Stick Burning in WSM

[ecowper]

The Cajun Bandit door and the lid hinge are must haves, for sure.

[Troutman]

Richard Chrz I get most of my modded parts from Cajun Bandit. Their stainless doors are a must IMO. For a fan I use and will stay with a Pit Viper. Had good luck with them.

[Richard Chrz]

Looking at these photos, I am infatuated by the cleanliness of your wsm. I try so hard to keep it there, but, mine is a leaker.. I have no need to worry about better smoke control, mine is like a crooked pool cue, once you get it, it is good. But, I’d like to have one that is better looking for less effort. Tell me about door upgrades and gaskets.

[Richard Chrz]

Troutman after one year of the smoke X4 and billiows from thermo works, I am either very over critical of this industry (add on’s) I know Weber has their own. But, I am losing
favor quickly. And looking for a new direction. Could i add a non factory fan to that? In theory it seems like it would in a transitionary phase, could be step one and use my billows? But, the more I question, the less I know. I’m keeping my Webers!

[Troutman]

Richard Chrz You bet it is. Both my WSMs and my two kettles have them. In fact I smoked some chicken last weekend on that rig and the fan cable blew out. Damn it was hard to adjust that sucker without the fan, you get spoiled by using one. They are so efficient.

[Mr. Bones]

^^^^ What Troutman done said. ^^^^

[Richard Chrz]

One thing I do to help, when I do all sticks in my wsm, I use my 22 kettle as a fire pit, and work my wood there, and then transfer it into the wsm as I go. Better fire management and a second cooker to
play with at same time. I think a good bed of charcoal to start out is easier as well. Either way, you’ll enjoy learning.

[Richard Chrz]

Is that the pit viper fan attachment?

[Richard Chrz]

I went down this path this last summer, I’m a sticker burner in all of my Weber’s now. Love it in the wsm. I can only say it is more fun, when I have the time. But, I’m kind of a kid when it comes to imagining what can all be done on a kettle or wsm. Steaks over wood fire in my kettle.

[Troutman]

Yea I've had some experience with doing this. First of all, I was trying to make a poor man's Santa Maria style cooker in my 18" WSM by taking out the water pan, building a stick fire in the bottom and grilling the meat on either the lower or upper grates. It actually worked surprisingly well. Here's a write up about doing it with some Picanha;

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/beef-steak-brisket-roasts-prime-rib-etc/476337-firsts-picanha-santa-maria-style

I eventually bought a Gabby's Grill accessory for my 22" kettle so I haven't used my WSM method since. Let's face it, any cooking vessel can be made to do a variety of cooking methods if you're just a little bit creative. Honestly it sounds like you just need to go buy a small stick burner and go that route instead. You'd get a lot more real estate to work with and much cleaner blue smoke with an offset design.

[holehogg]

Looking at the pics but not able to see all of the print it looks to me as if he is explaining how to build a fire for live fire grilling. What you see above is something I do in my kettle (not a weber) often. Get the wood burning let it burn down and you have a bed of coals for grilling. I may be mistaken but that seems the most logical assessment I can make of the pics. I don't see that setup working for anything else.

[Brad White STL]

Are ya seekin to up yer smoke flavour profile, or practice fire management? I gots words fer either one, leave us know what yer goal(s) is, an we can git ya tuned up.

I guess end goal has a few factors:
- I really like the idea of spending the time to cut logs to size, carefully split them thin enough, and then create some delicious food with it. I think all that extra work and extra attention shows up in the food.
- I remember when smoking a big piece of meat was really hard and intimidating and maybe I'm looking for the experience/challenge again.
- One time I had the fire pit out while smoking a pork butt. I got the idea of shoveling in the oak coals instead of adding more charcoal to the fire. I recorded some spikes in temperature each time I added more coals (I think I was adding too much each time). Biggest one was up to 325 from 250 with a full shovel. My notes said that smoke flavor was good, but the bark was excellent.

I think I'm going to give it a whirl and post my results. Stay tuned!!

[Steve R.]

I won't knock it, since I've never tried it. But I don't think I'll be trying it.

[smokin fool]

I have no experience with a WSM but your point 1 is spot on.
Soft woods are going to disappear while most hardwoods are going to take precious time to become coals.
I received this book as a gift last year, apart from the cursory thumb thru haven't read it yet.
Will have plenty of time as of Friday.

[Mr. Bones]

Can/will it work? Sure!!!

I have 3 18.5" WSMs, have never tried straight up sticks in em...

I, too, enjoy th process...(I have multiple stickburners)

As pointed out previously, it will take a LOT of hard-learned fire management to even begin to approach stability...

Will it taste better? Wail, Hail Yeah it will: it's wood fired.

Are ya seekin to up yer smoke flavour profile, or practice fire management? I gots words fer either one, leave us know what yer goal(s) is, an we can git ya tuned up.