1st Cook With The Stick Burner

WeberWho · May 2017

byrne092 said:

Super jelly of the cooker, congrats! Everything looks great! Please keep up the posts as you progress

Hey thanks byrne092! Thanks for the interest!

Foghorn · May 2017

WeberWho said:

Foghorn said:

Great cook and results. Ironically, I look at days when I get to feed my stickburner as "luxurious".

Thanks! @Foghorn What do you have for a stickburner? Let me know if you have any tip or tricks. Thanks!

I have a Klose Backyard Chef that I bought off Craigslist.

https://bbqpits.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Printable_20_24x40_BYC_2016.pdf

Here are things that seem to help me:

First, I did a "biscuit test" - only with bacon - to figure out the relative temps around the grates. There will be some gradients. Once you know them you can think of them as a friend, rather than the enemy - and use them to your advantage (put the bigger butt in the spot that is slightly hotter, etc).

The other thing that isn't obvious from what you read on the internet is that there is an art to making a fire that will be relatively consistent for many hours (note: this doesn't mean it doesn't require a lot of attention - if you just throw wood randomly in the firebox you can get a lot of temperature variation). I tend to get a good bed of coals as close to the firebox door and as far away from the meat as possible. Then I put a relative large split of wood as a barrier between the fire and the meat laying transversely across the firebox. Then I use smaller splits on top of the coals for the main fuel source. This keeps me from having flames shooting into the cooking chamber and keeps the temperature as constant as possible.

And David Klose told me that he likes to use a pan with water and sliced onions (as they are a natural meat tenderizer) when he cooks on his pit. He positions it below the grate in the cooking chamber - so I do that too. I can't swear that it makes the meat more moist or tender, but I do it because I've had some great results that way.

This may or may not be helpful for you depending on the dimensions of your firebox and your wood splits, but that's what I've come up with on mine.

billt01 · May 2017

FWIW....

Congrats on your new cooker. I know you will get a couple of years enjoyment out of it.

My Lang, I loved, for about two years. Then I found I like sleep more than tending to fire. The Lang's sweet spot was ~ 45 minutes.

Humidity is NOT your friend when it comes to stick burning.

The biscuit test is as good as having 15 thermometers in the grill at one time. If you have not done so, do the biscuit test.

The flavor profile, IMO, is much better off a stick burner.

True test is when you fire it up when its 75 and sunny, then turns to a cold rain and 45. Put on your gloves and be prepared for a fight. That beiatch can kick your ass.

Have fun!

CTMike · May 2017

Awesome results for your first time out.

lousubcap · May 2017

@Foghorn - great inputs right there. Many thanks. I will have to try the transverse stick barrier although with a Lang 36 I am at the quite small end of the fire-box real estate.

WeberWho · May 2017

Foghorn said:

WeberWho said:

Foghorn said:

Great cook and results. Ironically, I look at days when I get to feed my stickburner as "luxurious".

Thanks! @Foghorn What do you have for a stickburner? Let me know if you have any tip or tricks. Thanks!

I have a Klose Backyard Chef that I bought off Craigslist.

https://bbqpits.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Printable_20_24x40_BYC_2016.pdf

Here are things that seem to help me:

First, I did a "biscuit test" - only with bacon - to figure out the relative temps around the grates. There will be some gradients. Once you know them you can think of them as a friend, rather than the enemy - and use them to your advantage (put the bigger butt in the spot that is slightly hotter, etc).

The other thing that isn't obvious from what you read on the internet is that there is an art to making a fire that will be relatively consistent for many hours (note: this doesn't mean it doesn't require a lot of attention - if you just throw wood randomly in the firebox you can get a lot of temperature variation). I tend to get a good bed of coals as close to the firebox door and as far away from the meat as possible. Then I put a relative large split of wood as a barrier between the fire and the meat laying transversely across the firebox. Then I use smaller splits on top of the coals for the main fuel source. This keeps me from having flames shooting into the cooking chamber and keeps the temperature as constant as possible.

And David Klose told me that he likes to use a pan with water and sliced onions (as they are a natural meat tenderizer) when he cooks on his pit. He positions it below the grate in the cooking chamber - so I do that too. I can't swear that it makes the meat more moist or tender, but I do it because I've had some great results that way.

This may or may not be helpful for you depending on the dimensions of your firebox and your wood splits, but that's what I've come up with on mine.

Thanks for all the tips! @Foghorn How big are your splits? I've read somewhere that they should be around the size of a beer can. Is that somewhat accurate? Thanks!

WeberWho · May 2017

billt01 said:

FWIW....

Congrats on your new cooker. I know you will get a couple of years enjoyment out of it.

My Lang, I loved, for about two years. Then I found I like sleep more than tending to fire. The Lang's sweet spot was ~ 45 minutes.

Humidity is NOT your friend when it comes to stick burning.

The biscuit test is as good as having 15 thermometers in the grill at one time. If you have not done so, do the biscuit test.

The flavor profile, IMO, is much better off a stick burner.

True test is when you fire it up when its 75 and sunny, then turns to a cold rain and 45. Put on your gloves and be prepared for a fight. That beiatch can kick your ass.

Have fun!

Thanks for the tips bilit01! I also need to double check the thermometers. It will be interesting how this smoker works in the middle of winter with the cold here in MN.

WeberWho · May 2017

CTMike said:

Awesome results for your first time out.

Thanks! @CTMike How often do you have to throw on a stick on with your smoker? Thanks

billt01 · May 2017

Forgot to add..

buy your meat a case at the time. Your probably gonna need something better than a food saver. That is a lot to keep warm, make the most of it while shes hot

go fer volume

WeberWho · May 2017

billt01 said:

Forgot to add..

buy your meat a case at the time. Your probably gonna need something better than a food saver. That is a lot to keep warm, make the most of it while shes hot

go fer volume

That's a good point. It should be good for leftover lunches for the week. Our deep freeze I swear is a black hole. Stuff never seems to come back out once vacuum sealed and put in the freezer. It doesn't help that the grocery store is two blocks away when needing something thawed out. I need to get better at planning meals for the week.

kl8ton · May 2017

Maybe someone has already mentioned this, but you may have to switch your handle/forum username to BigGreenEggWho

CTMike · May 2017

WeberWho said:

CTMike said:

Awesome results for your first time out.

Thanks! @CTMike How often do you have to throw on a stick on with your smoker? Thanks

I throw one on around every 45 minutes to maintain 275 - 325 F.

WeberWho · May 2017

kl8ton said:

Maybe someone has already mentioned this, but you may have to switch your handle/forum username to BigGreenEggWho

Haha @kl8ton. I never gave my username much thought when signing up on the original egg forum 7-8 years ago. My intentions were to ask a couple questions on the forum and jump ship. Almost 5,000 posts later here I am with the same lame fourm name. I even have a Weber! I think I'm stuck with it now.

WeberWho · May 2017

CTMike said:

WeberWho said:

CTMike said:

Awesome results for your first time out.

Thanks! @CTMike How often do you have to throw on a stick on with your smoker? Thanks

I throw one on around every 45 minutes to maintain 275 - 325 F.

Good to know @CTMike It seemed like every 15-20 minutes I'd have to throw on a stick to keep it around 250 degress. I'll have to figure out my fire management. Thanks!

Foghorn · May 2017

WeberWho said:

Foghorn said:

WeberWho said:

Foghorn said:

Great cook and results. Ironically, I look at days when I get to feed my stickburner as "luxurious".

Thanks! @Foghorn What do you have for a stickburner? Let me know if you have any tip or tricks. Thanks!

I have a Klose Backyard Chef that I bought off Craigslist.

https://bbqpits.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Printable_20_24x40_BYC_2016.pdf

Here are things that seem to help me:

First, I did a "biscuit test" - only with bacon - to figure out the relative temps around the grates. There will be some gradients. Once you know them you can think of them as a friend, rather than the enemy - and use them to your advantage (put the bigger butt in the spot that is slightly hotter, etc).

The other thing that isn't obvious from what you read on the internet is that there is an art to making a fire that will be relatively consistent for many hours (note: this doesn't mean it doesn't require a lot of attention - if you just throw wood randomly in the firebox you can get a lot of temperature variation). I tend to get a good bed of coals as close to the firebox door and as far away from the meat as possible. Then I put a relative large split of wood as a barrier between the fire and the meat laying transversely across the firebox. Then I use smaller splits on top of the coals for the main fuel source. This keeps me from having flames shooting into the cooking chamber and keeps the temperature as constant as possible.

And David Klose told me that he likes to use a pan with water and sliced onions (as they are a natural meat tenderizer) when he cooks on his pit. He positions it below the grate in the cooking chamber - so I do that too. I can't swear that it makes the meat more moist or tender, but I do it because I've had some great results that way.

This may or may not be helpful for you depending on the dimensions of your firebox and your wood splits, but that's what I've come up with on mine.

Thanks for all the tips! @Foghorn How big are your splits? I've read somewhere that they should be around the size of a beer can. Is that somewhat accurate? Thanks!

Yes. That is about the size of the small splits. The larger "barrier" splits are typically 2-3 times that large - although I buy my wood already split and just work with what I'm given.

WeberWho · May 2017

Foghorn said:

WeberWho said:

Foghorn said:

WeberWho said:

Foghorn said:

Great cook and results. Ironically, I look at days when I get to feed my stickburner as "luxurious".

Thanks! @Foghorn What do you have for a stickburner? Let me know if you have any tip or tricks. Thanks!

I have a Klose Backyard Chef that I bought off Craigslist.

https://bbqpits.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Printable_20_24x40_BYC_2016.pdf

Here are things that seem to help me:

First, I did a "biscuit test" - only with bacon - to figure out the relative temps around the grates. There will be some gradients. Once you know them you can think of them as a friend, rather than the enemy - and use them to your advantage (put the bigger butt in the spot that is slightly hotter, etc).

The other thing that isn't obvious from what you read on the internet is that there is an art to making a fire that will be relatively consistent for many hours (note: this doesn't mean it doesn't require a lot of attention - if you just throw wood randomly in the firebox you can get a lot of temperature variation). I tend to get a good bed of coals as close to the firebox door and as far away from the meat as possible. Then I put a relative large split of wood as a barrier between the fire and the meat laying transversely across the firebox. Then I use smaller splits on top of the coals for the main fuel source. This keeps me from having flames shooting into the cooking chamber and keeps the temperature as constant as possible.

And David Klose told me that he likes to use a pan with water and sliced onions (as they are a natural meat tenderizer) when he cooks on his pit. He positions it below the grate in the cooking chamber - so I do that too. I can't swear that it makes the meat more moist or tender, but I do it because I've had some great results that way.

This may or may not be helpful for you depending on the dimensions of your firebox and your wood splits, but that's what I've come up with on mine.

Thanks for all the tips! @Foghorn How big are your splits? I've read somewhere that they should be around the size of a beer can. Is that somewhat accurate? Thanks!

Yes. That is about the size of the small splits. The larger "barrier" splits are typically 2-3 times that large - although I buy my wood already split and just work with what I'm given.

Thanks! @Foghorn The smoker I picked up is reverse flow. Should I still create a barrier wall for the fire? Sorry for all rookie questions...

Foghorn · May 2017

WeberWho said:

Foghorn said:

WeberWho said:

Foghorn said:

WeberWho said:

Foghorn said:

Great cook and results. Ironically, I look at days when I get to feed my stickburner as "luxurious".

Thanks! @Foghorn What do you have for a stickburner? Let me know if you have any tip or tricks. Thanks!

I have a Klose Backyard Chef that I bought off Craigslist.

https://bbqpits.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Printable_20_24x40_BYC_2016.pdf

Here are things that seem to help me:

First, I did a "biscuit test" - only with bacon - to figure out the relative temps around the grates. There will be some gradients. Once you know them you can think of them as a friend, rather than the enemy - and use them to your advantage (put the bigger butt in the spot that is slightly hotter, etc).

The other thing that isn't obvious from what you read on the internet is that there is an art to making a fire that will be relatively consistent for many hours (note: this doesn't mean it doesn't require a lot of attention - if you just throw wood randomly in the firebox you can get a lot of temperature variation). I tend to get a good bed of coals as close to the firebox door and as far away from the meat as possible. Then I put a relative large split of wood as a barrier between the fire and the meat laying transversely across the firebox. Then I use smaller splits on top of the coals for the main fuel source. This keeps me from having flames shooting into the cooking chamber and keeps the temperature as constant as possible.

And David Klose told me that he likes to use a pan with water and sliced onions (as they are a natural meat tenderizer) when he cooks on his pit. He positions it below the grate in the cooking chamber - so I do that too. I can't swear that it makes the meat more moist or tender, but I do it because I've had some great results that way.

This may or may not be helpful for you depending on the dimensions of your firebox and your wood splits, but that's what I've come up with on mine.

Thanks for all the tips! @Foghorn How big are your splits? I've read somewhere that they should be around the size of a beer can. Is that somewhat accurate? Thanks!

Yes. That is about the size of the small splits. The larger "barrier" splits are typically 2-3 times that large - although I buy my wood already split and just work with what I'm given.

Thanks! @Foghorn The smoker I picked up is reverse flow. Should I still create a barrier wall for the fire? Sorry for all rookie questions...

Good question. Probably not an issue on a reverse flow smoker although I don't have any personal experience with one.

1st Cook With The Stick Burner

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