I have a long history with Oklahoma Joe’s. In 2002, I bought my first offset smoker, an Oklahoma Joe’s Silver Smoker purchased from Barbeques Galore. It featured a shield for the firebox and a “rapid-fire start” fueled by a camp stove propane tank as well as a one-piece firebox.

My fondest memory with this new to me offset smoker was when my step-father-in-law and I were cooking my first brisket. The date, May 25, 2002. My late wife came down from upstairs and proclaimed, “We are pregnant!”.  Without missing a beat we proclaimed, “a baby brisket!”. I cooked on this OK Joe offset pit until October 20, 2013. Before this Oklahoma Joe’s pit, I “cut my teeth” on a charcoal grill. 

Fast forward to 2019 and the team at Oklahoma Joe’s reached out to me to put their new pellet grill the Rider DLX through its paces. Who wouldn’t? So, here it is…

My Review of the Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX Pellet Grill

The Stats
Weight: 242 lbs (you’ll certainly want some help loading & unloading.)
Size of Box: 46.5″ length, 29.5″ height, 22 7/8″ width (just slim enough to fit through the front door of my house on a furniture dolly)
Assembled Size: 54.2″ H x 55.5″ W
Temperature range:175°-650+°F 
Cooking area: 1,200+ square inches
Dual Mode baffle (smoking, grilling)
Cook to a specific time or internal temperature with the dual-mode controller and included probe.

My Bottom Line:
I have to say coming from another pellet grill (PitBoss Austin XL) to this Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX was a big upgrade! The Rider is big and heavy and can generate a good amount of smoke. Its ability to sear and easily change from smoking to searing from the outside of the cooking chamber are a major plus. It heats up and startup is a breeze. Two smokestacks keep the smoke flowing and temps very consistent across the cooking grates.

The quick-change pellet hopper is a game-changer, too. Instead of trying to catch the pellets pouring out a chute, they conveniently dump into a bucket. This eliminates lost pellets.

Also, a BIG control knob on the generous control panel makes it very easy to see and change the temperature. The separate power button makes it very easy to confirm that the unit is off or, that you have turned it on. Turning the Rider DLX off puts the unit into automatic shut down mode. Something many competing pellet grills don’t have. Also, not having to mess with small buttons cramped in with temperature readout of competing products is great. 

Flex Racks and the Grill Pan are great extra features and make cooking breakfast a breeze. Buy the optional Griddle pan and you have a massive surface to cooking without the expense of adding on a single-purpose flat-top griddle.

Frequent Questions About Oklahoma Joe’s Rider Pellet Grill

The Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX Pellet Grill is it Easy to Assemble?

This 11-minute video breaks down the main steps in assembling the Rider pellet grill. 
All in all, about an hour or so to assemble. If you have a friend to help, it will go faster.
I did this solo.

You’ll find the following tools very helpful:

• Phillips screwdriver
• adjustable wrench
• Utility knife
• Scissors

Burn Rate of Pellets on the Oklahoma Joe Rider Pellet Grill 

• Smoking settings: 6-8 hours for 20lbs of pellets.
• Grilling settings: a minimum of 2+ hours for 20lbs of pellets.

Weight of the Oklahoma Joe Rider Pellet Grill

The Oklahoma Joe Rider pellet grill weighs in at a hefty 242 lbs.

Type of Controller in the Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX Pellet Grill

The Rider Pellet Grill pit controller is not a PID controller but, does run a proprietary algorithm that Oklahoma Joe’s developed in-house. Their engineers designed the system to maintain consistent temps and that mitigate the frequent temp swings that affect pellet grills with more basic controllers.

Searing a Steak on the Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX Pellet Grill

This pellet grill sears. No problem.

Smoke Leakage on the Rider DLX Pellet Grill

Smoke leakage is pretty common (especially on startup) and won’t affect the performance of the grill.

Smoking /Barbecuing on the Rider Pellet Grill

Looking for a smoke ring? You can get one on the Oklahoma Joe Rider DLX pellet grill.

Are Temps Even on the Rider Pellet Grill?

The dual smokestack exhaust system is designed to help promote even temps and smoke flow across the entire cook chamber by encouraging airflow to the left and the right of the firepot to match the center temps and smoke flow right over the heat source. This results in a stable and consistent temp throughout the chamber, over the entire cook session.

Total Racks of Ribs That Can Fit on the Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX Pellet Grill

Oklahoma Joe’s website shows 8 racks of baby backs on the Rider DLX pellet grill. I cooked 6 and there is certainly room for more! If you opt for the optional rib racks you could probably even double that number!

Size of the Cooking Grates on the Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX Pellet Grill

The main cooking grate is 29.6″ long and 19.5″ deep. 
Two additional warming racks are 29.6″ long and roughly half the depth.

Cooking in Extreme Cold on Oklahoma Joe’s Pellet Grill

Until the insulated cover is ready later in 2020, Oklahoma Joe’s Smokers recommends setting the controller to a higher temperature to encourage a faster pellet feed rate.

What’s the Warranty for the Rider Pellet Grill

2 years, all parts.

Note: Although I was compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are my own.