Heat, Firebuilding and Smoking Science

BILL:

One of the important aspects of smoking meat is to maintain a stable heat in the smoker at a low but narrow range for hours at a time, thereby keeping the heat stable, the smoke controlled and the cooking process on time and appropriately tenderizing the meat. This is challenging for the seasoned expert and often just downright frustrating for the beginner. Robin and I have produced some dry horrors because of our inability to stabilize the fire - indeed, who hasn't chewed on a hard, dry rib produced by a sweaty, sooty, smiling, anxious relative who is trying out his or her new cooker? My, that brings back some horrible memories... As a defense, we would like to give you some tips that will make a fire perfect for cooking meat very slowly. We will also go over some basic combustive science as it applies to cooking. A large portion of this is obviously geared toward wood and/or charcoal and doesn't apply to the electric or propane smokers. Unless you have a large smoker such as a BGE, or similar Kamado type oven, or a Lang, or similar horizontal offset smoker, you probably won't use plain or chunk charcoaled wood as a fuel source. Most backyard cooks use charcoal briquettes for heat and add wood sticks, chunks or chips for smoke flavoring. Please, PLEASE do not use lighter fluid or other gasoline based accelerant, because the residual taste in the smoke is disgusting and doesn't go away despite the time you leave the fire open. Robin and I will often use vegetable oil sprayed onto newspaper if we need an accelerant. Why vege oil? We found out from several BBQ competitors that if the paper does not want to stay lit, spraying it with a little vege oil helps heat the coals better, adds fuel and temperature, and doesn’t make the charcoal taste of petroleum or lighter fluid. We just feel that using vege oil is healthier, it works and tastes much better. We will also touch on some technology which makes cooking and smoking meat much less painful.

Building and Maintaining the Fire The Way Boy Scouts Do It
ROBIN:

Dad has a really large stick burner in his collection, so we build our fire in it using the tried and true Boy Scout pyramid method. We start by building a small loose pile of kindling, paper, twigs and even dry leaves making sure that air can flow through easily. We continue to build a pyramid of twigs and small sticks around and over the top of this small loose pile of kindling. Then, we light the fire. Once the fire is started and begins to burn pretty well, we start adding larger and larger sticks and logs in a pyramidal manner until we have the size of fire that we want. We let it burn until there is a good ember base before we add our charcoal and wood chunks.

Modified Boy Scout Method
Also known as a flat fire or hunter’s fire, this method doesn’t need a large center base of dry matter to light. We use this in our trench fireplace - an open pit - when we are cooking over open flame. We construct a shallow pit, usually in the direction o f the wind so it draws easily. after the griddle supports are in place, we lay two or three medium sticks parallel with a few inches of space between them. We place another layer the same way on top of them but perpendicular. Two or three layers is probably enough to start with. Dad will place some old newspaper sprayed with vegetable oil (this is a trick we learned from other competition cooks, and works well. We use canola, but any vegetable oil is good - spray it, don't drown it) with some kindling down under/inside the stack and light it. Be sure to add small twigs and sticks to keep the fire burning until the larger pieces catch. Once the smoker is up to temperature, we continue adding wood as needed to keep the fire going and the heat at the level that we want.

Upside Down Fire Building Method
In essence, this method is completely backwards from the Boy Scout method. We use this method in the offset smoker when we need a large amount of heat and smoke on the bypass. Three large splits or logs of about four inches in diameter are placed side by side, and butted together on the floor of the firebox. Three more slightly smaller logs of about two to three inches in diameter are placed perpendicular on top of the larger ones and butted together, like the hunter's fire method, but no air flow. Another layer of even smaller sticks are placed on top of the second layer perpendicular and butted together. About one inch diameter of DRY sticks at this stage is perfect. We rough these up with a penknife to increase surface area and expose the drier inside wood. They should look like well chewed toothpicks, but bigger. Lay a section of newspaper folded in half across the third layer of wood then pile kindling on top of the paper. Light the paper, which in turn lights the kindling. The kindling burns and slowly starts the smaller sticks below it. The fire will continue to burn, and, as the coals from the upper layers fall to the layers below, they will catch on fire as well. We are still experimenting with this method, but I like what I have seen so far, because a side box smoker like the Lang takes a lot of wood to do a good smoke, and this method gets our ember bed stable early and easily. Sadly, Dad sold the Lang several years ago before we discovered smoking computers... and more on that later!

Using a Charcoal Chimney
BILL:
The easiest way to start charcoal, whether briquettes or chunks, is in a charcoal chimney. Robin and I have one made by Weber I bought from Walmart - it holds at least six pounds of charcoal, and looks like a large metal cylinder with a handle. It's pretty much idiot-proof. The charcoal sits on a wire cage, and there is room at the bottom of the chimney to stuff some newspaper into it. We usually lightly spray the paper with a little vegetable oil to get the process really started (as we mentioned before). Once the chimney base is stuffed with paper and you have charcoal on the top, it should be placed on a stable, hard surface such as sidewalk, dry dirt or a paver stone. Light the paper from the bottom side. As the paper burns it catches the coals on fire. Within ten minutes or so, the coals will be bright orange and ready to be poured into the firebox of our smoker.

Tip: Alternatively, instead of using paper in the bottom, you can set the filled chimney on the side burner of your gas grill for a few minutes to light the charcoal. This works like a charm and is my usual way of doing it.

Electric Start method
I’m biased. These work, but there are some downsides. Most obvious is you need an electrical source. Kamado ovens especially tout the benefits of placing a yellow-hot unshielded bare element in the middle of a pile of charcoal in the firebox, and leaving it in the coals until the fire is well set. I don’t approve. After watching in horror as one contestant whipped this apparatus out of his burner and seared a circular mark on the forearm of one of his assistants, we have come to the conclusion that the safety of these items is very user dependent. On several occasions Robin and I had to chase our wives and the kids/grandkids away from the cooling element after using it to start my BGE, so we stopped using it, and I have not used mine for several years after discovering that simpler methods work best. Again, just my bias. Use it if you own one, but be VERY careful.

Weed Burner Method
Talking about safety issues, here’s another method we most definitely will not recommend, but have seen at some local competitions – essentially, it’s a real treat for some of you pyromaniacs out there. Get a weed burner, which is basically a special wand at the end of a three to four foot hose attached to a small propane tank. This unit was designed to kill weeds along fence lines and such, but works really well at starting charcoal or even wood. Place the charcoal or wood as you want it in the smoker and let this flame thrower light it up in a matter of minutes. Oh, and Robin adds, don’t forget the redneck last words – “Hold my beer, and watch this…”

Making Your Own Firestarters
ROBIN:
There are lots of recipes for firestarters on the Web. All of them consist of compressed sawdust and a burnable agent like food grade parrafin melted into the sawdust. The paper egg cartons make great molds. Be careful, though, the wax you use can flavor the food quite unattratively if you're recycling old candles, so be selective. My favorite is bees wax and appledust from when we trim apple wood into chunks. We save the fruit wood sawdust and mix it with beeswax and paraffin until it is just moist, and use the appleand honey starters when we need to set a fire quickly. They smell great, and work great too.

Keep the Home Fires Burning
Building the fire like Dad describes may be the first step, but keeping the fire going and maintaining a specific temperature is the second half of the equation. This is further complicated by the fact that every smoker (of course) is different. The metal/ceramic thickness, size of the firebox and the smoke chamber, location of the chimney, size and number of dampers, etc. all play a part in maintaining the temperature of your smoker. Unfortunately a large part of this must be learned by experience, trial and terror (yes, I meant that). You will have to practice a lot to find out what works best for your smoker. This allows you an excuse to cook lots of meat, and learn all about why men do this. Especially, you’ll get compliments for the great dishes you serve, and adoration and worship from the dog when it doesn't turn out well.

Best advice we can give you is don't leave the smoker alone for exteded periods while you are learning what is required to keep it going. Dad's BGE smoker does great as long as we throw a stick in it about every thirty to forty-five minutes, but Dad and I have other cookers and smokers that are a little greedier and need to be fed more often. Education and reading are no substitute for experience and hard work. Some smokers require constant adjustments to the damper settings while others seem to know what they are supposed to do and just do it. We recommend not getting too worked up over small temperature fluctuations - the ideal temperature for most hot smoking is around 225°F, but while you're learning, accept some slack and shoot for between 210° to 250°F. One other point - you must get the heat up off the floor of the fire box and into the cooking chamber or you'll burn tons of fuel without reaping the benefit of the heat and smoke. This usually means opening the top wider than recommended, and using the draft damper more to control the fire.

If you are not having fun, then all the experimenting in the world is just busy work, and with outdoor cooking, that is not a good thing. Instead of getting frustrated over it, if you are halfway through a cook and the temperatures just start going haywire, no one will fault you for taking your project out of the smoker and completing your cooking in a 195°F oven - believe me, we have done it. At that point, you will probably have some good smoke flavor and it can finish with just heat. You can try to do it full time in the smoker next time.

Tip:  When using charcoal, we recommend the 100% lump hardwood charcoal if possible. It burns slower, hotter and cleaner than most briquettes, and leaves much less ash. It is also a little more expensive in most cases so that is a call you will have to make. We just think it tastes better.

Fuel costs
BILL:
Grilling can be an expensive sport, if you let it, what with all the neat gadgets out there to buy. Even so, there are inexpensive ways to indulge. Basic equipment ranges from a $50 kettle up to a top of the line chef's system coming in at over $5000 or more. Fuel ranges from a few cents an hour up to $10 or more a cook. Then there are the toys - the thermometers, the tools, the apron, the beer fridge... bottom line, if you can afford it, there is a product to meet that income! So, let's talk fuel costs, just for something to discuss.

Electricity is far and away the cheapest fuel for cooking barbecue, cost about 35 to 80 cents for a cookout. There are a huge variety of units available, with varying purchase prices, but for our purposes we will define the electric barbecue as an enclosure to a plate with ridges, heated by an electric element. One example of a great electric barbecue is Weber's Q series - they are well made, cheap and very efficient. The quality of manufacturing of any barbecue is often somewhat variable, but an electric model is a really good starter for people who live in areas where gas and charcoal barbecues are forbidden or discouraged. The advantages of instant on, quick heat, all season cooking at a decent price is very tempting. Electricity is cheap, but you are tied to an outlet. Cleanup is usually easy - most electric cookers simply wipe off or can be sluiced in the sink. The temperature control is very stable, and the heat production is highly effective for grilling. The smokiness you get from wood, however, is absent unless you get creative with additional gadgets such as wood boxes and smoker packs (a rolled up foil pack of wet chips which provides smoke during a covered cook). There are also gadgets which add smoke by means of a generator such as the Smoke Gun from Williams-Sonoma, or similar technology. Best for grilling, but you can buy electric smokers too, and they do work well.

Gas is usually what we see on the backyard systems across the country, simply because it has the benefit of being very portable, simple to operate, has great temperature control, the fuel source (propane) is quite safe, and the model availability of gas cookers is enormous. They are quick and easy to set up, they turn on instantly and produce heat immediately, temperature control is precise, consistent and stable, and there is no ash residue to clean up afterward. They are, however, quite large and bulky compared to electric systems, and prices range from as cheap as $300 up to specialty units which can cost in the $3000 - 4000 range. Cost of propane for a usual backyard cook is around $3, depending on the number of burners used and the gas flow demanded. Note - gas barbecues are listed in BTU's (British Thermal Units) - this is NOT the amount of heat a system produces, but actually refers to the amount of gas consumed. The higher the BTU, the more gas burned. Indirectly, this should mean a hotter or colder element, but a standard propane barbecue is only about 70% efficient. Downside to the gas barbecues is the cylinder - refilling can be quite daunting, if you can find a refiller, while swapping for a full cylinder is more expensive than refilling. The cylinders can be heavy and awkward to move about, so bear this in mind as well. Again, you miss out on the smoke of wood fire and charcoal unless you use something to artificially add it. See the electric systems above. Gas smokers are available just like their electric cousins.

Charcoal has to be the epitome of flavoring outdoor cooking, in my opinion. The cost of charcoal (briquettes or lump) is around $2 for a cook - perhaps as high as $10 if you're cooking on a Lang for 14 hours, slow and smoky. Usually charcoal briquette grills are cheap, and they are regarded by most barbecue afficionados as being the only way to cook. The smoky flavor they add to foods is distinctively barbecue, there is the pleasure of the Ritual for Making Fire (stop giggling, girls - it's a Man thing), and most models aren't expensive or large and bulky items. I confess, I started out on a very cheap 8 inch by 14 inch hibachi grill from Target. I loved that thing, and my family will agree that we made some of the best meals on it.

The choice between lump charcoal and briquettes is also a personal preference, with briquettes being popular and less messy to clean up. They also tend to last longer, produce a steady heat and don't go out as quickly, due in part to the manufacturing process. Lump charcoal, on the other hand, is cheaper, burns hotter, creates a more smoky and aromatic flavor and is probably the best method of cooking I know of. However, charcoal and briquette barbecues are messy, irritating, often frustrating to keep alight, and it does take time and patience to set up for cooking. Adjusting coals to maintain the cooking heat requires attention and experience the gas and electric systems don't require. Charcoal and briquette burning produces ash which is messy, the grillers need constant cleaning out to remain efficient, and the grilling surface may require cleaning with a wire brush rather than simply heaving it into the nearest sink. Nonetheless, they teach the outdoor cook the art of mastering the grill.

ROBIN:
My turn. Wood is the most expensive but most elemental of cooking ingredients known to man. There is something about an aromatic hardwood fire producing heat and smoke for cooking which calls to the blood in all of us. From a simple pit in the ground to a carefully crafted oven of brick and ceramic, wood has been the basis of cooking for thousands of years. Being able to open an offset smoker's firebox and pitch in a slab of dried hickory appeals to me, which is why Dad and I have a bypass smoker for those meats that respond to slow, low heat for hours and hours.... mmmmm! Any cooking over a wood fire is more instinctive than cooking with a gas grill, it's more nuanced than cooking with charcoal, and infinitely more satisfying, and not just when a platter of grilled lamb or a slab of crispy glazed pork ribs is brought to the table still smelling of the oak and applewood it was cooked over (or bathed in, if it is a true offset smoker). There is also the satisfying ritual of building the fire out of split logs, preparing the bed of embers and smoke, and then, using simple items such as a wire grill, salt, pepper, spices and some tongs, cooking with it. Grilling or smoking, wood is as basic as it gets. The flavors are neither bold nor subtle, they are elemental, and the satisfaction gained from producing the perfect steak from a fire and eating it is indescribable. Add a beer, and suddenly all is right with the world.

Granted, grilling over hardwood can be sweaty, smoky, eye-stinging work, but it’s so much fun! That being said, grilling with a wood fire is a lot more challenging than grilling with charcoal, simply because wood burns hotter than charcoal and burns through to ash faster. It also forms hot coals for a shorter period of time than charcoal does, because of wood's more open and wetter density, so the fire must be monitored more often than with a charcoal fire, and appropriately fed when needed. However, most professional grillers and chefs in specialty grill restaurants use dried (seasoned) wood preferentially to charcoal as their fuel of choice, because although it is a lot easier to manage a charcoal fire, and charcoal is a bit cheaper than wood, the distinct tang that comes with grilling with a flavorful hardwood, like Mesquite, cannot be obtained with charcoal alone.

Happy Picnicing!

Bill and Robin