Thank you, I'm going to try a rack of ribs this weekend. I want to learn as much as I can.
Thanks Joe, being in SW Kansas I'm not sure what kind of wood I'm going to be able to get. I will take all the information I can get.
I did a test run last night. I did notice that once I had a nice bed of red hot coals that the temp evened out. I played with the vent and the one large tuning plate that came with the smoker. I could get the horizontal section anywhere from 225-400 degrees just by moving that plate around(I need a couple more). The vertical section I could get from 140- just over 200. My first time so...lots to learn. No better place to learn than right here from the pros. #Smokingmeatforums!
Good fire starting tutorial! point
Joe, Brian and myself must all come from the same stick burning school of thought. I have charcoal around for two reasons. One is to start my stick burner the other is for dutch oven use.
I use a lot of red oak. Consistent long burns and hot. I start with about half to three quarters of a chimney of charcoal. Light it and dump it into the fire box. Put a load of oak splits on it and let it really get burning.
I let it burn like this for 15 or 20 minutes and then close lid but leave the exhaust and intake vents wide open and let the draw begin and heat up the steel. Before long you have a nice bed of oak coals to begin to work with.
I usually let it burn down a little further than this even. By now at least with my smoker it's running between 275 and 300. Hotter than I like to cook at but that's what I want. I generally smoke the majority of things between 225 and 250. As soon as I see the temp is no longer rising and is stable or dropping I add the meat. By opening the smoker and adding cold meat I lose enough temp to be where I want. And by now I have a good draw and the thin blue is flowing!
Have your splits ready before hand. I have splits of all different sizes from just bigger than a pencil all the way up to 6 inch splits and everything in between. Splits are like briquettes in a way. In dutch oven cooking they say one briquette adds 10 to 15 degrees in temp. Splits are no different. For me by the time I'm well into the cook I have a coal bed about the size of a softball in the firebox and the smoker is cruising along at 250 but I may still have a hour or two left to cook or more depending. Once you get all that steel heated up it takes over itself.
Of course I don't want to add a 6 inch split at this point because I will get a heat spike but I don't want the coals to go out either. So here's where I might add a 1 or 2 inch split. Enough to keep the fire going but not enough to cause a heat spike.
All this time I'm going back and forth between oak and flavor wood usually apple or sugar maple.
And yes get more tuning plates they are your friend! I think I have 5 in mine.
Of course other things factor in like ambient temp, wind and so forth but once you learn the technique of stick burning adjustments for outside factors become almost instinctive.
Keep us posted on how you are doing and ask questions. A lot of good seasoned stick burners around here to answer your questions!
Thank you very much! And thank you for taking the time.Joe, Brian and myself must all come from the same stick burning school of thought. I have charcoal around for two reasons. One is to start my stick burner the other is for dutch oven use.
I use a lot of red oak. Consistent long burns and hot. I start with about half to three quarters of a chimney of charcoal. Light it and dump it into the fire box. Put a load of oak splits on it and let it really get burning.
I let it burn like this for 15 or 20 minutes and then close lid but leave the exhaust and intake vents wide open and let the draw begin and heat up the steel. Before long you have a nice bed of oak coals to begin to work with.
I usually let it burn down a little further than this even. By now at least with my smoker it's running between 275 and 300. Hotter than I like to cook at but that's what I want. I generally smoke the majority of things between 225 and 250. As soon as I see the temp is no longer rising and is stable or dropping I add the meat. By opening the smoker and adding cold meat I lose enough temp to be where I want. And by now I have a good draw and the thin blue is flowing!
Have your splits ready before hand. I have splits of all different sizes from just bigger than a pencil all the way up to 6 inch splits and everything in between. Splits are like briquettes in a way. In dutch oven cooking they say one briquette adds 10 to 15 degrees in temp. Splits are no different. For me by the time I'm well into the cook I have a coal bed about the size of a softball in the firebox and the smoker is cruising along at 250 but I may still have a hour or two left to cook or more depending. Once you get all that steel heated up it takes over itself.
Of course I don't want to add a 6 inch split at this point because I will get a heat spike but I don't want the coals to go out either. So here's where I might add a 1 or 2 inch split. Enough to keep the fire going but not enough to cause a heat spike.
All this time I'm going back and forth between oak and flavor wood usually apple or sugar maple.
And yes get more tuning plates they are your friend! I think I have 5 in mine.
Of course other things factor in like ambient temp, wind and so forth but once you learn the technique of stick burning adjustments for outside factors become almost instinctive.
Keep us posted on how you are doing and ask questions. A lot of good seasoned stick burners around here to answer your questions!
You make a good point and that was my first thought when I noticed how far the vertical section was from the firebox. The horizontal section leading into the vertical section is wide open. The vertical section has a 2" drain hole in the bottom and the damper on top of the smoke stack. Other than that the only way to control temp is the damper on the firebox. I will note that last night it did seem to draft very well from the firebox into the vertical section. Huge difference in temps between the 2 sections though. I think that is why I need more tuning plates. Also I read somewhere that most people only use the vertical section for summer sausage, etc as you only want 180 degree temp.
That is a awesome connection to have! I'm envious. Red oak is getting harder to come by here as is a lot of hardwoods. The DNR has a 50 mile restriction on transporting wood unless it is from a DNR approved vendor and it must be kiln dried. Trying to stop the proliferation of the ash bore weevil I guess. It sure makes it difficult for me to do my cooking events that are a little extended out of the area. Bottom line is a lot of the farmers and private parties have just quit selling wood.
Recommendation find a good firewood guy. Fortunately I'm friends with a guy that owns a tree cutting service in Michigan. So he gives me great prices. And even custom cuts the logs to my specifications.
I'm about due to order another facecord. He brings me about a facecord and a half and charges me for a facecord. In the pile I have right now. It's about 1/3 oak 1/3 black cherry and the rest is apple and sugar maple.
Get tuning plates that run the entire length of your vertical and see how that works. It will be one big heat sink and I'm guessing the horizontal is still going to be quite hot but might be more manageable. Of course if you don't need the vertical for smoking ribs or briskets pork butts or anything else than you have no worries!
