flavor of a stick burner

[stephan]

I have owned both type of smokers and to me there is a difference in smoke flavor. Yes there is more to learning to run a stick burner but it is hardly the last word in BBQ. I will argue about which taste better, taste is totally subjective and something an individual has to decide. Go to any comp and see what the contestants are using to cook with.

[jestridge]

I never worry about fire control (whatever in hel lis that) In simple termI cook meat over a wood fire on various forms of equiptment

[LT72884]

Originally Posted by stephan

I have owned both type of smokers and to me there is a difference in smoke flavor. Yes there is more to learning to run a stick burner but it is hardly the last word in BBQ. I will argue about which taste better, taste is totally subjective and something an individual has to decide. Go to any comp and see what the contestants are using to cook with.

i agree. taste is totally dependant one the person tasting it. To me, stick burner tastes better than charcoal on certain food. If i use lump charcoal, i do not use any wood agents at all.

thanks guys for all the awesome input

[I like Bigbutts]

When I first got my Jambo I had to try something. Never having used a stick burner I threw on some beef ribs. What got me even before I tasted it was the beautiful carmel color....not black. Course the flavor was awesome but for some reason the color made me think of purity of light smoke......

[LT72884]

ok, i just had some Q from a southern pride gas smoker. It turned out some good Q. I could not taste the gas at all. just nice wood flavor on the meat. I asked them if the wood smolders or actually catches fire. To my surprise, the wood was actually on fire in the fire box. I know that sounds odd that i asked if the wood was on fire, but i wanted to know so i could compere it to how it differs from stick burners and vertical style cookers. haha.

thanks all

[bam]

My dad said if you don't have a burn barrel you should go use your oven.

[Boshizzle]

I haven't read all the responses in this thread, but, IMO, a stick burner produces superior results. When I want to cook my best BBQ I pull out the stick burner and use white oak or hickory or a mix of both.

[Zin]

Smoking with a live fire will always beat smoking with a smoldering fire. You get good results either way but the clean burning fire is King.

[Murray in N.Z.]

When I first started smokin pork I used my 30 year old home made, low temp, verticle chest fish smoker, Wood fired of course. Burned the firebox out of it cooking pork at a hotter temp and so made a UDS Till I get old one fixed.
Ive used the UDS with lump and wood chunks, lump only, compressed charcoal blocks (excellent long burn time) and with wood only.

Wood is a more difficult burn requiring a lot more attention but to everyones (wife n me, kids eat anything so long as its free!) tastes produces a better smoke. I will not do fish on anything but wood, too many failures with charcoal.

But am really looking forward to flying home and firing up the UDS and doing some PP when I finish my current tasking at New Years. Gosh I miss the thin blue whilst working in the desert, over here its impossible to get charcoal and smoke always means someone is about to or already has had thier day ruined one way or another so is verboten.

Muzza.

[LT72884]

here is an interesting question. if i were to burn some oak down to ember stage, would it produce the same flavor as oak lump that is in ember stage? i know that sounds like an odd question but i have often wondered if there is a difference.

In a stick burner, what creates the smoke? the embers or the newly added fule catching fire? thanks.

[Drh7003]

Originally Posted by Bludawg

Wood has flavor compounds in it charcoal is neutral. Think of it as the difference between a Nice Bourbon and Everclear. Before it is aged in Oak Barrels the Bourbon has some flavor but the oak is what makes it. Everclear is filtered through Carbon( main ingredient in Briquettes) to remove flavors to create a truly neutral spirit, or so I'm tole.
So from this we can see that there is more flavor in all wood. where the Charcoal and Chips/Chunks only creates some based on how much wood is added to it to produce the flavor compounds.

Charcoal briquettes also have coal mixed in them. It definitely imparts a flavor, different than real wood.

[NorthwestBBQ]

Originally Posted by LT72884

ok, i just had some Q from a southern pride gas smoker. It turned out some good Q. I could not taste the gas at all. just nice wood flavor on the meat. I asked them if the wood smolders or actually catches fire. To my surprise, the wood was actually on fire in the fire box. I know that sounds odd that i asked if the wood was on fire, but i wanted to know so i could compere it to how it differs from stick burners and vertical style cookers. haha.

thanks all

The Southern Pride burns full sized logs. It only uses the gas to light them and maintain temp if the logs burn up. If will then alert the operator to add more wood. They are gas/computer assisted stick burners in a pretty stainless box. Guy Fieri calls them big boy BBQ's.

[Hawg Father of Seoul]

Originally Posted by NorthwestBBQ

The Southern Pride burns full sized logs. It only uses the gas to light them and maintain temp if the logs burn up. If will then alert the operator to add more wood. They are gas/computer assisted stick burners in a pretty stainless box. Guy Fieri calls them big boy BBQ's.

I have seen you say this a few times. Yes you can use a SP or Ole Hickory like this, but most just throw a couple of logs on and let the gas do the rest.

That is why they have the bad rep. We just have to accept that people like the easy way out if they lack the passion. We are in the minority.

[Bludawg]

Originally Posted by NorthwestBBQ

The Southern Pride burns full sized logs. It only uses the gas to light them and maintain temp if the logs burn up. If will then alert the operator to add more wood. They are gas/computer assisted stick burners in a pretty stainless box. Guy Fieri calls them big boy BBQ's.

You just shot yourself in the foot. The prosecution rests.

[Gasket]

The first bb-q restaurant I worked for had two huge SP's, I think they might have been 750's or maybe even the 1400 model. they were pretty much gas powered ovens that burned full sized logs outside in a separate chamber for some smoke flavor. They required no skill to operate but they turned out some fairly tasty "Q".