Offset Smoker
A smoker with a separate firebox attached to the main cooking chamber so heat and smoke travel across the meat instead of sitting directly underneath it.
An offset smoker is one of the classic barbecue setups because it lets the cook manage fire and airflow separately from the cooking chamber. The firebox sits off to the side, and smoke moves through the chamber before exiting through a stack.
That layout creates a very specific rhythm. Fire management matters more. Patience matters more. The reward is a style of cooking many barbecue people still see as the most honest form of pit work.
Example
A pitmaster feeding split wood into an external firebox and watching the stack for clean smoke is working an offset smoker.
Why It Matters
Offsets are not automatically better than every other smoker. They simply ask for more from the person running them and reward attention differently.