I smoked for the first time this past weekend. I have a 18" WSM and I used Cowboy Charcoal. I smoked chicken wings that were really good. I lit the smoker and let it cook for 1 hour before I put the wings on 225. I cooked for 2 1/2 hrs. Towards the end of the cook, I had trouble keep up the temp. Is there a longer lasting lump charcoal out there ? I filled the coal area to the top. Just touching the empty water pan..
Lump Charcoal
- Thread starter ChrisD
- Start date
When you were struggling to get the temp up, was there lots of fuel?
If you had lots of fuel left, then it's a matter of getting more air to the coals. Lump will burn plenty hot enough. I can easily get 500+ with a dry pan and ring of lump. I have to prop the door, but i can do it.
Lump works great in the WSM. It just takes a few attempts to learn how to pack the charcoal ring. No it's not as uniform as Briq, but it also doesn't produce all the ash that can choke out a long cook. Each one has their + and - but both work just as well
If you had lots of fuel left, then it's a matter of getting more air to the coals. Lump will burn plenty hot enough. I can easily get 500+ with a dry pan and ring of lump. I have to prop the door, but i can do it.
Lump works great in the WSM. It just takes a few attempts to learn how to pack the charcoal ring. No it's not as uniform as Briq, but it also doesn't produce all the ash that can choke out a long cook. Each one has their + and - but both work just as well
I'm by no means a pro (only done a few smokes) but I have read A LOT around here and I think most stay away from lump in the WSM, though I may be wrong.
All about Charcoal
Here is a quote from that page:
"The general consensus is that lump tends to burn hotter than briquettes, but not as long or as consistently. Some lack of consistency is to be expected, given that the content and piece size varies within an individual bag and between bags.
Some people report that they find odd items mixed in with lump charcoal, like rocks, soda cans, etc. These are few and far between and are no reason to avoid using lump."
All about Charcoal
Here is a quote from that page:
"The general consensus is that lump tends to burn hotter than briquettes, but not as long or as consistently. Some lack of consistency is to be expected, given that the content and piece size varies within an individual bag and between bags.
Some people report that they find odd items mixed in with lump charcoal, like rocks, soda cans, etc. These are few and far between and are no reason to avoid using lump."
To answer your questions:
1. I didn't use water in the water pan.
2. really hard to tell how much fuel/coal there was left. It was getting dark outside.
The WSM had no problem getting to 350 degrees during the "burn-in" process. ie. no food on it.
I guess my question is:
How long on an average does one fuel load burn. I had my vents at 100 % open.
1. I didn't use water in the water pan.
2. really hard to tell how much fuel/coal there was left. It was getting dark outside.
The WSM had no problem getting to 350 degrees during the "burn-in" process. ie. no food on it.
I guess my question is:
How long on an average does one fuel load burn. I had my vents at 100 % open.
Ron G.
TVWBB Wizard
A few thoughts for you, ChrisD:
RE: Lump - I have about 2 seasons of using the WSM under my belt (not an expert - but I have had the chance to learn from mistakes). I have used Lump exclusively, and have not had any major problems.
RE: Cowboy Lump - I was dissapointed with it when I tried it. Try a different brand of lump. (USA-made Royal Oak is decent stuff, that is relatively easy to find.) Also, check other links on this site & check the NakedWhiz's website - they rate lots of different lump brands.
RE: Grates - If you're going to burn lump, get a second grate for the bottom. Stack the two grates at right-angles. This makes the "holes" smaller, so that the lump does not fall-through, and it makes it a little harder for the lump to clog-up the air holes at the bottom. Remember: Fire = Fuel, Air, & Heat
You gotta' keep it breathing.
RE: STIR YOUR COALS - I keep a 3-foot chunk of conduit, with the last foot of it bent. I use it to stir the coals when the heat seems to be diminishing. Particularly with Cowboy, I sometimes get hot-spots within my fire, that are a bit reluctant to spread to adjacent un-burnt coals. Stirring the coals helps to minimize this. (I usually do this after about 2-3 hours, and about once every 90 minutes, until I notice that I need to add some more charcoal.)
Hey, this aint the bible, but it might help you.
RE: Lump - I have about 2 seasons of using the WSM under my belt (not an expert - but I have had the chance to learn from mistakes). I have used Lump exclusively, and have not had any major problems.
RE: Cowboy Lump - I was dissapointed with it when I tried it. Try a different brand of lump. (USA-made Royal Oak is decent stuff, that is relatively easy to find.) Also, check other links on this site & check the NakedWhiz's website - they rate lots of different lump brands.
RE: Grates - If you're going to burn lump, get a second grate for the bottom. Stack the two grates at right-angles. This makes the "holes" smaller, so that the lump does not fall-through, and it makes it a little harder for the lump to clog-up the air holes at the bottom. Remember: Fire = Fuel, Air, & Heat
You gotta' keep it breathing.
RE: STIR YOUR COALS - I keep a 3-foot chunk of conduit, with the last foot of it bent. I use it to stir the coals when the heat seems to be diminishing. Particularly with Cowboy, I sometimes get hot-spots within my fire, that are a bit reluctant to spread to adjacent un-burnt coals. Stirring the coals helps to minimize this. (I usually do this after about 2-3 hours, and about once every 90 minutes, until I notice that I need to add some more charcoal.)
Hey, this aint the bible, but it might help you.
Ron G.
TVWBB Wizard
So far, I have always been using my water pan. With the pan and with the vents set for a low-fire, there is not much of an "up-draft" within my WSM - particularly when the fire is getting low. In this case, it does not draw a lot of ash into the upper part of the smoker when I give it a stir.
I do it gently - I do not rattle the thing around. I simply / slowly poke the coals to move them / move some of the un-burnt into the spots that are glowing, and gently knock the ash through the grate. Plus, with lump - if a little ash gets on the meat, it's perfectly edible, and not likely to be noticed once it gets absorbed into the bark / rub / sauce.
So, in short - no, I do not remove or cover the food. (I keep the lid on, so that I lose minimal heat.)
I do it gently - I do not rattle the thing around. I simply / slowly poke the coals to move them / move some of the un-burnt into the spots that are glowing, and gently knock the ash through the grate. Plus, with lump - if a little ash gets on the meat, it's perfectly edible, and not likely to be noticed once it gets absorbed into the bark / rub / sauce.
So, in short - no, I do not remove or cover the food. (I keep the lid on, so that I lose minimal heat.)
George Curtis
TVWBB Olympian
letting it burn for an hour before cooking makes no sense. maybe 15 minutes or so then in the food goes.
Dave/G
TVWBB Emerald Member
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by george curtis:
letting it burn for an hour before cooking makes no sense. maybe 15 minutes or so then in the food goes. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
That too
letting it burn for an hour before cooking makes no sense. maybe 15 minutes or so then in the food goes. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
That too
Gary S Smith
TVWBB Fan
I was leaveing my favorite megamart HEB the other night and saw that they had a closeout on "dallas cowboy" lump so I got 10 bags.
Has anyone tried this stuff?
Has anyone tried this stuff?
I've done 12+ hour cooks with lump and still had lump left over. I increasingly go to just filling the ring for every cook and when I'm done just close the vents and whatever isn't used starts the next cook.
Some lumps are definitely more dense than others and if you measure by chimneys you might want to keep that in mind. In addition Cowboy charcoal isn't that great and is known for low burn time so you'll want to use more of it than you might think...
Some lumps are definitely more dense than others and if you measure by chimneys you might want to keep that in mind. In addition Cowboy charcoal isn't that great and is known for low burn time so you'll want to use more of it than you might think...
Mark Erskine
TVWBB Member
My only problem with Cowboy Lump is that often the lumps of coal are too small like pebbles and dust. Could be the place I'm getting it has mishandled the bags.
most WSM owners I know use lump, and lump only.
I used Kingsford competition briquettes once, and thought it was ok, way too much ash.
I just did an overnight smoke of 17#'s of pork butts. Temps were in the teens and low 20's with a decent breeze. Got a little over 9 hours out of the first ring full of lump(smoker temp pinned on 230 degrees the whole time), refilled the ring, and added a chimney starter of lit, and got easily the equal time out of the refill. Bottom of the smoker had barely any ash in there at all. To me ash means fillers, and crap added to what you are burning, and also eating.
I use Royal Oak Lump, I am not a fan of Cowboy lump at all. Id use the competition briquettes again before Id use Cowboy.
I used Kingsford competition briquettes once, and thought it was ok, way too much ash.
I just did an overnight smoke of 17#'s of pork butts. Temps were in the teens and low 20's with a decent breeze. Got a little over 9 hours out of the first ring full of lump(smoker temp pinned on 230 degrees the whole time), refilled the ring, and added a chimney starter of lit, and got easily the equal time out of the refill. Bottom of the smoker had barely any ash in there at all. To me ash means fillers, and crap added to what you are burning, and also eating.
I use Royal Oak Lump, I am not a fan of Cowboy lump at all. Id use the competition briquettes again before Id use Cowboy.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave/G:
Many use lump exclusively, but stay away from Cowboy brand. Fill the ring 1/3, twist the charcoal ring back and forth a few times. Fill with another 1/3 and repeat. Fill with the final 1/3. This helps to eliminate air pockets between pieces. You want the pieces packed as tightly as possible. A tightly packed ring of lump burns for many hours </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Cool, I'm gonna try it for my next smoke
Many use lump exclusively, but stay away from Cowboy brand. Fill the ring 1/3, twist the charcoal ring back and forth a few times. Fill with another 1/3 and repeat. Fill with the final 1/3. This helps to eliminate air pockets between pieces. You want the pieces packed as tightly as possible. A tightly packed ring of lump burns for many hours </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Cool, I'm gonna try it for my next smoke
Phil Perrin
TVWBB Hall of Fame
I use lump for short cooks( >6 hours). Do like Dave said,eliminate the air pockets. Also,Cowboy is junk. Try to find Royal Oak lump. It's a little more expensive,but well worth it. Also,if the ash starts choking your fire,tap on the legs to knock the ash off. Does a fine job and it doesn't cause the ash to fly as much. Keep up the good work.