Stick Burner A$$ Whopping!

I recently picked up a stick burning Klose and you aint kiddin about tending all the darn time. But it is worth it!

Sounds like you didn't get a good bed of coals going.

LOL, my last ECB cook , I went through 6 logs of split hickory and probally 20 pounds of K blue. Not to mention one run away that peeled paint of the little cheap Ba$turd.

Aint it fun!
Hard to imagine these "Texas Smokers " are so frikkin popular.

I dont know how well seasoned your wood is but if its not seasoned well enough the temps will be eratic. The piece of wood on your smoker could be cut in half, lenth wise, or smaller. That should help develope your coal bed and make the fire burn hotter. Try criss-crossing the sticks, tee-pee style, so you get a maximum amount of air flow through your fire also. Run with your intake wide open and controll the heat with the size of your fire.

One open screw hole in the cooking chamber will mess up the works in a small offset like that.

Roman wasn't built in a day. Lol, just hang in there I usually run a little on the high side , hickory also burn hotter, or try larger logs,. But it not going to be like a uds or a charcoal burner.

Thats the way I felt when I was cooking on my NBSS! And honestly, I haven't felt like a glutton for punishment enough to fire up the Bandera. I feel like a pu$$y!

Tom a expanded metal charcoal basket will get you extended load times
I gave up on a similar smoker years ago Yes a UDS would be a nice upgrade

swamprb said:

Thats the way I felt when I was cooking on my NBSS! And honestly, I haven't felt like a glutton for punishment enough to fire up the Bandera. I feel like a pu$$y!

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You first feeling is usually the right one...

Bbq Bubba said:

Sounds like you didn't get a good bed of coals going.

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^^^^^^^^
What he said.

leanza..............;}-

Get some way to monitor your grid temp and the IMT of the meat. then try this method. You have to be alert,but not that hadr. Heck, I'm 61y/o and cripple and I cook like that all the time.Geez,thers kids!LOL
You may need to do some Mods, but you'll be O.K.
here's a shot of my "Little Girl"; I burn her with sticks too:!:





good luck, and

Forgot to enter the link.;(-

Here:

Fire Control in the Offset Firebox Smoker



As a stick burner, I tend to have more hands on during my smoke sessions than the Electric, Gas or Pellet Smokers. But ,then that’s what I enjoy. The involvement in feeding the fire, controlling combustion, and just being close to my Pit. Conversation and friendships flourish in this environment; beer(or other drinks) are definitely in order, as are the snacks you will be creating as you monitor the progress.
And , the result of “showmanship” ensures only YOU are the GO-TO GUY for BBQ in your neighborhood.LOL!

O.K. Say you want to go with just wood. What is first?
Build a fire, be it with a chimney, gas support(weed burner), or the old Boy Scout way.
Let this fire burn until you have a good bed of embers(1 hr. or so). Next, adjust the intake to the temp . you want(your exhaust should be wide open and left that way the entire cook).Do the adjustments slowly and wait between moves.It takes a few to do it.Drink something.
(firewood. Should be about one year old, have no mold or bugs on it, and split to a size your smoker can handle.)

Size of your wood is a factor in maintenance of a fire.
In a smoker the size of “FLO”-(20”X40” with an upright) SFB I can use 16” sticks, split twice or appox. 4”X4”.




however in my New Braunsfeld-(16”X30”)SFB




I use 8” sticks , about 2”X2” in size.

What does this do for me?
I use a thermometer at the grate level of the smoke chamber and one in the thickest part of the meat I am smoking. This gives me a visual of what’s happening, tracking both the IMT(internal meat temp.) and the cooking level temp.
I try to keep the cooking temp. at 220*F to 225*F-giving me a window to work with when things start to change.
I watch for a 5*F to 10*F changes on the grate level therm. When I notice it going down, I add a piece of wood and open the intake just a wee bit, watch and shut it back down when stable. When it increases in temp., I’ll close it down, in increments, until stability occurs .This change can happen quick so be aware. If it gets out of hand you could be fighting an hour to stabilize it…
It takes a little more effort this way , but you will notice a great difference in the taste of your “Q”. I know circumstances call for alternate methods and different strokes for different people, but as for me……………………….
STICK BURNERS RULE!

bbqfans said:

Get some way to monitor your grid temp and the IMT of the meat. then try this method. You have to be alert,but not that hadr. Heck, I'm 61y/o and cripple and I cook like that all the time.Geez,thers kids!LOL
You may need to do some Mods, but you'll be O.K.
here's a shot of my "Little Girl"; I burn her with sticks too:!:

good luck, and

Click to expand...

I have a brinkmann SNP that I use a lot, and I can do a 12 hour cook with maybe 8 lbs of charcoal and couple of small logs.
It does take a little maintenance, but not a lot.

I have went to bed at 10:00pm, and woke up at 6:00am with it holding 225-240

This photo is after about 6 hours

I've done a lot of mods to my offset. As far as fire I placed a rectangular grate (from an ECB) on the bottom of the fire box, which raised the fire for airflow underneath. Then I took the fire ring from my WSM, and used it as a containment area. With a bed of k to start with, I have gotten to where I only need to add wood every 30 mins or so for flavor, as the heat source in mostly the briquettes. I have also installed a baffle and tuning plates in the cook chamber for even heat and smoke distribution. Seems to work ok for me.

I have the same smoker. Have not tried all sticks but have a lot of sucess with KF and wood chunks. Use the minion method. Load coal up in the box. Start a few coals in the chimney. Add the hot coals just to the inside edge of the box so you get a fuse burn. Due to so many leaks I keep it almost completely shut off and tempuratures stay closer to 250-300. Have had a hard time maintaining 225. 12 hour burn took about a whole bag of KF. I did a pork butt in about 6 hours 1/2 bag at about 275 and tasted excellent. I am looking to build a UDS so I can go back to just using it as a grill.