A couple of things I have found: 1. Remove bark from oak. The bark burns hot and creates very strong smoke. 2. If I can't remove the bark I just burn the oak in a separate fire pit and let it burn off the white, dirty smoke. I then add it to the firebox.
Yes, I try and do this 90% of the time also. I'll keep bark on once I wrap though. I haven't done a separate burn barrel/fire pit yet, but its on my list to try this summer. Thanks for the comment John.
Didn’t realize people were stressing over that lol chill people,, like he says it’s yours! Have fun! What I do, if you have a warmer box on your off set, I stack wood in there till ready to use. It gets really hot then when I add it to fire box it lights almost immediately. Just how I do it though.
Thank you! Everyone watches these Netflix shows and then get all stressed out, why can’t I cook like this, I’m doing it wrong, etc etc. drink a beer and have fun🍻🍻
Right now everyone on Instagram and FB BBQ groups are going bananas for The American Barbecue Showdown, and Chef's Table BBQ. I've just never liked big budget cooking shows on tv/streaming services, annnnnnnnd the winner is, wait we'll tell you after the commercials. Can we just get the results, hence my love for UA-cam, the majority of videos show you how to do what you were asking about.
@@glennevitt5250same here I had a pork butt going for 8 hours end result was overcooked I got my smoker too hot and didn’t control my fire good enough good learning experience tho
I very happy they are helping! In a few short weeks I’ll have “The Barbecue Journal” out to help even more! Thank you for watching, commenting and Subscribing!
Mate just bought a hark chubby want to start smoking etc, Need some advice on basic temp probes please if you can help a old bloke from Australia. The Chubby has two holes for probes to go in through
Post some pictures on our Facebook group, Backyard BBQ Smokers (Kingsford Stockade). We will be able to take a look and give you some help for that type of smoker 👍
I noticed your coal is close toward the main barrel. Do you recommend that? I saw someone else have their coal toward the back of the offset so I did that. Seemed ok but thinking about it maybe I'd get more heat in the main barrel if the coals were all closer to it. Do you recommend the coals being closer to the barrel rather than toward the back of the offset? Thanks! I'm new at this and only smoked once so far. I made a brisket and it came out ok, but I feel like it could have been better. It's definitely a science to get the smoking down right with an offset.
Every smoker is a little different so you need to see where placement works the best for your smoker. Also make sure to use the same brand charcoal each time you are testing 👍
Yes, typically in a few minutes you’ll burner cleaner. A few minutes is nothing to worry about, start worrying when you’ve choked your airflow off and you have bad smoke for hours.
Idk if this is an answer your going to suggest but I saw a pitmaster show thingy and they pre burned the fuel. What if you pre burned your coal and got a wood piece on it also so it pre lit the wood as well so you don’t get that plume of throwing a raw piece into it
That’s definitely a way you can do it. Rodney Scott does it that way. It’s normally done that way for a different cooker style. With these offsets, it’s a lot of work to do it that way. The short burst heavier plumes don’t affect it that much, it’s the smoldering for an hour that will ruin the meat.
Wow, very good tip on using the wet wood for when the meat is wrapped. I'd never have known that! Man between your youtube channel and the Facebook page, I've learned alot about smoking meat.
Or just finish it in the oven.🤷 No flavor profile is extended, and no further bark forms after wrapping. I know everyone says, "I just like being outside so I keep it on the smoker". I say, put the internal thermometer in, set it in the oven, go back outside and post prep your smoker (wipe down with oil where needed, empty the grease catch, burn-off and clean the cooking grates, etc).
Been a Weber kettle man my whole life. Just bought my first offset this week. Excited to try everything. Having a tough time finding splits of smoking wood, where should I be looking? Chunks and chips available everywhere but I want some larger pieces
My average time is between 25-35 minutes. Every once and while it will be 45 minute averages, or if I have really really dry wood it will be 20 minutes.
You don’t have to worry about it too much. Heavy smoke for a little while will be okay, but if it’s an ongoing smoldering of heavy smoke it can affect your food.
You don’t have to worry about it too much. Heavy smoke for a little while will be okay, but if it’s an ongoing smoldering of heavy smoke it can affect your food.
Great FB group. Great video. When I add splits I pre-heat the split then add to the fire box. I keep the lid open until the split ignites. Initially it’s a heavy smoke then within a couple of minutes it’s a clean burn and I close the fire box lid. If I don’t see clean smoke I move the coals around or move the split to get a good clean burn.
That's smart to shift the coal around if it doesnt ignite right away. The group is definitely rocking, thank you for helping make it the best BBQ group on Facebook!
I've had my offset char griller for about a month and a half..and I've used it every single weekend and man what a difference from the first use to now. I made smoked buffalo chicken dip last weekend.....it was insane. I took it to work and everyone told me its the best they ever had. It was awesome lol
I have blue clean smoke, the fire is always burning never went out but i have what seems like a faint layer of soot over my chicken skin after around 40 mins so i finished it in the oven. What am i doing wrong? The wood is reading 6% moisture
Great tips, thanks for sharing!! Quick question though, can you or should you use wood chucks as your main heat source, maybe on top of a small bed of coals, or should we focus more on sticks or splits as for that? There isn't a ton of options in my area for sticks or splits so wasn't sure if I should be looking having it shipped in..
In scenarios like that, I try and use lump charcoal to pick up more wood flavor from the charcoal itself. Then add wood chunks for the first 3 hours adding every 15 minutes to 30. After about 3 hours, i'll just stick to charcoal and get the thing cook! I'm not using it as much of a heat source, but more for adding an additional flavor profile. The charcoal is my heat source when using chunks.
I will admit I ruined my first 2 racks of ribs learning to use my offset smoker. I never was so disappointed but after learning the hard way I really enjoy using it.
If you are adding splits at the right time it’s replenishing the charcoal for you. If the splits aren’t keeping up, it’s normally every 3 to 5 hours depending on air flow. Good luck 👍
Great video. I think tip number 5 is the best tip of all. I am still learning but I have found that doing short cooks just so I can play with fire management and temp control helps a lot. I think i learn something every time I cook.
Keep cutting down your splits to smaller size, 6 inches 2-3 inches thick seem to be the best size for my smokers. I used to throw the a big 12 inch log in there and my temp would sky rocket. Keep trying smaller and smaller splits if 6 inches is spiking the temp for you 👍
This has been my #1 concern with my smoking game. Thanks for the tips. I have a cheep offset not a very big firebox. Any suggestions if I should be using Charcoal with Chucks or should I move to using wood splits?
I would try and use wood, but definitely on the smaller size. Chucks just go so quick, so gaining an extra 15 minutes with wood, will help over a 10-15 hour cook big time! I also did a fire management between chunks and splits, i'll drop the link here. ua-cam.com/video/RYOI6mQdGU8/v-deo.html
Your videos have been so helpful. Really appreciate the time you take to take out some of the fear and concern over buying an offset vs. pellet. You've really made me feel more comfortable buying an offset
I don't worry about the heavy smoke for the first few minutes. I open the dampers wide open to get a hot burn going. Nice tips though! I like the drying out of "wet" wood part.
Just got my first offset smoker. Been listening to your videos. Great info. Learning a lot. Learned the types of wood cuts and how effect the amount of smoke. Will be doing it again this weekend. Thx man.
My pleasure, glad you are getting into it! Everytime someone tries to get me on another style of cooker, it just never works for me, offsets are way to much fun. Playing with a big towable smoker now, video coming later this week. Thanks for watching, commenting, and subscribing!
I always throw a lot of wood in my pit and it looks like a train 🚂 smoking along. My point is when my smoke 💨 is heavy the bigger my smoke rig is. When I have clean smoke my smoke rig is less visible. So I just stack my wood and let it burn and make sure my temp is on point. I like smoking my brisket for 24 hours or 30 it’s always delicious.
Thank you so much for this advice when I watched this i was smoking some meat & I was panicking😰but your advice really helped & calm my down thanks so much😁👍🏾👍🏾
My first thing is, I don't call my meat I am cooking, smoking, BBQing... Protein. Yes, it is protein but to me it is my food and I want to make it awesome. Please don't call it protein.. Beyond annoying. Kinda like calling your Living room or den, a space.. It's not a space, it's a room!!!
Practice definitely goes a long way towards getting it right, but if you don't have the time to smoke something as often as you'd like, make notes. I got my offset smoker 3 years ago. I just made my 4th brisket last Sunday for Easter. I've only smoked 4-5 other things over these 3 years. From day one, I used the notes app on my phone to record all kinds of information. From how I started the fire to periodic temps for the meat and the cook chamber. Every note has a time on it so I can see when I started and at what point I was making another note. We've always got our phones with us and we've always got time on our hands when we're smoking. It's a no-brainer.
Awesome tips Kevin and some really good suggestions too. I don't smoke near enough, I only do it two or three times a month, I'd like to do it a couple times a week. I make pretty good food but my time management is terrible, that's where I need my practice. Do a video on that please. Fantastic video brother.
Thank you, I appreciate the encouragement of these videos. Just to be clear, time management on the food portion/preparing for how long it will cook, or time management when to fit it into your week?
i split my wood into smaller pieces. it lights and burns quickly with less smoke. you have to put it on more frequently - but it doesn't make heavy smoke and burns clean.
I have my offset smoker placed on top of foil lined flame retardant mats on my sheltered deck behind the house. I've found pointing a fan at my bbq solves oxygen requirements for my fire and helps cool the oven at the same time to easily keep the temps closer to 225
The best bbq book out there is by Meathead, and he does a lot of myth busting in his book. Soaking wood is on top of that list, he broke it down and showed it barely gets into the wood. Along with causing the wood to smolder instead of combust properly. So no on the soaking chunks before the fire. I'm glad you enjoyed the video and commented!
I’ve been grilling since I was 10year old and I agree you have to get it in on the regular. No ones perfect. The older you get the more you forget. Always Keep a fishing log hunting log and BBQ Journal 📓 💪🏿 wind is something people don’t talk about much … I used to always put your fire box facing the wind now a days I want it down wind so I’m not having to keep ash off my food
Thank you I purchased a Grill with an offset smoker a year ago. I have a separate little smoker that I use all the time because I did not know how to use the offset smoker on my new grill. I’m excited to try it now. Thank you for your information and the help. Looking forward trying it now. Do you have any advice what we can fine would that would be use for the smoker? Thanks again keep up the good work.
ua-cam.com/play/PLlWEJETj_xqMAG-2uGxDIIsaSHTS2eNze.html This playlist pretty much has every topic covered 👍. I also just recently created a 3 video playlist of biggest beginners mistakes. Both good resources. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Chargriller is the owner of Oklahoma Joe, typically both owners of those grills end up sealing it up with silicon high heat seal and gaskets to help with the leaks. around the firebox to main chamber (silicon) and the main chamber (gasket). These tends to help a lot, I know the gasket is like $12 bucks on amazon. I have a link in the description. I still haven't used the silicon, but my friends do.
I've never even been to one. I am thinking about attending one to see what its all about once covid is over. I think that could help with some street credit, ahaha! But then again, I am really enjoying just helping beginners with simple tactics to follow. Thanks Charley 👍👍
That sounds really tasty, was at a bbq the other day were the sausages were definitely the best thing cooked up. Pretty simple to do and normally one of the better things to eat! That could be a good practice cook in the winter, thank you for the idea!
How often do you have to add wood to maintain your temp. I have a cheaper $199 Char Broil offset. Thinner metal... Typical cheap model. I have to add wood once an hour usually...
@@ComparisonCooking Yeah... That's optimal conditions for sure. I live in Montana. The wind is my most ardent foe. That and winter. I've been at this BBQ game for about ten years. I wish I could get my smoker up to 225-250 and get it to stay there. But that is the battle. And it's the battle that intrigues me. If I didn't enjoy the battle and the journey I'd get a pellet smoker. I wish I could substantiate purchasing a way more expensive offset model. I'm sure it would be easier maintaining temps in something built with 3/16 inch steel. It's still a full on blast producing something not everyone else can. It's a killer hobby for sure.
I like to close my stack before I open the firebox to retain as much heat as possible while I wait for the wood to catch. Then I open the stack back up before I close the firebox.
Please do not do that for wood splits. Some people will do that for wood chips in electric smokers, its the only time you should do it. For wood splits, it steams your food and doesn't add any value. WIll also reduce your temperature under 212, which is the temp water turns to steam.
Yes you can use chunks, you will just have to keep replenishing charcoal also as the chunks won't burn down to enough charcoal embers to keep your heat going. Its a flavor source not a prolonged heat source.
Wood will add another burst of heat, depending on the size, it might be a quick burst of heat with now leftover wood embers to keep the heat going. The larger the piece the more it will leave helping replenish your charcoal base.
Great tips and awesome explanation of why how and when on offset smoker fire. I like using a small fan and place it somewhat distance from the vent to always introduce fresh air. Great channel man.
Thank you really appreciate it. I have a bunch of friends that use the fan with this smoker too. I don’t have a good electrical outlet close by otherwise I would give it a try.
Question. As we start to transition into cooler weather will it change the temperature on our smokers to the point we may have to use more wood & charcoal?
On this thinner metal smokers it will definitely cause us to have to burn more fuel and try and run the firebox hotter. I'm starting to think about what videos I need to do in the winter time.
I am still experimenting with the best set up. I placed a brick in my cook chamber to make the opening smaller. It helped a lot. Today i am going to adjust the angle of the brick and the stack cover to see if I can slow the consumption of fuel. The other day I went through way too much log splits like around 6 logs. Last night i only used 2 logs in total but split them down to smaller sizes. I was also able to maintain a great cook temp of 225 - 230. Today is going to be a bit tricky as the winds are gusting about 35 mph.
@@ComparisonCooking it was horrible winds. Nothing helped got terrible black smoke thankfully nothing was cooking so i went back to my original set up of blocking 95% of the opening to the fire box and cook chamber. And will play with the vents a bit today
Thank God for this video....we ordered our Yoder Smoker in November and it finally arrived and was delivered to our house 2 days ago. My wife immediately wanted to jump out and start smoking first thing this morning (it's Saturday) without understanding any of the tips discussed in this video. I intuitively felt that all the heavy smoke bellowing from the chimney couldn't be a good thing and quickly searched for a video to help get a handle on it early and after watching this I have managed a beautiful clean burn for the last 3 hours and have a nice rhythm going to finish in the next 4 hours or so. Your video saved the day and completely eliminated the stress from the process!
@@ComparisonCooking We absolutely LOVE IT and now I have to fight with my wife to let me get off easy sometimes and make something simple (i.e. NOT SMOKED) on our amazing Lynx Gas Grill! She wanted me to smoke a whole chicken yesterday and I had to convince her to let me use our Rotisserie...lol. The only thing I'm wondering about with my Yoder is how easy surface rust shows up everywhere and we live in San Diego where there is very very low humidity 🤔
@@ComparisonCooking Thx for the tip...I guess I should be thinking about it like seasoning an iron skillet because it damn sure feels like one big iron skillet!
I actually LOVE apricot bark smoke on meats. I think the bark more than the wood itself! Just a delightful flavor on beef and chicken! I guess it all depends on the meat and the flavor profile you are looking to achieve! Like having/making children... it's the process of finding what works for you, that is the fun!! Don't stress... just enjoy the moment!! ;) "Practice, Practice Practice" LOL!! My life motto!! In cooking... and Children making... or.... just....... WhoooHoo! Enjoy the process of success and failure! I mean, how bad could it taste or feel in reality?!!?!?
Smoking 101 Playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLlWEJETj_xqMAG-2uGxDIIsaSHTS2eNze.html
Responded
A couple of things I have found:
1. Remove bark from oak. The bark burns hot and creates very strong smoke.
2. If I can't remove the bark I just burn the oak in a separate fire pit and let it burn off the white, dirty smoke. I then add it to the firebox.
Yes, I try and do this 90% of the time also. I'll keep bark on once I wrap though. I haven't done a separate burn barrel/fire pit yet, but its on my list to try this summer. Thanks for the comment John.
Good tip! I’ve started burning separately and adding too as I only have access to oak where I am. 👍
Didn’t realize people were stressing over that lol chill people,, like he says it’s yours! Have fun! What I do, if you have a warmer box on your off set, I stack wood in there till ready to use. It gets really hot then when I add it to fire box it lights almost immediately. Just how I do it though.
That’s the way to do it!
Awesome tips and tricks that every backyard pit-master needs to watch.
Thank you Tommy, I completely agree!
I use a small amount of Royal Oak to get coals, then I only use wood. I'm in the south so I use a lot of Oak and Hickory.…
That's the best way to do it!
Probably the most important lesson is to enjoy the experience! You’re right it’s supposed to be fun! Great tips Kevin!
Thank you! Everyone watches these Netflix shows and then get all stressed out, why can’t I cook like this, I’m doing it wrong, etc etc. drink a beer and have fun🍻🍻
@@ComparisonCooking totally agree with you Kevin & Todd. What shows are on Netflix?
Right now everyone on Instagram and FB BBQ groups are going bananas for The American Barbecue Showdown, and Chef's Table BBQ. I've just never liked big budget cooking shows on tv/streaming services, annnnnnnnd the winner is, wait we'll tell you after the commercials. Can we just get the results, hence my love for UA-cam, the majority of videos show you how to do what you were asking about.
I think most beginners use way too much fuel. A small amount of wood or charcoal can make a sizeable amount of heat/smoke.
Couldn't agree more, I always start with a little on a new smoker and build up from there.
I believe that's what happened to me yesterday for the fourth I had too much charcoal and not enough wood and did not get the heat that I wanted😎
@@glennevitt5250same here I had a pork butt going for 8 hours end result was overcooked I got my smoker too hot and didn’t control my fire good enough good learning experience tho
@@NicSmokes thank you for this information 😎
Learned that the hardway
I greatly appreciate the videos of yours I have watched. It's definitely given me some confidence to tackle certain goals.
I very happy they are helping! In a few short weeks I’ll have “The Barbecue Journal” out to help even more! Thank you for watching, commenting and Subscribing!
Very good tips, Kevin!! We enjoyed learning more about Offset smokers! 🔥
More to come! Thanks for watching ladies!
Mate just bought a hark chubby want to start smoking etc, Need some advice on basic temp probes please if you can help a old bloke from Australia. The Chubby has two holes for probes to go in through
Post some pictures on our Facebook group, Backyard BBQ Smokers (Kingsford Stockade). We will be able to take a look and give you some help for that type of smoker 👍
Nice info Kevin. Solid tips for the offset. All I could think of was Allen Iverson.
Haha, great ball player! Thanks for watching!
I noticed your coal is close toward the main barrel. Do you recommend that? I saw someone else have their coal toward the back of the offset so I did that. Seemed ok but thinking about it maybe I'd get more heat in the main barrel if the coals were all closer to it. Do you recommend the coals being closer to the barrel rather than toward the back of the offset? Thanks! I'm new at this and only smoked once so far. I made a brisket and it came out ok, but I feel like it could have been better. It's definitely a science to get the smoking down right with an offset.
Every smoker is a little different so you need to see where placement works the best for your smoker. Also make sure to use the same brand charcoal each time you are testing 👍
White puffy smoke doesnt really ruin it, if the smoke starts to get a yellow tint, that will do it.
Right on!
Is buying a bag of wood chunks better than the wood in the video? I would think the bag is dried properly.
Bags of wood chunks are good, I use them all the time.
Great video Kevin.... but I was really hoping for a Traeger and OKJ 😂 kidding
Next time! Hahaha! Did you see the poll results? 75% want the offset smoker videos, 👍🙌🙌
so when the wood chunk have bark on it, it'll burn dirty smoke first? It should turn to clean smoke in what, a few minutes or so?
Yes, typically in a few minutes you’ll burner cleaner. A few minutes is nothing to worry about, start worrying when you’ve choked your airflow off and you have bad smoke for hours.
Idk if this is an answer your going to suggest but I saw a pitmaster show thingy and they pre burned the fuel.
What if you pre burned your coal and got a wood piece on it also so it pre lit the wood as well so you don’t get that plume of throwing a raw piece into it
That’s definitely a way you can do it. Rodney Scott does it that way. It’s normally done that way for a different cooker style. With these offsets, it’s a lot of work to do it that way. The short burst heavier plumes don’t affect it that much, it’s the smoldering for an hour that will ruin the meat.
Wow, very good tip on using the wet wood for when the meat is wrapped. I'd never have known that! Man between your youtube channel and the Facebook page, I've learned alot about smoking meat.
So glad, its all coming .together! Let me know if you have any other topics you want me to cover
First freakin thing this man said was have a great time doing it awesome 👍
Thank you Tim, appreciate it!
Pro tip: if it's wrapped don't use wood at all. Use lump charcoal for heat. Save the wood for the smoke.
Absolutely!
Or just finish it in the oven.🤷 No flavor profile is extended, and no further bark forms after wrapping. I know everyone says, "I just like being outside so I keep it on the smoker". I say, put the internal thermometer in, set it in the oven, go back outside and post prep your smoker (wipe down with oil where needed, empty the grease catch, burn-off and clean the cooking grates, etc).
Been a Weber kettle man my whole life. Just bought my first offset this week. Excited to try everything. Having a tough time finding splits of smoking wood, where should I be looking? Chunks and chips available everywhere but I want some larger pieces
31 people like dirty smoke flavored food
🤣🤣🤣
I like your attitude about the whole barbecue experience! Right on man, and great video.
Glad you enjoyed it! Everyone is so worked up, might as well relax a little bit.
Do you have to keep adding charcoal on long smokes?
On certain offsets it helps, aka the ones you get from the big box stores. However a larger custom smoker you can do wood from start to finish.
This is awesome Kevin. You nailed it.. I wish to get a hand of that grill but it's so unlike. Just glad to be here. ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much! If you aren't 100% on it, I wouldn't buy it, would hate for it sit outside and not be used, which can happen very very easily!
What about timing for adding wood?
My average time is between 25-35 minutes. Every once and while it will be 45 minute averages, or if I have really really dry wood it will be 20 minutes.
Honestly. My biggest concern was when i add new wood i lose a lit of heat.
But now am worried about bad smoke. I didn't even know about bad smoke.
You don’t have to worry about it too much. Heavy smoke for a little while will be okay, but if it’s an ongoing smoldering of heavy smoke it can affect your food.
You don’t have to worry about it too much. Heavy smoke for a little while will be okay, but if it’s an ongoing smoldering of heavy smoke it can affect your food.
Great video, thank you for sharing
My pleasure.
Great FB group. Great video. When I add splits I pre-heat the split then add to the fire box. I keep the lid open until the split ignites. Initially it’s a heavy smoke then within a couple of minutes it’s a clean burn and I close the fire box lid. If I don’t see clean smoke I move the coals around or move the split to get a good clean burn.
That's smart to shift the coal around if it doesnt ignite right away. The group is definitely rocking, thank you for helping make it the best BBQ group on Facebook!
I've had my offset char griller for about a month and a half..and I've used it every single weekend and man what a difference from the first use to now. I made smoked buffalo chicken dip last weekend.....it was insane. I took it to work and everyone told me its the best they ever had. It was awesome lol
DRTE BRD oh wow, that sounds really really good! You are 100% correct though, the practice is where it’s at!
Excelent advice here!
Thank you!
Thanks for this great explanation 👍
I have blue clean smoke, the fire is always burning never went out but i have what seems like a faint layer of soot over my chicken skin after around 40 mins so i finished it in the oven. What am i doing wrong? The wood is reading 6% moisture
Great practical tips!
Glad you think so! Appreciate you stopping by!
Great tips, thanks for sharing!! Quick question though, can you or should you use wood chucks as your main heat source, maybe on top of a small bed of coals, or should we focus more on sticks or splits as for that? There isn't a ton of options in my area for sticks or splits so wasn't sure if I should be looking having it shipped in..
In scenarios like that, I try and use lump charcoal to pick up more wood flavor from the charcoal itself. Then add wood chunks for the first 3 hours adding every 15 minutes to 30. After about 3 hours, i'll just stick to charcoal and get the thing cook! I'm not using it as much of a heat source, but more for adding an additional flavor profile. The charcoal is my heat source when using chunks.
I like the heavy smoke taste.
Some people definitely do 👍
Just the video I was looking for.
Booooom, glad it helped!!
I will admit I ruined my first 2 racks of ribs learning to use my offset smoker. I never was so disappointed but after learning the hard way I really enjoy using it.
Best way to learn, glad you've got it dialed in now!
How often do you add that charcoal? I'm doing my first brisket for Thanksgiving.
If you are adding splits at the right time it’s replenishing the charcoal for you. If the splits aren’t keeping up, it’s normally every 3 to 5 hours depending on air flow. Good luck 👍
Great video. I think tip number 5 is the best tip of all. I am still learning but I have found that doing short cooks just so I can play with fire management and temp control helps a lot. I think i learn something every time I cook.
So true, glad you liked the video. That Bacon bomb looked so freakin good yesterday by the way!
I’ve never stressed one time about more smoke. Do people actually do this? 😂
Thanks for the good video
My pleasure!
smoke isnt my issue... whenever i add wood i get huge temp spikes... is there any way to quell those down or is it just a matter of trial and error?
Keep cutting down your splits to smaller size, 6 inches 2-3 inches thick seem to be the best size for my smokers. I used to throw the a big 12 inch log in there and my temp would sky rocket. Keep trying smaller and smaller splits if 6 inches is spiking the temp for you 👍
I'm glad you hit the point of wind direction. Because it absolutely makes a huge difference
Big time!
Thanks, Bro I really had to chill this was a great help!
Glad it could help 👍
Mister sir I am 64 yrs old u r so right I've cook in 20 cold an 100 heat nice❤❤
This has been my #1 concern with my smoking game. Thanks for the tips. I have a cheep offset not a very big firebox. Any suggestions if I should be using Charcoal with Chucks or should I move to using wood splits?
I would try and use wood, but definitely on the smaller size. Chucks just go so quick, so gaining an extra 15 minutes with wood, will help over a 10-15 hour cook big time! I also did a fire management between chunks and splits, i'll drop the link here. ua-cam.com/video/RYOI6mQdGU8/v-deo.html
Where do you find a Kingsford smoker btw?
It won't let me click the bell
Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I'll check it out to see whats up!
Smoking a couple briskets now!!!
Bet they are tasting good!
Wow nice my friend. Stay connected 😀
Thanks and sure
Your videos have been so helpful. Really appreciate the time you take to take out some of the fear and concern over buying an offset vs. pellet. You've really made me feel more comfortable buying an offset
Glad to help! Please keep me posted if there is any topic I can cover. Thank you, for watching, commenting, and subscribing!
I don't worry about the heavy smoke for the first few minutes. I open the dampers wide open to get a hot burn going. Nice tips though! I like the drying out of "wet" wood part.
I’ve seen your post on Facebook, you are crushing it!
Just got my first offset smoker. Been listening to your videos. Great info. Learning a lot. Learned the types of wood cuts and how effect the amount of smoke. Will be doing it again this weekend. Thx man.
My pleasure, glad you are getting into it! Everytime someone tries to get me on another style of cooker, it just never works for me, offsets are way to much fun. Playing with a big towable smoker now, video coming later this week. Thanks for watching, commenting, and subscribing!
I always throw a lot of wood in my pit and it looks like a train 🚂 smoking along. My point is when my smoke 💨 is heavy the bigger my smoke rig is. When I have clean smoke my smoke rig is less visible. So I just stack my wood and let it burn and make sure my temp is on point. I like smoking my brisket for 24 hours or 30 it’s always delicious.
Couldn't agree more, every rig operates a little different, some can handle the load up.
I bought 'Project Smoke' before I bought my stick burner. Big help.
Your info is greatly appreciated.
Types of wood would be great. Thanks
Glad I could help! Great suggestion.
Good tips
Thanks
Thank you so much for this advice when I watched this i was smoking some meat & I was panicking😰but your advice really helped & calm my down thanks so much😁👍🏾👍🏾
That's awesome, glad i could help! How did it turn out?
My first thing is, I don't call my meat I am cooking, smoking, BBQing... Protein. Yes, it is protein but to me it is my food and I want to make it awesome. Please don't call it protein.. Beyond annoying. Kinda like calling your Living room or den, a space.. It's not a space, it's a room!!!
Practice definitely goes a long way towards getting it right, but if you don't have the time to smoke something as often as you'd like, make notes.
I got my offset smoker 3 years ago. I just made my 4th brisket last Sunday for Easter. I've only smoked 4-5 other things over these 3 years. From day one, I used the notes app on my phone to record all kinds of information. From how I started the fire to periodic temps for the meat and the cook chamber. Every note has a time on it so I can see when I started and at what point I was making another note.
We've always got our phones with us and we've always got time on our hands when we're smoking. It's a no-brainer.
Completely agree, it’s the smart way to do it!
Awesome tips Kevin and some really good suggestions too. I don't smoke near enough, I only do it two or three times a month, I'd like to do it a couple times a week. I make pretty good food but my time management is terrible, that's where I need my practice. Do a video on that please. Fantastic video brother.
Thank you, I appreciate the encouragement of these videos. Just to be clear, time management on the food portion/preparing for how long it will cook, or time management when to fit it into your week?
i split my wood into smaller pieces. it lights and burns quickly with less smoke.
you have to put it on more frequently - but it doesn't make heavy smoke and burns clean.
yeah thats the way to do it!
I have my offset smoker placed on top of foil lined flame retardant mats on my sheltered deck behind the house. I've found pointing a fan at my bbq solves oxygen requirements for my fire and helps cool the oven at the same time to easily keep the temps closer to 225
That's a great idea!
Practice practice practice...was the best tip...it is an art...what about wet chunks of wood??
The best bbq book out there is by Meathead, and he does a lot of myth busting in his book. Soaking wood is on top of that list, he broke it down and showed it barely gets into the wood. Along with causing the wood to smolder instead of combust properly. So no on the soaking chunks before the fire. I'm glad you enjoyed the video and commented!
I’ve been grilling since I was 10year old and I agree you have to get it in on the regular. No ones perfect. The older you get the more you forget. Always Keep a fishing log hunting log and BBQ Journal 📓 💪🏿 wind is something people don’t talk about much … I used to always put your fire box facing the wind now a days I want it down wind so I’m not having to keep ash off my food
That is so true, you can taste the grittiness of the ash on your food in that case, good when you are young, not so much when you get older 😂
you could always use your top grate furthest from the coals I will dry out nicely wait until you already have a good base
Good tip!
Thanks a lot brother. Learning a lot from you. Am just about to add a reverse flow offset smoker to my cafe kitchen.
Niceeeee, love a reverse flow!
Thank you I purchased a Grill with an offset smoker a year ago. I have a separate little smoker that I use all the time because I did not know how to use the offset smoker on my new grill. I’m excited to try it now. Thank you for your information and the help. Looking forward trying it now. Do you have any advice what we can fine would that would be use for the smoker? Thanks again keep up the good work.
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This playlist pretty much has every topic covered 👍. I also just recently created a 3 video playlist of biggest beginners mistakes. Both good resources. Thanks for watching and commenting!
And always have a few of dogs in there for snacking smoking BBQ is a full time job.
You got that right! Thanks for watching Robert.
My smoker is a chargriller leaks alot is the oklahoma joe highland good a friend has one but doesn't use it can't take his word
Chargriller is the owner of Oklahoma Joe, typically both owners of those grills end up sealing it up with silicon high heat seal and gaskets to help with the leaks. around the firebox to main chamber (silicon) and the main chamber (gasket). These tends to help a lot, I know the gasket is like $12 bucks on amazon. I have a link in the description. I still haven't used the silicon, but my friends do.
Great direction on prepping the wood for the smoker. Thanks!
My pleasure, sets you up nicely!
Great video Kevin, some really good tips in there! Practice does make better. Ever tempted to do a competition? Have a great weekend brother!
I've never even been to one. I am thinking about attending one to see what its all about once covid is over. I think that could help with some street credit, ahaha! But then again, I am really enjoying just helping beginners with simple tactics to follow. Thanks Charley 👍👍
Comparison Cooking Definitely go to one, offer to help a team, you’ll have a blast I promise.
When going to do a oklahoma bbq of bbq baloney and hot links and polish jalapeno sausage and fried squash and okra cornbread and taters
That sounds really tasty, was at a bbq the other day were the sausages were definitely the best thing cooked up. Pretty simple to do and normally one of the better things to eat! That could be a good practice cook in the winter, thank you for the idea!
How often do you have to add wood to maintain your temp. I have a cheaper $199 Char Broil offset. Thinner metal... Typical cheap model. I have to add wood once an hour usually...
That’s really good to get an hour out of it. Normally I’m around 30-45 minutes and in tough conditions I’ve had to add every 20 minutes.
@@ComparisonCooking Yeah... That's optimal conditions for sure. I live in Montana. The wind is my most ardent foe. That and winter. I've been at this BBQ game for about ten years. I wish I could get my smoker up to 225-250 and get it to stay there. But that is the battle. And it's the battle that intrigues me. If I didn't enjoy the battle and the journey I'd get a pellet smoker. I wish I could substantiate purchasing a way more expensive offset model. I'm sure it would be easier maintaining temps in something built with 3/16 inch steel. It's still a full on blast producing something not everyone else can. It's a killer hobby for sure.
I like to close my stack before I open the firebox to retain as much heat as possible while I wait for the wood to catch. Then I open the stack back up before I close the firebox.
That’s an interesting method, I have to give that a try! Thanks for watching and commenting!
great video as always, yeah practice is a key to cooking any style!
You got that right!
Thank You! Very informative!
Glad it was helpful!
What about soaking the wood before you put it on the coals I keep hearing people say to do this
Please do not do that for wood splits. Some people will do that for wood chips in electric smokers, its the only time you should do it. For wood splits, it steams your food and doesn't add any value. WIll also reduce your temperature under 212, which is the temp water turns to steam.
Oh yea BTW you remind me of A.I. with the practice, practice, practice.
Mannn... When him and Stephon Marbury hit the courts that same year, you knew something special was about to go down!
Hell yea ! Cooking my first brisket today and this really help. Great video
Glad I could help, now I want some brisket!
Is it possible I can use wood chunks bought from amazon like Weber Wood Chunks? They are about the size of soda cans.
Yes you can use chunks, you will just have to keep replenishing charcoal also as the chunks won't burn down to enough charcoal embers to keep your heat going. Its a flavor source not a prolonged heat source.
@@ComparisonCooking thank you.
Ok question.... So the lump charcoal is your heat and wood is only flavor? Need more heat add more charcoal or does the wood keep you consistent?
Wood will add another burst of heat, depending on the size, it might be a quick burst of heat with now leftover wood embers to keep the heat going. The larger the piece the more it will leave helping replenish your charcoal base.
@@ComparisonCooking Gotcha thank you.
What kind of would do you recommend to use after you wrap.
Once you wrap in tinfoil, you can use any wood you want
Great tips and awesome explanation of why how and when on offset smoker fire. I like using a small fan and place it somewhat distance from the vent to always introduce fresh air. Great channel man.
Thank you really appreciate it. I have a bunch of friends that use the fan with this smoker too. I don’t have a good electrical outlet close by otherwise I would give it a try.
Question. As we start to transition into cooler weather will it change the temperature on our smokers to the point we may have to use more wood & charcoal?
On this thinner metal smokers it will definitely cause us to have to burn more fuel and try and run the firebox hotter. I'm starting to think about what videos I need to do in the winter time.
Thanks for the tips mate. Nicely explained.
Great tips and advice dear friend 👍
Thank you, I appreciate you stopping by!
i always soak my wood for like 24hrs....
Excellent
This is a great vid. I just made some adjustments to my offset today.
Thank you, mods are always fun, I try not to get to carried away though 😬
@@ComparisonCooking lol thats tha hard part
Or just get a pellet oven and walk away 🤭🇺🇸
Definitely an option
Tip 6....never soak your wood?
👍👍
Practice practice practice is key I couldn’t agree more. I am usually smoking food on Saturdays and i can definitely see the improvements
Hey Julio,
Kevin almost sound like Allen Iverson with the practice, practice, practice right.
That's awesome, its such a passion, and such great food!
I am still experimenting with the best set up. I placed a brick in my cook chamber to make the opening smaller. It helped a lot. Today i am going to adjust the angle of the brick and the stack cover to see if I can slow the consumption of fuel. The other day I went through way too much log splits like around 6 logs. Last night i only used 2 logs in total but split them down to smaller sizes. I was also able to maintain a great cook temp of 225 - 230. Today is going to be a bit tricky as the winds are gusting about 35 mph.
That’s a lot of wind, hopefully you can get a make shift wind blocker up or one side of the house is less affected and move the smoker there.
@@ComparisonCooking it was horrible winds. Nothing helped got terrible black smoke thankfully nothing was cooking so i went back to my original set up of blocking 95% of the opening to the fire box and cook chamber. And will play with the vents a bit today
Heaven forbid the smoker smokes
Exactly
Great advise bro!! Thanks
Glad it helped!
Great tips Kevin..
Glad you enjoyed it, as always thanks for watching!
Great video! At what temperature do you add the next piece of wood if you're smoking ribs or brisket for example?
If I’m trying to hold a 275F, I’ll start adding around 270
Great tips keep up the good work
Glad you like them!
Thank God for this video....we ordered our Yoder Smoker in November and it finally arrived and was delivered to our house 2 days ago. My wife immediately wanted to jump out and start smoking first thing this morning (it's Saturday) without understanding any of the tips discussed in this video. I intuitively felt that all the heavy smoke bellowing from the chimney couldn't be a good thing and quickly searched for a video to help get a handle on it early and after watching this I have managed a beautiful clean burn for the last 3 hours and have a nice rhythm going to finish in the next 4 hours or so. Your video saved the day and completely eliminated the stress from the process!
Awesome!!! Glad I could help! How has the Yoder been?
@@ComparisonCooking We absolutely LOVE IT and now I have to fight with my wife to let me get off easy sometimes and make something simple (i.e. NOT SMOKED) on our amazing Lynx Gas Grill! She wanted me to smoke a whole chicken yesterday and I had to convince her to let me use our Rotisserie...lol. The only thing I'm wondering about with my Yoder is how easy surface rust shows up everywhere and we live in San Diego where there is very very low humidity 🤔
@@geraldslonaker3289 when you are getting the chamber heated up, spray some cooking oil on it to protect those easy rust spots.
@@ComparisonCooking Thx for the tip...I guess I should be thinking about it like seasoning an iron skillet because it damn sure feels like one big iron skillet!
I actually LOVE apricot bark smoke on meats. I think the bark more than the wood itself! Just a delightful flavor on beef and chicken! I guess it all depends on the meat and the flavor profile you are looking to achieve! Like having/making children... it's the process of finding what works for you, that is the fun!! Don't stress... just enjoy the moment!! ;) "Practice, Practice Practice" LOL!! My life motto!! In cooking... and Children making... or.... just....... WhoooHoo! Enjoy the process of success and failure! I mean, how bad could it taste or feel in reality?!!?!?
exactly, always a good time for a tasty experiment.