We do not like or recommend cheap offset smokers like American Gourmet. Yes, the sticker price is low, the big horizontal drum looks like your BBQ dream come true, and if you don’t mind spending time and money for parts, (not to mention ruined meat), you may eventually get one to work OK. But they are a nightmare for a novice and by the time you add your hours and out of pocket expenses to the cheap price tag, you may end up feeling penny wise and dollar foolish. We have a detailed explanation of why you shouldn’t buy a cheap offset smoker, in a nutshell they are hard to use and don’t produce the best results.
American Gourmet models are low on our lowly COS list. Some other brands in this price range offer features like an adjustable height charcoal tray*, slide out ash drawer or heavy duty wheels. AGs are stripped down to the bare essentials. They have porcelain coated wire cooking grates, a small door on the side of the firebox to scoop out ash, two plastic wheels, one side shelf and an inaccurate bi-metal thermometer. *Char-Broil also offers a larger deluxe version that does have an adjustable height coal grate.
Sign up for a free trial of the AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club and experience everything that the world's largest membership-based BBQ and grilling community has to offer!
Why We Require You To Sign In Before You Can Post Comments
Before you can post a comment or question you must sign into our commenting partner, Disqus. This is helps make sure everyone hanging around the grill is civil. We do not tolerate nastiness, racism, porn, inappropriate language, or attacks on others. All comments are the property of AmazingRibs.com and we reserve the right to quote them, edit them, delete them, and block people from making future comments.
Please leave comments and questions on the page devoted to the same subject so others can see them and our answers when they are reading about that subject. You must enable JavaScript to use the comments section, and you must accept cookies to post comments. Note that the software that runs Disqus is different from the Pitmaster Club so members need to sign into that separately.
Moderators