Oklahoma Joe Bronco

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Anyone here have one and care to provide a review?

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Have one and love it. Super easy to use.

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I love to smoke butts and yardbird, mostly.

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Good for both. You will be limited on space for butts. 2 larger ones or 3 smaller ones can fit on the grate at one time. You can buy a second grate and make it two level to double the capacity for buts. Chicken halves hung on the hangers come out superb.

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I also love that it doubles as a grill

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I wouldn't buy it for this reason. It's not as nearly as good as a kettle for a grill. I have a gas Weber that I grill on.

Simple to use as a beginner and with time you really get comfortable letting it go on it's own. I set it up and put a butt or brisket on leave it be overnight. It's hard to get it perfectly on an exact temp but I find I set the vents near where I want it to be and let it go. Doesn't matter too much if it's 225 or 235 for me. In fact I'm often cooking around 240-250

*Only minor inconvenience is sometimes I'll have to trim some bones off the end of rib racks so they don't hang in the coals. I keep the trimmings and vac seal to use down the road in Italian red gravy or beans so not a loss or waste.

Looks like Academy has them for best price right now @ $350

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they make a Bronco Pro model that would give you plenty of space for full packer briskets.

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Recently on sale on Amazon for $569. Both the pro and regular version go on sale randomly.

That price is absurd for something of that low quality. Find someone local that makes custom a UDS and it would be equivalent to that item for a lot less.

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I don't think it would keep temps long enough for a brisket but I haven't tried it for that.

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It will. Pack the basket full with a heap on top and stick one wax cube or other fire starter on an edge of the basket. Don't dump in a chimney of already lit coals.

I have been using B&B Char Logs after reading about them for my butts and briskets. You can find them at Academy

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What are your issues with the pit barrel cooker?

I’m strongly considering the WSM too. I’d probably go for the biggest one, although it’s a little expensive. I know WSMs have a devoted following.

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The pit barrel has two problems. The biggest problem I have with it is it can't be outfitted with a heat diffuser. You could probably mod something though if you really wanted to.

When you're cooking at lower temperatures, not having a heat diffuser is a big deal because the fat drips into the coals. A little of this is ok. Alot is bad. What happens is you get this acrid, creosote like grease fog that's really off putting. Your meat is effectively bathed in grease fire smoke for long periods of time. A heat diffuser (which the bronco has) prevents that. You get a much, much cleaner and better tasting product.

Where the pit barrel excels is high heat roasting. It's amazing with whole chickens in the 400 to 450 degree range. Also, wings at that temperature are amazing. The best I've ever made. I found a mod that allows me to hang mass quantities of wings.

So there you have it. The bronco does everything the pit barrel can do but much better.

The wsm though is a much higher quality product than both and like I said. You can buy an accessory that will allow you to hang meat.

Out of the three. The wsm would be the best choice. The bronco however is cheaper.

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What's your rationale? The porcelain?

I see people having to change out the metal door as it does not seal and issues with the pieces not being in perfect shape upon receipt and having gaps. People having to add the lid hinge kit and hanger kit. I compared the two and found the Bronco to be the much more complete smoker. The only thing I have purchased for it is the cover which I do recommend if you are keeping it outdoors and not under an overhang.

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Yeah pretty much. It's higher quality for sure. I don't have one but folks who do, love them. You don't have to have the hinge kit. But if you want to hang meat, you do have to buy that accessory for it.

I don't want to spend that much money but if it's not a big deal, I think the weber wsm is the best option. It'll just last forever.

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thought the idea with barrel smokers was to hang the packers and ribs vertically

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You can hang 9 racks of ribs in the Bronco at a time.

Room to hang a brisket vertically if you want. Most prefer to cook them on a grate. Not sure if it would fall apart when hanging on hooks or not

I bought one mainly for ribs and it does a great job for turkey. Works pretty well, but you are going to want to keep a kettle for smaller stuff. Just easier to use the Weber for chicken, burgers, steaks.

I think I'm going to roll with the WSM. It's tried and true. Plus, I can start a Weber collection. Now I need to determine if the 18.5 or 22 is the right version for me. It's probable I'll get the 22, just for the added space. I've read it's a fuel hog. Can anyone comment on the 18.5 versus the 22 WSM dispute?