Just a hardwood fire for smoking

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mainesmoker

Found some matches.
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Has anyone used just a hardwood to smoke without the charcoal.
I would think you could get a good bed of coals going and then shut it down. I was thinking of trying it when i get back home. Any feedback would be appreciated.
 
What kind of smoker? I think you've got the right idea in getting a good bed of coals, but why shut it down then? Adjust your intake and keep the fire to the minimum needed to maintain temps.
 
Ron_L said:
What kind of smoker? I think you've got the right idea in getting a good bed of coals, but why shut it down then? Adjust your intake and keep the fire to the minimum needed to maintain temps.
Click to expand...

Beat me to it:p
 
Not trying to be too sarcastic, but do you think that way might have been the original way of building a fire and smoking meat. Smoking meat didn't begin when charcoal was invented. Just a thought. Stick burner...here's your wide open door bros!
 
That was my idea i have all kinds of different hardwood i can use (kids might get cold this winter but they will eat good). Im building a horizonal offset, i think it would do well in that.
 
There are some outstanding cooks on here that use nothing but wood. It is pretty cool to watch the ones that have mastered it. I am not that talented. Hope some of them chime in.
 
It is a great way to go. You may need to work with it a bit to get fire management down, but if you have a good cheap (or free) source of wood it is definitely the way to go.


 
Attrill, I love that pic. Looks to me the way the lighting is that it may just be about 8:00 a.m. but that beer is sitting there all but kicked. Smoke on brother.

Also looking for advice on stick burning, in particular with a UDS...impossible because of no way to feed fire?
 
I have found that controlling the burn down to coals to be the trick, I am still not able to get a consistent fire, hence I use charcoal. But, it works fine when I get it right.
 
42BBQ said:
Attrill, I love that pic. Looks to me the way the lighting is that it may just be about 8:00 a.m. but that beer is sitting there all but kicked. Smoke on brother.

Also looking for advice on stick burning, in particular with a UDS...impossible because of no way to feed fire?
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yep - around 7:30 and starting up a couple briskets at the far end from the fire. I think we ate around 9 or 10PM. After I got the briskets going I went back to bed for an hour or so, hence the beer and no coffee. I probably went back to beer around noon or 1 :wink:. Once that wood burned down to coals I threw two more sticks on and damped down the fire. I usually get 1-2 hours of smoking at 225 out of that set up.

I think offsets were made for cooking with logs and sticks. Using lump or briquettes as the main fire source makes it a lot harder to run an offset. The opposite is true with a UDS or WSM. They were built for lump or briquettes, and they are harder to run with wood. I've done a few all wood smokes on a WSM and just took sticks (about the same size in the photo) and chopped them into 2 to 3" pieces on a chop saw. Just treat them like charcoal and expect them to burn a bit hotter, and possibly out more quickly, than charcoal and you should be set.
 
mainesmoker said:
Pretty much a unlimited supply to experiment with just need to go pick out a tree and cut it down.
Click to expand...

You are a lucky man! I would guess maple is fairly easy to find around you. It's a lighter wood and is really versatile for smoking. The general guidelines are to to stick to branches or trunks larger than 2" in diameter and let it dry for 6-12 months if it is green.

I would imagine you also can find some Oak, Hickory, and Black Cherry. Those are also excellent woods to smoke or grill with.
 
The first time I did an all wood cook, I got WAY too much smoke,,,almost a bitter taste on the meat.
Now I do it like the pic Attrill posted. Build a big fire in the pit and put the meat on after the wood has burned down to coals. I then start a separate fire to burn down the wood and add to the pit as needed. And, like Attrill, I use small splits or chunks rather than larger logs. They burn down quicker and its easier (for me, anyway) to guage how much to add each hour or so to keep the temp consistant.
 
I burn nothing but wood in my homemade reverse flow offset. Mostly white oak with some hickory, apple, and peach thrown in. All the wood is split down small, and has been seasoned at least a year. The key is burning small fires once the bed of coals is established, pre-heating the wood, maintaining the thin blue smoke, and not putting the meat in the smoker until the temp is where you want it and the smoke is blue (not white).
 
Short answer.... That's all I ever use for cooking in my offset. Funny thing is, I've been thinking about maybe trying some of this "lump charcoal" you all talk about...
 
Thanks for all the good info it reinforces what i was thinking. Im going to give it a try when i get back from alaska. Been using charcoal and then wood but this will add a new challenge to the smoking. I use mostly maple but we have a variety of different wood avalible to me.
 
Meat Burner said:
Not trying to be too sarcastic, but do you think that way might have been the original way of building a fire and smoking meat. Smoking meat didn't begin when charcoal was invented. Just a thought. Stick burner...here's your wide open door bros!
Click to expand...

Back then it was just called cooking.
 
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