Kalden1701
Wandering around with a bag of matchlight, looking for a match.
Hey all,
I am a new member here - thank you for allowing me to join.
About a month ago, I purchased an Oklahoma Joe reserve flow charcoal smoker - so far I have cooked a pork butt and two turkeys on the smoker. I was really happy with the end results and have been kicking myself for not getting a smoker sooner. The second turkey (bottom photo), I believe, I threw too much wood on too quickly... I woke up a little late to start the cook (Thanksgiving) so I freaked that I wouldn't have enough time. The temps were a bit too hot at first and I blame the coloration on poor smoke, too much wood too soon, and too hot. The first turkey I had more time to take my time and learn.
Anyways, I am looking for temp control/fire management advice for some of the longer cooks - primarily brisket and ribs. I really want to start smoking briskets but I am having a hard time thinking through the 15+ hour smoke. I'm really not a fan of thinking that I will have to be up for 15 hours, adding wood every 45 minutes. I think if I had to do that, I would just buy a Traeger or Rec-Tec pellet smoker... or smoke the brisket until the heat-stall phase (165) and then wrap the brisket and then cook in the oven where I know temps will remain stable until about 195. But I feel like that is cheating and defeats the purpose of having a smoker.
My current practice is to load up a Weber 7429 charcoal chimney to the top, and then toss the coals into the fire box in when they grey over. After this point, I never add more charcoal. I will then throw in one or two log splits of whatever flavor. At this point, I wait for the smoke to clear out a bit before putting the meat in. Temps are usually 350+ at this point per the smoker gauge.
- I have wood chunks but I find that they burn too quickly and I will go through an entire bag from Home Depot within a few hours
- I prefer the splits because they tend to last longer than chunks
- My vents are usually full open
- Temps tend to swing up/down by about 25 degrees when adding wood... unless I get lazy
My questions.
1. How can I maintain a reasonable temperature overnight while I sleep (I've seen the charcoal snake method - would that really hold around 200 degrees?)
2. Is it normal to add wood every 45 minutes, or am I relying too heavily on wood and not enough on charcoal? How can I make the fuel last longer... without sacrificing too much heat?
3. Are temperature swings of 25 degrees "normal" for charcoal? I imagine that there has to be some level of swing on charcoal.
I would love any advice - I really want to smoke several times a month, so I am eager to learn how to get better.
Thanks!
I am a new member here - thank you for allowing me to join.
About a month ago, I purchased an Oklahoma Joe reserve flow charcoal smoker - so far I have cooked a pork butt and two turkeys on the smoker. I was really happy with the end results and have been kicking myself for not getting a smoker sooner. The second turkey (bottom photo), I believe, I threw too much wood on too quickly... I woke up a little late to start the cook (Thanksgiving) so I freaked that I wouldn't have enough time. The temps were a bit too hot at first and I blame the coloration on poor smoke, too much wood too soon, and too hot. The first turkey I had more time to take my time and learn.
Anyways, I am looking for temp control/fire management advice for some of the longer cooks - primarily brisket and ribs. I really want to start smoking briskets but I am having a hard time thinking through the 15+ hour smoke. I'm really not a fan of thinking that I will have to be up for 15 hours, adding wood every 45 minutes. I think if I had to do that, I would just buy a Traeger or Rec-Tec pellet smoker... or smoke the brisket until the heat-stall phase (165) and then wrap the brisket and then cook in the oven where I know temps will remain stable until about 195. But I feel like that is cheating and defeats the purpose of having a smoker.
My current practice is to load up a Weber 7429 charcoal chimney to the top, and then toss the coals into the fire box in when they grey over. After this point, I never add more charcoal. I will then throw in one or two log splits of whatever flavor. At this point, I wait for the smoke to clear out a bit before putting the meat in. Temps are usually 350+ at this point per the smoker gauge.
- I have wood chunks but I find that they burn too quickly and I will go through an entire bag from Home Depot within a few hours
- I prefer the splits because they tend to last longer than chunks
- My vents are usually full open
- Temps tend to swing up/down by about 25 degrees when adding wood... unless I get lazy
My questions.
1. How can I maintain a reasonable temperature overnight while I sleep (I've seen the charcoal snake method - would that really hold around 200 degrees?)
2. Is it normal to add wood every 45 minutes, or am I relying too heavily on wood and not enough on charcoal? How can I make the fuel last longer... without sacrificing too much heat?
3. Are temperature swings of 25 degrees "normal" for charcoal? I imagine that there has to be some level of swing on charcoal.
I would love any advice - I really want to smoke several times a month, so I am eager to learn how to get better.
Thanks!
