AZ Barbeque.com
BBQ Related Topics => BBQ Fuel Discussions - Charcoal, Lump, Pellets, Wood & Gas => Topic started by: Tempe BBQER on April 06, 2009, 09:52:14 pm
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I have always used charcoal and wood chips or chunks, but I picked up some hickory wood last week and gave it a try.. worked pretty good.. I have been using my old water smoker and my weber grill.. Can I use wood with these two? Not sure if there are any special hints etc.
I just dont want it to be to much smoke.. Any advice will work.
Thanks
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Hickory can be pretty strong, if you are just burning it in the style of cookers you have. Burning whole logs is more meant for a stick burning offset. I would guess that in your water smoker (Brinkman I am guessing) and the kettle, it would over power the food.
If you like, try it on some cheap chicken legs or thighs, if it works great if not did not cost much.
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Thanks for the reply, that's what I was thinking and why I asked. Still new at this and want to try new things, I did a couple racks of ribs and they came out pretty good :) Used a new rub that was maybe a bit to much on them, and was not 100% sure if it was the rub or the wood. Had some friends try them and they liked so must have been half way decent :) maybe I just need to tinker with it and see what happens. I also did not use a lot of wood just one small log.
Again thanks for the input
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With those smallish cookers, all research points to charcoal, preferrably not K-Blue (Cousin Crystal's Chemistry Kit...) and smallish chunks for the flavor. That's how I try to approach w/offset SnP--every time I try to use more wood, I get creosote city...
dk
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Creosote typically means you are choking the heck out of the oxygen supply, ALL cooking wood has creosote, well seasoned hardwoods (Nut or Fruit trees) have the least, I would say practice makes perfect with wood, everything matters, humidity, prevailing winds or breeze, air intake setting and the exhaust...all matter in wood cooking.
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Berry -- when we use our large offset we do not choke the exhaust at all, we run it wide open. We control the temp with the intakes and we run a GURU, the perfect color is a clear blue when it's all perfect.
jim
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maybe I just need to tinker with it and see what happens.
Exactly right!
I like to use charcoal smallish chunks of wood, easier to deal with in a small water smoker/WSM/UDS/small offset, I think. If I want more smoke flavor I just add more chunks!
I always run the exhaust wide open also, when I try to close it bad things seems to happen. :(
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:o When I read the title of this thread, I can't help but think about women in bikinis running around while I'm BBQ'ing.
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:o When I read the title of this thread, I can't help but think about women in bikinis running around while I'm BBQ'ing.
;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post those pictures......
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I am talking about choking the intake, never the exhaust.....Creosote comes from the fallout smoke leaves behind, period! It may mean your wood is too green or is oxygen starved or a combo, some people have used the wrong types of wood. Does your smoke have to travel a fair distance before the exhaust? The further it goes the cooler it gets before coming out the stack, as it cools down it will drop microscopic particulates on the meat, these culminate into a somewhat greasy, black, bitter tasting outer layer....if this is the case I suggest lightly covering the meat with foil, NOT wrapping, and see if that improves the problem. You will find whatever is deposited on the foil would have gone right on your meat being smoked, we all want a little but too much is no good! Cover the meat after an initial smoke of 1/2 hour to an hour, play with it until you get it right for your tastes, good luck!!! Thomas
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Thanks, Thomas! Perhaps that is part of my problem! I have to close the intake to about 1/4 inch to get the SnP temps in the lower 200s...I've started using less charcoal, like starting with half a chimney instead of a full chimney. The new charcoal basket I'm making should help, too...BTW, I saw your lot from the 202 leaving work the other day...WOW! There's been some clear-cutting goin' on!! That's a large pile of wood there, sir!
Dave
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Just went out last week bought a brinkman with the side box used to have small brinkman wsd. Found the only problem with the smoker was 1 water pan dropped heat way down and after about 4 hours there is so much ash in fire box the heat starts to come down. Is there a way to use a wood log towards the middle of the cook to keep heat up for a couple of hours that wont and to much smoke to meat
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...and after about 4 hours there is so much ash in fire box the heat starts to come down. Is there a way to use a wood log towards the middle of the cook to keep heat up for a couple of hours that wont and to much smoke to meat
That's the nature of the "ECB", el cheapo Brinkmann. There are many forums with info on how to modify them. The charcoal bowl doesn't get the coals off the floor, so the ash just chokes them out like a good MMA fighter...you need a rack and ash catch and holes in the pan. The horizontal offset model can be greatly improved cheaply too. To read more about it, check out this thread; http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1943&highlight=project+brinkman (http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1943&highlight=project+brinkman) This is an awesome explanation on why this is necessary, plus he increases useable area by about 80%!
I just took a 15" X 26" chunk of heavy--#9--expanded metal, bent 6" each end up as a new grate for mine. Pics are in the "Show us your smoker" thread.
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I have been tinkering with the wood smoking, and it seems to be working. I have now done several more racks of ribs, a brisket and a couple of butts. They all came out pretty good.. not too much smoke. I only use one maybe two small logs on top of the charcoal I put in there. I am th epresident of the Dads club at my kids school and I have to smoke a couple of butts for a poker event this weekend that we are having.(have to raise some funds for campus improvements :) )
So I have had some luck I guess, afer all I am only using a old brinkman water smoker and my weber grill.. Sill have to get me a bigger smoker or one of those drums.. Maybe soon ;D
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Thanks for the info for the web site, i had the same idea for my fire box. The smoker he talks about is the next size down from mine i bought the 1200 sq in one. I was able to cook 2 pork loins 2 chickens rack of ribs and 12 pieces of corn and still had room, will put the pics up this weekend thanks for the info
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Drums can be cheap! I plan on using my current weber cooking grate until I buy an dedicated one, so all I'll need is the pipe chunks, the ball valve and a step drill. And a drum...I can buy an empty stainless one for about $400...
It's a struggle for me, but it seems that less wood is better. Several half-fist sized pieces seems to be better than a log-ette, frinstance. I tried mixing about 6-7 of them in a batch of cold charcoal upon which I dumped a lit half chimney on. I could've used a few more pieces, maybe. Pretty good, though. DW liked it, and she seems to not like the smoky flavor. She doesn't like my car or LedZep, either.
dk
I got a drum smoker for my wife...best trade I ever made...
<<<booo, hisss>>>
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I started out on (and wore out many) an ECB before I got a WSM. Charcaol and wood chunks worked best for me on them. About three years ago I came across a deal on a real Bandera that I couldn't pass up. Wood worked better on it but I had trouble getting it up to temp and keeping it there even with several mods. So I sold it to a fellow Q'er. He loves it and smokes some great stuff on it. I think I was afraid of too much wood after all those years of the ECB.
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Buy as many smokers as you can......
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I have a stick burner and all I use is pecan. The only time I get Creosote is when I would get the temp rising to fast and I would panic and try killing the oxygen off to kill the heat.. Because of this I learned to make small changes to the vents, giving the cooker a few minutes to adjust to the changes you made. The more familiar you get with your cooker, the better you will get at controlling the fire.
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practice makes it familiar.....