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weber as a stick burner

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LT72884

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Ello all. I have a question. Is it possible to use a weber and have it fueled by just splits? IE, have a small fire to one side with splits and use it to smoke some food? or is the space to small? what if i had a 55 galon drum on its side and make a grill out of it but put the fire to one side? will it still be to hot?

thanks
 
I'm with Blu,pass the mason jar or whatever........Burn Barrel cuz.:thumb:
 
You could actually fuel a Weber Kettle with wood. I would go with small chunks, not long logs or splits. You would have to start your fire early, and get a bed of coals glowing, and add small amounts of wood to keep it going. Or, you could get some wood burning in a fire pit, and add hot coals while you cook.

The key is to be able to have a good bed of coals on the Weber, and add fuel as needed. If you are adding raw wood, you'll want to add small amounts at a time.

So, yeah, I think it is possible, but you will have to plan your cook, and keep a close eye on it.

CD
 
caseydog said:
You could actually fuel a Weber Kettle with wood. I would go with small chunks, not long logs or splits. You would have to start your fire early, and get a bed of coals glowing, and add small amounts of wood to keep it going. Or, you could get some wood burning in a fire pit, and add hot coals while you cook.

The key is to be able to have a good bed of coals on the Weber, and add fuel as needed. If you are adding raw wood, you'll want to add small amounts at a time.

So, yeah, I think it is possible, but you will have to plan your cook, and keep a close eye on it.

CD
Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken, Greg from Ballistic BBQ on YouTube did some steaks this very way using red oak splits burned down to coals, just for flavor.
 
mbshop said:
i suppose you could but why ??
Click to expand...

cuz i have not enough money for a stick burner. haha. Maybe it would be best to dig a hole in the ground about 2 feet deep, feel it with splits, make a nice bed of embers, and then add some dry splits to it like a stick burner and try to get the same flavor as a stick burner.


my goal is to get the same flavor as a stick burner with what i have on hand for the time being. haha

thanks
 
why not cut the splits to chunks and add them in the webber on top of lump coal and there's the smoke flavor... or am i missing something?
 
I have done it but controlling temperature was nearly impossible. IF you can get a good bed of coals going you should be able to manage it better.
 
That is what the burn barrel is for,burn the wood in the barrel and add the hot embers as needed to maintain desired temp in the weber.
 
I've done a cook on my kettle using nothing but wood chunks. Started a chimney of chunks, let those warm the kettle up while warming some more chunks on the cool side of the grate and added them before cooking. Of course, I was doing a high temp (About 300~325) and it was an experiment that actually worked, but using lump (Which is, after all, wood) is far cheaper for me...
 
Hoss said:
That is what the burn barrel is for,burn the wood in the barrel and add the hot embers as needed to maintain desired temp in the weber.
Click to expand...

This would work, but defeats the purpose of the WSM being a set-it-and-forget-it charcoal BBQ pit.
 
HolySmoke said:
why not cut the splits to chunks and add them in the webber on top of lump coal and there's the smoke flavor... or am i missing something?
Click to expand...
ello guys. busy day today. it is the wifes b day to morrow and her moms the other day. lol so i have been booked. I also have a cookin class i have been scheduling to teach soon.

anyway, holysmoke, i should explain something. You are missing something. and i didnt mention it on this thread. haha. but i have in the past. I have tried 7 or 8 different ways of bbq smoking. from electric, gas, straight lump with no wood, lump with wood, briqs with and with out wood. lump non minion method with wood, lump non minion method with no wood, briqs non minion with and with out wood. and last but not least, plain ol stick burner. by far the stick burner was the BEST and right below that was gas/electric. Those are what produced a flavor i like. Now for the cahrcoal side, i still love it, just a way diff flavor than the stick burner. I like all bbq but i tend to lean towards a stick burner or in emergencies, lump non minon method with wood. so thats why im trying to use chunks in the weber or if i had the space, real pit cooking. I think that is my summer goal. pit cooking with a pit in the ground. haha.

thanks guys
 
Yes, it can be done, it is a hassle and you will not get the same flavor as a sidewheeler. The key to smoking with a traditional stickburner with a side fire box is the draft of the cooker. It isn't just the fire source, it is also how the heat and smoke move around the meat. Every cooker has a different taste.

That being said, if you were to use a kiln to burn the wood to coals, then shoveled small amounts of coal into the Weber with the vents all open, controlling the heat with the amount of coal you add, as opposed to closing the vents, you might just get a good product. But, it will be a lot of fuss.
 
landarc said:
Yes, it can be done, it is a hassle and you will not get the same flavor as a sidewheeler. The key to smoking with a traditional stickburner with a side fire box is the draft of the cooker. It isn't just the fire source, it is also how the heat and smoke move around the meat. Every cooker has a different taste.

That being said, if you were to use a kiln to burn the wood to coals, then shoveled small amounts of coal into the Weber with the vents all open, controlling the heat with the amount of coal you add, as opposed to closing the vents, you might just get a good product. But, it will be a lot of fuss.
Click to expand...
yeah i have done that. its hard. i used my chimney to always keep a pile of lump going. i would then add that to the weber every hour or so. i kept it at 275 for most of the cook. turned out a good product BUT very time consuming.

im begining tho think that im gonna have to save for a small offset. maybe one from lowes or home depot. OR just make a really nice open fire pit and have the food to the side of the fire like the salt lick in texas does. haha. or i can dig a hole and do it the ol school way.
 
LT72884 said:
im begining tho think that im gonna have to save for a small offset. maybe one from lowes or home depot. OR just make a really nice open fire pit and have the food to the side of the fire like the salt lick in texas does. haha. or i can dig a hole and do it the ol school way.
Click to expand...

I just went thru a long, grueling 2 weeks of looking at offset smokers on this level. Do yourself a favor. Save a little longer and look at Horizon, Yoder, or something in the $1000 range. The Smoke Hollow, Brinkmann, Oklahoma Joe's, etc, just aren't worth the money, and you'll end up on the forums on the verge of insanity needing the brethren to pull you out of the depths of despair.
 
djoseph74 said:
I just went thru a long, grueling 2 weeks of looking at offset smokers on this level. Do yourself a favor. Save a little longer and look at Horizon, Yoder, or something in the $1000 range. The Smoke Hollow, Brinkmann, Oklahoma Joe's, etc, just aren't worth the money, and you'll end up on the forums on the verge of insanity needing the brethren to pull you out of the depths of despair.
Click to expand...

well, dang. ok thats actually good to know. i dont like the whole hassle of cheap stuff. haha
 
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