Wood Coal and Lump Charcoal??

[Guest]

I have been using my WSM for years. I always use the Minion Method with briquettes and then I add wood chips to generate smoke. I am looking for guidance as I hope to expand my horizons a little.

1.)I have seen people on TV burn logs of wood down to hot coals in a separate oil drum and then transfer over to their smoker to cook. Do these hot wood coals generate both heat and smoke, or do you have to add extra wood? Wouldn't using these hot wood coals cause an overly smoky, bitter taste in the food?

2.In using lump charcoal, is it common to have to add more wood chips to generate a smoky flavor in your meat or does it just depend?

 

[Jerry N.]

I've never done it, but I believe that burning logs down to charcoal would be a lot of work. Once done, it seems as though you would have something similar to lump charcoal. Lump seems to me to be a little more smokey than briquettes. Therefore you would have to adjust your smoke to taste. I use lump and I just use a couple fist size chunks of wood or less.

 

[Brian L.]

I know some folks burn their wood down to coals and them shovel them into their smoker to avoid oversmoking and/or creosote on the meat. It can be difficult to burn straight wood without oversmoking, but burning it down first helps reduce that chance.

If using a WSM I would think it would be difficult to shovel hot coals into it during a cook. In an offset it's much easier to shovel the coals in the firebox. IMHO if you burn and shovel coals you do need to a little raw wood to get some smoke flavor, but with real good fire management and proper wood selection an experienced pit master can run straight wood without the pre-burn.

The WSM is made to run on charcoal or lump with some wood chunks. If you want to go traditional then go for an offset and play with it until you get it right. Just don't think it would be practical to try to transfer hot coals to a WSM.

 

[K Kruger]

The 55-gal drum method is used to make your own lump. You can make it and store it for whenever you want to use it. I've never done it but the process is described here.