Lump questions from a noob


 
C

ChristopherCG

TVWBB Fan
So a buddy of mine at work has been talking a lot about lump vs charcoal. I've done some searching and found tons of threads comparing the two. I've been a loyal Kingsford blue bag user since I got my WSM last year but I think I'd like to give lump a go.

I bought a bag of Royal Oak for $6.34 at WalMart. My question is approximately how much lump should I be using for a 4 hour smoke for ribs? I usually use a full chimney of K (unlit) and then light about a 1/2 chimney and throw it on top. I get 4+ hours easy holding steady at 250 with the vents about 1/3 open. I generally use about 1 gallon of water when the weather is warm outside in the water pan, but nothing in the winter.

I've read where some use K to light the lump when doing a minion. That sounds good to me as I have some K leftover and know it lights easily.

Any advice for a short cook would be appreciated.
 
A lot of people who use lump pretty much always pack the ring full, making sure there aren't big air gaps. This gives consistency and if you shut the vents down after you're done then anything unused should be there for next time.

If you don't want to go that route my only advice is that Royal Oak isn't very dense and if you're measuring by volume I'd go with a chimney more than you usually use just to be safe. Or just dump in a half bag. :-)

I don't think there's any reason not to use some K to get things started if you're comfortable with that. I don't have any so I wouldn't really know.
 
Most of what I've read seemed to be people trying to get maximum burn time. So packing the ring tightly and eliminating air gaps was key for 12+ hour cooks. For 4 hours though it felt like I could get away with much less.

I was thinking of doing just what you said, just tossing in at least one more full (unlit) chimney.
 
You're absolutely right - you don't have to for a four hour cook - it's just laziness. :-) But I do think it's a bit more consistent if there aren't any big gaps - even if you just dump in an extra chimney or two take a moment to make sure that everything is piled up relatively neatly.
 
Hey Christopher
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You & I do a short 4-5hr cook almost identically... i.e. for a rack of ribs on Monday and the one I'm doin' tommorrow
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... usually I have left over coals to reuse, approx a chimney full...to that, I'll add a full chimney of lit <span class="ev_code_BLUE">K</span>, and add 1.5 gals boiling H2O to the pan (I use water on all but the coldest winter days or if I'm doing poultry)...when the ribs are done I close all vents so I'll have nearly a chimney full to reuse next cook
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...as an aside, I sometimes use lump only in the Performer and only for short high-heat cooks ...when I do, I put a few briqs of <span class="ev_code_BLUE">K</span> in the bottom of the chimney first, mostly to keep the irregular lump from falling through & it also lights faster that way
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Back to the WSM again, I've found that <span class="ev_code_BLUE">K</span> proves a more even, consistant heat for smoking
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...also <span class="ev_code_BLUE">K</span> is about $.30/lb locally while lump is $1.00/lb
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Hope this helps, Adious
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For a 4 hr cook just use about a 1/3 ring. Depending if you want to cook low or hot will determine wether you pack it good or not. If I'm cooking High Heat, I don't pack it as I want the air gaps for the higher heat. If doing a low heat cook, then I'll pack er tight to eliminate the air gaps.
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HTH I use lump for every cook so I won't steer you wrong.
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IMO, it's the best charcoal to use, and while I'm at it, the only charcoal you should use, but that's another thread for another time.
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Alright. So I think I will use two full unlit chimneys of lump, fairly well packed together. I will then use about 1/2 chimeny of K (lit) and pour on top. A couple chunks of apple wood and off I go. Should be plenty. For ribs I like low and slow. 250 degrees or so is my desired temp.

I am anxious to try a few high heat cooks this year too, namely a brisket and pork shoulder.

How well does lump fire up in a chimney starter? K lights in about 30 seconds with 1 paper towel soaked in vegetale oil. Will the lump light as easily? Is there any reason/advanatage to use lump as the starter too?
 
Lump's great in a chimney. Note that you don't need to let it ash over on top, once flames are shooting out the top you're fine. I used to use a couple of paper towels with a drizzle of oil. I'm sure one towel with lots of oil works too. I now use the side burner of my gasser.

With small amounts I'd pick out some briq sized chunks so they'll all nestle together, that's about it. (With both lump and K it's easier if the chimney's upside down or if you have one with the rack flipped).
 
Ok. Thanks for the info guys. If the weather is close to 50 degrees this weekend I'm going to give it a go. I'll report back my experience.
 
Interesting thread, and I might play with lump. But I don't understand the leftover charcoal thing. If I pull my ribs and there's still heat, then I'll throw some chicken on. I mean the rub's laying around right there, and the thighs will be done before I serve the ribs, ready for the foodsaver when dinner's done.

Also, I've found that if the weather changes and gets the char damp, you can have problems.
 
This is one of these personal things - the last thing I need in my life is more leftovers, and there's always going to come a point where you have something left or you're adding more to finish something and that way lies madness. :-)

I do agree that everybody should use a little common sense about damp depending on local weather, how much protection the smoker has, how long it's going to sit there, etc. If your charcoal is fuzzy you should probably rethink your strategy!
 
So today was the day. Temps were in the mid 40's, winds were gusty but not too bad. I bought 2 racks of Hatfield St. Louis cut spare ribs from Stew Leonard's. They were just under 2 lbs each. Membrane removed, rubbed and ready by about 9am.

Around noon, I prepared the cooker. I poured about 1.5 chimney's worth of Royal Oak lump into the pan (should have used 2). I bought another grate for the bottom and did the criss-cross thing with the original charcoal grate. Then I lit about a 1/2 chimney of lump. First thing I noticed is that it lit in minutes. Much faster than the K. I dumped it on top of the unlit and assembled the cooker.

I poured about 2 gallons (this is double what I use with K) of tap water in the pan. I put the ribs on and set the vents to about 50% (except the top which was 100% open). I then added two good size chunks of cherry wood. The temp read around 200 on the Weber therm. I just let it go and it eventually settled on about 240 with really no adjustment.

After 2 hours I removed, foiled and put back on for another 90. Temps were holding steady. Came back after about an hour and noticed temps were dropping badly. I peeked inside and saw that I was almost out of fuel. I lit about a 1/2 chimney and carefully added to pan before it all lit. Temps were back around 250 at this point.

After the 90 min in the foil I removed and took a look. They were looking pretty good. Meat was pulling back nicely from the bone. I put back on unwrapped for about 40 minutes. I whipped up a Carolina bbq sauce in the meantime which came out really good.

The finished product was outstanding. Meat was fall off the bone tender but not mushy. Beautiful smoke ring. I really noticed how mild the ribs smelled. I was able to really taste the rub.

Overall, I think I'm a convert. If I'd used enough fuel (like many suggested) I wouldn't have had any trouble at all. But I really liked the taste of the meat.
 
Excellent - thanks for the detailed report. I'm glad it worked out for you even if you did have to toss in that extra 1/2 chimney, and now you have a better starting point for next time.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Doug Wade:
Excellent - thanks for the detailed report. I'm glad it worked out for you even if you did have to toss in that extra 1/2 chimney, and now you have a better starting point for next time. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Right on. 2 chimneys of unlit next time and I'll be all set for ribs.

Quick question. Every time I cook ribs, regardless of type, the meat only ever seems to pull back from the bone on one side. I snapped a picture with my Blackberry where you can see what I mean.

Should I rotate the ribs during the first 2 hours and during the foil phase? I don't use a rib rack. It's not a big deal, it just sort of bugs me that it doesn't pull back equally on both sides.
 
Generally speaking ribs pull from one side, where the meat is thinnest.....just the nature of the beast
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I put the skinny side of the racks inward and the thickest ends where the lid vent will be, this evens out the the cooking process, IMO
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...by the way if it's cold enough out to require the bottom vents be set to 50% open vs. 30% open on a nice day...you'll naturally burn a little more coal
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Interesting. Always wondered about that. I'll have to pay more attention to that on my next smoke. Thanks.

I'm thinking about a pork butt done high heat. I've never done one before.
 
I'd never really thought about that, but it makes sense to me too.
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Re: the pork butt - have you done one low and slow? It's pretty straightforward.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Doug Wade:
Re: the pork butt - have you done one low and slow? It's pretty straightforward. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No. I'm afraid I'm too lazy to spend the required 10+ hours. Perhaps one day. I like the idea of being able to start around 11am and be done in time for dinner. I'm not up for an overnight cook.
 
Try this guys: Smoke pork butt or brisket to 160* internal, then double foil with 1/4 cup apple juice or wine...finish in a 350* oven
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...Start mid morning and have a nice early dinner
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...plenty o'smoke...saves lotza time, coal, and sleep
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I just do it overnight. Lots of lump, get it dialed in around time to go to bed. Set the alarm for six hours later and just run down briefly and poke at everything and make sure there's not too much ash hanging around and everything's OK and go back to bed. I've found if I don't do this that around 7-8 hours I'll get the temperature dropping and I'd just as soon get in there early.

It's been running 12-13 hours. Last time I used wicked good charcoal and after 13 hours there were about two chimneys left in the smoker and we had pulled pork for lunch.
 
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