Do you guys have a rule of thumb on how much charcoal briquettes you need per lb of meat per hour? Just trying to be sure not to have any shortage of charcoal in the middle of the cook. Lol
Also, is there any tips you can share on how to maximize the charcoal usage during each cook? I am using an offset smoker btw so any tips would be appreciated.
I can't help with the amount, but a big tip is to stock up when charcoal goes on sale. Lowes and HD both have half prices sales on both Labor and Memorial Days. Costco also put their charcoal on sale from time to time.
It would help to know exactly what cooker you are using. There is really no way to give a good answer without knowing that first. Even then, this is something you are going to need to figure out from experience. But I would say to err on the side of too much charcoal until you can see how much is left over at the end of the cook.
How about your consumption on your previous cooks?
Cause I had my first smoke last weekend, I had about 2kgs of chicken thighs and about 6kg of pork meat (mostly shoulders). Smoked the chicken for about 6 hrs and the pork for 11 hrs on my COS. At first I thought about 5kg of charcoal briquettes is enough. But midway through the cook I had to rush to buy another set of charcoal briquettes. I ended up using more than 8kgs of briquettes at the end of the cook. So its like more than 1kg of charcoal to 1kg of meat, regardless if I light up my charcoal efficiently lol.
Here is a pic of my previous cook to share with you guys.
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
Charcoal usage for a given cooker is for the most part pounds of charcoal per hour, with the meat load just having a little effect on it, at least for my offset and Weber kettle with SNS. The volume of the smoker and the temperature you run it at, as well as airflow, all play a part.
Example - on my offset, for a long cook for brisket or butts of 18 hours, if using just charcoal and wood chunks, I will go through almost 40 pounds of fuel. If burning oak, I've never measured it. It's an offset, so has higher airflow and higher fuel requirements to heat the 750 sq inch grate and the 36 inch long by 24 inch round cook chamber. Call it 2 pounds of charcoal per hour, and that is probably conservative.
My Weber Performer with the Slow 'N Sear is at the other end of the spectrum. With cheap Royal Oak briquettes I can get 6 to 8 hours on a chimney of charcoal in the SNS. That's probably 7-8 pounds, and a rate of 1 pound per hour. This past weekend, I used Weber briquettes, and started the fire at 9:30PM, meat went on at 10PM, and when I got up at 8AM, about 1/3 of the charcoal was still left. I ended up adding some more charcoal and wood chunks at the 12 hour mark, so I got 12 hours out of that same chimney of charcoal, and it was a record for my SNS on a single load of fuel. That's about 2/3 pound per hour give or take.
Seeing that you have a COS, the issue with those is that they leak. The leaks lose heat, and increase fuel usage. You probably leak more than my custom built offset I imagine, so are going to use more fuel. 5KG is 11 pounds, and I would sure go through that much in about 5-6 hours. Totally reasonable fuel usage for that type of smoker.
If you want more efficient fuel usage, you will need to look at a different type of charcoal smoker, but most will average about 1 pound (0.45KG) per hour in charcoal plus wood chunks.
I stock pile charcoal when its on sale, with the brand I buy varying depending on the sale. Right now I have at least 25 or 30 15 to 20 pound bags of charcoal stored in my garden shed!
Last edited by jfmorris; September 24, 2018, 08:45 PM.
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
Here's a tip that has helped me with my offset when burning charcoal. Basically build the fire using the "minion" method you will find described elsewhere on this site or on the Internet - it is popular for Weber Kettles and Smokey Mountain cookers. Basically it goes like this:
Clean out the charcoal grate from any ash and stuff left from the last cook, and light about 1/4 chimney of fresh charcoal. Once this is going good, dump it into the firebox, and rake it all to one end of the charcoal basket. Next, pour in briquettes to fill the rest of the basket away from the lit charcoal. What this does is let the fire gradually burn its way across the firebox for several hours. After a few hours, rake all remaining coals up to the OTHER side of the basket or firebox, and dump in more charcoal beside it, to let the fire burn back the other way. Add more wood chunks spaced across the charcoal, so they will ignite as it moves across and produce smoke.
Basically, you likely do not need the entire firebox full of burning charcoal - only about 1/4 of it is usually enough to get up to low and slow BBQ temperatures, at least on my offset. This method lets me walk away for a couple of hours and not have to worry about adding fuel every 30-60 minutes. If your offset is too leaky, this method may not work, but its worth a shot.
The Hasty-Bake is, to all intents and purposes, an offset. Just that the firebox is contained within the body of the cooker. And this is exactly how I run long, low and slow cooks. About 1/2 chimney of lit charcoal and 1 chimney of unlit charcoal. That runs about 6 hours, then I add another chimney of unlit, and get another 4 hours, etc.
Great advice above. I’ll second always having a good size stash. I’ve always got a bag or two laying around...just in case. It’s not going to go bad, and I never want to run out mid cook.
Brand of charcoal also makes a difference, I think Weber burns longer than Kingsford. I would start with a full chimney and monitor how long that lasts in your cooker.
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
Wow. It’s expensive up there. I buy 15 pound bags of Royal Oak charcoal for $6 normal price and $4 on sale. Kingsford is usually 19.99 US for two 18.6 pound bags, but goes on sale for 9.98 2-3 times per year.
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