The Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 Auto-Feed Charcoal Smoker merges traditional smoking with modern ease, aimed at those who love smoked food but prefer not to constantly check fuel levels. This innovative smoker offers a hands-off approach to maintaining consistent temperatures for authentic flavors, appealing to both beginners and experienced grillers.
For those new to smoking meats, the Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 stands out as the best charcoal smoker for beginners, thanks to its innovative auto-feed system. With its durable build, including cast iron grates and a cool-touch handle, the Tahoma 900 is designed for long-lasting use.
Its spacious cooking area can handle various dishes, perfect for any gathering size. Drawing from Robert Cole’s vast experience in outdoor cooking equipment, this review highlights how the Tahoma 900’s auto-feed system simplifies smoking, reflecting Oklahoma Joe’s dedication to quality and innovation.
Despite its advanced technology, the Tahoma 900 ensures the traditional smoky taste remains a key feature of your cooking. This review will delve into how Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 stands as a significant advancement in outdoor cooking, offering a blend of flavor and convenience for today’s grillers.
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If Your Time is Short: Rating: 7 / 10
The Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 merges traditional smoking with ease, thanks to its auto-feed system for continuous, hassle-free cooking for up to 13 hours. It boasts a robust build with a spacious 875 square inch cooking area and versatile temperature control from 225 to 600 degrees. While it excels in convenience and performance, minor considerations include its fuel usage and limited mobility. Overall, the Tahoma 900 is ideal for those seeking a seamless blend of classic smoking flavors and modern functionality.
Click here to see Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 on Amazon.com.
Reviewer’s Statement
Dear readers,
I have crafted this review after conducting over twenty cooking sessions with the Tahoma 900 smoker. My background includes extensive experience with various other smokers, allowing me to provide a comprehensive evaluation of its performance. To offer transparency and firsthand evidence of my experiences, I have compiled an extensive YouTube playlist featuring over half of these cooks.
The recipes showcased in the playlist span from traditional dishes like chicken and salmon to more unconventional items such as cheese. By watching these videos, you can witness firsthand the results achieved with the Tahoma 900. Rest assured, this review is genuine and based on real experiences.
Thank you for considering my insights.
Warm regards,
Robert Cole
Key Features of the Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 Auto-Feed Charcoal Smoker
Exploring the Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 reveals its standout features that elevate the smoking experience. The auto-feed (gravity-feed) charcoal system and precision temperature control are among the highlights. This section details the attributes that make the Tahoma 900 a top choice for barbecue enthusiasts.
Type: The Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 is a gravity-fed charcoal smoker, a distinction that sets it apart in the world of outdoor cooking. This design automates the charcoal supply, leveraging gravity to feed charcoal from a hopper into the firebox, ensuring a consistent cooking temperature without manual intervention.
This mechanism not only maintains steady heat but also simplifies the smoking process, making it more approachable for beginners yet still offering the precise control and rich, authentic flavor that seasoned smokers demand. By classifying the Tahoma 900 as a gravity smoker, we highlight its innovative approach to traditional smoking, combining convenience with quality to cater to a broad range of barbecue enthusiasts.
Controls: The control system of the Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 Auto-Feed Charcoal Smoker is designed with both novices and seasoned pitmasters in mind. It features an intuitive control panel that simplifies the art of smoking. With a digital display, users easily monitor the cooking process, including the precise cooking temperature and the internal temperature of the meat, courtesy of two included stainless steel food probes.
One key aspect of this smoker’s advanced functionality is its wide temperature range, from 225 degrees to 600 degrees, allowing for a variety of cooking styles—from low and slow smoking to high-heat grilling. Temperature adjustments are made effortlessly with a simple turn of a knob, enabling users to fine-tune cooking conditions to their exact preferences.
Moreover, the Tahoma 900 elevates the smoking experience with its Wi-Fi connectivity feature. Through the Oklahoma Joe’s app, users have the freedom to control and monitor their smoker remotely, making adjustments as needed from their smartphones.
This blend of manual and smart technology not only puts complete control in the hands of the user but also introduces a new level of convenience, allowing adjustments to be made from anywhere, at any time.
This combination of user-friendly controls, extensive temperature range, and smart connectivity ensures that the Tahoma 900 meets the needs of the modern smoker, providing precision and flexibility in every smoking session.
Portability: The Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 is built with convenience in mind but with a focus on stationary use rather than frequent mobility. It comes with rubber wheels and swivel casters, enhancing movement across flat surfaces like patios or decks. However, its considerable heft and absence of lift handles present challenges when moving over uneven ground or for distances.
Its design prioritizes stability and a comprehensive smoking experience, making it less suited for transport to events like tailgating or camping trips. The Tahoma 900 is ideal for enthusiasts who prefer a semi-permanent fixture for their outdoor cooking spaces rather than a portable smoker.
Food Capacity: With an impressive 875 square inches of cooking space, the Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 excels at meeting diverse culinary demands. Its design cleverly splits this area into a 557-square-inch primary grate and a 318-square-inch upper grate, optimizing space for a wide array of foods. This smoker effortlessly handles everything from multiple racks of ribs and large brisket cuts to several chickens at once.
Ideal for entertaining, the Tahoma 900 supports cooking in bulk—perfect for parties, family gatherings, or any event requiring a feast. Its versatility makes it a favorite among those who enjoy the art of smoking, regardless of the size of the gathering.
Fuel Capacity: The Tahoma 900’s hopper can hold up to 16 pounds of charcoal briquets, designed for long smoking sessions with minimal interruption. This large fuel capacity ensures hours of consistent, uninterrupted cooking, eliminating frequent refills. Its efficient design guarantees smooth charcoal flow into the firebox, keeping temperatures stable for the best smoking outcomes.
Ideal for prolonged, low-and-slow cooking, this feature maintains a steady heat crucial for giving meats that perfect smoky flavor and tenderness. The combination of the Tahoma 900’s substantial fuel capacity and its auto-feed system offers a user-friendly experience, appealing to smokers of all skill levels who value convenience and efficiency.
Insulation: The Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 doesn’t use special insulation materials, but its heavy-duty steel build excels at keeping heat in. This means that after the smoker heats up, it stays hot, quickly getting back to the right temperature even if you open the lid or add more charcoal.
This strong steel build not only makes the smoker last longer but also helps keep the cooking temperature steady, which is key for the best smoking results. The smoker’s ability to hold heat is particularly useful for long cooks, making sure your food gets an even and thorough smoking.
Accessories: The Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 comes with just the basics: a grill grate remover and two temperature probes. These probes are essential for closely monitoring your meat’s temperature without having to open the smoker and let out heat. The smoker also features an upper shelf, providing extra cooking space, though not traditionally an accessory.
Consider acquiring a comprehensive grill tool set for those wanting to elevate their smoking game. Such a set would beneficially include a coil brush for cleaning grates, a spatula for handling various foods, extra-long tongs for safety, and skewers for kabobs and vegetables.
While the Tahoma 900 doesn’t include these tools, adding them to your collection can significantly enhance your cooking versatility and convenience.
Warranty: The Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 comes with a 2-year warranty covering most parts. This warranty guarantees against material and workmanship defects, offering buyers peace of mind. Oklahoma Joe’s commitment to quality ensures that any manufacturing issues within this timeframe are addressed.
For specifics on coverage and claims, consult the Oklahoma Joe’s website or reach out to their customer service for assistance.
What other things should you know about the Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 Auto-Feed Charcoal Smoker?
Assembling the Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 Auto-Feed Charcoal Smoker is a detailed process, typically taking between 2 to 3 hours based on expertise. This estimated duration is designed for a thorough setup, ideal for both novices and experienced individuals alike. Allocating a half-day for assembly and initial seasoning of the smoker is advisable, allowing for a paced approach to ensure all components are accurately assembled.
The process is of moderate difficulty but can be made easier with an extra pair of hands, especially given the weight of the smoker’s parts. Despite the challenge posed by the size and weight of these components, the instruction manual provides clear, easy-to-follow directions, ensuring a smooth assembly experience. It’s important to carefully align all parts during assembly to avoid any misalignment issues, which might require adjusting screws for a perfect fit, ensuring the smoker’s stability and optimal performance.
In addition to the assembly details, it’s worth noting that there are a few key features of the Tahoma 900. The smoker is equipped with an ash pan that functions like a drawer at its base, greatly simplifying the cleanup process. Also, when using tumbleweed fire starters, you’ll find a designated holder that facilitates the lighting process, offering an extra layer of convenience right from the beginning.
Check out my YouTube video for clarification on a few steps that might be confusing during assembly. It provides visual guidance on ensuring proper alignment and safely handling the heavier components. Taking your time to grasp each step fully, and do not hesitating to make adjustments as necessary, can significantly smooth out the assembly process. Completing the setup is not just a task; it’s the first step towards many enjoyable smoking sessions with your Tahoma 900.
User comments on the Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 Auto-Feed Charcoal Smoker frequently commend its durable construction and the auto-feed charcoal system that notably simplifies smoking. The ample cooking space is versatile, accommodating both large and small gatherings. While assembly is time-intensive, users find the instructions clear and helpful. The smoker’s consistent temperature management is praised for delivering perfect smoking results every time.
Some feedback, however, points to areas for improvement, including mobility issues due to a lack of sturdy handles and some concerns about durability, as indicated by reports of paint chipping after limited use.
Overall, the Tahoma 900 stands out in user reviews for its performance, longevity, and superior quality of its smoking outcomes, earning it favor among both novices and experienced smokers.
PROS:
- Auto-feed charcoal system
- Great flavor
- Solid Construction
- Large Cooking Area
- Easy Ash Cleaning
- Versatile Temperature Range
- App Control
CONS:
- High Fuel Use
- No Lift Handles
- Small Wheels
- Thermal Runaway
- Narrow Shelf
- Charcoal Sticks in Hopper
The Pros and Cons Explained
The Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 Auto-Feed Charcoal Smoker brings a mix of innovative features and practical design elements, making it a noteworthy option for barbecue enthusiasts. Its auto-feed charcoal system is a standout feature, ensuring up to 13 hours of continuous cooking time, which significantly reduces the hassle of manual fuel replenishment during long smoking sessions.
The smoker excels in delivering the authentic smoke flavor that is essential for a genuine barbecue experience, thanks to its design and construction. Speaking of construction, the Tahoma 900’s heavy-duty steel build promises longevity and superior heat retention, ensuring consistent cooking temperatures.
With an expansive cooking area of 875 square inches, this smoker caters well to large gatherings, allowing for a variety of dishes to be prepared simultaneously. The inclusion of a slide-out ashtray simplifies the post-cooking cleanup process, emphasizing user convenience.
The smoker’s temperature range, which can be adjusted from 225 to 600 degrees, offers versatility for different cooking methods, from slow smoking to high-heat grilling. Additionally, the Wi-Fi app connectivity feature enhances the user experience by allowing for remote monitoring and adjustments, adding a layer of convenience and control.
However, the Tahoma 900 is not without its drawbacks. High fuel consumption has been noted, particularly in colder weather conditions where it may use double the amount of fuel recommended in the user’s manual. The absence of lift handles and the presence of small caster wheels limit the smoker’s mobility, making it challenging to move across uneven surfaces or to different outdoor locations.
This could be a significant inconvenience for users who prefer a more versatile outdoor cooking setup. Additionally, the smoker requires vigilant monitoring to prevent thermal runaway, especially when operating at temperatures above 300 degrees. The narrow shelf design may also restrict the size of food items that can be cooked simultaneously, potentially limiting its utility for certain recipes.
Lastly, the issue of charcoal sticking in the hopper, where the last few pieces fail to feed smoothly into the firebox, could interrupt the cooking process, requiring manual intervention to ensure continuous fuel supply.
Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900: My Expert Rating
Comprehensive Evaluation
After conducting over twenty detailed cooking sessions with the Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900, I’ve gathered sufficient experience and data to assign it a rating confidently. It’s important to note that my assessment is based on a blend of rigorous testing and personal expertise in smoking and grilling equipment. While I acknowledge that my perspective may evolve with further use, as is common with in-depth product evaluations, my current verdict aims to provide a snapshot of the smoker’s performance and value. The fuel used for the testing was Kingsford regular briquettes, which are uniform and available nationally.
Current Rating: 7 out of 10
Given my extensive experience with the Tahoma 900, I award it a score of 7 out of 10. This rating reflects a comprehensive analysis of its features, functionality, and overall user experience. It’s derived from a balanced consideration of the smoker’s innovative auto-feed charcoal system, its solid construction, and the authentic smoke flavor it produces, alongside the practical challenges related to fuel consumption, mobility, and certain design limitations.
Context for the Rating
This rating is grounded in a commitment to accuracy, transparency, and the provision of helpful, evidence-based insights for barbecue enthusiasts. As an expert in this field, I continuously strive to refine my evaluations through ongoing testing and comparison, ensuring that my recommendations uphold the highest standards of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
Click here to see Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 on Amazon.com.
Tips:
After twenty cooks on the Tahoma 900 and years of smoking under my belt, I have gathered some insider tips that could transform your smoking sessions. Here is what decades of trial and error have taught me, and I hope they help you as much as they have helped me.
Clean the Ashes Out:
After more than twenty cooks, I have discovered that cleaning the ash pan after each use is crucial for optimal performance. However, taking an extra step enhances the results significantly. Safety first: Ensure your smoker is completely cool before attempting to clean out ashes to avoid any risk of burns or accidents. Here is how to ensure a clean chamber for better charcoal lighting and burning:
- Confirm the smoker is cool.
- Remove the charcoal burning grate.
- Brush or wipe away all the ashes from the burning chamber.
Check the Charcoal Bin Regularly:
Regularly monitoring the charcoal bin is essential, ideally every two hours, to ensure the charcoal is advancing properly. Additionally, confirm there’s ample charcoal in the bin—never let it run out. I recommend maintaining at least an hour’s worth of extra charcoal for stable cooking temperatures until the end of your session. Safety tip: Always stand to the side when opening the charcoal bin lid during use to avoid any sudden flare-ups or heat bursts.
Ramp Up the Temperature:
Setting your cooking temperature requires a bit of strategy to avoid overheating. Here is a step-by-step approach to get it just right:
- Start 50 degrees lower than your target temperature.
- Gradually increase the heat: first by 20 degrees, then in increments of 10 degrees until you reach the desired temperature.
- Always verify the temperature with an independent thermometer. I prefer using the wireless ThermoPro Temp Spike because of its accuracy, user-friendly app, and reliable wireless range.
Remember, with charcoal, it is difficult to bring down once the temperature is too high, so this gradual approach helps maintain control.
Heat It Up To Clean Up
When you are done with your smoking or grilling session, turn the temperature on high (600 degrees) to help remove any oils and burn off any debris.
- Clear out the grill and remove everything that is not original to the grill, like grill mats, sheet pans, or rib racks.
- Turn up the temperature, set the temperature to 600 degrees, and let it come to full temperature.
- Wire brush the grates. Use your preferred method to clear the grates of all debris, then close the lid.
- Let the grill run. After the grill returns to 600 degrees, let it run for 10 minutes before lowering the temperature to 225 to burn the remaining charcoal.
- Close the damper. Once the grill has dropped to 225 degrees, shut off the grill and close the damper.
By following these steps and keeping safety at the forefront, you’ll not only improve your smoking technique but also enjoy a safer, more satisfying cooking experience.
Best Alternative Smoker in the Same Category: Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050
For those seeking an alternative to the Tahoma 900, the Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill and Smoker is an excellent choice, blending traditional charcoal flavor with modern convenience.
It features a digital control panel, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and the ability to quickly heat up—reaching 225°F in ten minutes and 700°F in fifteen minutes. With 1050 square inches of cooking space, it’s well-suited for large gatherings, offering versatility for various cooking needs.
The GravityFed hopper of the Masterbuilt 1050 can hold up to 10 pounds of lump charcoal or 16 pounds of briquettes, allowing for extended cooking sessions without the need for frequent refills. A digitally controlled fan and a built-in meat probe thermometer ensure precise temperature management, providing a seamless smoking experience that delivers consistent, flavorful results.
Despite its higher initial cost and the ongoing expense of purchasing charcoal, the Masterbuilt 1050’s combination of ease of use and excellent performance makes it a valuable investment for both novice and experienced smokers alike. This model stands as a top recommendation for those who appreciate the depth of charcoal smoking with the convenience of digital control.
For my full review, CLICK HERE.
Click here to see Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050 on Amazon.com.
Final Thoughts on the Tahoma 900
The Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 combines traditional smoking with modern features. Its durable build and auto-feed system simplify smoking, ensuring consistent temperatures. The large cooking area suits various events, but assembly is time-intensive due to heavy parts. Despite this, its performance justifies the effort.
Challenges in assembly and mobility are noted, yet the Tahoma 900 excels in smoking quality and flavor. It’s a solid choice for those seeking to blend traditional smoking techniques with the convenience of modern technology, ideal for enhancing outdoor cooking experiences.
Click here to see Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 on Amazon.com.
Let’s Discuss! Share your experiences or questions about the Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma 900 in the comments below. Your insights help everyone make better smoking choices!
