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Barbecue (alt.food.barbecue) Discuss barbecue and grilling--southern style "low and slow" smoking of ribs, shoulders and briskets, as well as direct heat grilling of everything from burgers to salmon to vegetables. |
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Wood or lump?
Hi,
I recently aquired good 'ol cast iron 450 lb smoker which I have restored (removed rust, replaced wheels, painted etc.). It's one of those with an off set smoke box on the side. Up to now all my Q has been done in a Brinkmann R2D2 where I've been using lump and wood chips with good results. So now I wonder when starting using the new one if I should still use lump, or if I should get real wood and burn it down to coals? What's the normal and/or prefered way of doing it with this kind of smoker? One thing I wonder about is how do you re-fuel the thing when using real wood? If you keep adding wood it will burn and increase the temperature. Maybe I should start with real wood and then refuel with lump? As you can see I'm not in the know when it comes to these kinds of smokers, and I am not able to find much about it on-line either, so any advices here would be greatly appreciated. -- //ceed |
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Wood or lump?
ceed wrote:
> So now I wonder when starting using the new one if I should still use lump, > or if I should get real wood and burn it down to coals? What's the normal > and/or prefered way of doing it with this kind of smoker? One thing I > wonder about is how do you re-fuel the thing when using real wood? If you > keep adding wood it will burn and increase the temperature. Maybe I should > start with real wood and then refuel with lump? > You'll get as many answers as you get answerers. I have a CharBroil offset smoker, one of the models that used to be made by New Braunfels. I use either briquettes or lump to start the fire and then feed it wood. I use a wireless BBQ thermometer to track the temp of the smoke box and adjust as needed. I'm still in the learning curve, but I am keeping the temperature within 25F of where I want it to be, which is (to me) a major accomplishment. As with the R2D2, keep the exhaust valves or flaps wide open, control heat using the fuel supply and air intake controls. Once my charcoal is going, I put a few pieces of wood on the charcoal. Once that is going, the smoke box is at temperature and the meat goes in. I find that it helps to turn the wood - only the top side burns. I don't pre-burn or pre-heat the wood. Some people prefer to do that. I am shooting for a fairly smoky taste and don't want to reduce it below where it is. Some people keep a grill going to reduce wood to coals and then shovel the coals into the fire box on the offset smoker. I haven't felt a need to do that, but your mileage may vary. Finally, I am leaning more and more towards using a small amount of wood that is burning than a larger amount that is smoldering. It makes temperature control easier, and reduces the smoking from smoldering wood that I don't find helps the taste of the barbecue. You might look in the barbecue faq for silver smoker hints. Some of them might well apply. Enjoy your new smoker! Mike |
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Wood or lump?
In alt.food.barbecue, ceed > wrote:
> keep adding wood it will burn and increase the temperature. Maybe I should > start with real wood and then refuel with lump? I like to use two fires - one in the firebox, and another one alongside to pre-burn the wood. Once it gets coated with red hot coals, it is good to go. Using this method also cuts down on flames, so the smoking chamber stays more nearly constant in temperature. -- The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts. -- Bertrand Russel |
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Wood or lump?
ceed wrote:
> So now I wonder when starting using the new one if I should still use > lump, or if I should get real wood and burn it down to coals? What's > the normal and/or prefered way of doing it with this kind of smoker? The prefered way for you is whatever way you end up doing it. Here's what I do with my CharGriller, based on reading a whole bunch from the various bbq groups on the internet and experimenting: The night before, make sure the meat is marinating or rubbed or whatever and in the fridge all wrapped up. Pour a whole bag of lump into the firebox. Make a little indentation in the middle. Put the cover back on the smoker. Fill up the charcoal chimney with lump and newspaper like always, and put it inside the house so it'll all get nice and dry. Get up at 5:00 a.m. Take the chimney outside and light it. Get the meat out of the fridge so it'll warm up a bit. When the charcoal is ready, pour it into the firebox on top of the bagfull you already put in there. Get the thermometer whose end I stuck through a wine cork years ago onto the cooking grate, so just the tip is sticking out, and just above the grate not touching it. When it's up around 200, throw some wood chunks in the firebox. When it's up around 225-250, put the meat on. Check the temp every 15 minutes, and adjust the air intake accordingly. When it's stabilized (usually by 7:00 a.m. or so), go take a nap for a few hours. The bag of charcoal you put in there the night before will keep the fire going just fine for several hours. Get up, and from now on I use brickets until it's done because they're cheaper and most of the smoke is in the meat anyway. Put all the remote thermometer probes in the various cuts of meat. Monitor, switch the meats around if necessary, take 'em off as they finish. I've used this method so often the firebox is all rusted, no paint left, and about shot - might have to buy just another firebox, as the cooking chamber is still OK. Or, I could actually break down and clean and paint the dern thing. I don't know how big your smoker is, but on the CharGriller, I can get a brisket, two shoulders, a big pot of beans, a big turkey breast, and on the top shelf 3 racks of babybacks in a rib rack. -- EZ |
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Wood or lump?
On 3-May-2007, Mike Avery > wrote: > Xref: news.twtelecom.net alt.food.barbecue:79430 > > ceed wrote: > > So now I wonder when starting using the new one if I > > should still use lump, > > or if I should get real wood and burn it down to coals? > > What's the normal > > and/or prefered way of doing it with this kind of > > smoker? One thing I > > wonder about is how do you re-fuel the thing when using > > real wood? If you > > keep adding wood it will burn and increase the > > temperature. Maybe I should > > start with real wood and then refuel with lump? > > > You'll get as many answers as you get answerers. I have a > CharBroil > offset smoker, one of the models that used to be made by > New Braunfels. > I have an original New Braunfels Silver Smoker. I've been smoking with it since may of 2003. > I use either briquettes or lump to start the fire and then > feed it > wood. I use a wireless BBQ thermometer to track the temp > of the smoke > box and adjust as needed. I'm still in the learning > curve, but I am > keeping the temperature within 25F of where I want it to > be, which is > (to me) a major accomplishment. > > As with the R2D2, keep the exhaust valves or flaps wide > open, control > heat using the fuel supply and air intake controls. > > Once my charcoal is going, I put a few pieces of wood on > the charcoal. > Once that is going, the smoke box is at temperature and > the meat goes in. > > I find that it helps to turn the wood - only the top side > burns. > > I don't pre-burn or pre-heat the wood. Some people prefer > to do that. > I am shooting for a fairly smoky taste and don't want to > reduce it below > where it is. > I haver pretty much done all of the things that Mike talks about. His way works quite well, but is way too much fuss for an old fart like me to contend with. > Some people keep a grill going to reduce wood to coals and > then shovel > the coals into the fire box on the offset smoker. I > haven't felt a need > to do that, but your mileage may vary. > > Finally, I am leaning more and more towards using a small > amount of wood > that is burning than a larger amount that is smoldering. > It makes > temperature control easier, and reduces the smoking from > smoldering wood > that I don't find helps the taste of the barbecue. > With my previous in mind, let me reenforce what Mike says about small lively fire vs large smoldering fire. The small fire is clean and allows maximum adjustment of the smoke intensity. But it requires almost constant attention The large fire requires minimum fuss, but needs to run hotter then desirable in order to minimize creosote production. I use the large fire utilizing the minion method. I get it going good and burning pretty clean before I put any meat on. I make smoke by placing a fairly large chunk (at least fist sized) of wood directly on the fire. I DO NOT PRESOAK. I DON'T WANT STEAM AND I DON'T WANT TAR. I need to tend my fire only every two hours or so, sometimes three. I use a lot of fuel, probably a lot more then Mike does. On the upside, my cooking times are much shorter then you usually read about in this forum. I cook butts in 6 to 8 hours. Ribs finish in 4 hours or less. Chickens usually finish in about 2 hours. My only bonified critics so far have been TFM® and Kili. Kili doesn't eat BBQ, so she doesn't count. TFM® didn't say much either. After I ran out of food, he said he'd be back when I had something more then samples to offer. (At least I didn't run out of beer). > You might look in the barbecue faq for silver smoker > hints. Some of > them might well apply. > > Enjoy your new smoker! > Mike I checked out the new Charbroil breed of Silver Smoker just a few days ago and the local Home Depot. I was really disappointed with them. No part of the cooker closes tight. I could see daylight past ever door and cover on the beast. It exhibits about the poorest fit and finish I've seen yet. I wouldn't have bought a Silver Smoker had Charbroil been making them when I bought mine. Mine is four years old now and it's a rust bucket, but it's going strong and who knows? Maybe I'll blast off some of the rust one day and refinish it. -- Brick(Youth is wasted on young people) |
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Wood or lump?
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Wood or lump?
Mike Avery > wrote in
news:mailman.7.1178201208.71438.alt.food.barbecue@ mail.otherwhen.com: > > I use either briquettes or lump to start the fire and then feed it > wood. I use a wireless BBQ thermometer to track the temp of the smoke > box and adjust as needed. I'm still in the learning curve, but I am > keeping the temperature within 25F of where I want it to be, which is > (to me) a major accomplishment. > > As with the R2D2, keep the exhaust valves or flaps wide open, control > heat using the fuel supply and air intake controls. > > Once my charcoal is going, I put a few pieces of wood on the > charcoal. Once that is going, the smoke box is at temperature and the > meat goes in. > > I find that it helps to turn the wood - only the top side burns. > > I don't pre-burn or pre-heat the wood. Some people prefer to do that. > I am shooting for a fairly smoky taste and don't want to reduce it > below where it is. > > Some people keep a grill going to reduce wood to coals and then shovel > the coals into the fire box on the offset smoker. I haven't felt a > need to do that, but your mileage may vary. > > Finally, I am leaning more and more towards using a small amount of > wood that is burning than a larger amount that is smoldering. It > makes temperature control easier, and reduces the smoking from > smoldering wood that I don't find helps the taste of the barbecue. > > You might look in the barbecue faq for silver smoker hints. Some of > them might well apply. > > Enjoy your new smoker! > Mike > > This is why this group is so great: Here I am getting a crash course in bbq with a lot of useful information in addition to what I was asking for. Thank you Mike! And thank you all that has responded in this thread. I now understand that there's no simple recipe to success here. I will have to find my way, but that's much easier now with all this advice. I have a big pile of small pecan logs and on of hickory. I also have a few bags of lump. No briquettes though. Haven't been using those for years. Are there quality difference between those these days, or could I just pick up generic Wal-Mart and be happy? I have one further question. This smoker has a vent on the actual smoke box close to the fire, and one on top of the chimney. How should I be using these? I know I would have to spend a lot of time perfecting my skills on this new beast. That's why I waitied so long to upgrae from my cheap bullet smoker which actually kept making decent Q consistently until it rusted to pieces this spring. Can't wait to be throwin some brisket and ribs on this weekend! -- //ceed |
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Wood or lump?
On 2007-05-03, ceed > wrote:
> I have a big pile of small pecan logs and on of hickory. I also have a > few bags of lump. No briquettes though. Haven't been using those for > years. Are there quality difference between those these days, or could I > just pick up generic Wal-Mart and be happy? If you go to Walmart -- depending on where you live (what part of the country) you can get nice bags of Royal Oak (RO for short) for $5.27 (10lb bags).. I just bought 5 the other day (in the LA area) and could have bought another 30-40+ more since they had another pallet of them.. Anyway, that's my main hot-n-fast wood.. I've got other wood I also use for other things too.. |
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Wood or lump?
"ceed" > wrote in message > I have a big pile of small pecan logs and on of hickory. I also have a > few bags of lump. No briquettes though. Haven't been using those for > years. Are there quality difference between those these days, or could I > just pick up generic Wal-Mart and be happy? > > I have one further question. This smoker has a vent on the actual smoke > box close to the fire, and one on top of the chimney. How should I be > using these? I never close the exit vent except to keep the rain out when not in use. You can use the inlet to control the air going to the firebox. Keep in mind, cutting down too much can cause smoldering and bitter taste. Just to add to the already good advice: Smaller fireboxes usually do better with charcoal rather than straight wood, Larger ones burn wood better Pre-heat the wood on top of the fire box Even pre-burn some if you can Avoid smoldering at all costs Add small pieces frequently rather than big ones. Modify this as you get more comfortable and know your smoker Learn to anticipate. If the temperature drops 50 degrees, you are already too late adding wood. Don't get anal about holding a particular temperature. A 50 degree change for a time is no big deal. There is no one best method. Do what works for you and experiment in small increments -- Ed http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/ |
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Wood or lump?
ceed wrote:
> So now I wonder when starting using the new one if I should still use > lump, or if I should get real wood and burn it down to coals? What's > the normal and/or prefered way of doing it with this kind of smoker? Hmmm... lump vs wood. They're the same except the lump has the advantage of bein reduced to charcoal. Lump gets goin sooner and is ready to be added to the offset when needed. How much to add and when depends on your cookin method. Me, myself and I would take the lump over the wood. Rationale: easy to store, saves the wood for the fireplace. -frohe Life's too short to be in a hurry |
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Wood or lump?
Lump gets goin sooner and is ready to be added to
> the offset when needed. How much to add and when depends on your cookin > method. Its ok to add fresh lump to the smoker? I tried it once and it seems to smoke like crazy when its getting going with the lump that's already burning. It doesn't seem to have a nice smell that I'd like to add to my food when its getting going either but I don't know if that will actually soak into the meat. Any tips on adding lump? Should I get it going in a chimney first or no?? Thanks |
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Wood or lump?
Dirty Harry wrote:
> Lump gets goin sooner and is ready to be added to >> the offset when needed. How much to add and when depends on your cookin >> method. > > Its ok to add fresh lump to the smoker? I tried it once and it seems to > smoke like crazy when its getting going with the lump that's already > burning. It doesn't seem to have a nice smell that I'd like to add to my > food when its getting going either but I don't know if that will actually > soak into the meat. Any tips on adding lump? Should I get it going in a > chimney first or no?? Thanks > > Is it dry? I've never noticed a lot of smoke when new lump was added. I keep my full bags inside due to the humidity here and the open bag is in a big Tupperware/Rubbermaid thing with a lid that seals very well. It would be a good trick to fire up a new chimney and add it to a bullet smoker like my WSM. Dan |
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Wood or lump?
Dan wrote:
> Is it dry? I've never noticed a lot of smoke when new lump was added. I > keep my full bags inside due to the humidity here and the open bag is in > a big Tupperware/Rubbermaid thing with a lid that seals very well. > > It would be a good trick to fire up a new chimney and add it to a bullet > smoker like my WSM. > > Dan Either way should work. If going for a long cook, the Minion method is the only way to go from the gitgo... http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html#minion If I need to add to that, I just add plain unstarted lump. -- Steve |
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Wood or lump?
Dirty Harry wrote:
> Its ok to add fresh lump to the smoker? I tried it once and it seems > to smoke like crazy when its getting going with the lump that's > already burning. It doesn't seem to have a nice smell that I'd like > to add to my food when its getting going either but I don't know if > that will actually soak into the meat. Any tips on adding lump? Should I > get it going in a chimney first or no?? Thanks I use B&B lump which doesn't seem to smoke up all that bad. If yours smokes up more than you care for, by all means, start it up in a chimney and then add to your fire. Remember, it's the end results you're aimin for and the meothods you use to get there. -frohe Life's too short to be in a hurry |
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Wood or lump?
Steve Calvin > wrote in
: > Either way should work. If going for a long cook, the Minion > method is the only way to go from the gitgo... > http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html#minion > > If I need to add to that, I just add plain unstarted lump. > The Minion method sounds compelling to me. I am sceptical since it's against everything I have learnt about how briquettes contain stuff that flavors the meat in a bad way etc. I guess it's only one way to find out: Try it! Looking at the Minion method site it seems like it was made for bullet smokers. Has anyone here successfully used it in smokers with an off-set fire box (which is what I am currently using)? -- //ceed |
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Wood or lump?
ceed > wrote:
> Steve Calvin > wrote in > > > Either way should work. If going for a long cook, the Minion > > method is the only way to go from the gitgo... > > http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html#minion > > > > If I need to add to that, I just add plain unstarted lump. > > > The Minion method sounds compelling to me. I am sceptical since it's > against everything I have learnt about how briquettes contain stuff that > flavors the meat in a bad way etc. I guess it's only one way to find > out: Try it! > > Looking at the Minion method site it seems like it was made for bullet > smokers. Has anyone here successfully used it in smokers with an off-set > fire box (which is what I am currently using)? I use it in my NB offset smoker, with excellent results. -- Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! ! ~Semper Fi~ |
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Wood or lump?
ceed wrote:
> Steve Calvin > wrote in > : > >> Either way should work. If going for a long cook, the Minion >> method is the only way to go from the gitgo... >> http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html#minion >> >> If I need to add to that, I just add plain unstarted lump. >> > The Minion method sounds compelling to me. I am sceptical since it's > against everything I have learnt about how briquettes contain stuff that > flavors the meat in a bad way etc. I guess it's only one way to find > out: Try it! > > Looking at the Minion method site it seems like it was made for bullet > smokers. Has anyone here successfully used it in smokers with an off-set > fire box (which is what I am currently using)? > > -- > //ceed Well, I never said I used briquettes. Matter of fact, they're not even allowed on the property! Lump all the way here. The M. Method works fine with lump. -- Steve |
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Wood or lump?
On 13-Jun-2007, ceed > wrote: > Steve Calvin > wrote in > : > > > Either way should work. If going for a long cook, the Minion > > method is the only way to go from the gitgo... > > http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html#minion > > > > If I need to add to that, I just add plain unstarted lump. > > > The Minion method sounds compelling to me. I am sceptical since it's > against everything I have learnt about how briquettes contain stuff that > flavors the meat in a bad way etc. I guess it's only one way to find > out: Try it! > > Looking at the Minion method site it seems like it was made for bullet > smokers. Has anyone here successfully used it in smokers with an off-set > fire box (which is what I am currently using)? > > -- > //ceed I use the minion method everytime I fire up my smoker. I'm using an NB Silver Smoker. (Similar to the Charbroil Silver, but much better fit from the factory). Pictures on ABF as soon as I can get around to posting them. They've already been prepared. -- Brick(Youth is wasted on young people) |
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Wood or lump?
ceed wrote:
[...] > Looking at the Minion method site it seems like it was made for bullet > smokers. Has anyone here successfully used it in smokers with an > off-set fire box (which is what I am currently using)? Definitely. It's the only way to go. I use it in my CharGriller Smokin Pro every time. In fact, I fill up the firebox with a full bag of lump the night before, and put a few in the chimney and take the chimney inside to keep it nice and dry. Next morning at 5 a.m. I just get the meat out, take the chimney outside, fire it up, and by the time the coals are hot enough to pour on top of the unlit ones, I can put the meat on. Within a half-hour or so, I've got the temp stable enough to go back to bed for a couple-three hours! -- EZ Traeger BBQ075 "Texas" CharGriller Smokin Pro Great Outdoors Smoky Mountain Wide Body CharmGlow 3-burner All-Stainless Gas Grill Weber Kettle One-Touch Silver 22-1/2" Weber Kettle Smoky Joe Silver 14-1/2" |
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Wood or lump?
Nick Cramer wrote:
> ceed > wrote: >> Looking at the Minion method site it seems like it was made for bullet >> smokers. Has anyone here successfully used it in smokers with an off-set >> fire box (which is what I am currently using)? > > I use it in my NB offset smoker, with excellent results. Me too, and yes, excellent results, though I've never tried with Kingsford briquettes. I've done it with lump and Original Charcoal Co. lump briquettes; works great. Did I mention the Original Charcoal Co. briquettes kick ass? Really like cooking with lump for the most part. Dana |
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