LOL----I'd be totally lost with any kind of smoker except an electric.
Thanks Bear! How about I just come down there and learn from you directly? LOL
LOL----I'd be totally lost with any kind of smoker except an electric.
You could actually teach me, but I'm not interested in anything but electric due to not getting around real good.
However, if you never saw this, check it out---You can get a lot of info from these:
Just click on
"Bear's Step by Steps"
.
Bear
Like I said before, I have raised the level of my grate so that it gets more air flow underneath and doesn't smother from the lack of air. But now I'm running into the problem, that I believe is a result of this, that it's almost too high because I'm having to burn the box pretty hot so that my cooking chamber heats up. I also have to leave the firebox door open quite a bit for air flow or my fire will smother in it's own smoke.
i wouldn't worry about the ash a good coal bed is a must though , i used to elevate my coals with a grate but always had trouble keeping temps up. then i saw a video on frankins bbq he cooks right on the coals and doesn't elevate his fire. so i tried it and it really works better i can maintain 275 temps the whole cook now with ease, as long as you have good airflow into the firebox you wont have any trouble im always poking and adjusting the fire every 15-20 min now maintaining temps
sounds like you're losing a lot of heat somewhere if your firebox is super hot but the cook chamber isnt , but looking at your smoker maybe one issue is your not getting enough of a draw through the smoker. id suggest maybe trying to extend the size of your smoke stack so you increase the convection through the chamber ( id say at least another foot) also trying to get a better seal on the smoke chamber door so there is less heat loss might be a option too, also if the wood you're using is kiln dried its going to burn way hotter then naturally seasoned wood because its dryer. if you're surrounded by pecan wood thats great if you can get your hands on some thats been seasoned for prob at least a year even better
Like I said before, I have raised the level of my grate so that it gets more air flow underneath and doesn't smother from the lack of air. But now I'm running into the problem, that I believe is a result of this, that it's almost too high because I'm having to burn the box pretty hot so that my cooking chamber heats up. I also have to leave the firebox door open quite a bit for air flow or my fire will smother in it's own smoke.
Why didn't I just buy an electric smoker? LOL
try to get your hands on some aged pecan wood not green wood. if there is that many pecan orchards around you id check the local firewood dealers im sure if pecan is plentiful in that area they will have seasoned pecan also check craigslist etc
I was doing the coal bed thing for awhile and it worked well for the first hour or so. Then they would start dying down and I had to transition to straight wood and that caused problems and I still had five hours to go. I bet that problem goes away with some decent wood to burn.
And yeah, my grate is wide enough for the coals to fall through so I was taking a long screwdriver through the damper and clearing a trough. That definitely helped but I could surely use a better grate or something.
If I was able to get my mitts on a pile of pecan wood from the orchard, is there anything I can do at home to make sure it burns well, "seasoned"?
Shawn
yeah there are tons of guys selling wood in online classifieds like craigslist,but some are sketch but just take your time 10-12+ months or more is usually good for well seasoned aged wood.
Yeah, there's got to be something around here besides that garbage from the grocery store. I just need to get off my lazy arse and look. Thanks for the tip.
Shawn
Edit: I rarely see pecan as the recommended wood and I don't believe I've ever had anything smoked with it. How is it, flavor-wise?
I was doing the coal bed thing for awhile and it worked well for the first hour or so. Then they would start dying down and I had to transition to straight wood and that caused problems and I still had five hours to go :102: . I bet that problem goes away with some decent wood to burn.
And yeah, my grate is wide enough for the coals to fall through so I was taking a long screwdriver through the damper and clearing a trough. That definitely helped but I could surely use a better grate or something.
If I was able to get my mitts on a pile of pecan wood from the orchard, is there anything I can do at home to make sure it burns well, "seasoned"?
Did you have wood on during that "first hour or so"? You need to be burning wood as soon as your bed is fully involved. Always pre-heat your wood and don't let the coals get too low before you add wood. As far as the seasoning for the pecan, I would let it cure for at least 6-8 months. A year would be much better.