"Ray Steinhart" > wrote in message
...
>I have read many comments about not using whole wood for bbq, only
>charcoal. Yet I have visited many bbq joints and they all seem to use
>whole wood. How is this so? What makes their pits acceptable to the use
>of whole wood. I use lump charcoal but do not seem to get the smoke flavor
>I am looking for and I am thinking whole wood may be the answer. I use a
>Brinkman vertical smoker with the side fire box- also called the grill.
>
> I am puzzled as to how restaurants can use whole wood.
>
> Thanks for your answers.
>
> Ray Steinhart


Barbecue began with the burning of "whole" wood in a pit dug in the ground
and this method continues today in many forms. If there's a "secret" to
cooking barbecue, it's all in the control of the fire.
If you want to add smoke, either add wood to your lump charcoal or burn all
wood in the firebox.
If you want to add wood to your lump, consider wrapping a few fist-sized
chunks in heavy aluminum foil and tossing them in with the lump. They'll
smolder and emit good smoke for quite awhile, and you get a free lump of
charcoal when you're done. Or just toss a few chunks in and let them burn
down a bit.
Or.
Consider building a medium-sized fire from dry wood and allow it to burn
down to coals before putting meat in the cooking chamber (the trick is to
achieve a steady temperature in the cooking chamber and to have just a thin
blue smoke escaping from the chamber vent), then add a chunk of wood at a
time as necessary to maintain temperature and smoke level. Always leave the
upper vent open and control the air flow through the lower vent into the
firebox.
BBQ joints (the good ones) have pits that enable fire management, meaning
they achieve a relatively constant temperature accompanied by a proper smoke
stream. Too much smoke is worse than not enough, since creosote will
collect on the meat and produces a bitter, acrid taste.

Jack Curry
-it's all about the fire-