How to use wood on my grill ?
I just got the Pitts and spits ultimate combo smoker grill. It has the firebox down below. I have never smoker before and am trying to find out how to use wood. It has a built in propane log starter. But how do I build the fire with kids and so I add a log every hour or what? Do I add a log and adjust both vents or just add a log and only adjust one vent. Very confused. Please help someone
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Disregard the kids. Must have been a typo. Have not roasted any kids lately . Lol just need to know how to build the fire and how to maintain it. -
Welcome JustinTexan1988 can you post a pic of your grill/smoker so we can help answer your question.Comment
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Welcome to the pit from Indiana....
As DWCowles said some pics of your pit would help.... He is a pretty avid stick burner and will be able to give you some good advice. I looked it up real quick but would like to see the inside of the cook chamber and firebox...
If it is similar to some stick burners then you need to get a good base going (sometimes i use a chimney of charcoal for that then add a couple logs).... The frequency of adding logs is dependent on a lot of factors: how tight the unit is, metal thickness, temps, wind, moisture of wood, kind of wood, how hot of fire you want, etc....
Typically you don't want a big rip roaring fire for low and slow... A nice hot fire with established coal bed is my preference.... I tend to run a little warmer on my stick burner than some folks but that is because that is where my unit runs best (250-275)... other guys may prefer 225-235...
Best thing I can tell is there is no silver bullet and you will just have to spend time with your pit figuring out where it and you are comfortable... That is part of the fun!
Hopefully Huskee and a few other guys will be along to give you some more tips and info.... I'm anxious to hear more about this unit you have.Comment
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Welcome to The Pit JustinTexan1988! Nice cooker! Something like that likely will not need a big fire at all, like Nate says. In fact for most stickburners, a small but HOT fire is what you want. Small to keep overall temps where they should be, but HOT to keep the smoke thin. Resist the urge to power the steamship across the Atlantic!
What we want is small logs, let's say beer can sized or a little bigger, but not bigger than bonfire sized pieces if even that big. Split logs work best, and quarter split (or more) logs light and burn the easiest. Here's an older post I made a couple years ago that might help you. Keep in mind it's older and I've since learned a couple things, but it should get you going ok. The biggest thing I try to remember is to keep the air intake open, but control your temps by the chimney, which controls overall airflow through the system. Now, that may not work entirely with your setup, but try it. Keep what fire you do have hot, but if your grate level temps are too high, reduce the amount of fuel you're using = log size. Don't just cut back the firebox air intake, that could starve your fire and result in thick grey smoke which isn't good for long periods of time for your meat.
Be sure to holler with any more questions!
Oh, and we'd love to get an intro from you over in the Introduce Yourself channel when you get a minute. https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...troductions-aaComment
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Welcome. One essential tool that you will need is digital thermometer that you can monitor the temp at grate level with. There are a number of manufacturers but probably the most popular here are made by Thermoworks, (Smoke) or Maverick, (732 or 733 I think).Comment
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Thanks everyone for the advise and the quick response. I fell a lot better now. Just still trying to figure out thus site. It looks like it is full of great information. I tried to upload some pictures but for some reason it kept timing out. Going to cook some ribs tomorrow. Wish me luck.Comment
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Oh and one more question guys. Do I need a stick to hit the fire every now and then. I have seen that before. Like smack the logs so I guess the ash would fall to the bottom?Comment
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I'm a stick burner and have a couple of upright smokers. Huskee is right on - especially after looking your unit up. Go with the smaller splits and experiment with the vents to see what temps and smoke you are getting out of the unit. As for a stick to hit the fire - no. A long metal rod is really useful to move wood to rotate it - especially when adding new wood or if you are getting an uneven burn. The gas starting feature seems useful. I start with charcoal and add logs. DWCowles, as Nate said, will be another wealth of wisdom for you. He has a lot of different units and has good advice on a wide spectrum. Welcome to the Pit.Comment
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You might want to do a dry run first. That is start your fire and experiment without any food. That way you can learn when your fire hits your temp mark, what will happen when you close various vents, when to add wood, etc etc.
a person that can master his tool can do anything that he wants his tool to do. Pretty catchy motto I thinkComment
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I'm actually looking at a used one of these, so let me know what you think. I'm kinda surprised at the lack of info on their website. The propane burner could work really well with a small lump charcoal base. I would definitely have some kind of poker for tending, if not smacking, the fire. I'll be interested in the results.Comment
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Nice smoker! Interested in seeing your results. That company and Pitmaker are both like 20-30 minutes from my house.Comment
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Yeah I'm interested in how the ribs turn outComment
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SO the ribs came out amazing the other day. I also made some chicken on it, but i kinda over cooked them, Never the less, the chicken was still so tender and juicy. I went out and got me a leave in thermometer so I will never again be guessing the temp of the meat. So, I am still struggling on getting the grill going a little bit. Once I pour the pre lit coals from the chimney on the smoker, then I just wait for the temp to stabilize. One the temp his 225, I then throw on some wood chunks and throw on my meat. After that point, I will add more wood every 30 min or so to keep the smoke up and to keep the temps up. Is this correct? I was adding like half a log every 30 min or so but I think that was too much.... I would like to eventually cook with just wood and see how that goes. I'm assuming a would put a few ounces of wood chips in with my log of wood to get it all going. I may end up trying that out in the morning. I got a nice pork butt all ready for the morning. Just don't want to mess this one up, lol. Im still really new at this whole smoking thing and I think I kinda overreact when I try to fix the temps every hour or so. Ill either adjust the damper too much or add way too much wood. Does anyone have a link that is the holy grail to smoking. As in it tell me exactly how much wood to add and when to add it? and when i add wood every 30 min or so, i am no longer adding any more charcoal, correctComment
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