more details please

[lugnutz]

Ok I just found out I'm smoking wrong

It has been suggested that I burn my wood before cooking with it. Do you burn it ahead of time and then add it to coals or use your coals to burn it? Also can you place the wood in the cooking chamber ( say after your done cooking ) and let it "heat cure" that way so it is ready for the next cook?

I have much to learn and am willing! But we must hurry I don't want to be a part of the OTWS ( Order of the Thick White Smoke ) any longer! I wanna be BLUE

 

[flbobecu]

Not sure I can help much, however -

I have heard of people burning wood before using it, however only as a fuel source (like Oak). I don't burn my wood ahead of time. I place my wood directly on the grate right above the fire and I use fist-sized chunks. TBS no problem.


What kind of wood are you using? Is it "green" wood (freshly cut stuff) or is it seasoned?

 

[lugnutz]

Hickory and lots of it, and very seasoned, as a matter of fact I might have to throw the pile out after this summer. Stuff in the middle of the stack is great but the top weathered pretty bad.

 

[TulsaJeff]

First off.. there is really no such thing as smoking "wrong" around here

There are things that work better than others in my opinion but really it comes down to what you and your family like.

If you enjoy it then none of us will ever say a word about it..

Right team? Right....???

There are a few little rules I guess..

• keep the smoke very light and thin. don't add the meat until the smoke has gotten to that light almost colorless haze. That is where you will get the best flavor.
• Make sure your wood is seasoned (not green). Keep green wood in the dry for 4-6 months before using it in the smoker.
• Keep it low and slow (between 200-250 degrees) I prefer about 225-240 personally.
• Have fun with it or go do something else
  

If you are using wood for fuel, I recommend placing a few sticks on top of your firebox about 30 minutes before you are ready to use it. This warms it up and get it ready so that it ignites a little faster.

There are some who use a separate burn barrel and only use the coals in their smoker. This is probably a great way to smoke meat but in my experience this is not how most folks do it.

We are not "do it our way or else" kind of a forum. We will gladly tell you how we do it but then we also encourage trying new things and seeing what works best for you and your specific smoker.

 

[mballi3011]

I'm not real sure what your talkning about but I think that you are talking about maybe making your own charcoal maybe??? I know that there are a couple of folks here that make their own. So I'm sure one of them will come around so enough.

 

[indyadmin1974]

^^^^What Jeff said...

I just posted in the charcoal forum about my new WSM putting out white smoke. It's just a matter of time and patience. Turns out I didn't let the WSM settle in as Jeff mentions:

You'll get it. TBS is cool when you get it, but don't make the mistakes that I made when I started (i.e. too much wood)

If you have a home built machine, you'll have to practice, practice practice.

 

[lugnutz]

Not really asking about makin my own, but I was advised that I should burn the wood before cooking with it to avoid the tws(thick white smoke)..or maybe it was as Jeff said, letting it burn until the heavy white smoke goes away. I was just wondering if you pre burn it before adding to the coals or if you just let the coals cook the wood down until you acheive tbs.
Or I guess you could throw a few sticks of wood in on your smoldering coals after a cook, so they would be ready the next time you fire up.

 

[lugnutz]

I think it was your post where I read also about keepin the stack wide open, so I went out and opened mine fully and adjusted the air intake to get it to level out. And yes I finally got that tbs, now I'm hoping I can make it another few hours without havin to reload the charcoal.

 

[adiochiro3]

I've smoked using both methods Dutch mentioned. Both work just fine; it's all about managing air flow for keeping the right temps and achieving the holy grail of TBS. Manage air flow at the intake side and smoke by not adding too much chunk wood to your coals at one time. "A little dab 'l do ya!"

 

[lugnutz]

Ok, I think I'm gettin this, and I would say from my qview below that I probably pushed the amount of wood a tad much

 

[jirodriguez]

Yeah... to much wood at one time, you only need about 1/2 of one of those splits at a time. I like to let my wood fully combust, that helps it burn cleanly and with the TBS you are looking for.

 

[TulsaJeff]

When using charcoal as the fuel source..

I usually recommend about 4-6 dry wood chunks that are approx. 2x2 inches in size. No more than that at one time. Once the smoke slows down and almost comes to a stop you can replenish with about 4-6 more dry wood chunks.

Just continue that process until you have smoked the meat for about half of the estimated cook time and it will be about right.

I also agree with adiochiro3 completely.. air flow is a real key in this process.

 

[jirodriguez]

Whay Jeff said... but if you have splits instead of chunks just cut a split that is approx 2x2x(length of split). It is about the same amount of wood and just use 1 stick at a time, add aditional splits every hr. or so.

 

[lugnutz]

Thank you for your input! Next time I'll go in moderation. I'm newer to this stuff than I thought

 

[meateater]

You will be a pro in no time. I think most members have a good handle on it by there 3rd smoke.

 

[lugnutz]

3rd!!!! wholly sow's ear, I've been smoking like this foreve, its like starting off fresh now!