The offset smoker tune up after 4 years of mediocre ribs

I ran my offset smoker for 4 years without ever checking the door seal, figured smoke was smoke. Last month I finally did the dollar bill test and the bottom edge failed everywhere, so I swapped in a new gasket kit from a local shop in Tulsa. First brisket after that, the temp swings dropped from 40 degrees down to maybe 10, and the bark set way earlier. Anyone else notice a huge jump in flavor just from fixing leak points, or is that just my firebox being picky?

1 comments

1 Comment

james6619d ago

Man, that's a great fix... I spent two years blaming my firebox for temperature swings before I realized my door was basically a screen door. Did the dollar bill test and found gaps big enough to slide a credit card through, ha. New gasket made a world of difference, smoke stayed thin and blue instead of that thick white stuff. Four years of mediocre ribs sounds about right, though... at least we learn eventually.