Old Country BBQ Pits Gravity Fed Charcoal Smoker Walkthrough

This video provides a tour and walkthrough of the Old Country BBQ Pits Gravity Fed Charcoal smoker, and I'm thrilled to finally have one of these in the collection. I've heard incredible things about them, and have now also gotten great results myself using this smoker. Check out the video and let me know if you have any tips and tricks that could be useful and included in an upcoming video for Lord Saunders Smokehouse.
www.lordsaunderssmokehouse.com
Items I use (affiliate links, any purchases through these links help support the channel!)
Brisket Knife: amzn.to/41LzhKj
Boning/Carving Knife: amzn.to/3IjYRPT
Knife Roll: amzn.to/3MEG70c
Traeger Pork/Poultry Rub: amzn.to/45o9T0z
Beef Concentrate: amzn.to/3MCdIYk
Wagyu Beef Tallow: amzn.to/459t7qt
Kosher Salt: amzn.to/42MH3oO
Prep Table: amzn.to/3pPqUAl
16 Mesh Pepper: amzn.to/3BEzVil
Tel-Tru Thermometer 3" Stem: amzn.to/43aXoU5
Tel-Tru Thermometer 4" Stem: amzn.to/3pLDRel
Tel-Tru Thermometer Installation Kit: amzn.to/3Wc441W
Tactical Apron: amzn.to/3MiJ7hh

[@GorillaJoesBBQ]

Great breakdown of the new smoker! Can't wait to see what you make on that bad boy!

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

Thank you man, I very much appreciate that. I'm incredibly impressed with this smoker so far, videos coming this week!

[@toddfleming8384]

I own this smoker and absolutely love it. I use a thermoworks signals with billows fan system to control the temperature. The system will have your smoker up to temp and ready for meat in about 30 minutes. It will hold temperature within 2 to 3 degrees of set temp. Hope you will enjoy the pit as much as I do. Cheers🍻

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

Awesome tip, and thank you for the comment. So far I'm absolutely in love with this smoker, though my shelves do not quite fit properly so putting them in and out has become a series of me swearing loudly at it. 😂I've been looking at those fan systems more and more over the past few weeks - and I love Thermoworks so I'm sure that thing is fire (pun intended). With the thermoworks installed, how often are you adding wood chunks into the pit?

[@toddfleming8384]

@@lordsaunderssmokehouse I typically layer wood chunks in with lump charcoal in the chute. This works very well, fire burns clean with blue smoke throughout the entire cook.

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

@@toddfleming8384 That's awesome. I'll have to try that next!

[@JoeAnshien]

Can you get your pit to 500° with the blower? I love my Masterbuilt but know it will not last forever and would like something just like that will last. I like to cook chickens starting at 225 and ending at 500 because I hate rubber skin. Thanks

[@toddfleming8384]

@@JoeAnshien I have smoked several turkeys this week. I have had great success wet brining overnight, smoking at 240 degrees until breast reaches 135 degrees, and then turn thermoworks system up to 400 degrees to finish it off pulling the turkey out when it reaches 165 degrees in the breast. The result is a very moist bird with crispy skin. I have not taken my old country gravity fed any higher than 400 degrees. I have had this pit for a year now and love it. It is built like a tank. I to have a masterbuilt gravity, the old country will definitely last for many more years. Definitely worth the purchase with the thermoworks system. Hope this helps you out.

[@charlesrocks]

I’ve been smoking everything with the Old Country Gravity smoker for the last 2 years and it’s fantastic. Consistent 225-245 temps for up to 20 hours. I’m surprised people haven’t figured out how amazing it is. Edit: yeah the door is thick so temp readings are like 50 degrees off. I bought a Perfect Draft to maintain airflow and I set it on like 2 which is just enough airflow to maintain temps. This is perfect for jerky, Pemmican jerky, Brisket, sausages, turkey, duck, fish, corn…it’s family size…not 1,000 gallon size.

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

Oh man, what a great comment-that’s so awesome to hear!! The longer I have this thing the more I completely agree with you that it is an absolute hidden gem of glory. I’ve got new friends now that also have gravity feds and they say what you said-it’s a wonder more people are not on these smokers. Thank you for the comment-I love hearing how everyone does with it

[@txpitmaster6127]

Good video! Old Country has a great product line. I have the Wrangler offset with a BBQ Guru set up. It is flawless. Keep up the good work Saunders

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

Thanks for the kind words, and kudos to you for doing the hard work of getting the Guru going on an offset lol - that's awesome. I've only seen/heard excellent feedback on the Gurus, so I might have to pick one up myself. And I'm with you - Old Country is simply the standard for great BBQ equipment for the serious BBQist before you start getting into the 4k+ price point.

[@machaf]

Get a fireboard with fan and it turns this into set and forget like a pellet grill. Fireboard fan also heats it up, much faster. 20 mins vs hours.

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

You are so right about this - Fireboard thermometers are awesome, and I know they have a fan drive system that I want to try out. Since I don't have one at the moment, I ended up plugging in a box fan pointed at the firebox - heated that thing right up quick! 😂 Thank you for the comment and tip - I very much appreciate it.

[@idontcomputer3075]

Start your charcoal in a chimney about haf full when it is completely lit dump in the charcoal chamber then dump the rest of the charcoal on to it will get you going much faster

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

Thanks for your comment - that's a really good idea. I've since then just pointed a box fan at the open door and that sped things up quite a bit 😂

[@TheDrunkenBBQ]

Great video, never used one of these smokers (might be i should), cheers🍻🔥👍

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

Thank you for the comment. I highly recommend this - I haven't had great experience with cabinet smokers in the past, but this one is turning out to be incredible.

[@chrisrobinson3771]

Have you loaded up the smoker yet? I’m they have one at my local store but I can’t find many review that load it up with food.

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

So I've definitely loaded it up with briskets and ribs, and it handled it like a champ - surprisingly even cooking overall. That said, I'm a bit neurotic so I did move a few things around to ensure further evenness, but I was as usual very pleased with the box. It just makes everything so well - the only caveat with it is that it will cook faster than you are used to if you have a pellet or offset, so you have to be mindful of that. Thanks for your comment!

[@chrisrobinson3771]

@@lordsaunderssmokehouse are you running a thermalworks billows or something similar to regulate temps? I’ll be picking one up this weekend because of your video. Hopefully the next time you load it up you can make a video about it.

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

@@chrisrobinson3771 that’s awesome!! I really hope you enjoy it as much as I do-I use it all the dang time. I’m not using a temp regulator yet, but it’s on my list. I wanted to have some time to get to learn the box before I added the fan to it, so currently I’m using it “raw,” but I’ll be getting one soon in the near future. Let me know how it goes for you!!

[@cj2282es]

Enjoyed the video. Thanks for the honest and thorough review. If you've done a brisket cook on this, how close to the smoke flavor does this come to your offset smoke flavor? Thanks!

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

Thanks for the comment! I actually just did a brisket cook (video forthcoming) and I was incredibly impressed with the flavor of this cooker. The smoke profile is for sure different than on the offset, not in a bad way, but a bit different. That said, in the future I think I'll add more wood chunks to the fire box for additional wood goodness. I know there is a threshold for how much wood can be added without adverse affects to the flavor, but I'm willing to risk it 🤣

[@cj2282es]

@@lordsaunderssmokehouse thanks for the response and I look forward to the brisket cook video. I am also very interested in the threshold of how much wood can be used in the fire box and how much smoke flavor that imparts (compared to an offset). Many thanks!

[@Rock79529]

​@Lord Saunders Smokehouse I'm sure you could run this off splits only as long as you started with a really hot coal bed, would just have to run the temp at 275 or higher so that it wouldn't smolder and instantly ignite. Obviously not as set and forgot because you'd probably have to add splits every 30-45 minutes; but it'd probably be really good.

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

@@Rock79529 I agree with you. When I was cooking the ribs and brisket (videos coming) I noticed that the chunks would often catch fire and not just smolder, much to my surprise (I'm sure longtime charcoal guys would say "duh," lol), so I think it'd be possible to do it with sticks indeed. Thinking through it, you're right it'd have to be a hotter cook, and you'd need to keep an eye on your ash buildup for sure since the fire box is so small - it'd be interesting to try though!! I'll have to give it the old college try and see what I get. Great suggestion.

[@todd4054]

That smoker looks great. Wish I could get one in California.

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

Boy howdy. I think across the board decent smokers are currently incredibly hard to get; I have the luxury of being in Texas in and happened to scoop one up as soon as it came in and I barely got it. Good luck to you in your search 🤟

[@tedjones112]

I run a Pitmaster IQ120 on mine

[@tedjones112]

Put a 6” stem Teltru thermometer in it.

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

I've heard good things about these. I'll have to check that one out - thanks for the tip!!

[@LegendaryOldwarrior]

Great video. Do you have a link on where you bought this at? Thank you!

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

Hey thanks very much! I purchased this from Texas Star Grills Shop online and I can't say enough good things about them. The customer service was amazing, their pricing was right on point, and they have EVERYTHING I need. Not sponsored - I just love them.

[@LegendaryOldwarrior]

@@lordsaunderssmokehouse thank you! Hopefully they will deliver to AZ lol. Thanks again.

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

@@LegendaryOldwarrior my pleasure! They definitely will lol

[@ryangibson7979]

I'm about to buy one of these smokers. When checking it out at the store, I also noticed that the casters looked pretty terrible. Have you had any luck replacing them?

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

I haven’t replaced them yet due to a bunch of travel, but I intend to soon. I appreciate their durability currently, but you can forget moving it about the backyard lol. I’ll post a short video when I replace them. The smoker though, is amazing.

[@badger67617]

I replaced mine with 5" wheels from Amazon. Direct fit with no modifications

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

@@badger67617 what kind of 5” wheels? Metal? Rubber?

[@steelcitybullyz6843]

Smoker isn’t really big from the looks of it

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

No, it's definitely not huge, but it isn't super small either. You can get three really large briskets in there which is saying something, and if you are creative you can get a good deal of food in there. If you're looking to cook for 100 with just that you'll need a very tight schedule and a warmer to be sure 😂 But bang for buck that's where it's at.

[@steelcitybullyz6843]

@@lordsaunderssmokehouse I make a pretty big batch of jerky. I need a smoker with a couple wide racks. I purchased the chef xxl smoker and that was a nightmare. Welds started to melt smh. What wood smoke do u suggest

[@lordsaunderssmokehouse]

@@steelcitybullyz6843 the welds started to melt?? 😳😂 that’s crazy. I’m in Texas so I’m partial to oak and pecan, but I know some people like hickory as well.

[@steelcitybullyz6843]

@@lordsaunderssmokehouse yeah I wish I could send u the pics