By Guest Contributor Eddie Allison, Founder of 1836 Smokers
When you fire up an 1836 pit, you’re doing more than cooking meat; you’re waking up a tradition that’s been seasoning the air in Texas since the day the Republic was born.
I imagine Sam Houston mopping sauce over a slab of beef after San Jacinto, the sweet tang cutting through the mesquite smoke. I see Jim Bowie turning a haunch of venison, its fat sizzling into the coals. James Fannin, beans simmering low and slow, the steam carrying the smell of bacon and peppers. Texas Jack Baker flipping cornbread in a cast-iron pan, Bill Pickett grinning over a stack of ribs as the juices run down the bone.
That’s the kind of company you keep when you light one of my pits.
I didn’t build 1836 Smokers just to hold fire; I built them to bring the campfire taste of history into backyards. Quarter-inch steel to lock in the heat. Welds laid like careful stitches. Handles that feel solid in your grip. And when you open that lid and the first rush of hickory, oak, or mesquite hits, you know you’re doing something older, bigger, and better than dinner.
Waxahachie Heat and the Scent of Slow Smoke
In North Texas, August heat comes with its own recipe, sun high and unyielding, air shimmering like it’s been brushed with oil, dust hanging golden in the light.
In Waxahachie, though, there’s another heat, the deep, patient warmth rolling from a pit. The kind that turns brisket into silk and ribs into something you can’t stop eating. The kind of fire I wanted to capture when I founded 1836 Smokers in 2025.
Built for the Cook, Made for the Meat
As an eighth-generation Texan, I know a pit has to do more than look the part; it has to cook like it means it. That’s why every 1836 pit is built with the thickness, balance, and airflow to coax flavor from the toughest cuts and the longest cooks.
The Models: Built to Feed and Impress
The Texian – “The Battlefield Banquet”
If Sam Houston had to feed an army after San Jacinto, he’d have wanted this.
The Texian is a marriage of a cabinet smoker and a reverse flow barrel, crowned with a double stack exhaust for perfect convection. Heat moves like a slow tide, wrapping briskets, ribs, and pork shoulders evenly. Inside, it’s a meat-lover’s barn with room for dozens of briskets or a whole hog, each one soaking up a steady perfume of mesquite.
It’s not just about capacity, it’s about delivering a plate that stops conversation.
The Bexar – “The Frontier Workhorse”
Tough, lean, and as steady as a ranch foreman, this 104-gallon reverse flow smoker is built for classic Texas barbecue.
The Bexar keeps a steady flow of heat and smoke, giving you that coveted deep red smoke ring without hot spots. Brisket comes out with a bark you can tap like a drum, ribs with meat that clings just enough before giving way. It’s a pit that lets you visit with friends without fretting over the fire.
The Ranger – “The Purist’s Iron Steed”
For those who believe barbecue is an active sport, not a spectator event.
The Ranger is a traditional offset with a half-inch vertical scoop baffle, channeling smoke like a trail boss herding cattle. You work this pit with your hands, adding wood, adjusting vents, watching smoke curl and knowing when it’s time to spritz. In return, it gives you brisket with that mahogany crust and ribs kissed just right by post oak.
The Bahaia – “The Bowie Knife of Smokers”
Fast, versatile, and deadly effective.
With its 28×28-inch vertical coffin build, The Bahaia moves from low and slow to a high-heat sear in minutes. Start the day with brisket and sausage links, finish with steaks or fajitas right over the coals. The flavor jumps from smoke to flame is like shifting from a fiddle tune to a roadhouse guitar solo, different feel but the same Texas soul.
The Hayes – “The Campfire Drifter”
Small in size, big in attitude.
Perfect for patios, tailgates, or road trips, The Hayes turns out smoked chicken with skin that snaps and burgers kissed with mesquite. It’s the kind of pit you could haul to a cookout on the Brazos or park under a shade tree for an afternoon of slow cooking.
Barbecue Is Texas, and Texas Is Barbecue
When you own an 1836 Smoker, you own a piece of the Texas table. You join the line of pitmasters, famous and forgotten, who learned that a good fire and good company can turn any day into something worth remembering.
Because barbecue isn’t just about feeding folks, it’s about giving them a plate that tells a story. And in Texas, that story is written in smokers, and finally gives food trucks and trailers the freedom to move and grow like they should’ve had all along. If you love Texas barbecue, tighten up your cinch, things are about to get even better.
