Managing Heat vs Smoke

[floridarandy]

Ok, so I'm new and have only done a single smoke but it has already raised some questions...

I understand the value and importance of low and slow heat.  I was able to control the OJ (16" Oklahoma Joe Classic) at 225-250 without a great deal of problem.  I used minion method that was about 2/3 charcoal briks and 1/3 hickory for our double smoked ham at Easter..  As fire continued I switched to using apple wood chunks and a littel apple chips to keep fire going.

At one point I discovered that as temps dropped I'd waited too long to add wood as it took a bit of time to fire up the new chunks with some heavier smoke in the process.  In fact it seems using mostly wood that I had to add smoke if I wanted to add heat.

By using wood only, tho, I think I may have too much smoke for the amount of heat needed.  As a result I've tossed the briks and bought some lump charcoal.  I'm assuming that since its made from wood that it will impart some wood flavor without adding additional wood.  I'm also assuming that it will allow me to better control heat through the process with less smoke per amount of heat generated.  If I'm right that should allow me to add smoke only when I want it by throwing in a chunk appropriate to the meat being Q'd...am I right?

As far as when to add smoke my reading here seems to indicate that some smoke in say the first 1/2 of cooking is good.  If I want less total smoke then reduce smoke time in front.  If I want more add some some during the final, say, 25% of cook time.

I've still got a lot to learn but I'm interested in comment about managing heat vs smoke.

Thanks in advance.

Randy in Florida

 

[whittling chip]

That's a great post Randy. It asks a lot of good questions. I appreciate you bringing the subject up like you have. I'm looking forward to the advice you get.

In the mean time, just go smoke something!

WC

 

[tigerregis]

That's a great question. I hope our more experienced members can help. I only use my amazn now,as I have only had success with it. Hopefully the suggestions will help us all. Thanks 

 

[jirodriguez]

Good questions! Here is some basic food for thought (I am not familiar with your particular smoker so these are generic rules of thumb):

1) The charcoal is your heat source, be it lump or briquet. Fill your charcoal basket with charcoal and then dump a 1/3 to 1/2 full chimney of lit charcoal on top for the minion method.

2) Your smoke comes from wood. So add a fist sized chunk or a small 2-3" diameter split once every 45 to 60 minutes. For small pieces of meat and ribs I would suggest only adding wood for the first 3 or so hours to avoid over smoking the meat. Larger pieces I usually apply smoke for 6-7 hrs. Word to the wise - make sure your wood is dry and seasoned! A rule of thumb is 1 year of drying/seasoning for every inch of woods diameter.

3) If you are using wood as a heat source you want to pre-burn the wood. The best set up I have seen was a 55 gallon barrel with a large hole cut in one side at the bottom and a grate made of re-bar suspended half way down inside. That way they could burn the wood and the large chunks of hot coals would drop through to the bottom to be shoveled out and into the smoker for heat generation.

Also keep in mind differant woods will have stronger or lighter flavors, so start with less wood and adjust as needed for the flavor you like personally. Also keep in mind if you smell smoke you are getting smoke, you don't have to actually see it a.k.a - Ninja Smoke... lol.

 

[floridarandy]

Johnny - good info.  Just what I and other newbies needed.

 

[jirodriguez]

Glad to be of help - also keep in mind that every smoker runs differant, so tweak as needed, but I suggest only tweaking one thing at a time. That way you know what tweak was effective. Good luck and don't forget to ask lots of questions and take lots of pictures!

 

[pat king]

Here is another helpful hint:

Start a BBQ Log - to record all the info you have on each Smoke ...

a good refference for up coming cooks  to correct mistakes of the last one...

Google - Meatheads Cooking Log

have fun and...

 

[favata]

do the wood briquets (like stubs) impart smoke or will they just provide heat?

 

[floridarandy]

i do find that stubbs in particular do impart more of  a smoke flavor than "standard" briquetes.  nothing beats adding a little wood appropriate to what you're cooking tho.  i mostly use stubbs for overnight cooks as i find a firebox full with a little lump provides a longer steadier fire than just lump.

 

[cheflou]

I am new at this, I have a barrel smoker and I tried pork ribs the first time. I found I used way too much charcoal ,so it ran real hot. I tried steak used way less charcoal this time ,waited to add presoaked mesquite,put meat at other end of smoker,but it still ran hot around 350 what am I doing wrong?

 

[floridarandy]

I am new at this, I have a barrel smoker and I tried pork ribs the first time. I found I used way too much charcoal ,so it ran real hot. I tried steak used way less charcoal this time ,waited to add presoaked mesquite,put meat at other end of smoker,but it still ran hot around 350 what am I doing wrong?

Cheflou - I am hardly a veteran but have successfully dealt with temperature so I'll share what I've learned.  First, take a day to learn about your smoker without risking meat.  Second, measure the temperature of your grill and learn how low and how hot it will get.

In order to accurately measure the temperature of your grill you must measure at the cooking surface.  That means that regardless of how many thermometers the grill may have you need to invest in thermometer that can measure temp at the grill surface.  And, you must be able to monitor this temperature throughout the cooking period.  Because even the smallest cuts you BBQ will require 4 hours or more of time its unreasonable to assume you can sit at the grill the entire time.  I heartily recommend investing in the Maverick ET-732, like this or elsewhere.  This thermometer will allow you to remotely monitor the temperature of the grill surface as well as the internal temperature of your meat...up to 300 feet away.  And, you can set separate alarms for the low and high temps of the grill surface and your food so you don't have to sit next to the grill all day.  And, if you attempt something requiring cooking overnight, you can go to sleep and be awakened when its time to add more fuel.

So, with a good thermometer in place spend an afternoon working with your grill without any food on it.  Fill the grill with charcoal briquettes or lump charcoal and start the fire.  Measure how long it takes for the fire to get up to a minimum temp (say 200)  and then to the top temp you might ever need (say 350).  Once you know how long it takes to heat to the desired level try taking the temperature down by restricting airflow...at both ends of the fire....generally top (chimney or top of chamber) and bottom of the fire (generally below the fire).  Usually close or open the top and bottom air flow grates the same amount until you get the hang of it.  You're looking for what it takes to bring temperature down (restricting airflow) or up (increasing airflow).  Work in small increments of change until you get the hang of how to hold temperature at the desired level.  Airflow will have a much greater affect on temperature than the amount of fuel you start with.  More fuel generally means more cooking time.  Regulate heat by regulating the air that gets to the fuel while it burns.

Once you've got a steady heat level then time how long the fire will burn before temps drop as fire burns down.  Dont' wait too long after drop to add fuel cause it takes a while for the new fuel to light off.  With new fuel burning watch for temps to stabilize by adjusting airflow as needed.

So far I've successfully done a 22 hour beef brisket, a 12 hour pork butt and 4 hour whole roaster chickens...all using the exact method I've described.  The only difference is in knowing how long you can go between fuel additions.  On the 22 hour smoke I could go approximately 4 hours between adding fuel.

Once you have the fire/heat regulation down you can begin cooking with the confidence that you'll not waste a good cut of meat.  After you start working with the meat you'll use the food probe to monitor the meat's internal temperature as it cooks.  There's good information elsewhere on the site for the desired internal temps of different meats and approximate cooking times/pound of meat.  And, if meat gets done early simply double wrap in foil, wrap in blankets and put in a dry cooler.  I've kept meats how to serve for up to four hours after cooking using this method.  Better to be done early and let the meat rest than try and hurry it along while hungry guests wait!

Good luck and ask questions if you need more detail.

Randy

 

[cliffcarter]

Ok, so I'm new and have only done a single smoke but it has already raised some questions...

I understand the value and importance of low and slow heat.  I was able to control the OJ (16" Oklahoma Joe Classic) at 225-250 without a great deal of problem.  I used minion method that was about 2/3 charcoal briks and 1/3 hickory for our double smoked ham at Easter..  As fire continued I switched to using apple wood chunks and a littel apple chips to keep fire going.

At one point I discovered that as temps dropped I'd waited too long to add wood as it took a bit of time to fire up the new chunks with some heavier smoke in the process.  In fact it seems using mostly wood that I had to add smoke if I wanted to add heat.

By using wood only, tho, I think I may have too much smoke for the amount of heat needed.  As a result I've tossed the briks and bought some lump charcoal.  I'm assuming that since its made from wood that it will impart some wood flavor without adding additional wood.  I'm also assuming that it will allow me to better control heat through the process with less smoke per amount of heat generated.  If I'm right that should allow me to add smoke only when I want it by throwing in a chunk appropriate to the meat being Q'd...am I right?

As far as when to add smoke my reading here seems to indicate that some smoke in say the first 1/2 of cooking is good.  If I want less total smoke then reduce smoke time in front.  If I want more add some some during the final, say, 25% of cook time.

I've still got a lot to learn but I'm interested in comment about managing heat vs smoke.

Thanks in advance.

Randy in Florida

I have highlighted what seems to me to be the main issue you want information on.

Concerning the first sentence- if you heat your wood chunks or splits on the fire box before you put them on the fire they will reach the ignition point more quickly and eliminate the excess smoke.

The second highlighted sentence is a misconception. I and many others cook only with wood much of the time and have no problem with excess smokiness in our food. If you maintain a small hot fire it is very easy to BBQ using only wood as your heat source without you food being overly smokey. IMHO your offset is meant to be a stickburner so I have provided a link to an article on stickburning that you may find helpful.Good Luck.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/stickburning101

 

[floridarandy]

I have highlighted what seems to me to be the main issue you want information on.

Concerning the first sentence- if you heat your wood chunks or splits on the fire box before you put them on the fire they will reach the ignition point more quickly and eliminate the excess smoke.

The second highlighted sentence is a misconception. I and many others cook only with wood much of the time and have no problem with excess smokiness in our food. If you maintain a small hot fire it is very easy to BBQ using only wood as your heat source without you food being overly smokey. IMHO your offset is meant to be a stickburner so I have provided a link to an article on stickburning that you may find helpful.Good Luck.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/stickburning101

Thanks Cliffcarter - since I first posted this in April i've learned that the firebox on SJ 16 is really a bit small for wood only work.  I'm now using lump with wood chunks to impart needed smoke and have learned to control temp easily on 12-22 hour smokes.

 

[sqwib]

All good advice and want to add to cliff carters wise and true statement.

If you are using wood chunks for smoke, the main fuel source should be charcoal or lump.

If you want to use wood as a fuel source then you need to maintain a small controlled fire, you can do this by starting off with half a chimney of lump and/or charcoal then add small splits once the coals are well on their way.

You will have to learn fire management and what split sizes works for your smoker considering other variables such as weather conditions mainly wind!

Although  I see you made your choice for Lump I wanted to pint this out so others reading the is thread could benefit.

 

[cheflou]

Thank you very much Randy,

I will try your suggestion. I've already started testing by putting like 6-7 briquettes lit them,waited for grayish color then added presoaked apple. I found that I need to add more charcoal in about 20 minutes to maintain 225. I only have a chimney vent and a ash drawer,so air must be getting in elsewhere but overall it's challenging to figure it out but definitely worth eating

Thanks
Cheflou

 

[raymo76]

I use wood sticks as my heat and flavor, what I do is I get my cooker higher than what I want to be at and let the cooker get nice and hot. That all my steel gets nice and hot and ready to cook, then I drop the meat in and let it settle into the temp I want to cook at. Now when I add more sticks of wood I usually adjust the left over coals from the wood that has burnt down to get the ash of them and get them burning hot again and then I throw in usually 2 sticks of wood and leave my fire box door open until the wood catches fire and I close the door up. No pre heating here, just dry to use a really good seasoned (dry) wood. I like to run a small hot free burning fire versus a large smoldering fire.

 

[sqwib]

I use wood sticks as my heat and flavor, what I do is I get my cooker higher than what I want to be at and let the cooker get nice and hot. That all my steel gets nice and hot and ready to cook, then I drop the meat in and let it settle into the temp I want to cook at. Now when I add more sticks of wood I usually adjust the left over coals from the wood that has burnt down to get the ash of them and get them burning hot again and then I throw in usually 2 sticks of wood and leave my fire box door open until the wood catches fire and I close the door up. No pre heating here, just dry to use a really good seasoned (dry) wood. I like to run a small hot free burning fire versus a large smoldering fire.

Fire Management 101

Great post