Getting a bitter taste...

[Gary S]

I've been using all natural briquettes or lump now for the past couple of years. I brought home a small bag of KB the other day because I thought I would try it again for grilling. As soon as I lit it I was reminded of growing up near R/R tracks and the smell of locomotives, the odour of coal. I just can't get used to burning that stuff and I will not use it in my WSM.

 

[Mike May]

was using KBB

My target temp is 225-250. I'm using kingsford blue. I think next time I will take my Time putting the meat on. Usually by the time I dump the chimney it's less then 5 minutes till meat is on. I'm going to wait a little longer lock in my temp and make sure I have a good smoke then add meat.

Andrew, I recently switched from Kingsford Blue to Ozark Oak lump - I had always been satisfied with the results from KB, but after reading this forum, decided to try lump. OO seemed to have a lot of "champions", so I tried it.

My evaluation is that the ribs, brisket and butts cooked using the OO tasted "cleaner".

In some earlier cooks, using KB, I had some bitter tastes - I attributed it to using cherry wood, including the bark. My latest smokes have been with the OO with hickory chunks.

 

[Jeff R]

" I have heard of others that light their coal, add their smoke wood, add their water, add their meat, and then close up their cooker."

This is how I do it also. This is a good thread and I'll be curious to see how others do it.

Me too. I never did see what kind of wood u were using. I light 12-15 coals and use about 4 chunks. Never had a problem