A smoker needs to be efficient and spacious. It has to accommodate more food so you can save time and money cooking and smoking. And when you are looking for a spacious and reliable smoker, an Oklahoma Joe’s Highland offset smoker is a good candidate.
The Highland Offset Smoker is one of the spacious Oklahoma Joe smokers. It has features to help you smoke different kinds of food to perfection.
You will enjoy smoking and grilling outdoors in any area in your yard because this is transportable with its heavy-duty cart. Find out if this offset smoker is the right one for your needs.
Noticeable Features of This Offset Smoker
- Large cooking/smoking space
- Made from very durable materials
- With easy to access firebox
- With multiple dampers for fast smoke and heat control
- With the extra shelf in front
- It comes with large wheels for easy transport over grass and dirt
- Easy temperature monitoring on the grill lid/hood
Key Features of the Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Offset Smoker
Larger cooking/smoking space
You can smoke a large amount of food with this smoker’s 619 square inches of cooking space. You can smoke four large chickens, two dozen burgers, and large cuts of pork chops. The large cooking area is covered by a large and steady lid that will keep the smoking chamber temperature constant.
Easy to stoke fire/easy to add more wood
This comes with a separate firebox, and this box has its own door. By having a separate door, you won’t change the temperature in the main cooking chamber. Opening the main door also releases the smoke and flavor of food, affecting your cooking time.
With efficient heat and smoke maintenance
This comes with multiple dampers that will improve heat and smoke control. Dampers may be opened or closed manually to increase and decrease heat for efficient cooking. With this feature, you can smoke all kinds of food to perfection.
With shelves
The shelves in front give you plenty of space to prepare food and a place to hold utensils and sauces. This is a small space that might barely hold a plate, so be careful. But despite the size, this shelf is very sturdy and can hold heavy objects as well.
Easy temperature monitoring
You’ll be able to check the interior temperature time and again with this grill’s temperature gauge on top of the smoker hood. Smoke food and monitor temperature so you’ll get the best smoking and cooking results all the time.
Large cart for easy transport
The large cart is made of very durable material which can sturdily hold the heavy smoker chamber and firebox. The legs are solid, while space at the bottom of the cart lets you hold food, tools, extra wood chips, and more.
You’ll also notice the large metal wheels which let the Highland smoker roll over grass and soil without fear. Because of this durable cart, you can take this Oklahoma near the pool, in the park, in your garden, or your campsite.
What Users are Saying About the Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Offset Smoker
So many users agree that the Oklahoma Joe’s Highland offset smoker is a large-capacity smoker with impressive features. Some say that the separate firebox design is a great idea since you don’t need to open the large chamber door to add more chips or water.
Another feature that most users love is the transportable cart. Not all smokers are transportable. Some are freestanding smokers because these are just too heavy and bulky. This smoker can be taken anywhere you want, especially when you take it camping or to other outdoor venues.
There are some disadvantages to using this offset smoker, and one of these is it’s hard to clean the smoking chamber. Some users think that the low smoking chamber is too hard to clean because there are no grease trays and pans to remove the dirt.
You need to take a hose, spray and scrub the inside to get a satisfying clean. The same goes with the firebox, which doesn’t have a way to clean the inside except for the front door.
Compare Oklahoma Joe’s Longhorn Offset Smoker vs. Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Offset Smoker
The two smokers look identical; the main difference between the two is the size. The Oklahoma Joe’s Longhorn Offset Smoker is larger, with a total cooking area of 1,060 square inches of cooking. Space in the two chambers.
The cooking area on the main smoking chamber is more than 750 square inches, while the additional cooking area is 309 square inches. Therefore, Oklahoma Joe’s Longhorn Offset smokers are users looking for a larger smoker to cook more food for more people.
What is the disadvantage of an Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Offset Smoker
The Highland’s design is the main disadvantage. It does not have any way to access the main smoking chamber to clean it than the main door or lid. The same goes for the firebox. You really need to take time to clean this from the main doors or else it will smell.
Other than this flaw, this smoker is perfect. It can smoke and grill food efficiently and at the best temperature and is made from the best materials.
Can you grill on the Oklahoma Joe offset smoker?
Yes, but not as well as with a charcoal or gas smoker. But, you can do an outstanding job of grilling on the Oklahoma Joe with some modifications and practice. In fact, after I broke in my offset smoker with several racks of ribs, whole chicken halves, and one beef brisket, I felt it was just as good at searing a steak as my propane and charcoal smokers.
That’s not to say that my propane and charcoal smokers were unusable, but they did take more work to get the same results I could achieve in less time with the Oklahoma Joe offset smoker.
And this is why I use it for grilling most often. If I were only smoking meats or making jerky, I’d probably use propane or charcoal smokers. But for quickly searing a steak or cooking chicken breasts to perfection on the grill, it’s my go-to smoker most often now.
Can I cook steak in Oklahoma Joe Highland offset smoker? Yes.
Yes, but it’s not the same as cooking steak in a conventional grill or even outdoors on your Weber or gas grill. You need to do three things to get an outstanding seared steak when using the Oklahoma Joe Highland offset smoker:
1) Get the firebox good and hot, just like you would in a charcoal grill.
2) Use good, hardwood lump charcoal or wood chunks from your local home improvement store.
3) Leave the top vent fully open to get enough oxygen flowing over the coals to help them burn hotter and longer.
And once you’ve mastered these skills, you will be able to produce steaks that are just as good at grilling in the Oklahoma Joe as they are on a conventional grill.
In fact, some experienced Oklahoma Joe backyard cooks have been able to produce the highest grades from their meat department at the local grocery store using nothing more than lump charcoal as fuel and some wood chunks for smoke flavor.
Can I cook rotisserie chicken on Oklahoma Joe Highland offset smoker?
Yes. Rotisserie cooking is a great way to cook chicken parts on the Oklahoma Joe Highland offset smoker, and there are two ways they can be done:
1) In a conventional oven or grill with a rotisserie set-up.
2) Using a stick burner lit with charcoal as the heat source.
When using a conventional rotisserie setup, thread the chicken parts on and crank away. It’s even easier to use a stick burner or gas grill because you only need to light the area under the grate where the chicken will turn over the heat source.
I prefer using lump charcoal but have used briquettes before with good results. In fact, some Oklahoma Joe users have reported using lump charcoal and wood chunks with great results.
When cooking chicken parts on the Oklahoma Joe Highland offset smoker using a rotisserie set-up or stick burner set-up, it’s important to use hardwood for smoke flavor and maintain good airflow over the coals/heat source to keep the temps up.
This is the only way the chicken parts will brown properly and reach an internal temperature of 165°F or higher to be safe for eating.
It takes some practice using rotisseries on a conventional offset smoker like the Oklahoma Joe, but it can be done successfully after getting your technique down pat.
Verdict
The Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Offset Smoker has a large cooking area with plenty of space to cook a large number of foods at one time. It is durable, can retain heat better, and the cart is strong with easy-to-transport wheels. The lid is large and heavy so that it can trap smoke and cooking temperatures. A separate firebox prevents changes in temperature and smoke from escaping in the main smoking chamber.
It does not have an opening or tray to catch grease and dirt; the same goes with the firebox, so this may be very hard to clean. But other than this flaw, the Highland remains a good offset smoker to choose from. If you think that the Oklahoma Joe’s Highland Offset Smoker is for you.