New to stick burning

[blackdogbbq21]

Hello all new to the forum. I've been a long time weber smokey mountain user that wanted to take a shot at learning to stick burn. I came across a great deal on an Oklahoma joe highland that I decided to buy to mess around with before I invested in more expensive bbq.

So far I've only done one rib cook. The ribs came out pretty good for my first time but I for sure need to get more practice getting the fire to stabilize better. For the cook I started with a full chimney of lump charcoal and a split of seasoned oak about 9" long and just slightly wider than a soda can in diameter, one split at a time. My goal was to aim for about 250 to cook at. When I was letting the bbq heat up I overshot the temp and tried to let it settle into the 250 that I was hoping to cook at. My plan was letting the temp drop to 230ish before I added another split. I noticed that I was consistently getting a spike of 50-75 degrees every time I added a split. I've read Aaron Franklins book and was keeping the fire box door open about an inch to keep a combusting flame. The fire ran pretty clean overall. I did try shutting the door once with the vent all the way open and I lost the flame and the split smoldered which was my only dirty smoke.

My thought for my next attempt is to try even smaller splits and see if that helps. Just wondering if anyone had any other advice for my next attempt.

 

[tom b]

you can try smaller splits or just let it run where it is happy

 

[SmittyJonz]

50* swings is Pretty normal on a lower to midrange Pit -want to average 250* you bounce between 225* n 275*. I like 275* so I bounce between 250* to 300*. More charcoal base and slightly smaller splits should get it to 50* swings instead of 75*, But you said you started with a full chimney - that should be plenty. You may need to add charcoal during cook if your wood is drier and not producing a lot of red coals ( burning to Ash too fast). May need to try briquettes instead of lump and go slightly bigger on wood. Just have to experiment and see what works for you.

 

[pjtexas1]

smaller splits will help but you should not have any issues with the current temp swings.

 

[kendall]

Let me ask a ( maybe ) dumb question...
we heated with wood when I was a kid, Me and my older brothers job was
take the cut up rounds and split them into 1/4's or 1/8's.

so for smoking do you actually add small pieces split from bigger pieces
or is split a generic term for the wood used?

enquiring minds want to know

 

[SmittyJonz]

Split generally refers to 1/4 of a log. Wood that’s been split. Some guys will split their splits to 1/8.........

 

[Pappy Q]

Let me ask a ( maybe ) dumb question...
we heated with wood when I was a kid, Me and my older brothers job was
take the cut up rounds and split them into 1/4's or 1/8's.

so for smoking do you actually add small pieces split from bigger pieces
or is split a generic term for the wood used?

enquiring minds want to know

A “split” refers to the piece of wood. In his cas he was using a split roughly 9” long and 2” wide.

 

[mrpigs]

Really just depends on how much your wood is seasoned.

Smaller splits will help minimize the temp swings, you'll just have to add them a little sooner.

A fifty degree temp swing on a stick burner isn't anything to worry about.

 

[Rockinar]

Hello all new to the forum. I've been a long time weber smokey mountain user that wanted to take a shot at learning to stick burn. I came across a great deal on an Oklahoma joe highland that I decided to buy to mess around with before I invested in more expensive bbq.

So far I've only done one rib cook. The ribs came out pretty good for my first time but I for sure need to get more practice getting the fire to stabilize better. For the cook I started with a full chimney of lump charcoal and a split of seasoned oak about 9" long and just slightly wider than a soda can in diameter, one split at a time. My goal was to aim for about 250 to cook at. When I was letting the bbq heat up I overshot the temp and tried to let it settle into the 250 that I was hoping to cook at. My plan was letting the temp drop to 230ish before I added another split. I noticed that I was consistently getting a spike of 50-75 degrees every time I added a split. I've read Aaron Franklins book and was keeping the fire box door open about an inch to keep a combusting flame. The fire ran pretty clean overall. I did try shutting the door once with the vent all the way open and I lost the flame and the split smoldered which was my only dirty smoke.

My thought for my next attempt is to try even smaller splits and see if that helps. Just wondering if anyone had any other advice for my next attempt.

(1) Aaron leaves his doors open because he's his smoker doors dont have intake.

(2) If you overshoot your temp dont worry about it. It will come down in a few minutes. Just say "oops", ignore it and carry on as usual. If it worries you, you can open the cook chamber for a bit. But its really not needed.

(3) Its an offset, not an oven. It wont hold a temp. Dont shoot for a temp, shoot for an average. If the temp bounces between 250 and 300, you call that "275". Youre just trying to get in the ballpark. Smaller splits will have smaller temp swings but you will be tending it more often. Pick your poison.

(4) Cook with both vents wide open. If you shut the door and the fire goes out, you got issues. Leave it cracked open and cook open door Aaron Franklin style.

 

[el luchador]

A good offset will have a 100 degree range. Just the nature of the beast.

A bad one will have a 150 degree range.

Pay attention to the flavor you get. If ,as I suspect, you don't find the flavor to be any better than your wsm, then my advice would be to dump the POS(pitiful offset smoker) and go back to your trusty,easy wsm

 

[daninnewjersey]

Like the others have said....bouncing around with temp swings is normal. My stick burner likes to run around 275 but she sometimes goes up to 325-ish. As long as you're not getting over say 400 it's not that big of a deal.

I would HIGHLY recommend having a fire extinguisher handy while cooking....just as an insurance policy. I always have one around...just makes me feel better. Getting a really high temp plus the grease produced could cause you a problem...

 

[northof8]

I will use smaller splits to keep the temp where it needs to be. You may find that when you get along in a cook you will run out of your coal base if too small and not diligent on keeping up with it. I've started a chimney of lump to get it back so I didn't have a major temp drop trying to come back from.

 

[abphotos]

I also use smaller splits and the temp stays between 225 and 275

 

[-Chris-]

A good offset will have a 100 degree range. Just the nature of the beast.

A bad one will have a 150 degree range.

I have a Mixon H20 and get a 50 degree swing, but I am watching it every 20-30 minutes.

Aaron never talks about temperature swing, does a 500 gallon smoker hold temperatures much tighter than the smaller smokers?

Chris

 

[el luchador]

I have a Mixon H20 and get a 50 degree swing, but I am watching it every 20-30 minutes.

Aaron never talks about temperature swing, does a 500 gallon smoker hold temperatures much tighter than the smaller smokers?

Chris

my theory is that as the size of the cooker increases relative to the size of the fire, you have tighter temp control

 

[TedW]

My big Outlaw Smoker stays pretty solid temp-wise. Larger coal bed, larger mass.

Like el luchador said

 

[TigerEyz3]

Thicker smoker material makes a significant difference in maintaining temps also.
Thinner metal doesn't hold temps as easily... e.g. larger/quicker temp drops/spikes.
Thicker metal holds temps better/easier... e.g. smaller/slower temp drops/spikes.

 

[smoke ninja]

My big Outlaw Smoker stays pretty solid temp-wise. Larger coal bed, larger mass.

Like el luchador said

Plus the top heat design makes for more consistent temps left to right.

How is the outlaw treating you Ted?

 

[TedW]

I
Just
Love
It

 

[ironmanerik]

A good offset will have a 100 degree range. Just the nature of the beast.

A bad one will have a 150 degree range.

Pay attention to the flavor you get. If ,as I suspect, you don't find the flavor to be any better than your wsm, then my advice would be to dump the POS(pitiful offset smoker) and go back to your trusty,easy wsm

I would have to either let the fire die out, or add a bunch of unneeded wood on purpose for the lang to have a 100* swing.