# First charcoal smoke disaster. Q-View



## big e (Jan 29, 2008)

It went bad... really bad. The fire that is not the food. The food was excellent, but only because I pulled it out of hell and away from the fire god.

So I swapped pans and proceeded to load it full of lump charcoal. Well not full. I did place my metal seperater in the middle in an attempt to use the minion method the (pisc below). I know what went wrong. The whole pan went up at once. It looked really good for the first 30 or so mins and it went down hill real quick.

I managed to pull my ABT's and chicken off without incident. The abt's were done and the chicken was finished in the oven. Surprisingly enough everything had a real nice smoky taste (applewood). All of the food was great and well received by the family (very important for your first real smoke). 

So the mistakes were hidden from the family and everyone was full. Now its time to figure out what went wrong. I even burned up my Poller probe. Time for a new one I guess. It did last a whole week.

My thoughts are that I used way too much fuel. Half a pan or less would have been sufficient. As for the minion method... thoughts???


Also got a shot of my little homemade ABT rack. It worked great.

ABT's were stuffed with a mix of creme cheese sharp, chedder, chopped onion, garlic powder, onion powder, franks hot sauce and some worcestershire. Topped off with some turkey bacon ans smoked with apple wood.

The chicken was brined for 12 hrs in 1gal water, 1/2C, 1/3C sugar, onion and garlic powder 2tsp each.

Wonderful!











When it was going right (below)



And after the SHTF!



and the ABT's



No pics of the chicken. We ate it too quickly for pics.


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## striding man (Jan 29, 2008)

Well BigE Ican't help on what went wrong, but at least you managed to save the chicken and the ABT's, and everyone enjoyed the meal. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			





What did you make your ABT rack out of?


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## fishawn (Jan 29, 2008)

Don't be so hard on yourself!......Great Photo's & the ABT's looks great. 
I have done a lot worse than that! (More than once) & have finished a few things up in the oven because my BBQ caught on fire. I have yet to catch the smoker on fire so far, but...........


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## big e (Jan 29, 2008)

Thanks,

Made it out of a cheap 99 cent rack from Wally World. 5 mins with a pair of side cutters and pliers and that's what I came up with.

I just cut out every other rung and cut the sides to make some legs. 

Here's how it started out. I make jerky on these too.


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## ds7662 (Jan 29, 2008)

HMMMM! I have never had that problem using the minion method.
Might have tried placing unlit coals to one side of pan and the lit coals to the other. 
I see alot of holes in that pan for air movement. Are there anyway to close them?
All that air I am sure is what made it take off like a rocket.


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## bassman (Jan 29, 2008)

The last time I used my ECB, I did the same but didn't catch it until it had turned the ribs black.  They tasted good, but I sure didn't take any pictures!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   Trying to smoke in the cold, wind and snow prompted me to get the Smoke Vault which I'll use at least until spring gets here.                     Keith


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## gramason (Jan 29, 2008)

Like ds said, try putting the unlit coals on one side, and put the hot coals on the other, so they just touch the unlits. I do mine like a horseshoe, and put the lit coals at one end so it burns around.


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## ron50 (Jan 29, 2008)

Looks like a nice save. The important things are a hero with the family for producing a tasty meal and you learned from your mistake. I would try for more of a domino type effect where the lit coals dont ignite the next bunch until they are almost consumed. It also looks like you used too much charcoal but what do I know, I'm a gas burner :)


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## zdave (Jan 29, 2008)

Did you use a water pan, and if yes, did it boil off?  I couldn't tell from the pics.  Sorry I can't be of more help.  I use a larger version of that Char-Broil gas grill you have in the background to smoke.


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## packplantpath (Jan 29, 2008)

So, how hot are we talking here?  Just out of curiosity, I wonder how hot it is possible to get one of those bullets if you really pump it to it.


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## richtee (Jan 29, 2008)

Wow. Could have forged iron on that puppy! I don't use the Minion, I just hang around and keep an eye on things and add when needed. But the others may have hit it right on- as the center burns outward, you are adding 3.14156 times more heat area for every ring that goes up..if my intuitive math skills are right. The number may be wrong, but the theory is sound.

Start at one side of the pan.


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## smokeys my pet (Jan 29, 2008)

Good save! Be sure when using minion to stack and start the hot coals on one side not in the middle. At least thats how it kinda looked in the pics.

Anyway good save and do not let it discourage you to continue this wonderful aart of smoking cause it is sooooooooooo worth it!!!!


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## big e (Jan 29, 2008)

Yea she got really hot really quick. I didn't even have time to get an actual high temp reading. My Poller went from 250 to 350 (where I wanted to be) and then to 400 in a heart beat. After that it was just "HI" on the readout. The probe was blown. I pulled the lid off ad the unit was still showing 400 at the grill before the probe blew.

Al I know is that the sides of my smoker went from a nice red to a brown red. The heat really got up there. I pulled the topend off just in time. I may have set the record for the fastest smoked ABT's.

Does anyone have (or would be willing to) post a pic of how they load their ECB. Pics are worth a thousand words. I could use a visual.

Also, Yes I was using a water pan. It didn't have time to boil off. It all went up like a house of matches.


I aint done by a longshot. It can't be rocket science. I just have to keep from melting my smoker.

Thanks 

BIG E


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## richtee (Jan 29, 2008)

Also, try stacking in a "star" arrangement

.............O..O..O..O..O
...............O...O...O
..................O.O.O
....................OO
And duplicate at the bottom, and sides of course.
<Ignore the dots, spacing thing>


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## big e (Jan 29, 2008)

Should I have a full pan of charcoal? It sure seems like I used a lot of fuel.

Should it be a single layer and then just add when needed?


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## richtee (Jan 29, 2008)

I'd load it out to the rim. The idea here is to keep approx. the same amount of coals going constantly...therefore keeping the heat constant.


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## bbq bubba (Jan 29, 2008)

Hey Big E, why does that look like a bottom to a electric ECB??
You can't burn charcoal in their bro, no air adjustment, all them hole's, no matter how you stack it, it's gonna take off on ya.....IMO!


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## richtee (Jan 29, 2008)

I dunno Bubba, I have not used minion, but I did drill a crapload of 3/8 holes in my firepan. And I think it IS the bottom of an electric. Won't last long for sure. But the fire can only spread by conduction, so it SHOULD work- at least better than his last run.


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## smoker matt 54 (Jan 29, 2008)

Some hardware stores sell the small Smoky Joe charcoal replacement grates. I had a problem getting my heat up so I put the grate in the charcoal pan to give it airflow for heat...It worked! Make sure there are holes in the charcoal pan, if you do all this youll be smokin!! PS use lump charcoal, it burns hotter and longer. Good luck next time.


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## kookie (Jan 29, 2008)

Hey 

I am not a charcoal smoker so I can't help you there. But I just wanted to say I like your rack you made for abt's. I might have to make one like that. 

Smoke on

Kookie


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## habaneroman (Jan 29, 2008)

This is the same smoker I have... only Green... anyway, I would say you had way toooooo many brickets in there.

I find that only using say a 1/4 of what I see in there right now works fine.
This way, when you see the temp going down... just add some more.

This looks like you were wanting a bonfire, not a controlled smoke!! LOL...

We learn from our mistakes... that is a good thing!!

Your ABT's looked great... was that Fake Bacon(turkey)??


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## flash (Jan 29, 2008)

Ding, Ding. I agree. Chicken is probably a 2 1/2 hour smoke. Maybe 1/4 to 1/2 a pan at best. Good save though.


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## white cloud (Jan 30, 2008)

At least all was not lost. that bacon, what kind or brand is that ? it just looks different from what I usually get.


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## striding man (Jan 30, 2008)

Thanks BigE, I'll have to check out Wallyworld.


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## big e (Jan 30, 2008)

Hey Bubba,

Yes, it is a elec smoker, but i did some lookin st the Lowes and the only difference between the elec and the charcoal is the pan. So I procured a new charcoal pan.


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## big e (Jan 30, 2008)

Yep used the turkey bacon and I gotta say that I like it much better. Regular bacon didn't render down enough for me and still seemed real fatty. I'm sureI could precook the bacon first, but this was easier and less fat too.


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