Fire technique

[Tex A Que]

Hello All,

I'm a first timer on your site. I currently live in the Phoenix area but my wife and I are working hard to get back home to the great country that is TEXAS. I have been smok'n for several years and took it to the next level once we got here in 2000, as I could not find Texas style Q here (not to mention Tex Mex). I have a DPP 60 series (home made UDS as well) and am just starting to get my name called at events (even with KCBS judging).

I wanted to throw out a question about fire technique. I have been using pecan almost exclusively and while the product tastes good, it comes out awful black. I know that pecan is known for this and I have tried tenting and wrapping with some sucess. I have also tried other types of wood as well but still have a dark product. This leads me to believe that it may be my fire management technique. I typically build a large initial fire about 50/50 lump charcoal and wood to build a large coal bed, then add wood and lump as needed to maintain temps of 220 to 240. I am not sure of the age of the wood but the yard I get it from promises me that it is 1 yr minimum since cut. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Patrick

[SteerCrazy]

welcome aboard Patrick. I use a mixture of pecan and cherry, depending on the meat I'm smoking but do enjoy using pecan as my primary wood for smoke.

In a case of pork shoulder, I would say the meat does come out looking burnt or black but does not impose any burnt or over smoked flavors. Briskets do not come out as black but again do have that burnt crust look.

I have a spicewine smoker and a WSM which both use a water pan to offset the direct heat. I do use 50/50 lump charcoal as well but only add about 4-6 chunks of wood in the beginning of the cook, once that burns off I do not use anymore wood.

Does it taste burnt or sooty? (if that's a word) What kind of rub are you using? Many times the burnt look is from the sugars in your rubs but again does not impose a burnt flavor. Most guys here are using UDS's and should be able to chime in as well.

[Papa Tom]

Well welcome Patrick good to have you.
The only advice I can give is to keep your exhaust damper open and once you get the pit up to temp maintain a small active fire. By this I mean a fire small enough that you don't have to restrict the air flow heavily to keep the heat down. You are looking for that thin blue smoke at the stack. Might also try preheating your wood on top the fire box so it ignites quickly without a lot of smolder white smoke.

[chilibbq]

Papa Tom hit right on the head, you want to see very little smoke during the cooking. I'm a stick burner onlyoo a offset. If I'm not sure of the age of the wood(how seasoned) I preheat on top of my firebox and I usually run everything wide open and cook around 275 to 300. Been cooking hot and fast for about 2yrs.

[OSD]

I have not heard that about pecan, hickory yes. But you say you have tried using other wood and it had the same results.So I would have to believe it is either the fire is not hot enough and not burning clean or it could be in your rub.
As the other have said, a small hot fire is key with very little smoke coming from the stack. I use pecan most of the time, sometimes I use it mixed with apple, peach or cherry, but usually just pecan. Cherry will make things darker for sure.
As SC said it could also be in your rub. Sugars can cause this but another thing that will cause this is a rub with a lot of Paprika in it. A lot of times Paprika is used in a rub more for the color it adds to meat than the taste it provides.

[Down Yonder BBQ]

With a charcoal or wood fire, you still manage the fuel-to-oxygen ratio, but you have a few added variables: The type of fuel [denser woods burn hotter than less dense woods], the thickness of the coal bed, the amount of potential energy remaining in the burning coals [ which is roughly determined by there appearance], and the vents on the firebox and the lid of the grill. Adjusting the temperature is a matter of making a thicker or thinner coal bed and managing the airflow with the grill lid and the vents. If you spread a fresh layer of hot coals to about a 4â€

[Tex A Que]

Thanks for the welcome!

The smoke from the stacks is thin and blue until I throw on another log. It turns black for just a couple of minutes and then goes back to normal. I will play with the exhaust vents to see if that will make a difference. I do have a homemade rub but it does not contain sugar. (salt, blk pepper, chili powder, red pepper, garlic, mustard). Again, it always tastes great (if I do say so myself ) with no burnt taste to it at all. I will also try putting wood on top of the box prior to tossing it in. I have cooked on my UDS three times thus far and have not had this problem, but have not yet cooked anything that took longer than 7 hrs (turkey).

Thanks for the tips. Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend.

p

[Tex A Que]

I also do my best to chip off the bark before it goes in the box.

p

[Papa Tom]

Thanks for the welcome!

The smoke from the stacks is thin and blue until I throw on another log. It turns black for just a couple of minutes and then goes back to normal. I will play with the exhaust vents to see if that will make a difference. I do have a homemade rub but it does not contain sugar. (salt, blk pepper, chili powder, red pepper, garlic, mustard). Again, it always tastes great (if I do say so myself ) with no burnt taste to it at all. I will also try putting wood on top of the box prior to tossing it in. I have cooked on my UDS three times thus far and have not had this problem, but have not yet cooked anything that took longer than 7 hrs (turkey).

Thanks for the tips. Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend.

p

Bingo! Black smoke is ALWAYS BAD. It indicates that the fire is starved for oxygen and will cause nasty creosote flavors.

[bigwheel]

Well thats total normal to get a little off colored smoke when you add a fresh log. When you chunk in some fresh wood just fan the firebox door a few times and it should clear right up. Now never heard of pee can turning stuff black unless you are running a skunky fire...not enough air or not enough exhaust. Now cheery wood will turn stuff black in a heart beat. Hickory knows that trick too. The trouble with pee can is it dont make much coals. It tends to burn actively till it turns to ash...less you cut back on the air then you got creosote. You need to find some Oak. That is a propa cooking wood.

bigwheel

Thanks for the welcome!

The smoke from the stacks is thin and blue until I throw on another log. It turns black for just a couple of minutes and then goes back to normal. I will play with the exhaust vents to see if that will make a difference. I do have a homemade rub but it does not contain sugar. (salt, blk pepper, chili powder, red pepper, garlic, mustard). Again, it always tastes great (if I do say so myself ) with no burnt taste to it at all. I will also try putting wood on top of the box prior to tossing it in. I have cooked on my UDS three times thus far and have not had this problem, but have not yet cooked anything that took longer than 7 hrs (turkey).

Thanks for the tips. Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend.

p

[JamesB]

I use pecan almost exclusively and do not have a problem with food coming out too dark.

Small hot, clean burning fire = good results... You don't want anything smoldering. I prefer to see flames in my firebox, but here again, small fire to maintain temps. You might try preheating your logs on top of the firebox to prevent some of the smoldering when you add it to the firebox.

Good Luck!

[Sprocket]

I agree that you need to preheat your wood. If it is preheated it will ignite much faster leaving you with less smoke. I ended up cutting my wood into pieces that are a litte larger than coke can size. On my Gator I don't need that large of a fire to maintain temp so I stack about ten of those inside my 2'X2'X2' firebox.. Fire on one side of the firebox, wood on the other. When I throw one or two of them on the fire they ignite right away. Don't have a smoke problem anymore.

[DJ]

Imho, it's all about a little wood and a lot of air. I add wood every hour and a half for the full duration of the burn.
dj