Old School Style Barbecuer Question

[Gonna Smoke]

We have so many walnut trees it's not even funny. Since you burn em green do you think a couple 55 gallon drums worth filled with wood is okay for a rib smoking session? Or should I prepare for a lot more

For a couple of racks of ribs, that's way too much wood. Like @Hijack73 said, an outside fire pit would work well...

 

[smokyvalleybbq]

This is what I was wanting to do. Looks like I could do two to three butts and six racks of ribs. Would use quite a bit of wood coals to keep it up lol

 

[Hijack73]

Mine was that size, except 5 high. I needed a coal bed smaller than a kids baseball glove to maintain 225/250

My firebox door/hole was much smaller though. 1 cinder block width. I used another cinder block to control air intake.

I suggest putting the door on the narrow side.

if you put your fire bed under this little shelf, it works very well. I had rigged a way to support a 2" solid to stick out further to protect the meat from direct heat.

 

[smokyvalleybbq]

Mine was that size, except 5 high. I needed a coal bed smaller than a kids baseball glove to maintain 225/250

My firebox door/hole was much smaller though. 1 cinder block width. I used another cinder block to control air intake.

I suggest putting the door on the narrow side.

if you put your fire bed under this little shelf, it works very well. I had rigged a way to support a 2" solid to stick out further to protect the meat from direct heat.

View attachment 692865

You didn't need to sprinkle the coals all over the ground? Just one spot?

 

[Hijack73]

You didn't need to sprinkle the coals all over the ground? Just one spot?

Correct. I know what you are thinking, and I've done it that way before in various whole hog cooks, but those things weigh a hundred lbs and are solid. Ribs, brisket, butts etc aren't solid and do not need that much thermal mass to cook.

Could you? Sure. Maybe your lid doesn't hold heat, maybe this, maybe that. You might need a bit bigger heat source but mine never saw a full coal bed unless I was burning it out. You'll have to learn your pit. If I was doing a monster cook - I needed a bit more fuel more often - but a monster cook to me would feed 150 people easy.

I suggest going 5 high and making the top grate removable. Blocks are cheap and if you ever needed it, the room is there. Make the top grate removable and load up the lower as well as the top.

I also always had a fist sized chunk burning on top of the coals. That generates a metric s-load of heat.

 

[smokyvalleybbq]

I don't know how to repay each one of you for all the advice. How'd you tell if it was 225, did you do the hand test or a thermometer

 

[Hijack73]

I don't know how to repay each one of you for all the advice. How'd you tell if it was 225, did you do the hand test or a thermometer

At first I used a standard oven dial right on the top rack back corner farthest from the fire, and around 2015 I went to a wireless Maverick probe. I would have to toss the dial and replace occasionally but c'est la vie. It's the smoke that killed those, not the heat. Nowadays we like INKBIRD therms (and I say we as a general consensus, I'm not a huge fan as the app with my slightly older one sucks now - once it was great) but you can pick one up on the 'zon of your choice for well under 50 bucks.

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Wireless-Thermometer-Grilling-Rechargeable/dp/B076QDC5VL/ref=sxin_15_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.a16e5769-e80f-4b10-abd3-4efb36e075a9%3Aamzn1.sym.a16e5769-e80f-4b10-abd3-4efb36e075a9&crid=2389FXL1C7TMS&cv_ct_cx=wireless%2Bprobe%2Bthermometer%2Bfor%2Bcooking&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jVReL5zJPfFtuzTTv9CPAq8YBwNVXux36tqQLyIRJOYkc7loxQZeYqPsOaHLu7j2Pc9WNUr0GoxD5RqAk-bOpw.A9unAEVOpgAhr8-2ZLTNnwWVpj4yYFLrSdhAOE7EKi8&dib_tag=se&keywords=wireless%2Bprobe%2Bthermometer%2Bfor%2Bcooking&pd_rd_i=B076QDC5VL&pd_rd_r=0fbb2b38-3f47-491e-937e-b39f2fad8b1f&pd_rd_w=uCCOW&pd_rd_wg=yH1n1&pf_rd_p=a16e5769-e80f-4b10-abd3-4efb36e075a9&pf_rd_r=TWGSQT477VGPRZS8KZCT&qid=1711677906&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=wireless%2Bprobe%2Bther%2Caps%2C79&sr=1-4-2c727eeb-987f-452f-86bd-c2978cc9d8b9-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-Wireless-Digital-Thermometer-Grilling/dp/B08KZR4F23/ref=sr_1_14_sspa?crid=2389FXL1C7TMS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Tg3230Ay7FdprKVeNdGSbuNAAAZ0_Qc-ZBmQdimL7ka0aK0In3qRcnDv0TkuozzxMbdV9qsESiSPGquAKEWEqyr-XWUDoL6hrGWeh8QVetTecAH71R8WLTvmM0IDPE8J-YKz-wrYrytu_NVvg4woJQZZRnXvwvTxKjEqG91YRFQvQ1I03qa12cdSVItUVVhmsZ2-J--XS93BDAvLANg7lWHw_wV_Ij6tSYqdWJggJ_HWBSYDZZY0_eAVHCEGO05h3wOX_BjFqubR6J85qpDjnCxpL7LGqbkLSQ0eWtpMY5Q.l_fmkwtAA8-Wns9UdbnUim58GSV3ONOmapqxCZGs9I4&dib_tag=se&keywords=wireless%2Bprobe%2Bthermometer%2Bfor%2Bcooking&qid=1711678009&sprefix=wireless%2Bprobe%2Bther%2Caps%2C79&sr=8-14-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1

 

[smokyvalleybbq]

Man I'm looking forward to this. Ribs are my thang. Pulled pork for the wife. Being able to look a large quantity without buying or building a three thousand dollar pit, and doing it the old way