# Question about use of wood for smoking



## jeremymillrood (Nov 12, 2010)

When I first started smoking, I was using mostly lump charcoal and now I have switched to using primarily oak.  For you guys that are using just wood to smoke with, how do you keep from oversmoking the meat?  Obviously when adding more wood to your fire, it has a tendency to smoke up.  This became really apparent when I did my last brisket a couple of weeks ago.  Felt it was too smokey.  Typically I open the firebox all the way and crack the door to my smoke chamber until it is fully burning.  Is there something else I should be doing?  Thanks.


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## venture (Nov 13, 2010)

Most smaller smokers are not designed to be stick burners.

You could try pre burning your wood before adding it to the smoker.  That helps get rid of the billowing white smoke.

Good luck, and good smoking!


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 6, 2011)

wanted to follow back up on this thread.  I know this is by no means the largest smoker, but I think it should be big enough to burn straight wood..That said, why couldn't you burn straight wood in a smaller smoker if you wanted too??

About a week or two back I did an experiment by using just lump charcoal along with some Kingsford briquettes..Up to this point I had been using primarily cut up oak. my maverick wireless said the smoke chamber temp was running between 225 and 250, usually right around the 225 mark.  really never got up much passed that.  I'm betting that if I switched back to straight wood I could get the temps up a little higher.


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## alblancher (Jan 6, 2011)

If you are using an off-set smoker there is nothing wrong with using both charcoal and small, dry splits as a source of fuel.  If you have to much smoke taste and not the nasty, sour creosote taste the problem may be that the food is in the smoke for to long a period of time for your tastes.

If you continually have thick white smoke coming out of your smoker you have a problem with the draft and/or the fuel you are using.  Make sure your splits are DRY.  Dry splits do not burn with thick white smoke for any length of time.  I like to use smaller splits and tend to add small amounts of fuel at a time, from the damper side of my firebox.  The heat in the firebox gets the new splits burning quickly and moves any initial white smoke through the smoke chamber quickly.  You can stack your splits on top of your firebox to let them warm up a bit and dry up any external moisture.

Make sure the meat you start with is dry.  Wet meat acts like a sponge to absorb smoke and can come out greasy.

Don't be afraid to pull the meat out of the smoker and place in the oven to finish cooking. 

I do any number of things to moderate smoke chamber temps.  Small off-sets are a pain in the neck for temperature regulation but a little bit of effort on your part produces some great meals.   

Hope this help,  sometimes it just takes practice.


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## jirodriguez (Jan 6, 2011)

I assume your smoker is the one shown in your avatar picture? If so it isn't really designed for doing just wood..... unless you pre-burn the wood as Venture mentioned. A small home smoker usually does not have enough internal cubic footage and the straight wood smoke ends up being concentrated in a relatively small space - even with all your vents 100% open for max air flow.

Pre-burning is usually accomplished in a small firepit or burn barrel. Basically you light a fire and burn the wood down to coals (lit charcoal) then transfer them to your smoker, repeat as needed for the length of your smoke. This way all the volatiles in the wood that create the white billowy smoke have a chance to burn off before it is put into your smoker. If you have a large wood supply and a place to do this it can be a great way to fuel you smoker on the cheap, if not then just buy lump charcoal and call it good.


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 6, 2011)

Thanks, I had been using dry oak splits, but maybe not dry enough.  Good suggestion about sitting them on top of the fire box..I'll definitely try adding the wood through the damper the next  time.  Still getting used to this smoker, there are a couple of tweaks I'd like to make with the design and I may carry it back to the guy who built it to do a couple of mods..


alblancher said:


> If you are using an off-set smoker there is nothing wrong with using both charcoal and small, dry splits as a source of fuel.  If you have to much smoke taste and not the nasty, sour creosote taste the problem may be that the food is in the smoke for to long a period of time for your tastes.
> 
> If you continually have thick white smoke coming out of your smoker you have a problem with the draft and/or the fuel you are using.  Make sure your splits are DRY.  Dry splits do not burn with thick white smoke for any length of time.  I like to use smaller splits and tend to add small amounts of fuel at a time, from the damper side of my firebox.  The heat in the firebox gets the new splits burning quickly and moves any initial white smoke through the smoke chamber quickly.  You can stack your splits on top of your firebox to let them warm up a bit and dry up any external moisture.
> 
> ...


That's is my old smoker, this is the one I have now.








There is a decent amount of space in there, but you may be right it might not be enough to keep the smoke from concentrating.  I'd thought about doing the pre-burn thing but it just seems to be too much of a hassle.  The lump charcoal I've been using seems to burn up so fast, maybe I need to switch to a different kind.  Like the Green Egg brand or something.  better yet, maybe I'll just get myself a bigger horizontal smoker...now there's a thought.
 


JIRodriguez said:


> I assume your smoker is the one shown in your avatar picture? If so it isn't really designed for doing just wood..... unless you pre-burn the wood as Venture mentioned. A small home smoker usually does not have enough internal cubic footage and the straight wood smoke ends up being concentrated in a relatively small space - even with all your vents 100% open for max air flow.
> 
> Pre-burning is usually accomplished in a small firepit or burn barrel. Basically you light a fire and burn the wood down to coals (lit charcoal) then transfer them to your smoker, repeat as needed for the length of your smoke. This way all the volatiles in the wood that create the white billowy smoke have a chance to burn off before it is put into your smoker. If you have a large wood supply and a place to do this it can be a great way to fuel you smoker on the cheap, if not then just buy lump charcoal and call it good.


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## smokebuzz (Jan 6, 2011)

You should be fine with staight wood with your smoker. I burn wood in my WSM with out any issues, just cut the wood smaller or burn them in half.


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## jirodriguez (Jan 6, 2011)

I would use some expaned metal and make yourself a raised charcoal basket no matter what fuel you decide to use. That way as your fuel burns the ash can fall out the bottom and not smother your fire - which will also help it burn cleaner with less smoke.

I would build this basket with some feet on it to stand it up off the bottom of your firebox by about 3-4 inches: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/89796/i-call-it-the-20-20-charcoal-basket  

For feet you could take some 1/4-20 or 3/8-16 bolts and some washers and nuts to make adjustable height legs. You put one nut and a washer on the bolt about 1" from the end, then put the bolt under the basket with the head of the bolt on the ground. Put on the other washer and the other nut from the inside of the basket, creating a sandwich of nut/washer/basket metal/washer/nut. Run the threads up and down as needed to level the basket and then tighten it all down - lock washers would work best.

You will get much better airflow through your firebox and it will only cost you about $25 bucks to make.


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## alblancher (Jan 6, 2011)

Good comments JRodriguez

Definitely need some air space under your fuel.  Increase temperature and improves draft.


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 7, 2011)

Appreciate all of the input.  I have a grate(not shown in the pic) that sits on the bottom of the box, it has angle iron legs. Thinking it might not be quite high enough off the bottom. I'll snap a pic this weekend.  Oh and thanks for the link JL, I'll be making a trip to Home Depot this weekend..That basket looks to be exactly what I need.


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## pineywoods (Jan 7, 2011)

Personally I would try a raised grate and smaller wood splits. The down side is you will need to add wood more often since you are using the smaller splits.


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 7, 2011)

Thanks Piney, I have a grate, it's just not cutting it..I think it's sitting to close to the bottom of the fire box which is causing the fire to get smothered out once the ash builds up..You're right though, I may have to go down in size with the splits I'm using.  Currently they're anywhere from 12 to 16 inches long and various diameter.  I'll take a pic of what I've been burning this weekend.


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 7, 2011)

ok, just made a trip to Home Depot to get the material to build the basket per eaglewing's thread..I have my weekend project now!!


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 8, 2011)

Built the charcoal basket..Here is a pick of my smoker with the grate I got with it and then with the basket in there. I could have made the bends a little better, but it should get the job done.. Still think I need to raise it up a little to get it closer to the damper.


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## jirodriguez (Jan 9, 2011)

Build the little feet I mentioned in my first post, using some 4" long bolts, washers, and nuts. Then you can adjust the height to whatever works for you.


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 9, 2011)

I got the bolts and washers for the feet, but what I may try first is some pieces of brick to lift the grate up off the bottom.  I think that might do the trick.


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## alblancher (Jan 9, 2011)

I would probably be careful about going outside in the garden and digging up your wife's garden boarder.  Not only will you  hear it from her but I would think that standard brick laying around outside has a lot of moisture in it.  Keep the firebox door closed because you may have some snap, crackle and pop from the brick.  Maybe a piece of new firebrick will work for you. you'll probably be ok but the firebox does get hot.

Al


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 9, 2011)

I'm going to give this set up a try for my next smoke.the pavers give me enough clearance to get my shovel in there so I can clear out the ash if I have to.  Also did a bead of the high temp RTV around the door to help keep the heat in..we'll see how it works.


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 9, 2011)

lol..I definitely didn't dig up the garden border. Picked up some new from the local hardware store..I'll check around for the fire brick..do they have that at Lowes?
 


alblancher said:


> I would probably be careful about going outside in the garden and digging up your wife's garden boarder.  Not only will you  hear it from her but I would think that standard brick laying around outside has a lot of moisture in it.  Keep the firebox door closed because you may have some snap, crackle and pop from the brick.  Maybe a piece of new firebrick will work for you. you'll probably be ok but the firebox does get hot.
> 
> Al


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## shoneyboy (Jan 9, 2011)

Great thread and a lot of good ideals...Thanks to everone, I have enjoyed the thread....and all the ideals. I'm looking to build a new smoker soon and keep everones ideals in mind when thinking about what I want and what I need from my new smoker. Shoneyboy


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## SmokinAl (Jan 10, 2011)

Looks to me like you have it nailed. I think this will work fine. Let us know how it turns out.
 


jeremymillrood said:


> I'm going to give this set up a try for my next smoke.the pavers give me enough clearance to get my shovel in there so I can clear out the ash if I have to.  Also did a bead of the high temp RTV around the door to help keep the heat in..we'll see how it works.


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks Al..guess we'll have to see what happens during the next smoke..


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## danny45 (Jan 12, 2011)

I'm new and still learning but here is what I've done over the past few weeks.  I have a Hondo off-set smoker, and charcoal alone just doen't get that huge cooking chamber hot enough, nor does it keep it at the right temp long enough.  So I have to use wood.  I start off with whatever wood I want to have the dominant flavor on top of a bed of coals.  That may be Apple for poultry, or hickory for beef.  Once that is going good and the temp is regulated, I don't throw in any more of that type of wood.  I go to a milder flavored wood such as Pecan. 

So far, a turkey, two racks of ribs, two bolognas, and a whole herd of chicken have turned out pretty good.

Jeremy, I like your mods to your fire box.  But I couldn't help notice (and I didn't read everyone's response so if addressed, please forgive me), I couldn't find your air inlet into the fire box.


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 13, 2011)

Thanks Danny..Actually I'm having a buddy of mine build me a custom charcoal basket out of stainless expanded metal and it will have legs as well..Plan is to weld it together so it fits almost the exact dimensions of the firebox.  I'll post pics up once it is done. 

Here is a pic on the air inlet.


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 16, 2011)

Ok, I think I've got it right now.  Had a friend build me a box for inside my fire box out of 5/16th steel with legs, punched holes in it with a plasma cutter and made the bottom out of expanded metal. this gets it up higher and should allow me to build a better fire.  take a look and let me know what you think.

Before







After


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## SmokinAl (Jan 17, 2011)

That looks like a perfect solution. Let us know how it works out.


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 31, 2011)

The new set up works great, actually a little too great..  this weekend I filled the basket with some large pieces of oak that I used as my primary fuel.  Lit a chimneys worth of lump charcoal and dumped it on top to get everything going..After about 1/2 hour the fire was going really well.  My Tru-tel therm on the door read about 225 degree and my ET-72 was reading about 260 - 270, so it was a little hot..I closed the baffle between the fire box and smoke chamber about half way and shut the intake down to less than a quarter open..The ET-72 fluctuated between 260 and 275 the whole time and the fire burned this way for about the next 3 hours..Other than move the wood around inside the box a time or two I really didn't have to do much else. 

So my question is this, what can I do to get the temps down??  Should I close the baffle even further, or should I put some sand or water in pan to act as a heat break?  Don't think I can close the intake anymore than it already was without completely choking out the fire..


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## jirodriguez (Jan 31, 2011)

jeremymillrood said:


> The new set up works great, actually a little too great..  this weekend I filled the basket with some large pieces of oak that I used as my primary fuel.  Lit a chimneys worth of lump charcoal and dumped it on top to get everything going..After about 1/2 hour the fire was going really well.  My Tru-tel therm on the door read about 225 degree and my ET-72 was reading about 260 - 270, so it was a little hot..I closed the baffle between the fire box and smoke chamber about half way and shut the intake down to less than a quarter open..The ET-72 fluctuated between 260 and 275 the whole time and the fire burned this way for about the next 3 hours..Other than move the wood around inside the box a time or two I really didn't have to do much else.
> 
> So my question is this, what can I do to get the temps down??  Should I close the baffle even further, or should I put some sand or water in pan to act as a heat break?  Don't think I can close the intake anymore than it already was without completely choking out the fire..


You probably have to catch the temps on the way up and damp down earlier. Once you let a wood or charcoal fire get hotter than you want it can be a bear getting it to come back down. Also maybe start with a smaller fire - easier to add than take away.


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## jeremymillrood (Jan 31, 2011)

JIRodriguez said:


> jeremymillrood said:
> 
> 
> > The new set up works great, actually a little too great..  this weekend I filled the basket with some large pieces of oak that I used as my primary fuel.  Lit a chimneys worth of lump charcoal and dumped it on top to get everything going..After about 1/2 hour the fire was going really well.  My Tru-tel therm on the door read about 225 degree and my ET-72 was reading about 260 - 270, so it was a little hot..I closed the baffle between the fire box and smoke chamber about half way and shut the intake down to less than a quarter open..The ET-72 fluctuated between 260 and 275 the whole time and the fire burned this way for about the next 3 hours..Other than move the wood around inside the box a time or two I really didn't have to do much else.
> ...


Good suggestion...Hadn't thought about damping it down earlier, and you're also right, I probably could have used about half the amount of wood.


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## jirodriguez (Jan 31, 2011)

LOL... I speak from experience. Been more than a few times I let my WSM get away from me and I would be trying to damp it down after it had passed 300° - I can tell you it aint easy getting 16 lbs. of charcoal to want to come DOWN in temperature... lol.


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## oldschoolbbq (Jan 31, 2011)

Jeremy, you can and I do myself.I have a smallish 16"er by New Braunsfeld(a precursor to the ones Horizon makes now-heavy) and a big Tejas.

I burn wood only(thus my name) and intend to use wood in my UDS when I finish her.

The trick is to get a small hot fire,feed it with wood when she starts to drop temp.I had some really good shots of my fires bvut a computer worm ate every thing.

My pieces are usually 3"X3"X8" or so and YES it is a lot more work,but worth it. Oh, when you put your wood in it should almost catch fire immediately.

Pre-heating the wood on top of your fire box helps too
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





The wood catching quicky helps in not getting the dreaded "white" smoke,and creating a nice blue,barely visible, wispy smoke ;remember , you don't have to see smoke to get the effect, if it smells like smoke it is doing what you want.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 Hope this helps and always remember,


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## jeremymillrood (Feb 1, 2011)

Gentlemen, thanks again for the information. 

Oldschool, I'll give that a try and start with a smaller fire. I also probably need to do a better job making sure the wood is completely dry.  My stack was kicking out the TBS after about 45 minutes into the initial burn.  Anyway, I'll mess around with it some more and see if I can bring those temps down earlier and post back.  Will try to take some picture too.


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## sqwib (Feb 1, 2011)

If using lump in that box try snaking it around.

I think you would be ok if using just splits on the grate about 2" square bay 8-10" long.I think oldschool nailed it

I have to use the smaller splits and sometimes will add two or three, the idea here is to keep a small controlled fire and a decent bed of coals.

also you can place splits in the firebox about six inches or so from the fire.

What I have done to concentrate my fire a little better is to use a basket similar to the one you just made.

Ton of good advice.

here is a pic of what I just started using recently.


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