Charcoal on Shirley Fabrication Smoker

[chet8888]

Hello all!
New to the forum but a long time backyard BBQ cook. Went from WSM to a classic Kamado Joe (with Stoker pit minder). Starting to think about the next step, mainly so I can do more volume in a single cook- -that being an offset/stick burning patio smoker.

I'm considering the Shirley Fabrication smoker (patio model 24X50), and wondered if anyone had run it on a mix of lump charcoal and wood, with some type of pit minder- -and if so, how long where you able to sustain somewhere in the 225-275 range? The other cooker I'm considering is the Peoria Custom Cooker Backyard, which with an insulated firebox and their custom Guru air vent- -can get about 4 to 4.5 hours on a single load of fuel (mix of charcoal and sticks-per two of the recipes on their site).

My main hesitation is right now, I'm able to set and forget my KJ with the Stoker handling things for the night for butts/briskets. I'd love to move to an offset but don't want to stay up all night feeding it sticks every 45-1 1/2 hours. I'd go for the insulated firebox on both models.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[pjtexas1]

not really designed for charcoal unless you are cooking in the warmer. if you are a set it and forget it type i would look for an insulated cabinet. stick burners burn sticks and take more work. you could switch to a higher temp and just get up early to cook instead of being up all night feeding the offset. it's a different world going from charcoal/ATC to sticks.

 

[Jason TQ]

Yeah stickburner probably not for you. At least not one that big. When I had a cheapo offset with a smaller charcoal basket it would run for maybe 3hrs on a bunch of charcoal. The larger stick burners like SF or langs where I've seen people put on the fans they are only to help with consistent airflow. You still have to feed it every 45mins or so. I know of people that in larger stick burners will dump a whole bag of charcoal in there to get a few hours of sleep, but that is a lot of charcoal to waste for only a few hours.

 

[Shagdog]

I tried to set up my firebox for a minion cook. It didn't really work out. Temps just steadily rose until the whole basket was burning at once, even though my damper was closed all the way. The firebox in general is not really sealed for set it and forget it cooking. Its drafty. If you're looking for something that will run for 4-5 hours or more, a Shirley is not for you.

PJ gave some solid advice... Vertical cabinets would be the way to go for you. Backwoods, Humphries, Lone Star, Deep South, Assassin, and the list goes on.

Or, as he also mentioned, cook hotter. I hardly ever cook below 275 I rarely have to cook through the night with my Shirley(if I do its because we're serving food at noon or 1). At worst case I get up a little early to get her started, but my food is always ready in time for dinner.. :thumb:

 

[KevinJ]

Like said above if you want to stick with Charcoal you are better off going with an Insulated Cabinet.

 

[chet8888]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. The Shirley's are just so darn good looking-- I'm starting to think the answer is getting up earlier and cooking hotter/shorter.:grin:

 

[Decoy205]

I really love the idea of having a stick burner too and the Shirleys are definitely the way to go, but for me right now I knew i didn't have the time to source fuel for a stick burner nor the time to tend the cook, so I went with a cabinet style cooker (on order).

I have easy access to wood chunks and charcoal so it was I think the right choice FOR ME at this time.

Eventually I will have a stick burner!

Good luck.

-John

 

[Jason TQ]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. The Shirley's are just so darn good looking-- I'm starting to think the answer is getting up earlier and cooking hotter/shorter.:grin:

That's what I do for bigger meats. Running 325 big meats are done in around 6hrs in my previous Shirley. Got another one coming in Feb :becky:

 

[jbounds286]

just get an insulated cabinet smoker...and instead of using the correct fuel(charcoal) just use all wood. im sure it would be just about as easy as running a stick burner on charcoal(incorrect fuel)

 

[bbqlearner]

Different way of cooking altogether. That's why you need both cookers :-D

 

[jwtseng]

I had my stickburner outfitted with covers fitted for the dampers so that I could use a blower fan like the BBQguru. Never used them. Honestly after burning sticks in it for a while, I honestly can't see how a BBQguru could make a significant difference. In a stickburner, you just gotta keep feeding the fire. It relies on heat from the fire to keep the draft running through the cook chamber, and once the fire starts dying down temps go down too. I can see a blower fan helping to stoke the fire and get up to temp, but you just can't choke off oxygen supply in a stickburner and expect your temps to stay up and your fire to burn clean. (either charcoal or wood)

Pit minders work in a kamado or a vertical because the heat source and cooking chamber are sort of one and the same...the heat has no choice but to flow UP from the fire/embers past the food and out the exhaust, so it's constantly cooking the food. In an offset, there has to be enough fire to generate enough heat to generate enough flow to carry the heat through the CC and past the food and out the exhaust.

 

[THoey1963]

Trust me, I have experience in this exact situation. I went from a WSM to an expensive stick burner. I found out stick burning wasn't for me. So, now I am trying to sell my expensive stick burner and I am in line to have a cabinet built. If I was to do it over again, I would by a cheap stick burner to see if I liked it and then move up to a better model. Or, I would stick to my roots and gone directly to a cabinet instead of the stick burner.

 

[mattybbq]

Paul and Tyler are very open to discussing new builds/setups. I was one of first ones to get an insulated firebox and there was some things to work through and they are awesome. and now it is almost standard. I was looking at the Peoria cooker for sale on the forums and I think there are some pretty cool things you could consider to mod the Shirley. But i would not advocate a guru on their current standard rig.

 

[KevinJ]

Trust me, I have experience in this exact situation. I went from a WSM to an expensive stick burner. I found out stick burning wasn't for me. So, now I am trying to sell my expensive stick burner and I am in line to have a cabinet built. If I was to do it over again, I would by a cheap stick burner to see if I liked it and then move up to a better model. Or, I would stick to my roots and gone directly to a cabinet instead of the stick burner.

This is why when I'm able to upgrade from the WSM I'm going with a Charcoal fueled Smoker. I like cooking on the WSM, it's easy and turns out great food. A Insulated Cabinet would just be more convenient and give me a little more capacity.

 

[mchar69]

I'm starting to think the answer is getting up earlier and cooking hotter/shorter.:grin:

Yoo arr lerning, Grasshopper.

 

[jgbmgb]

Smitty must not have seen this thread yet!!!!LOL!!

On a serious note, Paul and Tyler will build you a vertical cabinet you can use charcoal in. They will do it in either insulated or non insulated.

 

[pjtexas1]

Smitty must not have seen this thread yet!!!!LOL!!.

He's very occupied at the moment. :becky:

 

[cheez59]

just get an insulated cabinet smoker...and instead of using the correct fuel(charcoal) just use all wood. im sure it would be just about as easy as running a stick burner on charcoal(incorrect fuel)

If you run straight wood in an insulated cabinet you will damage or destroy the cooker. They are just not designed for that much heat. So says LSG, Humphrey and Backwoods.

 

[Randy3269]

You might want to explore the gravity fed cookers also. If I was going to go with an insulated cooker, it would be a gravity fed for sure.

 

[Leftwngr]

I for one would love a big stick burner, but... two things I dont have a lot of: time and space. Hence, there is something else I dont have... that big stick burner.

Get what your heart wants and then adjust to its idiosyncrasies. Sort of like getting married.