Aaron Franklin Masterclass

NDG

@The Cen-Tex Smoker Not sure where to find white oak (post oak) firewood, so thoughts on this oak product?    https://bbqhardwood.com/products/texas-post-oak-wood-chunks-br-pitmaster-premium

bicktrav

@NDG I've ordered post oak from fruitawood, and it's been fanastic. Here's a link...

https://fruitawoodchunks.com/shop?olsPage=products/texas-post-oak-wood-for-smoking&page=2&sortOption=descend_by_name

NDG

bicktrav said:

@NDG I've ordered post oak from fruitawood, and it's been fanastic. Here's a link...

https://fruitawoodchunks.com/shop?olsPage=products/texas-post-oak-wood-for-smoking&page=2&sortOption=descend_by_name

Great!  Guess I’ll order 15 lbs of 6"x 3" Mini Splits & some pink butcher paper. Tnx.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Fruita wood has been good for me as well. I still think it's kiln dried (by law) so you will lose all the steam and some of the flavor that you would get with naturally cured wood. I think in a BGE that probably does not matter as much as it might in a cooker that actually burned the wood for fuel.

Whatever your local bbq wood is in your area will be fine. I would use that over kiln dried oak but that's because I'm nerdy. Post Oak is the standard here but I've had some amazing bbq over mesquite (Valentina's, Pecan Lodge) other folks down here use pecan. If you cook it right, the wood will compliment the meat, no matter which wood you have access to.

Edit to add- I would not use mesquite in a BGE or any cooker where you have to choke off the fire. Mesquite has to burn clean or you are in for a nasty little treat (creosote...yum)

The Cen-Tex Smoker

NDG said:

@The Cen-Tex Smoker Not sure where to find white oak (post oak) firewood, so thoughts on this oak product?    https://bbqhardwood.com/products/texas-post-oak-wood-chunks-br-pitmaster-premium

I just read their site and they say they do not kiln dry; they only sell naturally sesaoned wood. I thought it was illegal to ship non kiln dried wood but I guess I was mistaken. This would be a great source for you. I imagine Fruita does the same thing if its allowed. The cherry and apple I got from them a few years ago was excellent.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Fruita goes even further- They store it in a climate controlled environment and take moisture readings of the wood. Anything that falls below their spec for bbq goes to the firewood pile. I would use them.

NDG

Great thanks - I just ordered from Fruita - more soon.

Jcl5150

bicktrav said:

@NDG I've ordered post oak from fruitawood, and it's been fanastic. Here's a link...

https://fruitawoodchunks.com/shop?olsPage=products/texas-post-oak-wood-for-smoking&page=2&sortOption=descend_by_name

Thanks for the link!  I’m thinking of ordering the 3”x3” chunks for my XL.  Would that be the right cut or is it just personal preference?

NDG

My first order so no expert but I got 15 lbs of 6"x 3" Mini Splits - I just sharpened my hatchet . . so figured I can make smaller if needed

bicktrav

Jcl5150 said:

bicktrav said:

@NDG I've ordered post oak from fruitawood, and it's been fanastic. Here's a link...

https://fruitawoodchunks.com/shop?olsPage=products/texas-post-oak-wood-for-smoking&page=2&sortOption=descend_by_name

Thanks for the link!  I’m thinking of ordering the 3”x3” chunks for my XL.  Would that be the right cut or is it just personal preference?

Yeah, I got the chunks. They're great.

U_tarded

Jcl5150 said:

bicktrav said:

@NDG I've ordered post oak from fruitawood, and it's been fanastic. Here's a link...

https://fruitawoodchunks.com/shop?olsPage=products/texas-post-oak-wood-for-smoking&page=2&sortOption=descend_by_name

Thanks for the link!  I’m thinking of ordering the 3”x3” chunks for my XL.  Would that be the right cut or is it just personal preference?

I stopped there on a road trip a few years back, amazing store and the owner was a really nice guy. You won’t be disappointed, get some of their wine barrel chunks, wild cherry they do a lot of wine in that area as well. 

QDude

Can we get a picture of your KBQ setup Cen-Tex?  Did you buy any of the options from KBQ?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

QDude said:

Can we get a picture of your KBQ setup Cen-Tex?  Did you buy any of the options from KBQ?

Just the standard setup. No additional options. Mine is a lot dirtier than this though! Needs a serious bath after our sausage fest last weekend. 

Foghorn

Needs a serious bath after our sausage fest last weekend. 

Yes it does. 

damnedhooligan

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I only use post oak chunks in my egg and I cut them from firewood (the store bought ones are all kiln dried). 

I have spent a lot of time working on trying to get the cleanest possible fire working with a bge and I am pretty damn close. I’m knee deep in 350lbs of sausage casing at the moment so I’ll get into all of the details later if you want. 

To cut to the chase:

fill your firebox up to the bottom of the ring, add 3-4 wood chunks and then dump a full lit chimney of lump on top of that, get your temp where you want it and cook away. 

The ignited lump purifies the smoke As it passes through and gets as close as an offset /wood burning out as i have found. I can barely tell the difference anymore. Cooked on my kbq last night and couldn’t really tell the difference. Maybe a tiny bit but not enough for most to notice. 

Are you waiting for the white smoke to clear out? You mentioned before that we should be seeing white smoke because the wood is burning and there really isnt really “clear blue smoke” in the bge. I’m trying to understand with the method above, is white smoke actually clean smoke in the bge.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

damnedhooligan said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I only use post oak chunks in my egg and I cut them from firewood (the store bought ones are all kiln dried). 

I have spent a lot of time working on trying to get the cleanest possible fire working with a bge and I am pretty damn close. I’m knee deep in 350lbs of sausage casing at the moment so I’ll get into all of the details later if you want. 

To cut to the chase:

fill your firebox up to the bottom of the ring, add 3-4 wood chunks and then dump a full lit chimney of lump on top of that, get your temp where you want it and cook away. 

The ignited lump purifies the smoke As it passes through and gets as close as an offset /wood burning out as i have found. I can barely tell the difference anymore. Cooked on my kbq last night and couldn’t really tell the difference. Maybe a tiny bit but not enough for most to notice. 

Are you waiting for the white smoke to clear out? You mentioned before that we should be seeing white smoke because the wood is burning and there really isnt really “clear blue smoke” in the bge. I’m trying to understand with the method above, is white smoke actually clean smoke in the bge.

I definitely wait until any white billowy stuff clears up. Should be very light white whispy smoke you see any at all. 

NDG

Fruita Wood POST OAK is here - 15 lbs of 6"x 3" Mini Splits . . Cool Dude 🏄‍♂️ 

bicktrav

NDG said:

Fruita Wood POST OAK is here - 15 lbs of 6"x 3" Mini Splits . . Cool Dude 🏄‍♂️ 

Funny, I've ordered from them several times, but I've never gotten that insert. I didn't realize that they don't intend for their wood to be used as a heat source, just as a smoking device. I guess they are leaving more moisture in the wood than you typically get with seasoned wood. Either way, they've got a great product.

NDG

bicktrav said:

NDG said:

Fruita Wood POST OAK is here - 15 lbs of 6"x 3" Mini Splits . . Cool Dude 🏄‍♂️ 

Funny, I've ordered from them several times, but I've never gotten that insert. I didn't realize that they don't intend for their wood to be used as a heat source, just as a smoking device. I guess they are leaving more moisture in the wood than you typically get with seasoned wood. Either way, they've got a great product.

It’s actually a sticker that was adhered to box.  Easy to miss . . And honestly I don’t understand the “not intended for heat source” comment . .

Jcl5150

NDG said:

bicktrav said:

NDG said:

Fruita Wood POST OAK is here - 15 lbs of 6"x 3" Mini Splits . . Cool Dude 🏄‍♂️ 

Funny, I've ordered from them several times, but I've never gotten that insert. I didn't realize that they don't intend for their wood to be used as a heat source, just as a smoking device. I guess they are leaving more moisture in the wood than you typically get with seasoned wood. Either way, they've got a great product.

It’s actually a sticker that was adhered to box.  Easy to miss . . And honestly I don’t understand the “not intended for heat source” comment . .

I think that means that it isn’t intended to be the entire source of heat in the firebox.  You should heat with lump and use the chunks for flavor only.

Jcl5150

NDG said:

Fruita Wood POST OAK is here - 15 lbs of 6"x 3" Mini Splits . . Cool Dude 🏄‍♂️ 

My post oak came today as well and I got that exact same sticker!

I saw that they also sell bourbon barrel chunks as well as the wine cask chunks.  I may have to try both!

NDG

Jcl5150

I think that means that it isn’t intended to be the entire source of heat in the firebox.  You should heat with lump and use the chunks for flavor only.

Yes I understand their suggestion . . But why is this different than Pure white oak (post oak) firewood?  I assume pure stuff can be used as heat source.

Jcl5150

NDG said:

Jcl5150

I think that means that it isn’t intended to be the entire source of heat in the firebox.  You should heat with lump and use the chunks for flavor only.

Yes I understand their suggestion . . But why is this different than Pure white oak (post oak) firewood?  I assume pure stuff can be used as heat source.

Oh, I see what you mean.  Good question.  Maybe it’s way more expensive to buy it from them if you want to do a whole fire with it?  Other than that I really don’t know.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

NDG said:

Jcl5150

I think that means that it isn’t intended to be the entire source of heat in the firebox.  You should heat with lump and use the chunks for flavor only.

Yes I understand their suggestion . . But why is this different than Pure white oak (post oak) firewood?  I assume pure stuff can be used as heat source.

This is “pure stuff” but has only been seasoned a few months. This leaves much higher moisture in the wood so you get some steam out of the chunks. This also produces a lot of white smoke while the water evaporates. 

The stuff they sell as firewood is much better suited for a stick burner. When you are burning 100% wood (as opposed to chunks in a lump fueled fire) you need less water in the wood to get the same Flavor from it. 

NDG

This is “pure stuff” but has only been seasoned a few months. This leaves much higher moisture in the wood so you get some steam out of the chunks. This also produces a lot of white smoke while the water evaporates. 

The stuff they sell as firewood is much better suited for a stick burner. When you are burning 100% wood (as opposed to chunks in a lump fueled fire) you need less water in the wood to get the same Flavor from it. 

Makes sense - thanks Cen-Tex.  Honestly This stash will take me a year to finish - so it might be fully seasoned by the time I finish !!

bicktrav

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

NDG said:

Jcl5150

I think that means that it isn’t intended to be the entire source of heat in the firebox.  You should heat with lump and use the chunks for flavor only.

Yes I understand their suggestion . . But why is this different than Pure white oak (post oak) firewood?  I assume pure stuff can be used as heat source.

This is “pure stuff” but has only been seasoned a few months. This leaves much higher moisture in the wood so you get some steam out of the chunks. This also produces a lot of white smoke while the water evaporates. 

The stuff they sell as firewood is much better suited for a stick burner. When you are burning 100% wood (as opposed to chunks in a lump fueled fire) you need less water in the wood to get the same Flavor from it. 

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Fruita is definitely different than the firewood I get; not as dry and doesn't pop and crackle when it catches (I usually put it in a chimney with the lump and get flaming before I dump it into the egg).

Canugghead

@The Cen-Tex Smoker  Great info. I've been  watching the Masterbuilt Gravity Series,  crude cheap imitation of dishwasher?  It's meant to be fuelled by charcoal, but some folks have success with mixing wood chunks, or even all wood. There are several initial quirks and QA issues. Longevity of firebox is also questionable. Would love to hear your view. TIA. 

Hoster05

One of the things I took from the Aaron franklin master class was that he doesn’t cut out the point for burnt ends in the video.  From most of the posts I see on here, burnt ends are a part of most of us weekend warrior cooks because those who we feed like the flat and the burnt ends.   I have a brisket ready for this upcoming weekend.  I am debating not doing burnt ends and following Aaron’s masterclass as close as possible.  

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Hoster05 said:

One of the things I took from the Aaron franklin master class was that he doesn’t cut out the point for burnt ends in the video.  From most of the posts I see on here, burnt ends are a part of most of us weekend warrior cooks because those who we feed like the flat and the burnt ends.   I have a brisket ready for this upcoming weekend.  I am debating not doing burnt ends and following Aaron’s masterclass as close as possible.  

Burnt ends are not a thing here in TX. That is a KC deal. The point is the most sought after cut down here so nobody make Burnt Ends from them. The people who do burnt ends mostly use pork belly

lousubcap

I'm not from TX but can't agree more with the above from @The Cen-Tex Smoker.  Give the point a try and you will become a convert.