Has anyone tried using mostly wood to cook?

TEXASBGE2018 · September 2020

Has anyone tried using mostly wood to cook either low and slow or grilling on the egg? I’m wondering if you could be successful maintaining temperature. Or maybe a better question is what is the largest percentage of wood vs charcoal that you have successfully used? I’m asking because I wonder if you could cook similar to an Argentinian style grill or an offset style smoker where you make coals from wood vs using mostly lump.

Foghorn · September 2020

I have no expertise in this area but I just want to jumpstart the conversation.

For a low and slow the smell of wood that can't burn freely due to an oxygen restriction is probably not the smoke profile you want. On an offset, people go to great lengths to have a fire that burns cleanly with a good flame and relatively little smoke.

However, to burn wood down to coals and then cook over it would probably work pretty well. It works in all kinds of grills.

caliking · September 2020

As stated above, you don't want a mostly wood fire, that is starved of oxygen. We do that all the time with wood chunks in the egg, but that's because we're delusional about the flavor of wood smoke. When cooking with wood, its usually an open fire, or at least a clean burning fire, with lots of oxygen.

Burning wood down to coals, and then shoveling into the egg, would probably work. It'll cut into beverage consumption, though.

And be careful re: trying to burn all (or mostly) wood in the egg. It'll burn hotter than you think. I lit up some yard debris and tree branches in my tandoor a few years ago, and broke it. The refractory mortar turned to dust and the firebricks fell out.

fishlessman · September 2020

have used 16 inch splits over some lump for brisket but i was cooking above 350 degrees and half way thru i wrap. brisket gets tender but it has more a steak in texture. basically 2.5 hours in the smoke direct, then wrapped another 2 hours for a 7 pound flat. it smokes the neighborhood out with the fat dripping and all that wood burning

fishlessman · September 2020

this is the basic cook but with lump and log splits in the egg

http://olddavespo-farm.blogspot.com/2017/10/hot-and-fast-brisket-on-cobb-supreme.html

RyanStl · September 2020

I use a lot of wood chunks, probably 30%, but I don't get near the smoke I used to on my old horizontal smoker. However, I probably over did it before and I go through way less in the Egg.

20stone · September 2020

Foghorn said:

I have no expertise in this area but I just want to jumpstart the conversation.

For a low and slow the smell of wood that can't burn freely due to an oxygen restriction is probably not the smoke profile you want. On an offset, people go to great lengths to have a fire that burns cleanly with a good flame and relatively little smoke.

However, to burn wood down to coals and then cook over it would probably work pretty well. It works in all kinds of grills.

+1 on this

If you watch videos of Franklin, their smokers are pretty wide open, with temp managed by adding sticks

If you watch the Chef's Table with Tootsie or Rodney Scott, they have fire barrels to create coals, and add them to the bottom of their pits with a shovel. The vertical stacking of a BGE makes that tough.

If you search KBQ on this forum, you will find the answer to your stick burning desires.

JohnInCarolina · September 2020

caliking said:

As stated above, you don't want a mostly wood fire, that is starved of oxygen. We do that all the time with wood chunks in the egg, but that's because we're delusional about the flavor of wood smoke. When cooking with wood, its usually an open fire, or at least a clean burning fire, with lots of oxygen.

Burning wood down to coals, and then shoveling into the egg, would probably work. It'll cut into beverage consumption, though.

And be careful re: trying to burn all (or mostly) wood in the egg. It'll burn hotter than you think. I lit up some yard debris and tree branches in my tandoor a few years ago, and broke it. The refractory mortar turned to dust and the firebricks fell out.

Just came here to say that that sounds like a pretty bad effing day man.

Foghorn · September 2020

JohnInCarolina said:

caliking said:

As stated above, you don't want a mostly wood fire, that is starved of oxygen. We do that all the time with wood chunks in the egg, but that's because we're delusional about the flavor of wood smoke. When cooking with wood, its usually an open fire, or at least a clean burning fire, with lots of oxygen.

Burning wood down to coals, and then shoveling into the egg, would probably work. It'll cut into beverage consumption, though.

And be careful re: trying to burn all (or mostly) wood in the egg. It'll burn hotter than you think. I lit up some yard debris and tree branches in my tandoor a few years ago, and broke it. The refractory mortar turned to dust and the firebricks fell out.

Just came here to say that that sounds like a pretty bad effing day man.

Yeah, after that he was down to only eleventy-seven grills.

nolaegghead · September 2020

I have tried all wood for pizza and it ruined them.

SciAggie · September 2020

I wouldn’t recommend using wood only. As others have pointed out the egg is a low-airflow cooker. The wood will not burn completely or cleanly and leave a foul taste.

It is best (IMO) to burn wood in an environment of unlimited oxygen and airflow. Then use the amount of wood to regulate temperature in the cooking chamber.

CPFC1905 · September 2020

Watch out lads, we've got an anti-lumper moving amongst us. They look just like us but have ulterior motives. Lock your doors, pull down the binds, lay on the floor and pretend you're not home.....

Oh I'm sorry - got confused with Scientologists. My mistake.

Yep, a bit of wood shouldn't be a drama, but be careful of the particular characteristics, i.e heat, smoke and spit/sparks. It works lovely in my chiminea, but it needs feeding quite a bit and that's at the hot end of cooking.
Argentinian / Santa Maria grills are majestic, one day I will be grown up enough to have one.

NoJokeSmoke · September 2020

I and @EggObsessed plan on cooking ribeyes tonight direct on an open flame using a mixure to lump and some splits. I'll post how that goes. I have a neighbor that has a new "smokeless" fire pit that he cooked ribeye caps on. They were delicious with a nice smokey flavor that I just haven't gotten on the egg... this prompted me to try this cooking method.

That said, I watched Aaron Franklin (who usually cooks on stick burners) cook on an extra large. He used a setup that I have not seen before on the egg... he had a a pile of lump as a coal base, but also had a "log" (small piece of oak with bark) on it smoldering in the firebox with a gap separating the lump from the "log" (Texas Eggfest in Austin at Camp Ben about 4 years ago). The results were excellent. I also saw him ( his team) doing this on a stick burner at the Texas Monthly BBQ Cookoff a few years back in Austin.

Lumpy_Coal · September 2020

I tried all wood banked to one side, lid kept open, chicken on the Joetisserie. Small fire, cracked my firebox. Chicken turned out ok. All wood is for open air cooking.

caliking · September 2020

JohnInCarolina said:

caliking said:

As stated above, you don't want a mostly wood fire, that is starved of oxygen. We do that all the time with wood chunks in the egg, but that's because we're delusional about the flavor of wood smoke. When cooking with wood, its usually an open fire, or at least a clean burning fire, with lots of oxygen.

Burning wood down to coals, and then shoveling into the egg, would probably work. It'll cut into beverage consumption, though.

And be careful re: trying to burn all (or mostly) wood in the egg. It'll burn hotter than you think. I lit up some yard debris and tree branches in my tandoor a few years ago, and broke it. The refractory mortar turned to dust and the firebricks fell out.

Just came here to say that that sounds like a pretty bad effing day man.

Not too bad. But yes, definitely a "well... didn't see that coming" moment. I built the thing, so rebuilding only took a beer or two. If that.

caliking · September 2020

Foghorn said:

JohnInCarolina said:

caliking said:

As stated above, you don't want a mostly wood fire, that is starved of oxygen. We do that all the time with wood chunks in the egg, but that's because we're delusional about the flavor of wood smoke. When cooking with wood, its usually an open fire, or at least a clean burning fire, with lots of oxygen.

Burning wood down to coals, and then shoveling into the egg, would probably work. It'll cut into beverage consumption, though.

And be careful re: trying to burn all (or mostly) wood in the egg. It'll burn hotter than you think. I lit up some yard debris and tree branches in my tandoor a few years ago, and broke it. The refractory mortar turned to dust and the firebricks fell out.

Just came here to say that that sounds like a pretty bad effing day man.

Yeah, after that he was down to only eleventy-seven grills.

Eleventy-seven... + 1, after the repair

Has anyone tried using mostly wood to cook?

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