Well, I have cooked on this Broil King Offset enough to close the door on this review.
Is this offset the missing link? Is it the 'bridge' from cheap home improvement offerings to hand made welded 600 lb monsters?
Hmmm......yes and no I say.
If this pit was a true "stick burner" yes would be the answer. Of course you can burn sticks in this and it works very well. However have your high heat paint handy to re-paint the firebox after every cook.
Will the fire-box hold up to the higher temps of wood splits. I think so. The charcoal grate is really thick and the stainless ash tray helps with keeping the bottom clean. If you have a Char-Griller you can easily order a new fire box for under 60 bucks and you are back to smoking. I do not know what the charge of a BK fire box would be but I betcha it would be quite more.
Hardwood lump burns real nice in this pit and when it warms up it becomes a very easy to manage cooker. When I see it dip 5 degrees, I add more lump and wood chunks and crack the side door for about 5 minutes and I got another hour of beer drinking without having to do much.
The well thought out smoking chamber is also a very large top notch grill. Full length stainless ash pan and two stainless charcoal grates (that act as heat deflectors when smoking) make grilling and clean up a snap.
Access doors on the smoking chamber and fire-box have solid aluminum Roto=draft dampers. The smoke-stack has one as well. Not too many adjustments need to be made to this pit. Obviously much cooking was done in R & D.
This is a very solid pit. It sits a bit higher than other offsets and that is nice on my back when cooking on it.
So I guess it all comes down to fuel choice. If you are looking for a true stick burner.........this can burn sticks. I think hardwood lump and chunks work best. I have laid some small oak rounds on the charcoal grate and topped off with lump with great results.
This very well could be the missing link that bridges the massive gap that only appears in the off set smoker realm. I think the 899.99 retail price is a tad bit high. You do get alot with this grill. Stainless in the right places. Very well thought out with excellent fit and finish. It just looks good on my back deck. 599.99 price tag would make this pit a awesome buy...however I am not one of the 'suits" over at Broil King.
I tell you one thing.......this pit is going to be a solid performer for a long time so crying once shouldn't be too bad.
I would like to thank all of you for putting up with yet another product review from
The Smoke.......I like to call things like I see them and do not want to steer anybody wrong
