I hate to be dumb but could Ron or others explain about the "firebox" variety and what it is used for
I don't doubt your results... "flavored" to me = artificial processing = weird flavors. I also haven't figured out how to get a gas grill to smoke with wood chips with a high degree of success.Greg
My use of compromise is in reference to a firebox type. In that regard I don’t consider
portability any advantage. Area though maybe but the firebox types aren’t given away that’s for sure. The biggest compromise to me is flavor. What you consider a chunk of wood & charcoal selection is where I find the largest compromise. On our unit hunt we used a grill with chips or flavored lump and were greatly disappointed. Temp control was very good as the grill had 4 cast iron burners so lo & slo was easily possible.
Did you put actual chunks of wood in with the (natural lump) charcoal? I've used some brands of charcoal that make the food taste horrible. I should also note that if your fire temp (not BBQ temp!) is too low then you'll get an off-color smoke that tastes disgusting. I'm sure you're familiar with this concept but I thought I'd mention it for other people who are reading along. With an offset, you can control the size of your fire more easily (add fuel, remove fuel, etc.). With something like a BGE you set up your fuel for the entire cook and it is very hard to reduce the size of the fire if it gets too large. Most people I know light a small number of coals in the middle and let them burn outward during the cook. It definitely take a few cooks to get the hang of it.Next we borrowed a neighbor’s BGE for a few weeks when they went on vacation. Temp control was good, but the same flavor issues raised their head.
Agreed, you want to use the equipment that works best for you & your cooking style (and that produces excellent results). I've had incredible BBQ off of all the major styles of cooker, it's really a matter of preference.Bottom line, if the taste is off IOHO, it’s of little value. Why go through all that trouble if the results seem to be a compromise. Valid? It wasn’t for us.
You set diffusion grates inside the cooking area to direct the hot smoke around the meat. An advantage and disadvantage of this method is that the cooking area can have different temperatures. It's an advantage if it's planned that way (sausage cooking at temp A, pork butt cooking at temp B) but it's a disadvantage if you haven't dialed in the setup (one piece over cooked, the other piece under cooked). With other styles of cookers you are pretty much stuck with hot spots (using water trays can be a work around).Steve:
The firebox is the offset part of the smoker where you burn actual wood as opposed to lump charcoal. Its in a separate chamber adjacent to the chamber that holds the meat. There is no direct heating element underneath the meat in an offset cooker.
Ken Golden
Tossing 3-4 small chunks of wood (baseball sized) in with the lump can impart a lot more smoke flavor.Cooking with wood instead of lump imparts a different smoke flavor profile. Its not uncommon to see guys who cook with an offset smoker comment that other smokers do not have as strong a smoke flavor.
I also haven't figured out how to get a gas grill to smoke with wood chips with a high degree of success.
Did you put actual chunks of wood in with the (natural lump) charcoal?
You set diffusion grates inside the cooking area to direct the hot smoke around the meat. An advantage and disadvantage of this method is that the cooking area can have different temperatures. It's an advantage if it's planned that way (sausage cooking at temp A, pork butt cooking at temp B) but it's a disadvantage if you haven't dialed in the setup (one piece over cooked, the other piece under cooked). With other styles of cookers you are pretty much stuck with hot spots (using water trays can be a work around).
Tossing 3-4 small chunks of wood (baseball sized) in with the lump can impart a lot more smoke flavor.
You set diffusion grates inside the cooking area to direct the hot smoke around the meat. An advantage and disadvantage of this method is that the cooking area can have different temperatures. It's an advantage if it's planned that way (sausage cooking at temp A, pork butt cooking at temp B) but it's a disadvantage if you haven't dialed in the setup (one piece over cooked, the other piece under cooked). With other styles of cookers you are pretty much stuck with hot spots (using water trays can be a work around).
A good cook will alway know where the hot spots are - every grill/smoker has them - and compensate. One way to find the hot spots is to lay out a grid of Pillsbury biscuits and see how they bake across the grates.
you use an Fast Eddy" FEC-100 which is pellets so there is no woodsmoke flavor or can you buy pellets that are flavored such as mesquite or hickory etc
what does Amir's stokerlog add to the Rock BBQ Stoker?
I have a Komodo Kamado + gas assist (nice when I just want to cook some hot dogs or quickly light a bunch of coals). I had the burner's inlet resized so it would work with natural gas (which my home uses for heating). For BBQ I use lump charcoal + a few chunks of real wood (typically fruit wood).Greg_R
Refresh my memory again as to what you use to grill.
Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator | Ron Resnick Site Co-Owner | Administrator | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |