Bad smoke day WSM

[SlowmotionQue]

Bury the wood beneath a good lump charcoal like Jealous Devil. Lose the Kingsford. Kingsford and some of the other briquettes use binders to give you those square shapes. And it can leave a bad taste on food. Lump is wood and nothing else. Find a good lump charcoal and you'll be glad you did.

Then we put ,ore coals over the top of those chips and light it in the center.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

Bury the wood beneath a good lump charcoal like Jealous Devil. Lose the Kingsford. Kingsford and some of the other briquettes use binders to give you those square shapes. And it can leave a bad taste on food. Lump is wood and nothing else. Find a good lump charcoal and you'll be glad you did.View attachment 520580View attachment 520581View attachment 520581
Then we put ,ore coals over the top of those chips and light it in the center.View attachment 520582View attachment 520583

100% Hardwood charcoal briquettes work well too! There's variable quality (depending how that term is applied) in charcoal briquettes just as there's variable quality in lump charcoal brands, and with lump sometimes variable quality of the contents from one bag to another from the same brand.

"Good" is a pretty subjective term.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

This the first time since that bad smoke using the WSM. Still have not got that taste out of my head. Doing a pork butt. Should of took pic of wood but as big as the other was. Here it is ready for morn. Going with 250 I think. Foil at 160.

View attachment 516791

That certainly looks like Royal Oak charcoal briquettes (or Frontier brand, owned by Royal Oak), or the Members Mark charcoal briquettes from Sam's Club. Which specific vareity are you using in this cook session?

 

[SlowmotionQue]

100% Hardwood charcoal briquettes work well too! There's variable quality (depending how that term is applied) in charcoal briquettes just as there's variable quality in lump charcoal brands, and with lump sometimes variable quality of the contents from one bag to another from the same brand.

"Good" is a pretty subjective term.

All very true Mr. Zorg.

When I think of a "good" lump charcoal, I think of one made from dense Argentinian hard woods. Jealous Devil, or as I don't especially care for the large blocks, Kamado Joe Big Block charcoal. If they aren't available, then I'll also use B&B in a pinch.

I stay away from Royal Oak as it is literally junk, and BGE which is or was made by Royal Oak. I also stay away from Cowboy for various reasons.

FOGO is ok, but it pops and sparks a bit too much IMO.

As for briquettes, especially Blue bag Kingsford and others which use binders, I stay away completely as the smell and taste of Kingsford blue bag, to my nose and tastebuds, leaves exactly the taste that the original poster in this thread describes.

Hope that helps with what I consider a "good" lump charcoal. Other opinions on this will vary of course.

As for placement of the wood. Coming from Kamados and other cookers, among them two WSMs, it is my experience that WSMs, much like Kamados, tend to burn "dirty" with a propensity towards dark smoke which takes longer time to become thin blue smoke.

I have found this matter to be compounded when bargain brand charcoals are used, and found it to be especially concerning, when wood which may or may not be properly seasoned, is placed on top of that cheap charcoal.

Best way in the world, and a "sure fire" way, no pun intended, to get prolonged periods of dirty smoke in a WSM.

For me, well seasoned wood, under a "good" quality lump charcoal has been the best way to get and keep thin blue smoke in a WSM in the shortest amount of time.

I follow a lot of the tips that Harry Soo offers. Thus I use the charcoal that I see him using and I build my fuel bed in the manner which he does, with the wood on the bottom. I also control my temps using the top vent primarily as he suggests. I've gotten good results following this pattern.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

I've found Frontier to offer a good lump charcoal. Quebracho wood isn't a necessary ingredient for a charcoal to be "good" for me, but it's a "good" wood to make charcoal from. I first encountered it in the Original Charcoal Company Rancher charcoal briquettes sold at Home Depot in 2007, made in Paraguay and Uruguay. Those were sold as a loss leader at $2.99 / 20 lb. Bag at the time. I stockpiled around 800 lbs. of those, used my last bag in 2012.

TNW even did a writeup on them.

Original Charcoal Company Rancher Briquettes -- Naked Whiz Ceramic Charcoal Cooking

A short review of The Original Charcoal Company's new Rancher 100% natural briquettes.

www.nakedwhiz.com

Currently these are my preferred charcoal briquettes containg Quebraco. With the free shipping on orders $35+ they're $0.45 / lb., part of what I consider in value analysis.

Robot or human?

There are certainly good Made in USA charcoal products from Royal Oak. The success story post by the OP just prior to your post shows briquettes with the (silly to me) Ridge feature, with his smoke wood below. The Royal Oak Chef's Select briquettes, and the same briquettes put into Members Mark bags sold at Sam's Club at $0.43 / lb. this year have worked well for me. I picked up 80 lbs. Currently not in stores (a seasonal item) we'll see if they reappear in the Spring.

Let us know you're not a robot - Sam's Club

www.samsclub.com

I did pick up a 20 lb. box of Jealous Devil Chunx lump at $1.00 / lb., and a 20 lb. box of Jealous Devil briquettes at $1.00 / lb. to try out but I don't think I'll get twice the use out of them. Most places I see Jealous Devil product prices at $1.50 / lb. on up but for $1.00 / lb. I'll try a box of each. But with all these other options available I kinda doubt I'll buy more. Jealous Devil appears to be just one label used by Charcoal Cowboys, they may be filling the product bags for Master Grill as well.

InMotion Hosting

I do understand what you define as "good".

I hope that helps you understand what I use for value analyses, and personally use something other than subjective terms. YMMV as always of course.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

FWIW I don't follow Harry Soo or anyone on the competition circuit. I simply cook for my, my wife's, and our friends & family's tastes, plus charity things like church BBQ's, using techniques I've applied and adapted over 47 or so years. I was offered a sponsership by Packaging Sevices Corporation if I'd go on the BBQ Competition Circuit when they owned the Frontier brand, but I wasn't able to put a team together before Royal Oak purchased that brand from PSC. I'd already been retired for a couple of years from my (non-food related) career so I was free, but I personally couldn't be a one man show in such a mileau. Just as well I reckon. I enjoy the process as a pastime I don't want to turn it into "work" and jack around with injections and stuff full of MSG or other hydrolyzed proteins, nor be messing with squeeze Parkay on ribs. But for those that enjoy such stuff, more power to 'em!

The only Weber products I've ever owned are one each of their two charcoal starter chimneys, but I've used several different brands of bullet style smokers - my most recent such purchase is in my avatar / profile photo here. I've never owned nor used a WSM. I started out using a Brinkmann Gourmet in the mid-70's but I've owned and used, and still own and use, some offset style smokers as well. Each has it's own adjustments in technique.

Been fun chattin', as always! This would be a mighty boring place if we all did the same things in the exact same way all the time. Or had identical frames of reference for "good", or "value". I most definitely enjoy variety, and options to choose from!

 

[SlowmotionQue]

All very true Mr. Zorg.

When I think of a "good" lump charcoal, I think of one made from dense Argentinian hard woods. Jealous Devil, or as I don't especially care for the large blocks, Kamado Joe Big Block charcoal. If they aren't available, then I'll also use B&B in a pinch.

I stay away from Royal Oak as it is literally junk, and BGE which is or was made by Royal Oak. I also stay away from Cowboy for various reasons.

FOGO is ok, but it pops and sparks a bit too much IMO.

As for briquettes, especially Blue bag Kingsford and others which use binders, I stay away completely as the smell and taste of Kingsford blue bag, to my nose and tastebuds, leaves exactly the taste that the original poster in this thread describes.

Hope that helps with what I consider a "good" lump charcoal. Other opinions on this will vary of course.

As for placement of the wood. Coming from Kamados and other cookers, among them two WSMs, it is my experience that WSMs, much like Kamados, tend to burn "dirty" with a propensity towards dark smoke which takes longer time to become thin blue smoke.

I have found this matter to be compounded when bargain brand charcoals are used, and found it to be especially concerning, when wood which may or may not be properly seasoned, is placed on top of that cheap charcoal.

Best way in the world, and a "sure fire" way, no pun intended, to get prolonged periods of dirty smoke in a WSM.

For me, well seasoned wood, under a "good" quality lump charcoal has been the best way to get and keep thin blue smoke in a WSM in the shortest amount of time.

I follow a lot of the tips that Harry Soo offers. Thus I use the charcoal that I see him using and I build my fuel bed in the manner which he does, with the wood on the bottom. I also control my temps using the top vent primarily as he suggests. I've gotten good results following this pattern.

I've found Frontier to offer a good lump charcoal. Quebracho wood isn't a necessary ingredient for a charcoal to be "good" for me, but it's a "good" wood to make charcoal from. I first encountered it in the Original Charcoal Company Rancher charcoal briquettes sold at Home Depot in 2007, made in Paraguay and Uruguay. Those were sold as a loss leader at $2.99 / 20 lb. Bag at the time. I stockpiled around 800 lbs. of those, used my last bag in 2012.

TNW even did a writeup on them.

Original Charcoal Company Rancher Briquettes -- Naked Whiz Ceramic Charcoal Cooking

A short review of The Original Charcoal Company's new Rancher 100% natural briquettes.

www.nakedwhiz.com

Currently these are my preferred charcoal briquettes containg Quebraco. With the free shipping on orders $35+ they're $0.45 / lb., part of what I consider in value analysis.

Robot or human?

There are certainly good Made in USA charcoal products from Royal Oak. The success story post by the OP just prior to your post shows briquettes with the (silly to me) Ridge feature, with his smoke wood below. The Royal Oak Chef's Select briquettes, and the same briquettes put into Members Mark bags sold at Sam's Club at $0.43 / lb. this year have worked well for me. I picked up 80 lbs. Currently not in stores (a seasonal item) we'll see if they reappear in the Spring.

Let us know you're not a robot - Sam's Club

www.samsclub.com

I did pick up a 20 lb. box of Jealous Devil Chunx lump at $1.00 / lb., and a 20 lb. box of Jealous Devil briquettes at $1.00 / lb. to try out but I don't think I'll get twice the use out of them. Most places I see Jealous Devil product prices at $1.50 / lb. on up but for $1.00 / lb. I'll try a box of each. But with all these other options available I kinda doubt I'll buy more. Jealous Devil appears to be just one label used by Charcoal Cowboys, they may be filling the product bags for Master Grill as well.

InMotion Hosting

I do understand what you define as "good".

I hope that helps you understand what I use for value analyses, and personally use something other than subjective terms. YMMV as always of course.

Thanks for the tip on the Charcoal Cowboys and Master Grill.

I intend to research it further. I'm always looking for a bargain without sacrificing what I consider to be quality. Some would call that "value".

I should also add that like you, I tend to depend on the opinions on taste of those whom I'm serving.

However, it just so happens that following Soo's advice, gets me to that point of favored opinions better than other methods that I have tried.

My preference, and for many of those who eat my smoked foods, friends, family, we prefer a lighter smoke flavor. As an aside, and for this reason, I have also gotten good results using my Rec Tec pellet grill. Pellets tend to burn cleaner and offer a lighter smoke flavor. Indeed, and again this is an aside, some pellet smokers, and some types and brands of pellets, again to my taste buds, offer "too light" of a smoke flavor.

Smoke flavor, to me, is like any other seasoning in the respect that "too much" is just as bad as "not enough".

And this brings me back to my charcoal preference in my WSMs and Kamado for that matter. It has been my experience that lump charcoal, made from Quebraco woods, offers, and again this is to my tastebuds and those for whom I cook, a lighter smoke flavor, which is not overpowering. This type charcoal burns hot, and IMO cleaner than some of the other brands and reaches that point where thin blue smoke is observed quicker than with other charcoals that I have used. In other words, less of a creosote taste than some of the other less expensive brands of lump and briquettes that I have used in the past.

Adding well seasoned hardwood beneath it, gives me just the taste that I'm looking for. Gives me just a tad stronger smoke profile than what I get using "good" quality hardwood pellets, in my Rec Tec pellet grill and a smoke tube. Not overpowering.

But again, thanks for the info. I will look at the Master Grill offerings and other offerings coming from resellers who source their charcoal from Charcoal Cowboys.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

That certainly looks like Royal Oak charcoal briquettes (or Frontier brand, owned by Royal Oak), or the Members Mark charcoal briquettes from Sam's Club. Which specific vareity are you using in this cook session?

Yeah its Royal Oak. Down to a couple bags now from a few years ago. It gets the job done but would not buy again. I been waiting for charcoal sales to restock but don't look like going to have anymore. I always been happy with kingsford. Something happened on that one cook but been fine ever since.

 

[noboundaries]

I suspect RO made changes to their formula during the pandemic shutdown. It no longer lasts as long as it did before. Time to change again.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

Yeah its Royal Oak. Down to a couple bags now from a few years ago. It gets the job done but would not buy again. I been waiting for charcoal sales to restock but don't look like going to have anymore. I always been happy with kingsford. Something happened on that one cook but been fine ever since.

Yep - I stick with 100% Hardwood charcoal whether lump or briquettes - loke the Royal Oak Chef's Select (and it's rebagged Members Mark at Sam's Club), same with other brands. Just hardwood charcoal plus a touch of vegetable starch (corn starch, wheat starch, yucca starch). I don't care for briquettes blended with mineral (mined) coal no matter how many bags are sold. Just my preference.

Glad you had a great cook session with the slight modification, here's to many more in the future!