The Lang family has been in the meat smoking business for generations. In 1988 they began manufacturing and selling smokers. Known for reverse flow designs, (see diagram below), Lang manufactures a wide variety of smokers from 36″ to 108″. A relatively new development for Lang is their Hybrid cookers that have a sealed off charcoal grill on the left side and a traditional smoker with attached firebox on the right.
The baffle in the above diagram is a V-shaped trough or griddle. Drippings hit the griddle and sizzle, sending moisture and flavor into the smoke box. Grease and gunk never goes into the belly of the smoker, but is diverted outside. Primary racks are positioned about an inch above the griddle. Since drippings don’t build up under the racks, they always hit hot metal instead of a pool of gunk and sizzle as the excess moves into the trough and heads out the 2″ brass gate valve.
Owner, Ben Lang, feels this “clean design” is a hallmark of Lang Smokers because it cooks clean and is easy to keep clean. Just scrape the trough and hit it with a water hose when needed, gunk is cleared out through the gate valve and the griddle is ready to sizzle clean again, all without disturbing the firebox. Some owners season the top section of the trough by the firebox and use it as a griddle.
As a youngster, Lang cut his teeth bussing tables and says one way to tell a good restaurant is if the employee’s fingernails are clean and the restrooms spotless: that’s a good indication of what’s going on in the kitchen. “When you make an apparatus that’s hard to clean, people aren’t going to clean it often”, Lang states, “If cooking equipment in the kitchen takes hours to clean thoroughly, the staff may only do it once a week, same with a smoker”.
Lang says many residential customers come to him after struggling with Cheap Offset Smokers from the hardware store. “After a while they realize they need something better and are ready to graduate to Lang”, he smiles adding, “The purchase becomes a legacy to their family providing comradery when cooking and eating for generations”.
We used a Lang 36″ Original Patio Model in our Science of BBQ & Grilling With Meathead video series presented by Kingsford. Click here to see that video series and check out my Virtual Showroom vid below:
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