Let's Talk ... BBQ, Smoking and Grilling

I use hickory mostly for smoking and I use chunks of it, not chips and I don't believe in soaking it in water. That just makes steam, not smoke. You want blue smoke or just the smell of smoke coming out of your stack. Gray smoke is bad, white smoke is just steam.

I'd use apple wood over any other kind if I could get it around here. I used to have an apple tree in my back yard, now I don't.

Oil the meat, not the grate.
 
If you use a chimney to start the coals-and you should- let them burn until ash covered in the chimney. If you cover them, you will slow down the burn to ash time.
 
Norm said:
I use hickory mostly for smoking and I use chunks of it, not chips and I don't believe in soaking it in water. That just makes steam, not smoke. You want blue smoke or just the smell of smoke coming out of your stack. Gray smoke is bad, white smoke is just steam.

I'd use apple wood over any other kind if I could get it around here. I used to have an apple tree in my back yard, now I don't.

Oil the meat, not the grate.
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There are MANY reasons for having water and steam in your smoke chamber.

1. Water boils at 212, steam can’t climb much higher. If both are present, they work as heat syncs thus regulating your internal temperature.

2. Steam condensates on meat, this creates an osmotic reaction that will permeate your meat with smoke flavor.

3. A humid environment in the smoke chamber disallows creosote build up on the chamber walls.

There are MANY reasons to include water and steam in your smoker. When analyzing via chemistry or physics, especially at the molecular level, it’s an obvious win that makes things a lot easier and less hands on.

That’s not to say you can’t get good results otherwise. You can, especially if you know how to run your rig and handle the tweaks.
 
I didn't say steam was bad and I didn't mean to imply that anyone was wrong to do so. I was just stating that I didn't like to cook with wet wood. I use steam in my smoker as a separate entity, I let wood smoke and I get steam from water in between the heat and the meat.
 
gosh, now I feel unworthy, using my gas grill and smoker....;)

I DO have a little tabletop Weber charcoal grill, does that count?

:) :) :bbq:
Great information in this thread for us gassy people too, just turn burners off
for indirect cooking. And don't be in a hurry, let it preheat for a good while.

For both... a nice cheap oven thermometer is a great tool to know exactly
how hot your cooking environment is, at the rack level. Count your coals, check the temp... or mark your gas knob, check the temp...
 
I don't soak my wood chunks anymore and I stopped using water in the water pan years ago (I have sand in there, covered with HD aluminum foil).

Only way to go, IMO.

Lee
 
When I use the Weber for smoking, I make a bowl out of heavy duty foil and put it in the middle of the fire grate. Then I put hot water in the bowl and add charcoal on two opposite sides. I put the cooking grate on top and place the meat directly in the middle over the bowl. It provides some steam but is primarily there to catch grease and prevent flare-ups. My Weber has a cooking grate that has hinges on two sides so I can add wood chunks and charcoal as needed without moving the meat. Heat is controlled by opening and closing the dampers on the bottom. The top damper is fully open but has a thermometer stuck in one hole so I can determine the heat inside.

On my horizontal smoker with an off set firebox, I put the charcoal in the firebox with a chunk of wood off to the side so it smolders and smokes but does not burn with a flame. Up until this year I had a bowl of hot water in the cooking chamber right next to the fire
with a baffle to direct heat and smoke under the water so it could rise up under the meat and out the chimney. Heat is controlled in the openings at the fire box. Chimney damper is always open all the way and there is an after market thermometer sticking into the cook chamber from the front door.

So far this year I have not used water or the damper in the horizontal smoker. I find a good baste keeps the meat moist and temperature control at the fire box is still good.

This is the way I do it. Other methods are also valid.
 
My weber's food grate is solid no hinges. So if I want to add more anything I would have to remove the food and figure out a safe place for the hot grate while adding whatever.

How open/closed should the bottom and top vents be?
 
Keltin said:
If you do what I described and showed in Post #26, then leave the bottom vent wide open.
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OK thank you keltin. The only fear I have is that hot embers will fall out (there isn't anything to stop the coals/ashes from falling out the bottom of the grill) and light my deck on fire.
 
The vents on that grill are right at the bottom. Anything that falls out goes right into the aluminum ash catcher. That's why it's there. No problem what so ever.
 

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Keltin, you are a master of graphics! Beautiful!

Peep, make sure the vents on your lid are ALWAYS open when you are cooking with the lid down! Otherwise, you get a build-up of greasy, smokey crap on your food.

The more open you have the bottom vents, the hotter the fire, and the faster the cook will be. Partially closing the bottom vents will allow for lower heat and a longer cook.

Lee
 
QSis said:
Keltin, you are a master of graphics! Beautiful!

Peep, make sure the vents on your lid are ALWAYS open when you are cooking with the lid down! Otherwise, you get a build-up of greasy, smokey crap on your food.

The more open you have the bottom vents, the hotter the fire, and the faster the cook will be. Partially closing the bottom vents will allow for lower heat and a longer cook.

Lee
Click to expand...

:a1:
 
lilbopeep said:
OK thank you keltin. The only fear I have is that hot embers will fall out (there isn't anything to stop the coals/ashes from falling out the bottom of the grill) and light my deck on fire.
Click to expand...

If it's real windy, I'd sure keep a close eye on it.
 
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