Hamrforge

Have you heard of reverse flow smokers and wondered what they are? Reverse flow smokers are often said to be a superior alternative to regular smokers, with their more even heat distribution and more stable heat, they are a great tool for creating incredibly delicious smoked meat. But we will let you choose the best one by looking at what a reverse flow smoker is and how it works.

What is a reverse flow smoker?

A reverse flow smoker is simply a type of offset smoker that incorporates an additional metal plate. This helps protect the meat from the intense heat while directing the heat and smoke into a separate chamber below the cooking chamber, then passing through the meat before escaping up the chimney.

How do reverse flow smokers work?

As you can see in the diagram below, on a regular offset smoker, the smoke and heat generated in the firebox enters directly into the cooking chamber and passes through it, cooking the meat and exiting the chimney on the opposite side.

However, in a reverse flow smoker, heat and smoke from the combustion chamber enter the cooking chamber under a steel plate. It is then forced through the lower section of the cooking chamber, then rises and reverses its flow as it passes over the meat and exits through the chimney located near the combustion chamber.

Diagram of a regular smoker versus a reverse flow smoker

In addition to redirecting the flow of smoke, the steel plate acts to:

Prevent direct, excessive heat from overcooking meat located closer to the combustion chamber

Create a more even cooking temperature by acting as a heat sink

Makes cleaning easier

What are the advantages of Reverse Flow ?

More even distribution of smoke to penetrate smoke flavor deep into meat

More even heat distribution across the entire grill to avoid having to turn meat during cooking

Less prone to temperature spikes after adding more wood to the fire

Quick return to cooking temperature after opening the cooking chamber door

Enhanced flavor and moisture as fat renders from the meat, drips onto the heat deflector, vaporizes and delivers that great BBQ flavor

The Hamrforge Story: For nearly 30 years, Hamrforge has been passionate about smokers and BBQs.

The owner of Hamrforge Inc. has had the privilege of eating barbecue in almost every state and province in North America. He knows barbecue inside and out and learned the trade of fabricating and stamping steel and metal at various tooling plants in the heart of Canada's automotive industry. Over the years he has tried just about every type of smoker on the market; offset, pellet, Kamado, vertical, horizontal, and almost all of them had a very short life cycle and most ended up in the scrap heap. Hamrforge has gained invaluable knowledge of everything we don't want in a smoker and has put all of these years of experience together to make their smokers have all of the features we were looking for. The result: the Hamrforge Beast was born. Unparalleled temperature stability is designed to operate in sub-zero temperatures, easy to handle, rugged, and has minimal wood consumption and a conversation piece look and is built to unmatched quality that will last a lifetime. In short, the Hamrforge Beast will outlast, outperform any other BBQ smoker on the market, period. Hamrforge the brand, the lifestyle, the ultimate BBQ smoker! Built to last over 100 years.

I myself had the chance to test the Hamrforge during the BBQ Camp as well as during our trip to the American Royal in Kansas City. We had the chance to work with the best "Automatic" smokers on the planet, and the Hamrforge was the most used smoker due to its ease of use, its autonomy, its performance as well as the delicious smell that comes out of this Pit. Its build quality is simply incredible, no smoker can compare to Hamrforge in terms of build quality, we can see that these smokers are there to stand the test of time.