The Official Stickburner Thread

[BKING!]

Man that’s a lot of food!

 

[Jersey BBQ]

Here is mine, not sure who the manufacturer was, the reseller wouldn't say. It is pretty decent, I think it has a firebox size issue, as it is a fuel hog, and needs some lump added occasionally to maintain the coal bed, (or I need to add splits more often, lol)...

Sure looks like a HBT Smoker from Guntersville Alabama ?

 

[tom b]

Love santa maria cooking, it's kinda big for a steak or a couple burgers and too much fuel, it mostly gets used when we have company

Very nice! How do you like the santa Maria? How often do you use it?

I'm rocking a couple big green eggs, ironsides slugger and gatorpit stick burner. Haven't used the gator since I bought the slugger so contemplating selling to free up space for a santa Maria.

 

[pjtexas1]

Mo shirleys, mo better

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[tom b]

 

[pjtexas1]

Cooks...

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[BKING!]

Beautiful food Tom and pj. I’ve always wanted to try cooking on a Santa Maria style bbq. I bet they are a ton of fun

 

[Kade]

I have a few things to burn sticks:

Offset

Open fire cooking

Wood oven

Fireplace

I’m a bit jealous of your set up. Very cool!

 

[gtr]

My beloved Klose

Bacon

First pig roast!

Big ole butts

One thing I will say - as much as I love this cooker, if I were to do it again I'd get a 24" diameter chamber at least - this one is 20". It's not an issue often but I do occasionally need a little more space. That said, I'm happy to have such a nice beast in the first place and it's pretty minor issue - just throwing it out there for folks who might be figuring out what they want - a little something to think about.

 

[Stlsportster]

I feel the same way about my Lang. It’s 20x36. Most of the time it’s fine but I wish I could fit more front to back.

Also. My bottom rack doesn’t slide out. Major pain. Next time cabinet doors and slide out shelves.

 

[holdenf92]

My Old Country Brazos. Drilled a hole to add a second thermometer. It's in a storage unit in Louisiana right now unfortunately, and I may be offering it up for sale soon to help save up for a bigger offset.

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[Deebo]

I'll be keeping a SUPER close eye on this thread! I want to pick up a stick burner sometime next year and this thread will help be settle on what I want.

What are your thoughts on smoke stack placement? I've been of the belief that having the stack at grate level is optimal but I see a LOT of stick burners with the stack located at the top of the cooking chamber.

 

[BuffettFan]

~20lb Brisket on my ECB offset and a glimpse of my high-tech temp probe holding apparatus. :biggrin1:

 

[Stlsportster]

I'll be keeping a SUPER close eye on this thread! I want to pick up a stick burner sometime next year and this thread will help be settle on what I want.

What are your thoughts on smoke stack placement? I've been of the belief that having the stack at grate level is optimal but I see a LOT of stick burners with the stack located at the top of the cooking chamber.

Deebo....lots of varying opinions and really depends on the type of smoker...

With a direct flow smoker there is often a desire to even out the flow across the smoke chamber...by using tuning plates and/or lowering the stack to the grate level.

With a reverse flow that's not as much of an issue.

View attachment 166319

 

[Deebo]

Deebo....lots of varying opinions and really depends on the type of smoker...

With a direct flow smoker there is often a desire to even out the flow across the smoke chamber...by using tuning plates and/or lowering the stack to the grate level.

With a reverse flow that's not as much of an issue.

View attachment 166319

I'm primarily talking about a standard offset. I've seen arguments for both sides of the stack placement discussion and I've seen arguments that say if you need tuning plates, then your smoker isn't built to be efficient. It's all kinda overwhelming when trying to decide what you wanna go with when picking up your first stick burner.

 

[akoda]

My lone star grillz firepit counts [emoji3] cooking some Spanish. We do steaks and oysters on it fairly often

sausages in the warmer

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[Czarbecue]

Don’t use veggie oil. It will become tacky and stuff will stick more.

Use food grade mineral oil.

Should I wipe it clean and then food grade mineral oil when it’s hot or cold?

 

[Czarbecue]

Mine in action. 65# pig and some ribs

How does that thing tow with the firebox and warmer being that far away from the axel?

 

[Piggysquealers]

I'll be keeping a SUPER close eye on this thread! I want to pick up a stick burner sometime next year and this thread will help be settle on what I want.

What are your thoughts on smoke stack placement? I've been of the belief that having the stack at grate level is optimal but I see a LOT of stick burners with the stack located at the top of the cooking chamber.

I have a big reverse flow and a small traditional offset. I put a plate in my small offset to even it out a little, but I like the 10-15 degree variance in the little cooker. I use that as I point chicken legs at the hotter end or the brisket point at the hotter end, etc. As for chimney placement I think chimney diameter is pretty important also. In my big reverse flow offset the chimney diameter is huge so it moves air quickly. In my little traditional the diameter is not as big (comparatively). But I think this is OK because I use lump charcoal often as the "heat" in the little guy whereas the big one is always a roaring fire.

I like the theory (so does Aaron Franklin) of the chimney opening being at the grate level as opposed to the top corner of the cooker. I do not think this is a factor in my small offset because the cook chamber is small enough that everything is getting hit with smoke. If you're only getting one I would get at least a 20" diameter cook chamber. My 16" is great for me only because I have big ones for when I want to cook for a big group. I would also consider what is made around you. Shipping can be 1/2 the price of a cooker. (that's how I ended up with a Bubba over a Lang)
Finally, back to your original question, if you are getting a big cooker I would recommend a reverse flow with a big chimney. If you are getting a smaller one I would not go below 20" diameter and decide if you want a really even cook chamber (reverse flow) or if you want a little variance you could go traditional. (I'm sure someone is about to say they don't have any temperature variance in their traditional offset, this is just my 2 cents)

 

[BuffettFan]

I'll be keeping a SUPER close eye on this thread! I want to pick up a stick burner sometime next year and this thread will help be settle on what I want.

What are your thoughts on smoke stack placement? I've been of the belief that having the stack at grate level is optimal but I see a LOT of stick burners with the stack located at the top of the cooking chamber.

Deebo,
In the pic in my previous post, behind the high-tech pit temp probe holder (disguised as a block of hickory), you can see the extension I added to mine to lower the level of the stack. It helps hold the smoke, but also evened out the temp in the chamber somewhat. With that and some foil covered grates for baffle plates, I can hold +/- 15* from one end to the other very reliably.
That was the 1st cook using the extension, it's as black as the rest of the chamber now. It's a pc of dryer vent, btw.