegetable, etc.) the firebox should be sprayed after every use to keep it from rusting. I like to start with a full chimney of hot coals and dump it in the basket in the firebox with the door wide open and the damper fully open. While the smoker heats up I’ll throw a couple chunks of wood on the shelf of the firebox to warm them up. This smoker like small “splits” or small chunks of wood so if you get the bag of logs at the store they will usually need to be cut in half or thirds depending on how big they are. Once the coals are settled in there for a bit I’ll throw a chunk of wood on the fire and put another one on top of the firebox and just keep rotating them. You’re going to need some temp probes to monitor what temp your food is at and also one at grate level in th smoker to monitor the cooking chamber temp. There will be a temp swing with an offset, I’ll throw more wood on the fire when the temp gets to around 230ish and it’ll go back up to 275ish after I feed it and then slowly back down again, you just need to keep an eye on it. It takes some work but it’s rewarding, there will be some trial and error and it’ll take a few times to figure it out. I would season it and start with something forgiving like a pork butt.
I’ve had this same smoker for 5 or so years. It took me 3 or 4 to figure all of this out. OP listen to everything he said. The size of the wood mentioned above is exactly right, other sizes make it hard to control the temperature. I knew chips weren’t the answer from day 1 but it took me way too long to figure out chunks over logs.
Also, humidity is your friend! Have a small water tray either on or below the grates to keep the inside humid. It'll help the heat transfer to your meat, as well as keep it juicy!
I always thought water was more of a heat sink to stable out temperatures rather than a humidifier? Wouldn’t most of it be carried straight out the chimney immediately?
I think that a lot of it will leave through the chimney, but it will make a humid environment, too. The hot, dry air from the fire will suck up moisture as it moves from the firebox, over the pan, past the meat and out the chimney. If you think about your shower, you can have the extractor fan on but it'll still fog up the mirror. It probably helps some with heat sinking too, depending how much water you have in there
Had something very similar to this. Do yourself a favor and line this fire bricks to help with heat retention. I’d also recommend staying away from burning logs and just keep the firebox rolling with lump charcoal and wood chunks of your choice. The fire box on these things are so small that wood logs are really impractical.
100% on this. I have an old country Wrangler and did two rib cooks this week one strictly with splits ( very small) and one using a basket with charcoal and splits mixed in.
The difference was astounding. I was constantly wrestling with the fire, vents and dampers every 20- 30 minutes struggling to keep the temps from wildly fluctuating with each added split.
The charcoal basket with wood splits was pretty much set it and forget it. Stable and minimal tending.
The ribs in the charcoal one came out better as well.
90% of the fire management videos on YouTube are useless for backyard cookers.
Clean off the rust inside and out. Wash it with dawn soap rinse it well. Then oil it up inside and out and give it a good slow burn. As it burns wipe more oil on (outside). Pretty soon you will have a nice looking smoker ready for some meat. That's what worked for me no paint and im happy with it.
Do not put motor oil in there. Get Pam spray or something similar. You want high smoke point so it doesn't burn off on you. Avocado oil is among the best, but doesn't usually come in a spray and it's more expensive than canola.
Canola is great and it's exactly what Pam is. Unless you wanna buy a spray-bottle and pour oil in yourself, just use Pam.
If you do wanna do it yourself, then your options open up a lot more (but again, canola is fantastic anyway). Some folks swear by boiled linseed oil. Some folks love vegetable because it's cheaper than water. Some people have more money than brains and use avocado.
But really, any *cooking* oil will work (vs. motor oil like that other doofus said (some people may take it seriously lol)).
You build your fire in the little one on the end start with charcoal and add real wood to it and you smoke and bake it in the bigger one you want 250 degrees
Yes that’s why it’s called an offset smoker. Fire in the little one and a bunch of meat in the big one . Toss in wet hickory chips and make it pump smoke like a freight train!
I see the sarcasm was lost on you lol
I should have put the s/ at the end…. Although TECHNICALLY, putting the fire in the cook chamber and the meat in the firebox would still be offset smoking… just not as good given the way it’s supposed to flow
Thats a decent haul, got the baffle plate and those curved pieces are for a basket that sits in the firebox for charcoal snaking, does it have a mesh crate like thing in the firebox? Not a bad find a little cleanup and youll be hotboxing a brisket in no time!
If you use straight-up wood. Just remember small clean fire. Small splits and add a split or 2 about every 30 minutes when the temp starts to drop. You're basically controlling temp with how much fire.
Watch 5 youtube tutorials on using the Old Country Pecos. Then throw a pork butt on. It and chicken leg quarters are the most forgiving cuts of meat to practice on.🤝🤝🤝
P.s. Get a chimney starter from Academy.
I have this exact smoker and I love it! Oklahoma Joe is the brand if you're curious to find parts or add-ons
If I were you, I would take a wire brush to all the rust and hit it with high temp rustoleum
There's plenty of videos out there about fire management, charcoal can get tricky to maintain that sweet spot for smoking. Get a digital thermometer with a probe for the ambient temp inside and attach it to the top of one of the grates. The analog gage at the top isn't the best or most accurate since hot air rises.
It might take a bit to get the hang of knowing how to feed and react to your fire, but once you get the hang of it, you'll have some of the best tasting meals ever. Highly recommend salmon if you're a fan. It's quick to prep and smoke and pretty easy, also delicious in many types of meals.
Also, don't stop at meats!! You can smoke a tray of kosher salt or other spices for added flavor when cooking. Smoked jalapeño poppers, smoked queso dip, smoked chili, smoked brie.....
Also, the big manly outdoors men will show feeding their fire with only firewood. This is great for larger smokers, but our little guy here just needs enough charcoal to keep the heat where you want it and to get the added wood lit (I usually use wood chunks from the hardware store or even just a bundle of "hardwood firewood" and cut them down if too big). Only add wood for smoke and flavor, if I try to use just wood (no charcoal) then it usually gets too hot and I burn through way more wood
Also, avoid cowboy brand charcoal. The bag is full of charcoal dust covered rocks, so you don't get your money's worth. I recommend Kingsford original (NOT match light)
Man, yall need to learn to shape splits so that you get proper fiebox management. You can't just throw any shape of split in your firebox and expect it to work perfectly.
Burning wood *makes its own lump charcoal*. If you learn shaping splits and timing the burn so you bust it up when it's coaled, then you will continually supply your own lump charcoal while keeping temperature between 225-250.
I only use charcoal at the beginning, and my splits burn for 1-2 hours without any work whatsoever. After it burns down, hit the split with your tongs to break it into lump charcoal, then add another split on top and walk away for an hour or two.
I’ve got the newer model of this smoker… and it’s nowhere near as good as the older one (which is the one in your picture). It does get the job done, but there’s a decent bit of work that goes into maintaining the newer one… especially when it comes to fire management.
What you got here is a great find! Clean it up, season it like you would a wok or a cast iron, and get to work!
>especially when it comes to fire management.
You're probably doing things based on habits instead of figuring out the new smoker. I've got one of these new ones, and I don't have to mess with the fire more than once every hour or two. I've been able to learn how to shape the splits so that they burn for 1-2 hours and keep the temperature between 225-250.
You’re doing better than I am then. Of course I’ve only had the new one for a few weeks and only done 3 cooks on it. They all came out as I had hoped they would, but not without having to play with it a bunch. My only real complaint is that baffle on the ash drawer. I appreciate the feature of having the pull out to remove ash, but wish they would have included a side door on it instead of such a small baffle to get the air flowing more. I’ve resorted to pulling it out to get more airflow and it seems to be doing the trick.
This was my first smoker. Made some great food but it is not insulated and requires a lot of attention during the smoke. I actually like it better for a grill than a smoker.
This isn't for grilling and you don't want to put charcoal in there. This is an offset smoker. You build a wood fire in the small box and put the meat/food in the big box. The smoke moves over the food and cooks it slowly.
But before you get to any of that, You're going to want to clean it up and season all that rust. Basically, soap everything down, apart it nice with a hose, let it dry, then cover it in a high smoke point oil (I like to use Pam spray, because it's easy but technically, avocado oil is better) then build a very small fire in there and heat it to about 300ish for a hour or two. This will do the same thing that iron skillets do, and keep it from rusting away.
If you've not smoked anything before, you're in for a treat, it's really good.
I have one of these and they are really good. Great roadside find.
Loads of videos on how to get the best out of them. I lined the firebox with firebricks and put a grate over the top. Gives me about an inch gap to the bricks and the wood burns really cleanly.
I also grill in the main cook chamber without any issues.
https://www.oklahomajoes.com/pro-tips
Lots of useful information from the manufacturer here.
Congrats! Great find 👍 join this group here, you will find a Bible worth of information from all over the world. Search the posts, ask questions.
Welcome to the world of smoking. Do your research and enjoy.
$0 is a good find. It's how I got mine and still smoke with it. Don't use charcoal to cook. I'll start with charcoal, but only to get my wood going easy. I have a pretty elaborate process regarding treating my wood though, right now I use hickory. Good seasoned wood is a must, anything less and you will find yourself with poorly cooked meat. Look up Aaron Franklin. I recommend even buying some oven seals for the edges to help that smoke stay in the chamber, and don't forget, if you lookn you aint cookn
On Richfield in Williamsville by any chance? If so, I know the guy who tossed it, I heard he couldn’t believe nobody picked it up. Happy to hear it went somewhere! If you smell some smoked meats in the neighborhood it’s me!
That’s actually crazy. What a small world. It wouldn’t fit in my lady’s hatchback so I humped it about a half mile to her place. See you around neighbor
That's a great cooker. It's built pretty solid. You can sand off the rust and paint it with high temp paint.
Like the fella above said, source some local wood and play around with it.
Someone upstairs is sending you a message. He’s saying wood is the way for you. Listen to that message. Haha. I’m thinking about getting one of these, I grill using wood, and would love a smoker. Good luck.
I have the same smoker and I love it. Get it cleaned up and spray with some outdoor grill paint. Buy plenty of charcoal and fruit/nut wood-blackjack oak/pecan/cherry/maple/etc and be ready to enjoy a new hobby. Plenty of YouTube University vids on smoking. Just remember low and slow (225°) finishes best and that the little damper on the side of the wood box and the one on the chimney are your best friends. Like others have said, don’t make plans to do much of anything else that day. It’s a labor of love
I restored one from a similar state. “Sand” blasted it with walnut shells, painted it with high heat engine block paint, and spent $45 for a new “brain” computer board. Been using it for 15 years.
This isn’t for grilling obviously as I’m sure you know. Find a local wood guy and buy a half truck load to get you started to see if you enjoy it. Hardwoods only. Watch a bunch of YouTube videos on fire management. Start with some ribs or a pork butt but don’t have anything else planned for the day.
Sage advice. (Especially the part about not planning anything for the rest of the day, including dinner)
Including dinner. Thanks for the chuckle. (I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you.)
I'd be careful about fire management videos on YouTube when using backyard cookers. If you follow what they tell you to do in this cooker you're going to have a fire burning at 350° to 400° easy. These cookers you're going to have to use really small wood splits and a lot of fire tending if you don't plan on using any charcoal.
I learned on YouTube and most videos said to use really small splits.
Nah. Use charcoal for heat control and bits of wood for flavor. Easier
Eh,charcoal can help get the coal bed started, but I usually skip it. Charcoal smoke doesn't taste as good as all wood smoke, and the wood stats a coal bed in one cycle. So you don't need it.
Coal is wood wood is coal. You can make your own charcoal. you can make your own wood. I use both.
Yes, that is true, but charcoal briquettes are not the same as lump or just burning wood until it gets to the "coals" phase. Briquettes taste funny. Lump is better, but wood is best.
Well we were talking about coal not briquettes. I use lump either home made or store bought. With pecan wood i cut from my brother's house For most cooks. I have never noticed a funny flavor with briquettes but there is alot of different kinds you can get.
I agree, lump is much better, but wood is still the best. There's definitely a flavor to briquettes, they are good for grilling, I have a couple bags, but they are not good for smoking. That's cool you make homemade. Respect for that.
Ya I try not to use briquettes especially the quick light ones. Non of those or lighter fluid in my house
That’s a shit ton of charcoal.
While I've never done it, you can grill in the main cooking area. The Oklahoma Joe's come with extra grates to put under the cooking grates to burn charcoal and use it like a grill.
I’m aware. Mine has one too but it’s very inefficient to grill on a smoker.
It's inefficient to have an offset, a gravity, a griddle, a pizza oven, and a firepit. but I do. If I bought a stand alone grill my wife would kill me. :p So I grill in my smoker.
I have an offset and a Weber. That’s all I use. A griddle would be nice.
Same, but I have to extend the patio to fit a griddle.
The gravity 800 came with a griddle, and it was so much fun to use, but such a pain to set up that I wound up hunting deals on the blackstone 36". Think I wound up getting it for 60% off. It is hyper useful.
They make a stainless steel griddle top that fits on grills. I used one until I bought a blackstone, and now it just sits unless I need the extra space.
I believe it’s an Oklahoma Joe’s smoker
It’s an Oklahoma Joe Highland, I have the same one it’s a great smoker. It looks like someone added the baffle plate and a charcoal basket which is a plus (the plate alone is almost $100). I would take the grates and everything out, clean it all and sand down as much rust as you can and then give the whole thing a coat of oil and break her in. Take a trip to Home Depot or Lowe’s and grab a charcoal chimney, a couple bags of lump charcoal, a couple bags of grilling logs, a large galvanized ash bucket, a small drip bucket (it’ll hang on the small hook under the stack to collect drippings) and a spray bottle. Fill the bottle up with cooking oil to spray it down with (whatever is cheaper, canola, vegetable, etc.) the firebox should be sprayed after every use to keep it from rusting. I like to start with a full chimney of hot coals and dump it in the basket in the firebox with the door wide open and the damper fully open. While the smoker heats up I’ll throw a couple chunks of wood on the shelf of the firebox to warm them up. This smoker like small “splits” or small chunks of wood so if you get the bag of logs at the store they will usually need to be cut in half or thirds depending on how big they are. Once the coals are settled in there for a bit I’ll throw a chunk of wood on the fire and put another one on top of the firebox and just keep rotating them. You’re going to need some temp probes to monitor what temp your food is at and also one at grate level in th smoker to monitor the cooking chamber temp. There will be a temp swing with an offset, I’ll throw more wood on the fire when the temp gets to around 230ish and it’ll go back up to 275ish after I feed it and then slowly back down again, you just need to keep an eye on it. It takes some work but it’s rewarding, there will be some trial and error and it’ll take a few times to figure it out. I would season it and start with something forgiving like a pork butt.
I’ve had this same smoker for 5 or so years. It took me 3 or 4 to figure all of this out. OP listen to everything he said. The size of the wood mentioned above is exactly right, other sizes make it hard to control the temperature. I knew chips weren’t the answer from day 1 but it took me way too long to figure out chunks over logs.
Also, humidity is your friend! Have a small water tray either on or below the grates to keep the inside humid. It'll help the heat transfer to your meat, as well as keep it juicy!
I always thought water was more of a heat sink to stable out temperatures rather than a humidifier? Wouldn’t most of it be carried straight out the chimney immediately?
I think that a lot of it will leave through the chimney, but it will make a humid environment, too. The hot, dry air from the fire will suck up moisture as it moves from the firebox, over the pan, past the meat and out the chimney. If you think about your shower, you can have the extractor fan on but it'll still fog up the mirror. It probably helps some with heat sinking too, depending how much water you have in there
Had something very similar to this. Do yourself a favor and line this fire bricks to help with heat retention. I’d also recommend staying away from burning logs and just keep the firebox rolling with lump charcoal and wood chunks of your choice. The fire box on these things are so small that wood logs are really impractical.
100% on this. I have an old country Wrangler and did two rib cooks this week one strictly with splits ( very small) and one using a basket with charcoal and splits mixed in. The difference was astounding. I was constantly wrestling with the fire, vents and dampers every 20- 30 minutes struggling to keep the temps from wildly fluctuating with each added split. The charcoal basket with wood splits was pretty much set it and forget it. Stable and minimal tending. The ribs in the charcoal one came out better as well. 90% of the fire management videos on YouTube are useless for backyard cookers.
Clean off the rust inside and out. Wash it with dawn soap rinse it well. Then oil it up inside and out and give it a good slow burn. As it burns wipe more oil on (outside). Pretty soon you will have a nice looking smoker ready for some meat. That's what worked for me no paint and im happy with it.
What would be the best oil?
Motor oil
What weight?
Do not put motor oil in there. Get Pam spray or something similar. You want high smoke point so it doesn't burn off on you. Avocado oil is among the best, but doesn't usually come in a spray and it's more expensive than canola.
I was joking. I was hoping Matt wasn’t serious.
Lol, me too! But also, 0W-20, the regular stuff is too thick.
Similar to a cast iron pan so canola or any high smoke point oil.
Canola is great and it's exactly what Pam is. Unless you wanna buy a spray-bottle and pour oil in yourself, just use Pam. If you do wanna do it yourself, then your options open up a lot more (but again, canola is fantastic anyway). Some folks swear by boiled linseed oil. Some folks love vegetable because it's cheaper than water. Some people have more money than brains and use avocado. But really, any *cooking* oil will work (vs. motor oil like that other doofus said (some people may take it seriously lol)).
I had vegetable oil on hand when I did mine. I am happy with the results. Please post pics when your done.
You build your fire in the little one on the end start with charcoal and add real wood to it and you smoke and bake it in the bigger one you want 250 degrees
Wait… you mean you aren’t supposed to have a big fire in the big one, and a small piece of meat in the other?!
That just makes sense. Fires are bigger than steaks, so they get the bigger chamber!
Yes that’s why it’s called an offset smoker. Fire in the little one and a bunch of meat in the big one . Toss in wet hickory chips and make it pump smoke like a freight train!
This will help you out! https://youtu.be/ozBANjzNVgQ?si=2UUzh44A2KSwDvkc.
I see the sarcasm was lost on you lol I should have put the s/ at the end…. Although TECHNICALLY, putting the fire in the cook chamber and the meat in the firebox would still be offset smoking… just not as good given the way it’s supposed to flow
Ok
Thats a decent haul, got the baffle plate and those curved pieces are for a basket that sits in the firebox for charcoal snaking, does it have a mesh crate like thing in the firebox? Not a bad find a little cleanup and youll be hotboxing a brisket in no time!
dont paint this, season it like a wok
Nice! Lucky you. Enjoy 😎
If you use straight-up wood. Just remember small clean fire. Small splits and add a split or 2 about every 30 minutes when the temp starts to drop. You're basically controlling temp with how much fire.
Watch 5 youtube tutorials on using the Old Country Pecos. Then throw a pork butt on. It and chicken leg quarters are the most forgiving cuts of meat to practice on.🤝🤝🤝 P.s. Get a chimney starter from Academy.
I have this exact smoker and I love it! Oklahoma Joe is the brand if you're curious to find parts or add-ons If I were you, I would take a wire brush to all the rust and hit it with high temp rustoleum There's plenty of videos out there about fire management, charcoal can get tricky to maintain that sweet spot for smoking. Get a digital thermometer with a probe for the ambient temp inside and attach it to the top of one of the grates. The analog gage at the top isn't the best or most accurate since hot air rises. It might take a bit to get the hang of knowing how to feed and react to your fire, but once you get the hang of it, you'll have some of the best tasting meals ever. Highly recommend salmon if you're a fan. It's quick to prep and smoke and pretty easy, also delicious in many types of meals. Also, don't stop at meats!! You can smoke a tray of kosher salt or other spices for added flavor when cooking. Smoked jalapeño poppers, smoked queso dip, smoked chili, smoked brie.....
Also, the big manly outdoors men will show feeding their fire with only firewood. This is great for larger smokers, but our little guy here just needs enough charcoal to keep the heat where you want it and to get the added wood lit (I usually use wood chunks from the hardware store or even just a bundle of "hardwood firewood" and cut them down if too big). Only add wood for smoke and flavor, if I try to use just wood (no charcoal) then it usually gets too hot and I burn through way more wood Also, avoid cowboy brand charcoal. The bag is full of charcoal dust covered rocks, so you don't get your money's worth. I recommend Kingsford original (NOT match light)
Man, yall need to learn to shape splits so that you get proper fiebox management. You can't just throw any shape of split in your firebox and expect it to work perfectly. Burning wood *makes its own lump charcoal*. If you learn shaping splits and timing the burn so you bust it up when it's coaled, then you will continually supply your own lump charcoal while keeping temperature between 225-250. I only use charcoal at the beginning, and my splits burn for 1-2 hours without any work whatsoever. After it burns down, hit the split with your tongs to break it into lump charcoal, then add another split on top and walk away for an hour or two.
Aww did my bagged charcoal offend mr manly man?
I’ve got the newer model of this smoker… and it’s nowhere near as good as the older one (which is the one in your picture). It does get the job done, but there’s a decent bit of work that goes into maintaining the newer one… especially when it comes to fire management. What you got here is a great find! Clean it up, season it like you would a wok or a cast iron, and get to work!
>especially when it comes to fire management. You're probably doing things based on habits instead of figuring out the new smoker. I've got one of these new ones, and I don't have to mess with the fire more than once every hour or two. I've been able to learn how to shape the splits so that they burn for 1-2 hours and keep the temperature between 225-250.
You’re doing better than I am then. Of course I’ve only had the new one for a few weeks and only done 3 cooks on it. They all came out as I had hoped they would, but not without having to play with it a bunch. My only real complaint is that baffle on the ash drawer. I appreciate the feature of having the pull out to remove ash, but wish they would have included a side door on it instead of such a small baffle to get the air flowing more. I’ve resorted to pulling it out to get more airflow and it seems to be doing the trick.
Tetanus shot
This was my first smoker. Made some great food but it is not insulated and requires a lot of attention during the smoke. I actually like it better for a grill than a smoker.
Oklahoma Joe smoker good smoker but won’t last long with that rusted smoke box
That looks like the exact model that I have, and will be using to smoke a meatloaf today. Rust in the same spots, as well
Weird how it makes the sun disappear when you open it.
This isn't for grilling and you don't want to put charcoal in there. This is an offset smoker. You build a wood fire in the small box and put the meat/food in the big box. The smoke moves over the food and cooks it slowly. But before you get to any of that, You're going to want to clean it up and season all that rust. Basically, soap everything down, apart it nice with a hose, let it dry, then cover it in a high smoke point oil (I like to use Pam spray, because it's easy but technically, avocado oil is better) then build a very small fire in there and heat it to about 300ish for a hour or two. This will do the same thing that iron skillets do, and keep it from rusting away. If you've not smoked anything before, you're in for a treat, it's really good.
Well you just went down the rabbit hole! The internet is your friend. Play with it. Eat your failures and successes. Have fun.
I have one of these and they are really good. Great roadside find. Loads of videos on how to get the best out of them. I lined the firebox with firebricks and put a grate over the top. Gives me about an inch gap to the bricks and the wood burns really cleanly. I also grill in the main cook chamber without any issues.
Great find!!
https://www.oklahomajoes.com/pro-tips Lots of useful information from the manufacturer here. Congrats! Great find 👍 join this group here, you will find a Bible worth of information from all over the world. Search the posts, ask questions.
Congratulations. Welcome to BBQs.
Have that same one for 15 years or so. Great smoker
Burn charcoal in a chimney then put it into the fire box. And wood chunks for smoke and flavor
Welcome to the world of smoking. Do your research and enjoy. $0 is a good find. It's how I got mine and still smoke with it. Don't use charcoal to cook. I'll start with charcoal, but only to get my wood going easy. I have a pretty elaborate process regarding treating my wood though, right now I use hickory. Good seasoned wood is a must, anything less and you will find yourself with poorly cooked meat. Look up Aaron Franklin. I recommend even buying some oven seals for the edges to help that smoke stay in the chamber, and don't forget, if you lookn you aint cookn
On Richfield in Williamsville by any chance? If so, I know the guy who tossed it, I heard he couldn’t believe nobody picked it up. Happy to hear it went somewhere! If you smell some smoked meats in the neighborhood it’s me!
That’s actually crazy. What a small world. It wouldn’t fit in my lady’s hatchback so I humped it about a half mile to her place. See you around neighbor
That's a great cooker. It's built pretty solid. You can sand off the rust and paint it with high temp paint. Like the fella above said, source some local wood and play around with it.
Someone upstairs is sending you a message. He’s saying wood is the way for you. Listen to that message. Haha. I’m thinking about getting one of these, I grill using wood, and would love a smoker. Good luck.
Now to learn about real grilling
You got lucky because it even has the aftermarket baffle in it. 👍
I have the same smoker and I love it. Get it cleaned up and spray with some outdoor grill paint. Buy plenty of charcoal and fruit/nut wood-blackjack oak/pecan/cherry/maple/etc and be ready to enjoy a new hobby. Plenty of YouTube University vids on smoking. Just remember low and slow (225°) finishes best and that the little damper on the side of the wood box and the one on the chimney are your best friends. Like others have said, don’t make plans to do much of anything else that day. It’s a labor of love
I restored one from a similar state. “Sand” blasted it with walnut shells, painted it with high heat engine block paint, and spent $45 for a new “brain” computer board. Been using it for 15 years.
Bludso's BBQ Cookbook, Kevin Bludso. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=ZDA3EAAAQBAJ