How Much Hickory is Too Much? - Funny

[Teamfour]

Sorry, but don't blame the hickory, it's the cook. Matchlight, really! I use kiln dried hickory EXCLUSIVELY in my RF offset stickburner and don't have issues with too much smoke, even on long cooks. Maybe I just can't appreciate the challenges of cooking on a charcoal cooker that uses wood chunks for smoke or maybe I just pay attention to managing my fires, paying attention to the product and checking temps like most folks. If you run a hot clean fire and use quality wood it is not hard to get good results.

I use hickory and oak in my stickburner. I just don't dump a whole bag of chunks on the coals at one time. You are right that the key is a clean burning fire.

 

[dwfisk]

Well, what causes white smoke? I was using a mix of lump and regular, Kingsford in a snake pattern with a couple of hickory chunks dispersed in the first half of the circle. The hickory chunks are Weber brand.

IMO, thick white nasty smoke is from poor/incomplete combustion, usually because the fire is being starved for air, but using green or wet (soaked) wood can also be a significant contributor. Speaking from the perspective of a stickburner, you can't avoid some white smoke when adding fuel, but if you are running a hot fire there really is no reason for more than 5-10 minutes of that followed by 1-2 hours of clean, thin blue. Somebody that uses a charcoal cooker needs to weigh in, but if it's belching thick white nasty stuff for more than a few minutes, then the fire needs more air. Oh, yea, if you cram your firebox full of fuel then you are never going to get a clean burn. When I say adding fuel I mean 1-2 splits on a hot coal bed.

 

[Higgledy]

IMO, thick white nasty smoke is from poor/incomplete combustion, usually because the fire is being starved for air, but using green or wet (soaked) wood can also be a significant contributor. Speaking from the perspective of a stickburner, you can't avoid some white smoke when adding fuel, but if you are running a hot fire there really is no reason for more than 5-10 minutes of that followed by 1-2 hours of clean, thin blue. Somebody that uses a charcoal cooker needs to weigh in, but if it's belching thick white nasty stuff for more than a few minutes, then the fire needs more air. Oh, yea, if you cram your firebox full of fuel then you are never going to get a clean burn. When I say adding fuel I mean 1-2 splits on a hot coal bed.

Ok. From this description, I think I'm doing it right. I only saw the white smoke when I opened the lid or moved around the wood