Where do you get your wood for smoking?
- Thread starter Doc
- Start date
Doc, check out this link, from the EXCELLENT Virtual Weber Bullet website, by Chris Allingham.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/woods.html
I don't agree with him on everything, like how to start your fire, for example, but he's REALLY a thorough fanatic!
Lee
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/woods.html
I don't agree with him on everything, like how to start your fire, for example, but he's REALLY a thorough fanatic!
Lee
Keltin
New member
To get started easily, you can get everything at Home Depot or Wal-Mart……even Sams. A good vertical Water Smoker (but NOT a Brinkman!!), and a big bag of Hickory or Mesquite are EVERY WHERE to be had at most home improvement stores and Wal-Mart.
I prefer the fist sized chunks over the chips. Much easier to work with. Just drop 3-4 on the coals, fiddle with the air intake vents, and walk away. Check every 30 minutes to 1 hour for good temps and adjust the vents as needed.
So I agree with Phreak, the chunks are the way to go (and they can be had at Wal-Mart or Home Depot…..Hickory or Mesquite), and with Chow & L2Q on fiddling with the fire. It’s fun stuff!
Specialty woods like cherry, apple, pecan, etc, are harder to find in most stores, but some do carry them. If you have a friend that is a wood working guru, ask him for his untreated scraps. I get tons of Oak and Cherry from a friend that loves to “make sawdust” (build things out of wood). He builds awesome things from cabinets to lamps, and I use his scraps for awesome ribs. It’s a great relationship!
A few years back, you could find these wood pellets everywhere (from Wal-Mart to Circle C), but I can’t find them locally anymore. They were a nice way to get some exotic woods and are easy to use, even when grilling. Just roll a cup or so of the pellets up in aluminum foil, poke a small hole in that “log” and toss it on the fire for 45 minutes or so of good smoke. They sure were handy…..I may have to order some online for grilling in the future.
http://www.crappiecat.com/store/store_product_detail.cfm?Product_ID=2030
But when it comes to hickory or mesquite chunks, you can find bags of those almost anywhere from a Mom and Pop store to Wally World and beyond. Just check the BBQ section (where charcoal is kept) of any store, and you'll probably see them.
I prefer the fist sized chunks over the chips. Much easier to work with. Just drop 3-4 on the coals, fiddle with the air intake vents, and walk away. Check every 30 minutes to 1 hour for good temps and adjust the vents as needed.
So I agree with Phreak, the chunks are the way to go (and they can be had at Wal-Mart or Home Depot…..Hickory or Mesquite), and with Chow & L2Q on fiddling with the fire. It’s fun stuff!
Specialty woods like cherry, apple, pecan, etc, are harder to find in most stores, but some do carry them. If you have a friend that is a wood working guru, ask him for his untreated scraps. I get tons of Oak and Cherry from a friend that loves to “make sawdust” (build things out of wood). He builds awesome things from cabinets to lamps, and I use his scraps for awesome ribs. It’s a great relationship!
A few years back, you could find these wood pellets everywhere (from Wal-Mart to Circle C), but I can’t find them locally anymore. They were a nice way to get some exotic woods and are easy to use, even when grilling. Just roll a cup or so of the pellets up in aluminum foil, poke a small hole in that “log” and toss it on the fire for 45 minutes or so of good smoke. They sure were handy…..I may have to order some online for grilling in the future.
http://www.crappiecat.com/store/store_product_detail.cfm?Product_ID=2030
But when it comes to hickory or mesquite chunks, you can find bags of those almost anywhere from a Mom and Pop store to Wally World and beyond. Just check the BBQ section (where charcoal is kept) of any store, and you'll probably see them.
JoeV
Dough Boy
Heaven forbid you should buy a
for $69.95 (Electric) at Home Depot. You're liable to end up with
or
or even something as nasty as
or
Besides that, you are only able to fill the top rack like this
So, yes, I agree with the opinionated one to avoid this unit and its subsequent shortcomings, not the least of which is such a poor quality output. By all means you would be better off with an old file cabinet conversion or a galvanized garbage can on your patio for your friends and neighbors to look at, rather than an inferior ugly duckling such as this.
My esteemed colleague in smoke, what facts support such a strong bias against Brinkman? I anxiously await your reply.
Keltin
New member
Heaven forbid you should buy a
for $69.95 (Electric) at Home Depot. You're liable to end up with
or
or even something as nasty as
or
Besides that, you are only able to fill the top rack like this
So, yes, I agree with the opinionated one to avoid this unit and its subsequent shortcomings, not the least of which is such a poor quality output. By all means you would be better off with an old file cabinet conversion or a galvanized garbage can on your patio for your friends and neighbors to look at, rather than an inferior ugly duckling such as this.
My esteemed colleague in smoke, what facts support such a strong bias against Brinkman? I anxiously await your reply.
Sorry JoeV, I meant a Brinkman Charcoal smoker. It has NO air flow, no air control, and a sealed charcoal pan due to law suits over the small hole it used to have (hot coals dripped out and set decks on fire).
The Electric is another matter.
And seriously, if you’re inclined, you can take an ECB (El Cheap-o Brinkman) coal burner and mod it to a great unit. Question is, how deep do you want to go on a first buy?
http://www.randyq.addr.com/ecb/ecbmods.html
But again, the electric Brinkmans are fine, it’s the coal burners I have a problem with.
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Keltin
New member
I’m tempted by the electric smokers.
And while most say “that ain’t true smoking” since you aren’t in control of the fire and moderating it, I still like the ease it presents to long cooks. I’ve spent 12+ hours minding the coals on my coal burner, and it’s fun, but I’m not blind to what electric may offer.
Some moan and complain it “ain’t true” and you get no “badge” for that, but as long as the meat is smoked, tender, and good, who cares.
On my coal burner, by fiddling with the vents and additions of wood, I do this. It takes some work, but I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the result.
And while most say “that ain’t true smoking” since you aren’t in control of the fire and moderating it, I still like the ease it presents to long cooks. I’ve spent 12+ hours minding the coals on my coal burner, and it’s fun, but I’m not blind to what electric may offer.
Some moan and complain it “ain’t true” and you get no “badge” for that, but as long as the meat is smoked, tender, and good, who cares.
On my coal burner, by fiddling with the vents and additions of wood, I do this. It takes some work, but I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the result.
Wart
Banned
Well,
The worst smoke meat I've had came from an electric smoker. I've made some real mistakes with lump and chunk, I never came close to the chewing on the end of a charred stick flavor these people achieved using their electric. And they were a local 'high end' restaurant.
Go figure.
Wife and I went to this restaurant, I got the Pizza appetizer which had small chunks of smoked chicken. I brought the left overs home, had a piece a few minutes ago, the lingering flavor of the pizza is not smoke but wood resin(s).
The worst smoke meat I've had came from an electric smoker. I've made some real mistakes with lump and chunk, I never came close to the chewing on the end of a charred stick flavor these people achieved using their electric. And they were a local 'high end' restaurant.
Go figure.
Wife and I went to this restaurant, I got the Pizza appetizer which had small chunks of smoked chicken. I brought the left overs home, had a piece a few minutes ago, the lingering flavor of the pizza is not smoke but wood resin(s).
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Wart
Banned
As a follow up,
Wife and I had been to this restaurant before, I had seen the electric smoker outside smoking away and wondered how that was working out for them.
It's been an hour since I had that piece of pizza, and I still taste charred wood.
Far as the smoke ring, I've had smoke ring so deep people thought the meat raw.
Wife and I had been to this restaurant before, I had seen the electric smoker outside smoking away and wondered how that was working out for them.
It's been an hour since I had that piece of pizza, and I still taste charred wood.
Far as the smoke ring, I've had smoke ring so deep people thought the meat raw.
BamsBBQ
Ni pedo
but it is hard to get a really nice bark with an electric smoker.. nothing like a stick burner for that.
i say build a UDS Doc... great fuel economy, great cook times, great flavor and very very easy to use. Temperature is not a big factor when it comes to wind or cold temperatures like with other smokers.. i have owned or used almost every smoker except a Bradley.
my best smoker by far is my UDS. i can smoke with the traditional temperture of 225*F for hours or if i am cooking poultry, i can up the temperature to 300*F by simply opening another air intake.
i say build a UDS Doc... great fuel economy, great cook times, great flavor and very very easy to use. Temperature is not a big factor when it comes to wind or cold temperatures like with other smokers.. i have owned or used almost every smoker except a Bradley.
my best smoker by far is my UDS. i can smoke with the traditional temperture of 225*F for hours or if i am cooking poultry, i can up the temperature to 300*F by simply opening another air intake.
BamsBBQ
Ni pedo
every piece of meat is different.. i have had ribs that took no smoke ring and the next rack beside it had a smoke ring through and through like u described... if the meat tasted charred, chances are that their wood caught fire at one point or another...
Wart
Banned
Funny how that works.
If this places electric smoker caught on fire it was just enough for the wood to smolder. And isn't that all an electric smoker does anyway? This one was making lots of heavy white smoke.
I asked the waiter what wood they used, he checked and told me Mesquite and Hickory. So they had a smolder smoker depositing the creosote from two strong woods, one of those woods well known to turn bitter with prolonged exposure.
JoeV
Dough Boy
It was on the deck, but under its cover. And don't think a couple people didn't ask where the Q was at. I wanted to make 20# of pulled pork, but the bride said she didn't want anyone in HER bridal party covered in SBR Q sauce before the pictures were taken.But I didn't notice it in any of the weekend wedding pics on your deck
For all the lumber purists out there who look down their sauce covered noses at electric smokers and their neophyte owners, I really don't care if I'm not in that club. Those folks are like the purist fly fishermen who insist that you are not a true fly fisher (or fisherman at all) if you don't catch your trout on a bamboo fly rod with a dry fly. Those kinds of elitist attitudes dissuade many people from wetting their feet in either hobby, so to even bring up advanced techniques and costly equipment when speaking to someone interested in getting their feet wet, is doing more harm than good. I have taught fly fishing for many years and have watched enthusists rise to many different levels in the hobby, but I taught every one of them on an outfit that cost $79.95 out the door to prove that it does not take a lot of money to catch fish with a fly rod, just like it does not take a $500 smoker to put a smoke ring on your ribs. Some people will never pick up a fly rod after their initial exposure, just like some will never fire up the smoker a second time because they have determined it's not for them. For those reasons I say enter smoking with a minimal investment (even if you are wealthy) to find out if it's for you or not. That leaves lots of room for advancement in equipment and techniques, and someday you could be as accomplished and our esteemed colleagues here on NCT.
And girls, lets lighten up on each other and show some kissy-face love here.
High Cheese
Saucier
for $69.95 (Electric) at Home Depot. You're liable to end up with
There's no smoke ring on the electrified meat.
I like to play with the fire too, anyone can turn the oven on.
JoeV
Dough Boy
You're right (especially since that was the first thing I smoked and I didn't know WTF I was doing). I'm headed out the deck with the sledge hammer to end my smoking career. If I can't be perfect like the big boyz right out of the chute, there's no reason to continue down this path. From now on I'll sit in awe at the magnificence of Keltin and Bams and High Cheese. All hail the gurus of smoke, let us pay homage to them and sacrifice a virgin to win their favor (anyone know where I might find a virgin these days?).There's no smoke ring on the electrified meat.
Whoa Joe. Don't let em get to you. There is more than one way to skin a cat and smoke your meat.
I see the advantage to both types. Have you ever tried smoking any other way than your electric smoker?
High Cheese
Saucier
High Cheese
Saucier
chowhound
New member
Attachments
Keltin
New member
I can agree with JoeV on not spending a lot of money on a rig when you get started. No problem with that at all. Great idea. Hell, you can actually get superior results by building your own and investing no more than 20 bucks in the project.
And Hell again......I got my current smoker 5 years ago on sale as winter was approaching. Picked it up for 59.99 and it has served me well the past five years. Countless pounds of perfect Q have come off that unit.
Now, Joe took offense to me warning about the Brinkman. I meant a Brinkman charcoal smoker which is the type Doc said he is looking for. See Post #3.
The brinkman charcoal smoker is notorious for being horribly designed. The biggest problem being the fire pan and it’s complete lack of air flow and control. Basically, the “fire pit” in a Brinkman is just another water pan bowl. No holes for air. No grate to lift the coals off the pan’s floor. Nothing. Just a water pan that you stack your coals in. I’ve used many an unmodified Brinkman, and I can tell you that, without air flow, the coals eventually whimper and die out making it all but impossible to maintain good temp. To keep the coals from dying out, you pretty much have to constantly stir them when smoking for longer than an hour.
If someone were to start new to smoking with a Brinkman charcoal smoker and wasn’t aware of the problems with that unit, they could easily get discouraged and be turned off forever from smoking. In fact, the last Brinkman I got was from a co-worker. He bought it, tried it, hated it, and sold it to me for 5 dollars, and as far as I know, never smoked again. But knowing the ECB, I was happy to pay 5 for it, mod it, and turn out good Q on it.
A Brinkman charcoal smoker straight out of the box is a disaster waiting to happen. However, if you mod that unit, then you will actually go far. Google “ECB Smoker” and look at the plethora of information on modifying the Brinkman charcoal smoker to make it function better. Conversely, if you don’t want to mod it, then be prepared to constantly open the door and stir the coals to keep them lit.
As for Logs vs Lump vs Briquettes vs Electric vs Gas vs Liquid Plasma Arrays.....I don’t care. As long as you’re smoking and you know your rig, then have fun and cook some meat.
Finally, about the smoke ring on an electric smoker. A little trick to enhance the smoke ring on an electric rig is to place 1-2 unlit briquettes on the element along with your wood. Try it and you’ll see the difference.
BUT.....the Smoke Ring is really an aesthetic item and is not indicative of the smoke taste. You can have no smoke ring at all and still have deep smokey flavor. The smoke ring is really just a badge for bragging.
And Hell again......I got my current smoker 5 years ago on sale as winter was approaching. Picked it up for 59.99 and it has served me well the past five years. Countless pounds of perfect Q have come off that unit.
Now, Joe took offense to me warning about the Brinkman. I meant a Brinkman charcoal smoker which is the type Doc said he is looking for. See Post #3.
The brinkman charcoal smoker is notorious for being horribly designed. The biggest problem being the fire pan and it’s complete lack of air flow and control. Basically, the “fire pit” in a Brinkman is just another water pan bowl. No holes for air. No grate to lift the coals off the pan’s floor. Nothing. Just a water pan that you stack your coals in. I’ve used many an unmodified Brinkman, and I can tell you that, without air flow, the coals eventually whimper and die out making it all but impossible to maintain good temp. To keep the coals from dying out, you pretty much have to constantly stir them when smoking for longer than an hour.
If someone were to start new to smoking with a Brinkman charcoal smoker and wasn’t aware of the problems with that unit, they could easily get discouraged and be turned off forever from smoking. In fact, the last Brinkman I got was from a co-worker. He bought it, tried it, hated it, and sold it to me for 5 dollars, and as far as I know, never smoked again. But knowing the ECB, I was happy to pay 5 for it, mod it, and turn out good Q on it.
A Brinkman charcoal smoker straight out of the box is a disaster waiting to happen. However, if you mod that unit, then you will actually go far. Google “ECB Smoker” and look at the plethora of information on modifying the Brinkman charcoal smoker to make it function better. Conversely, if you don’t want to mod it, then be prepared to constantly open the door and stir the coals to keep them lit.
As for Logs vs Lump vs Briquettes vs Electric vs Gas vs Liquid Plasma Arrays.....I don’t care. As long as you’re smoking and you know your rig, then have fun and cook some meat.
Finally, about the smoke ring on an electric smoker. A little trick to enhance the smoke ring on an electric rig is to place 1-2 unlit briquettes on the element along with your wood. Try it and you’ll see the difference.
BUT.....the Smoke Ring is really an aesthetic item and is not indicative of the smoke taste. You can have no smoke ring at all and still have deep smokey flavor. The smoke ring is really just a badge for bragging.
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Blues Man
New member
Here's my smoker. You can get this one for less than $100.00. Made several very simple modifications and it works like a champ. I've smoked up to 70 lbs of Boston Butts for pulled pork at one time. I use charcoal as I like the challenge. Just don't trust the temperature gauge on the front.
Try smoking, it's easy and you will be hooked!
Try smoking, it's easy and you will be hooked!
AllenOK
New member
Well, back on the OP topic:
I got the bulk of my wood (Oak and Pecan) via the Dec. '07 Ice Storm here in OK. I still have some, although the Oak needs to be used for BBQ, or just do a big bonfire this Fall.
About a month ago, I scored a load of Pear from a co-worker. Her pear tree came down in the last blizzard that we had in March of this year.
I do have a small bag of Mesquite chunks in the garage. Had them for years. Don't use them much.
FWIW, I do use an older Chargriller w/ SFB to smoke my Q. I got along with it for years, turning out good pulled pork, a load of hot-smoked salmon once, some homemade chipotles, and chicken. Ribs and Brisket never turned out good. THIS YEAR, I finally learned that I needed to do some mod's to the unit to make it really smoke good. I've done better. I've branched out, done Beer Can Chickens, a whole turkey, and some more PP. I really need to try a load of ribs. I need to fabricate a basket and teach myself Minion method, then try to start working with Brisket.
Of course, my family just loves PP.
I got the bulk of my wood (Oak and Pecan) via the Dec. '07 Ice Storm here in OK. I still have some, although the Oak needs to be used for BBQ, or just do a big bonfire this Fall.
About a month ago, I scored a load of Pear from a co-worker. Her pear tree came down in the last blizzard that we had in March of this year.
I do have a small bag of Mesquite chunks in the garage. Had them for years. Don't use them much.
FWIW, I do use an older Chargriller w/ SFB to smoke my Q. I got along with it for years, turning out good pulled pork, a load of hot-smoked salmon once, some homemade chipotles, and chicken. Ribs and Brisket never turned out good. THIS YEAR, I finally learned that I needed to do some mod's to the unit to make it really smoke good. I've done better. I've branched out, done Beer Can Chickens, a whole turkey, and some more PP. I really need to try a load of ribs. I need to fabricate a basket and teach myself Minion method, then try to start working with Brisket.
Of course, my family just loves PP.
AllenOK
New member
Blues Man, we almost posted at the same time!
Got a question for you. I notice you're using Royal Oak. Do you ever get rocks mixed in with your charcoal? Over the years, I've always found a few small rocks mixed in (can't tell until after you burn it). One time, I got a HUGE rock, probably weighed 5 lbs! I prefer the Cowboy Lump, as I've never found a rock mixed in, but that's out of my way to get it.
Got a question for you. I notice you're using Royal Oak. Do you ever get rocks mixed in with your charcoal? Over the years, I've always found a few small rocks mixed in (can't tell until after you burn it). One time, I got a HUGE rock, probably weighed 5 lbs! I prefer the Cowboy Lump, as I've never found a rock mixed in, but that's out of my way to get it.