It seems like the 1975 is more popular. However, the 1957 is more practical for the weekend backyard cook and is still a beast of a pit. Being smaller, it runs differently than a bigger pit and requires a smaller fire. Future videos will focus on running the pit for various different cooks and outdoor conditions. Do you have a Workhorse pit? Thanks for your comment.
@@maxqbbq Thanks for the reply. I just shut down my BBQ catering business and sold my smokers/banquet setup to a friend who's just getting started. I had a few Meadow Creek smokers (BX 50, BBQ 42 and PR42). I sized down and purchased the BX 25 and the BBQ 26S. I plan to order a Workhorse pit, because I want an offset.I'm still deciding which one. you're the first person I've seen w/ the 1957. I thought it was a unicorn. I'm probably going to settle in on the 1969, but the 1957 also makes sense. w/ the BX 25, I don't really need the 1975, but we'll see. I've been waiting for Workhorse to announce whatever there new offerings are going to be, then I'll pull the trigger. Enjoy your pit!!
Most people cook towards the smoke collector end of the chamber to reduce the amount of direct radiant heat coming from the fire. The 1969 gives you six inches more chamber which is room to place more meat further away from the fire. @smoke scouts has a fire management technique to move his fire towards the fire door to accomplish the same thing. The 1957 is still a fairly good sized pit but not as big as your Meadow Creek smokers. It is definitely heavier.
@@maxqbbq yep yep, that's why I'm targeting the 1969. it's the sweet spot for me between the 57 & 75, but we'll see. I'm still waiting to see what the WHP announcements are before I pull the trigger.
Really good video and appreciate you doing it. As others have pointed out, no one has done a 1957 video that I’ve found. I sure wish the WH pit would put sliding grates on the bottom. Love the patina finish though. Is a good looking pit!
I've had a quite a few pits over the years and thought carefully about what I wanted for the new back patio. I debated back and forth between the larger 1975 and the smaller 1957. The larger gives you more space and distance from the fire. But it also takes longer to heat up and needs a bigger fire. In the end, this pit was for the backyard and my weekend cooking experiments. So, I went with the practical pit that cooks more meat than I can eat by myself. The wait was long but worth it. With the cowboy grill and top rack, it has great versatility. It is easy to use. A single bag of commercial smoking wood is plenty enough wood to cook a brisket, ribs, pork butt, turkey, chicken wings. Thanks for watching.
@@maxqbbq That's great, I always tell everyone I know. Create a list of what you want and don't want. Then find what checks all the boxes. Doesn't matter what it is, as long as it does what you want it to.
Given my experience, the pit does not make the cook. The pit can make it easier or more efficient. Burning real wood does give you more smoke flavor and a nice dark bark. Having cooked on several premium offset cookers, I have not been able to find a significant difference in the final result. They all produced great brisket and pork. However, you may have to adjust your fire management to match the pit you are cooking on. I would stay away from the really cheap small offsets. There is not much metal mass to hold the heat and it will certainly rust out much quicker. The 1/4" steel offset smokers are the best overall value. I am particularly impressed with pits that have larger fire boxes. I like the extra room in the firebox to move the fire away from the cooking surface and reduce the direct radiant heat. A larger pit like the 1975 gives you more room between the fire and cook but comes with a trade off of needing more fuel to heat up that larger mass of metal, more weight, more room and more money. I am impressed with insulated fire boxes. They keep the combustion temperatures higher when you are controlling the burn rate by restricting oxygen consumption. On the Workhorse and smaller pits without insulated fire boxes, the heat loss around the fire chamber will make it harder to hold good combustion temperatures. You can end up with poor combustion creating acrid smoke and occasionally have your fire burn out right in the middle of the cook. Tuning plates and inverse flow designs have their pros and cons as well. Both add thermal mass to the cooking chamber and help stabilize your cooking temperatures. They both reduce hot spots and the risks of direct radiant heating. In the end it all comes down to personal preference. The Workhorse is well constructed and should outlive me. It is a simple offset pit that you can reconfigure with add-ons should you be inclined. I added a charcoal basket so that I could experiment with different fires. The one advantage of the charcoal basket is that I now have a way to build a fire that last three hours. This is in contrast to my wood fueled fires that last at most 45 minutes before I have to refuel. A big part of my cooking experience is enjoying tending the fire. So I will always have a soft spot in my heart for live wood fires with higher convection air flow. What is your bbq passion? Do you currently have a smoker? Keep enjoying the hobby. My family and friends enjoy the output. :-)
Looks awesome! Great video! I think I am going to fabricate a smoker like this. Would you be able to get me the measurement to the cooking grate please? And how tall is the smoke stack? Thank you! - Geoff
For the outside of the pit I will used Boiled Linseed oil as it will polymerize quicker. Metallic Catalysts are added to Boiled linseed oil so it is not safe for consumption. Raw linseed oil is edible and can be used to coat the pit. Raw Linseed oil may not cure for several weeks. Heating up the pit will aid the raw linseed oil to polymerize and cure.
I am always trying to learn from each cook. It is not unusual for me to have seven thermometers running during a cook. The three on the door give me a quick status on what is going on inside the pit. The ThermoWorks Signals tells me what is going on with the protein. The ThermoWorks also logs the temperatures so I can review temperatures throughout the cook. I also record ambient temperature as I want to assess outside temperature on fire management.
Congrats on your new pit. I still have to wait until spring to get mine. Have fun.👍🏾
Waiting was the hardest part especially after the original projected delivery date came and went.
You're the first guy I've seen w/ a 1957. thanks for the video.
It seems like the 1975 is more popular. However, the 1957 is more practical for the weekend backyard cook and is still a beast of a pit. Being smaller, it runs differently than a bigger pit and requires a smaller fire. Future videos will focus on running the pit for various different cooks and outdoor conditions. Do you have a Workhorse pit?
Thanks for your comment.
@@maxqbbq Thanks for the reply. I just shut down my BBQ catering business and sold my smokers/banquet setup to a friend who's just getting started. I had a few Meadow Creek smokers (BX 50, BBQ 42 and PR42). I sized down and purchased the BX 25 and the BBQ 26S. I plan to order a Workhorse pit, because I want an offset.I'm still deciding which one. you're the first person I've seen w/ the 1957. I thought it was a unicorn. I'm probably going to settle in on the 1969, but the 1957 also makes sense. w/ the BX 25, I don't really need the 1975, but we'll see. I've been waiting for Workhorse to announce whatever there new offerings are going to be, then I'll pull the trigger. Enjoy your pit!!
Most people cook towards the smoke collector end of the chamber to reduce the amount of direct radiant heat coming from the fire. The 1969 gives you six inches more chamber which is room to place more meat further away from the fire. @smoke scouts has a fire management technique to move his fire towards the fire door to accomplish the same thing. The 1957 is still a fairly good sized pit but not as big as your Meadow Creek smokers. It is definitely heavier.
@@maxqbbq yep yep, that's why I'm targeting the 1969. it's the sweet spot for me between the 57 & 75, but we'll see. I'm still waiting to see what the WHP announcements are before I pull the trigger.
Really good video and appreciate you doing it. As others have pointed out, no one has done a 1957 video that I’ve found. I sure wish the WH pit would put sliding grates on the bottom. Love the patina finish though. Is a good looking pit!
Great to see you found a pit you love
I've had a quite a few pits over the years and thought carefully about what I wanted for the new back patio. I debated back and forth between the larger 1975 and the smaller 1957. The larger gives you more space and distance from the fire. But it also takes longer to heat up and needs a bigger fire. In the end, this pit was for the backyard and my weekend cooking experiments. So, I went with the practical pit that cooks more meat than I can eat by myself. The wait was long but worth it. With the cowboy grill and top rack, it has great versatility. It is easy to use. A single bag of commercial smoking wood is plenty enough wood to cook a brisket, ribs, pork butt, turkey, chicken wings. Thanks for watching.
@@maxqbbq That's great, I always tell everyone I know. Create a list of what you want and don't want. Then find what checks all the boxes. Doesn't matter what it is, as long as it does what you want it to.
Good job. Love the grease valve work! 🍻
Thanks 👍 Love your channel.
@@maxqbbq No prob, thank you sir.
beautiful smoker! I love it!
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it.
thanks for the review
Feel free to post any questions that you might have.
Great video Max!
Thank you very much.
Sorry, Craig, not Max.
Glad you enjoyed it. I am still enjoying my 1957,
Such a great video! Can’t wait until I get mine!! Good bless.
Thanks for watching! I think you will enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine. Thanks
I was going to buy the work horse 1974 but now I like the 1957 go figure..
Given my experience, the pit does not make the cook. The pit can make it easier or more efficient. Burning real wood does give you more smoke flavor and a nice dark bark. Having cooked on several premium offset cookers, I have not been able to find a significant difference in the final result. They all produced great brisket and pork.
However, you may have to adjust your fire management to match the pit you are cooking on.
I would stay away from the really cheap small offsets. There is not much metal mass to hold the heat and it will certainly rust out much quicker. The 1/4" steel offset smokers are the best overall value. I am particularly impressed with pits that have larger fire boxes. I like the extra room in the firebox to move the fire away from the cooking surface and reduce the direct radiant heat. A larger pit like the 1975 gives you more room between the fire and cook but comes with a trade off of needing more fuel to heat up that larger mass of metal, more weight, more room and more money.
I am impressed with insulated fire boxes. They keep the combustion temperatures higher when you are controlling the burn rate by restricting oxygen consumption. On the Workhorse and smaller pits without insulated fire boxes, the heat loss around the fire chamber will make it harder to hold good combustion temperatures. You can end up with poor combustion creating acrid smoke and occasionally have your fire burn out right in the middle of the cook.
Tuning plates and inverse flow designs have their pros and cons as well. Both add thermal mass to the cooking chamber and help stabilize your cooking temperatures. They both reduce hot spots and the risks of direct radiant heating.
In the end it all comes down to personal preference. The Workhorse is well constructed and should outlive me. It is a simple offset pit that you can reconfigure with add-ons should you be inclined. I added a charcoal basket so that I could experiment with different fires. The one advantage of the charcoal basket is that I now have a way to build a fire that last three hours. This is in contrast to my wood fueled fires that last at most 45 minutes before I have to refuel.
A big part of my cooking experience is enjoying tending the fire. So I will always have a soft spot in my heart for live wood fires with higher convection air flow.
What is your bbq passion? Do you currently have a smoker?
Keep enjoying the hobby. My family and friends enjoy the output. :-)
Great review. Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
Looks awesome! Great video! I think I am going to fabricate a smoker like this. Would you be able to get me the measurement to the cooking grate please? And how tall is the smoke stack? Thank you! - Geoff
I posted this video with the dimensions. ruclips.net/video/fUJJv43bDuE/видео.htmlsi=SMS-SNB3q2Xw-gp_
How do the pizzas come out on the cowboy grill? Could you do a video on your cooking process with pizza?
Great content!
Typically, pizzas cook very fast when cooked on the cowboy grill. The crust if brown with only five minutes on a hot grill.
Man jealous! Got a small horizon offset used, but man I want a 1969 so bad! Still learning the ropes on my starter pit for now
Let us know how your cooks go. Horizon is a nice option and should give you many great cooks.
That's a great touch that you added what's that angled ball valve 👍👍👍👍
Thanks 👍
Do you recommend Raw or boiled linseed oil?
For the outside of the pit I will used Boiled Linseed oil as it will polymerize quicker. Metallic Catalysts are added to Boiled linseed oil so it is not safe for consumption. Raw linseed oil is edible and can be used to coat the pit. Raw Linseed oil may not cure for several weeks. Heating up the pit will aid the raw linseed oil to polymerize and cure.
What diameter is the stack? Looks pretty big compared to other offset smokers.
The stack is a full 5" diameter 1/4" pipe. It is very stout. I like that it folds over making it easy to a put a cover over it.
I would like to see a video on cooking a pizza on this. My wife and son are interested in doing that.
Will do. I like the flavor that wood fire gives to the pizza. Coming soon. :-)
Yes, I would like to see that too.
Dang thangs got more thermometers than Johnson and Johnson
I am always trying to learn from each cook. It is not unusual for me to have seven thermometers running during a cook. The three on the door give me a quick status on what is going on inside the pit. The ThermoWorks Signals tells me what is going on with the protein. The ThermoWorks also logs the temperatures so I can review temperatures throughout the cook. I also record ambient temperature as I want to assess outside temperature on fire management.
I got the 1975. Fu
Congratulations on the 1975. That is a sweet smoker.