View Single Post
Old 12-11-2017, 07:21 PM   #194
OklaDustDevil
is one Smokin' Farker
 
Join Date: 10-13-17
Location: SoCal, by way of Oklahoma & Texas
Name/Nickname : Ray
Default

Talkin about the differences between sticks and charcoal, I often see a similar tension just amongst stick burners on this site (like me).

What I mean is that many of us stickburners focus on minimizing El Luchador's issues with sticks -- getting a bigger pit, making it out of thicker steel, including a bigger firebox, insulating the firebox, etc. All with the goal of getting more stable temps, having to add wood less frequently, being able to sleep longer, or at least fuss with the pit less frequently, at night. Sometimes also with the goal of using less wood.

But all these pit attributes work to create a more stable temp by creating a bigger thermal mass. In other words, the bigger, thicker steel maintains a more stable temp as against the sticks that are tossed in from time to time. So I keep wonderin, doesn't that mean the hot steel is serving as an oven and cookin the meat apart from the smoke of the sticks? In other words, as we increase the size, thickness, and efficiency of our smokers, aren't we cookin more with an oven and less with a smoker?

I don't know the answer, but I'd sure like to understand it. I'm guessing it's probably a matter of balance, as with most things in life. Using a cheap, thin steel smoker that consumes lots of wood probably isn't the answer; but using a super-insulated, super-efficient pit likely isn't the answer either. As Aaron Franklin says, you need good air and smoke flow thru the pit.
__________________
[FONT="Arial"][SIZE="2"][B]Red Weber Ltd Ed 22"
Weber 18"
Mak 1-Star Pellet Smoker
Chuckwagon Cookers Horizontal Offset Stickburner
Southern Cookers Vertical Stickburner[/B][/SIZE][/FONT]
OklaDustDevil is offline   Reply With Quote


Thanks from:--->