How much wood do I use?

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Davelebon

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 5, 2018
6
1
First of all I am completely new to barbecue so I am sorry for not knowing stuff like this.I am looking to get an Oklahoma Joe Highland smoker to use and I am wondering how much wood will it take to cook a brisket for 12 hours. I am not trying to be a professional pit master or something I just want something for me and my family to enjoy. I also don't really know where I should be buying wood from also. The wood part of smoking is the only thing I don't have a grasp of. If anyone can educate me a little bit about this I would highly appreciate it.
 
If you're completely new to barbecue, IMO ... it would be best to start with a WSM , either the 22" or 18" . You can learn the other aspects of smokin meat, without having the adding difficulty of controlling a fire in an offset smoker.

After a couple years of eating great food from the WSM, you can sell it for half what you paid for it and then make the jump to to the offset.

I smoked on WSM's for 16 years ( still have two of them and will still use them ) before I made the jump to an offset. I've done two smokes on my Old Country Brazos and frankly, I'm wondering what I got myself into. I'm dedicated to learning how manage the fire in an offset because I firmly believe the barbecue has a better smoke flavor, but I'm also glad I've got a lot of experience with all the other aspects.

Lots of people have bought offsets and then get discouraged and have them up for sale in short order. I bought my Brazos, which has a $1,000 new price tag, for $600 from a fella who only did three cooks on it.
 
If u can find the large bags of smoke logs then i would get two. If u can only find the smaller chunk bags, i would get 4. Plus get a cpl bags of charcoal. U probably wont need them but just to be safe. A lot of us start with charcoal though. I have a joe too. Wuite a challenge popping your smoke cherry on a brisket. Good luck
 
I completely understand you but because I forgot to mention I'm getting this smoker for free so I really have no choice. That's my style too I also start in the deep end with everything I do.
If you're completely new to barbecue, IMO ... it would be best to start with a WSM , either the 22" or 18" . You can learn the other aspects of smokin meat, without having the adding difficulty of controlling a fire in an offset smoker.

After a couple years of eating great food from the WSM, you can sell it for half what you paid for it and then make the jump to to the offset.

I smoked on WSM's for 16 years ( still have two of them and will still use them ) before I made the jump to an offset. I've done two smokes on my Old Country Brazos and frankly, I'm wondering what I got myself into. I'm dedicated to learning how manage the fire in an offset because I firmly believe the barbecue has a better smoke flavor, but I'm also glad I've got a lot of experience with all the other aspects.

Lots of people have bought offsets and then get discouraged and have them up for sale in short order. I bought my Brazos, which has a $1,000 new price tag, for $600 from a fella who only did three cooks on it.
 
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If u can find the large bags of smoke logs then i would get two. If u can only find the smaller chunk bags, i would get 4. Plus get a cpl bags of charcoal. U probably wont need them but just to be safe. A lot of us start with charcoal though. I have a joe too. Wuite a challenge popping your smoke cherry on a brisket. Good luck
Would the two large bags of logs get me through 1 12 hour cook or more?
 
When burning in an offset, your using a Oklahoma joe assumimg that there is no mods done to it and you have no tuning plates you will need to be careful.

Step 1: open all vents, open your exhaust chimney. (this needs to stay open throughout your cooking.
Step 2: lite half a Charcoal chimney worth of coals.
Step 2: put the coals in the middle of the firebox.
Step 4: put two logs on top of the coals. wait for the wood to catch alight (Do not close the box)
Step 5: once you have a good fire going on your wood close the firebox
Step 6: watch your temp gauge. when it hits 225 close your air intake down to about half way
Step 7: wait a bit and see if your temp is steadying out between 225 and 250
Step 8: once your temps are steady put on your brisket.

Things to watch out for on a stick burner
1. Temp. so if you have a temp probe system make sure one is at grill level.
2. Thick smoke coming from the stack. you want a thin smoke coming from this stack. if its bellowing smoke this is bad.

if you start getting lots of smoke, it means that your wood is not burning cleanly. open the vents or open the firebox all together and get the fire going again (DO NOT OPEN THE DOORS TO YOUR MAIN CHAMBER) you do not want the temperatures to fluctuate lots.

as far as how much wood you will need would depend on the wood you use. hard woods burn longer than soft woods.
lets assume you are using a hard wood you would need at least 6-10 splits to cook a brisket that requires 12 hours of cooking. remember once you wrap the brisket you don't need to use wood for your heat anymore you can use charcoal (depends which fuel is cheaper for you).
it would also depend on the ambient temperature of when the cook took place
and it would also depend on the thickness of the metal of the cooker (the joes are real thin)
 
I completely understand you but because I forgot to mention I'm getting this smoker for free so I really have no choice. That's my style too I also start in the deep end with everything I do.

Free , well hell, then jump in with both feet.

But also keep in mind, that an offset is not necessarily the pinnacle. It may not be better, its just different.
 
A WSM compared to this stick burner, is almost " set and forget " . I appreciate now how easy it was to get consistent steady temps on the WSM with little to no attention.

I've also found myself in the world of wood. Trying to source good smoker wood has become tricky. I've found some local sellers on Craigslist, but due to my inexperience, I'm not sure of what I'm buying or whether I'm paying a fair price. Not to mention how much wood I should buy.

And I'm now the proud owner of a Kindling Cracker and a wood moisture meter, and am thinkin strongly about a miter saw. These are things I never envisioned when I bought the stick burner.
 
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No need to apologize for being new to barbecuing - we all have to start somewhere! It's great that you're interested in learning and trying out new things, and I'm happy to offer some guidance on the wood aspect of smoking. In terms of how much wood you'll need to cook a brisket for 12 hours on an Oklahoma Joe Highland smoker, it really depends on a few factors, such as the size of the brisket, the ambient temperature and humidity, and how hot you want to smoke it. Generally speaking, you'll want to use a mix of wood and charcoal to maintain a consistent temperature and achieve a nice smoke flavor. As a rough estimate, you can plan on using about 4-6 logs of wood for a 12-hour brisket cook on a smoker of this size. You'll want to start with a small amount of wood at the beginning, and gradually add more as needed to maintain the right temperature and smoke level. As for where to buy wood, you can often find wood chips, chunks, or logs at your local home improvement or garden store, as well as online retailers such as Amazon or BBQGuys. Look for wood types that are recommended for smoking, such as hickory, oak, mesquite, or fruit woods like apple or cherry. Avoid using softwoods like pine, which can produce toxic fumes when burned. Before using any wood, make sure it's properly seasoned and dried, which helps to remove excess moisture and prevent the wood from producing too much smoke or causing flare-ups. You can also soak wood chips or chunks in water for a few hours before using them to help prolong the smoking process and prevent them from burning too quickly. Overall, the key to smoking with wood is to start small, experiment with different wood types and amounts, and be patient with the process. With a little practice and some trial and error, you'll soon be able to achieve delicious, smoky flavors on your Oklahoma Joe Highland smoker. Good luck, and happy smoking!
FYI this post was from 2018 :). He’s either a pro now or stopped haha. OP hasn’t logged on since 2019.
 
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A WSM compared to this stick burner, is almost " set and forget " . I appreciate now how easy it was to get consistent steady temps on the WSM with little to no attention.

I've also found myself in the world of wood. Trying to source good smoker wood has become tricky. I've found some local sellers on Craigslist, but due to my inexperience, I'm not sure of what I'm buying or whether I'm paying a fair price. Not to mention how much wood I should buy.

And I'm now the proud owner of a Kindling Cracker and a wood moisture meter, and am thinkin strongly about a miter saw. These are things I never envisioned when I bought the stick burner.
I would re-think the miter saw. They can be very dangerous when cutting "irregular" pieces of wood like fire wood splits. They are not designed for that but are for processed wood like a 2x4 etc.

They will work, but the issue is that sometimes they can "buck" when cutting splits which can be extremely dangerous. I've heard many stories of people coming very close to cutting their hand. Not worth the risk. I had a couple scary experiences myself and stay far away from the miter saw for that purpose now.

Get one of these instead. I have one and they work very well for cutting splits as long as they are no more than say 4" thick.


If you have one of those and a kindling cracker, or better yet an electric log splitter like the Wen 6.5 ton, then you can process wood yourself all the way from standard firewood size splits to thinner cooking wood size splits, shorter mini splits, and even chunks for cookers like the WSM. I have the Wen and LOVE it.

 
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I would re-think the miter saw. They can be very dangerous when cutting "irregular" pieces of wood like fire wood splits. They are not designed for that but are for processed wood like a 2x4 etc.

They will work, but the issue is that sometimes they can "buck" when cutting splits which can be extremely dangerous. I've heard many stories of people coming very close to cutting their hand. Not worth the risk. I had a couple scary experiences myself and stay far away from the miter saw for that purpose now.

Get one of these instead. I have one and they work very well for cutting splits as long as they are no more than say 4" thick.


If you have one of those and a kindling cracker, or better yet an electric log splitter like the Wen 6.5 ton, then you can process wood yourself all the way from standard firewood size splits to thinner cooking wood size splits, shorter mini splits, and even chunks for cookers like the WSM. I have the Wen and LOVE it.


Oh man, that post is 5 years old. I had just bought an OC Brazos. I'm waaay down the road from that, I now have a Franklin and all kinds of wood tools.

But I need to add that sourcing wood is still a crap shoot. There's a lot of shady dealers out there , no tree pun intended. I've not had to buy wood for three years due to an ice storm that broke off a lot of good pecan and oak. But I'm on the market again now.
 
Well I appreciate those zombies because I just finished my first smoke, a trisket (brisket style tri tip) on my OJ Reverse Flow Highland and I had questions about wood that this thread helped me with! 😁

All I could find locally were wood chunks and though the tri tip came out nice the fire management was a pain in the ass. I need to find proper splits for my next practice run as I work my way up to an actual brisket!
 
Well with a real smoker fire mgmt is all part of the fun.
maybe wood moisture variation is what's causing you the most headaches? There are gizmos that give you a digital readout of that so you'll know in advance that the dry ones will burn hotter and faster.
 
Takes as much wood as it takes, and not a stick more. Too many variables to narrow it down to an exact amount.
 
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