Adding wood when cooking indirect?

bboulier · February 2013

Does anyone have any tricks for adding wood when cooking indirect? I have a medium egg with a woo and pizza stone to cook indirect.

Energy efficiency would suggest that I heat up the pizza stone while I am starting up the charcoal and letting the coals offgas. However, that involves removing the woo plus pizza stone, tossing in some wood, and then putting back the woo plus pizza stone before adding the item to be cooked This works since I have welder's gloves, but it still a pain the neck and potentially runs the risk of a burn (if you're not fast).

The alternative is to get the charcoal started, add the wood, put on the woo plus pizza stone, add the item to be cooked, and then wait for the egg to come up to temp. This method works, but seems energy inefficient.

Any suggestions?

lousubcap · February 2013

You decide the route you want to take as most any road will get you there with the BGE-your call WRT efficiency and ease of use etc. That said, I load the lump and chips/chunks throughout the lump load then fire it up. Load the hardware (platesetter, drip pan, cooking grid(s) etc.) then set the vents wait for the good smelling smoke and load the target meat(s). YMMV-

Deckhand · February 2013

If you load some small splits vertically or at an angle when you're loading the lump there will always be some wood burning. Or you can just put in a layer of lump, 2-3 chunks of wood, another layer of lump, 2-3 more chunks, more lump... There will always be a chunk or two burning.

SMITTYtheSMOKER · February 2013

I use platesetter, but I simply pullit it out quickly and insert 1-2 chunks of smoke wood directly into the fire and start cooking. It is a bit of a "dance move" to do this quickly, having the chucks sitting right beside the Egg is helpful and it can be very quick.

Can you pull the whole woo out and the stone comes out with it?

dlk7 · February 2013

For indirects, I mix chunks in with the lump in a spiral pattern from the center out, start the lump in one spot in the center, put on the plate setter, put on the grate, stabilize to the desired temperature, wait until the smoke smells good, put on the food. The spiral pattern ensures smoke throughout the cook without ever having to add wood.

Ragtop99 · February 2013

I use that set-up and generally don't preheat my stone. I think the energy loss is not significant enough to matter, not to mention that some of that heat is captured in the Egg's ceramics if the lid is closed. The amount of extra coal burned isn't going to be make or break my total coal usage.

I do see an advantage of preheating the stone if I'm pressed for time.

I mix chunks in the coals if I'm doing a long cook like a butt. If I'm doing something that is a short cook (i.e., 1 hr of less), I heat the coals and stabilize the Egg, then drop in 2 chunks, add the stone, and put my food on. The chunks I get now are pretty big, so I'm a little more conservative about how I use them.

Botch · February 2013

I use chips, not chunks, and mix them in before starting the fire. When I forget to do that, which is about half the time $:\$ "> I use a standard gardening trowel to slide the chips in without having to move the platesetter; works pretty well.

Chubbs · February 2013

Buy Tom's AR when it is available for the medium and load away without taking anything out.

Skiddymarker · February 2013

Load smoke wood before the start. Some might burn off with the VOCs but not much if you take some care in how you disperse the chips/chunks. Lots of suggestions for a successful cook in the comments above.