Seasoned Smoker but New Here

[red oak]

Hello,

My name is Ed and I live in Northern Virginia.  I have been smoking meats for many, many years and love it.  Long live the Butts!!!!.  I received an Oklahoma Joe Highland for Fathers's Day.  It is assembled but not seasoned.  I did the high temp sealer between the two firebox halves and between the fire box and smoking chamber.  I have some Lavalock tape but want to give it a dry run to see where and how big any any leaks are.  I'll clean all surfaces with acetone and tape up as needed.

I am planning to use this as a "stick burner" which will be new to me.  I have always used charcoal/wood chunks in the past.

Any pointers or existing posts on managing a wood only fire is greatly appreciated.   I have a wood pile of oak and hickory so wood is plentiful.  Once I get the unit seasoned and sealed, I'll do my first butt.

Thanks to all and I look forward to participating here.

Ed

 

[millerbuilds]

Welcome Aboard Ed!

This is a great reference site made up of a bunch of wonderful folks who love the art of smoking.

I have a stick burner as well.  I still though many times start with a small load of charcoal to bring her up to temp. I add wood and no longer at charcoal.

Couple things I have learned...

- Try and get your splits to be in 3  uniform sizes (small, med, large) this will allow you to keep your temp and fire consistent

- I believe debarking the splits makes for a better tasting smoke.

- I use a small portable fire pit to get my splits going mid smoke, this allows me to keep from getting the white billowing smoke. 

Hope this helps!
 

Smoke ON!

-Jason

 

[red oak]

Thanks for the welcome!!

I plan to use a base of charcoal to get the wood going.  Concerning the wood, I recently split two cords of oak and hickory and, for the most part, the split wood is consistent in size.  All pieces are 18 inches long.  I am going to cut these in to 6 inch and 9 inch chunks and experiment until I get the best mix.

Ed

 

[gary s]

  Good evening and welcome to the forum, from an  overcast and warm breezy  day here in East Texas. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about  everything. 

Gary

 

[red oak]

Gary,

Thanks.....I can identify with the warm, breezy East Texas days.  I grew up in Texarkana, Texas.  Just think, you still have August to go through weather-wise.  Hot and humid.  After a 20 year career in the USAF and 25 years with one of the defense firms, I settled in Northern Va. I am looking forward to sharing smoking war stories.

 

[gary s]

 
Gary,

Thanks.....I can identify with the warm, breezy East Texas days.  I grew up in Texarkana, Texas.  Just think, you still have August to go through weather-wise.  Hot and humid.  After a 20 year career in the USAF and 25 years with one of the defense firms, I settled in Northern Va. I am looking forward to sharing smoking war stories.

Hey, Thank you for your service.  I will in Texarkana tomorrow,

Gary