J&R Oyler Manufacturing

Oyler wood fired rotisserie smokers were developed by entrepreneur and inventor, Herbert Oyler, with metal fabricator, A. N. Bewley.  In 1973 Mike Higgins and H.E. Finley purchased a small Dallas shop that previously housed Jones and Ritchie Welding and Fabrications. J&R was painted in big letters across the exterior and it was decided to keep the name. A year later Higgins and Finley acquired the rights to Oyler’s patent and began making J&R Oyler wood smokers.

Today J&R manufactures a diverse range of UL approved and NSF listed wood fired ovens, broilers and rotisseries for commercial use. Some models have electric elements to keep foods warm in holding areas, but wood is their fuel of choice and claim to fame. They are one of the more popular manufacturers of large capacity wood burning smokers at home and abroad, and may be found in well-known BBQ joints like The Salt Lick and Stubbs.

Not surprisingly J&R believes smoking with wood is far superior to other fuels, particularly gas. Because gas is colorless and odorless, a foul smelling organic compound called mercaptan is mixed with it to alert people of dangerous leaks. Some mistakenly believe cooking with gas imparts a foul taste and aroma due to mercaptans, most dismiss this rumor at face value for obvious reasons. No one turns their nose up at Grandma’s holiday turkey and homemade pie because she cooked with gas. Likewise some of the best BBQ restaurants and steak houses use gas. AmazingRibs.com science consultant, Dr. Greg Blonder, calls mercaptan mythology, “Complete falsehood. It is true you can smell natural gas odorants at the part per billion level, (not millions as on their website), which is why so little must be added to natural gas. When gas burns, the mercaptans turn into sulfur dioxide, which becomes sulfuric acid due to the water produced by natural gas combustion. Very little residual sulfur dioxide. Almost no odor. In fact, the small amount of sulfur deposited on your food when burning natural gas is orders of magnitude less than naturally present in food, or added with garlic or onion powder rubs, or found in coal or wood. Among the common fossil fuels, even including the effect of mercaptans, natural gas burns the cleanest.”

J&R used to strongly promote mercaptan mythology in their brochures and on their website. We are happy to see they have backed off from spreading this disinformation. It’s more than enough to simply express a love for the tradition, distinctive flavor and experience of cooking on wood. This needs no scientific explanation and few BBQ lovers would disagree. Spreading disinformation about alternative cooking products offered by competitors smells funny and leaves a bad taste with us.