Stoker and Wicked Good


 
B

Brad H.

TVWBB Fan
Just for those who are interested...used The Stoker with Wicked Good Weekend Blend natural lump charcoal for a six rack rib cook...used Minion with oak and cherry wood...

The cook went fantastic over the course of 6.5 hours (my wife likes ribs over done - typically, I'd run the cook a bit shorter)...the charcoal performed beautifully with very little ash and it even had the added benefit of burning the wood chunks a little at a time over the course of the cook because it all doesn't catch fire at once...it had plenty of life left in it when finished...my only concern was when I opened the lid to turn the ribs I feared a major flare up when the lid was replaced...when replaced, the temp rose very quickly BUT it leveled off perfectly...

Most important, the ribs had a smokier taste than I've had in the past using briqs...rave reviews all around...probably the best I've cooked these past couple years...

I'm a lump convert...
 
Don't suppose anyone knows where I could get WG, or something other than RO lump around the Indianapolis area? Don't get me wrong, I like RO lump considerably better than Kingsford, especially for the reduction in ash, but I'd also like to try some of these higher end lumps that I read about, but hate to have to pay shipping on them as it certainly makes it less practical.

I like starting my lump cooks with The Stoker, by simply lighting a few pieces of lump on the side where I have the fan mounted, and just let The Stoker bring it up to temp. Works well for me on 200-250 cooks. High temp cooks I still use a chimney of lit lump to get it going.
 
Some walmarts were carrying B&B lump. IMO, it is better than RO as the pieces are more consistent and has a longer burn time....and the same price.

I've been using Picnic lump which I get at a Wholesale restaurant supply/grocer in Tampa. You likely have something similar in your area. Many of them sell to the public.
 
Picnic is my absolute favorite, having tried cowboy, RO, B&B and a couple of others. I'm very fortunate to have a local supplier. On Saturday I did a 13 1/2 hr butt cook with my Stoker and Picnic. Grate temps at 250 later bumping to 270 and did not add more lump. Still have some left in the ring. GREAT stuff.
 
My last long one with Picnic got me 24 hours on one load.....nice ambient temps outside though, no breeze, sun, warm fla summer day....which all helps.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Brad H.:
Most important, the ribs had a smokier taste than I've had in the past using briqs...
I'm a lump convert... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Brad
BBQ was produced by burning hardwood down to coals (or you can use Lump charcoal and skip the burning of hardwoods) and using those coals to cook your product. The thing that you will notice about this style of cooking is there is very little to no smoke flavor in the meat.

If your ribs are smokier using lump rather than briquets it has more to do with your wood usage or cooking conditions than the use of lump charcoal. The smoke flavor we get from burning wood has been burned off while producing the lump coal.
Jim
PS I'm not trying to make a case for the use of lump vs briquets.
 
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