Got SOme Diff. Types of wood

[sundaysmoker]

I have just bought a Char-griller super pro w/ sfb... I have read that when smoking with this unit it is hard to get charcoal to reach proper temp due to the large size/volume of the cooking area. They (char-griilers web site) recommend using wood - so on to my question....what types of wood do you use to smoke with - I would think that if hickory wood was your source of fire it would produce too much flavor in the meat, since you only use a couple chunks on top of charcoal every hour or the smoke gets too heavy. I hope this makes sense.. I hate sounding like an idiot :oops:

thanks for the help,
Patrick

 

[bob-bqn]

Howdy Patrick,

Again I'll remind you that I don't own a CG but know folks that do...

The only time I've heard of people not being able to obtain good cooking temperatures with the CG using charcoal is when they've had an airflow problem. A few things that can cause issues are; not having the intake or exhaust vents open far enough (keep the exhaust vent all the way open), something blocking the opening between the SFB and main chamber (like a water pan), or the charcoal laying in the bottom of the SFB smothering in it's own ashes (the charcoal needs to be up on a grate).

If you ensure your fire gets enough air to breath it will be hot enough.

CharGriller does recommend the use of wood in the fire box but it will also need to "breathe" in the same manner as charcoal.

If I were going to run an all-wood fire I would use pecan, oak, or a fruit wood as the main fuel and add hickory to flavor as desired. Straight hickory would be too strong for my taste.

 

[sundaysmoker]

Hey Bob
Well I had my first smoke on the CG and the charcoal did great with keeping good temp - 215*-265*. I was worried about the fire choking itself out after a long period of time. So I started with fire on the lower grate in the fire box and when the ashes began to fill the space underneath I put the "cooking" grate back into the fb and dumped hot coals onto it. I the upper grate for the rest of the smoke. The cooked for approx 10 hours and the fire stayed pretty constant the whole time. Overall it was a great first time smoke using a side fire box. I still have lots to learn - but thats half the fun.
I do plan on trying to just use wood instead of charcoal. thanks for the idea of using oak or pecan for the main fuel.
thanks again Bob

Patrick

 

[sundaysmoker]

A friend from work gave me some maple and oak this weekend. :) The trees have been down for approx 12-14 months. I hope they will burn good. I am going to get the bark off of them and split them into small strips. He knew what I wanted them for so he cut them in small "logs" 12-16 inches.

I have never cooked over wood so this should be interesting. Any tips from a seasoned wood burner could be helpful!! :)

Patrick