#OFFSET VS REVERSE FLOW SMOKER HOW TO#

Than your going to need to find a way to get your arm under it. But some reverse flow smokers have the plate welded into them. If the plate in your smoker is removable then it’s not so bad just take it out and clean the grease up. But if it finds it’s way under the plate then it might be a hole nother ball game. The burned on grease can be a pain but you can always lay some aluminum foil in it to make clean up fast and easy. Sins all the grease drips onto the plate some of it is going to burn on and some might find it’s way underneath it. Having a plate under the cooking area has a lot of up side but for me one of the biggest down sides can be cleaning it off. So having to wait a little bit to see a adjustment is a small price to pay. Considering it also protects you from temperature spikes if you lose control of the fire. Now that’s not really that big of a drawback. The smoke has to make it’s way all the way across the smoker before it can even start to change the temp. As the grease drips onto the plate it’s going to make steam and in return it’s going to add moisture back in to the meat.Īnother problem with putting a plate under the cooking area is that it takes longer to adjust the temperature in the smoker. With the grease dripping on to the hot metal plate under the cooking area instead of losing all that flavor it’s going to go back into the meat. Or one with water in it to help control the temperature. So with the metal plate under the cooking grates you’re not going to need a tray under the meat to catch the grease coming out of it. But it is what makes it unique from other smokers. I know i keep going on about the metal plate in the bottom of a offset smoker.

#OFFSET VS REVERSE FLOW SMOKER HOW TO#

This is good if your new to smoking meats and you are still learning how to control your temperature. So if you lose control of your fire you’ll have time to get it back under control before all the heat gets inside the cooking area. This is all do to the metal plate having to heat up before the heat gets to the cooking area. The plate in a reverse flow will heat up as the smoke passes under it giving you a more even heat through out the cooking area.Īgain thanks to the metal plate in a reverse flow smoker your going to have less temperature spikes. All smokers have hot spots in them but reverse flow smokers tend to have less hot spots then other types of smokers.

The plate inside a reverse flow smoker acks like a heat shield and cuts down on hot spots inside your smoker. Other times it might rise right away then the meat closest to the exhaust wont get much smoke because it’s to high in the lid. Sometimes the smoke doesn’t rise through the cooking greats right away so the meat closest to the inlet wont get much smoke at all. But the smoke doesn’t always go over the meat evenly. In a traditional offset smoker the smoke comes in from the side and goes over the meat and out the exhaust. Then brings it back over the meat to the exhaust it evens out the amount of smoke each piece of meat gets. Sins a reverse flow smoker forces the smoke to the far side of the cooking area.

Offset vs reverse flow smoker