The Texas BBQ Forum

I've recently started using a stick burner after years of using a masterbuilt electric.

With the electric, I'm accustomed to a very aromatic, deep smoke flavor on my brisket, ribs and pork shoulder. Enough to leave absolutely no doubt that it was smoked.

With my stick burner, I get plenty of continuous clear-blue smoke and have no trouble holding the temps I want. I run wood the whole time, only using charcoal when I first light up. I've tried burning apple, cherry and maple.

But with the stick burner, the meat tastes and smells like it was cooked in a kitchen oven. Clean, tender and perfectly cooked. But, barely, if any at all, smoke flavor and smell.

The meat is fully engulfed in smoke throughout the cook, but the wood burn must be near completely oxidized for there to be no noticeable wood flavor.

So, I've read countless times that a clear bluish smoke it's what works best, but that clean and effecient of a burn isn't producing the heavy smoke flavor I like.

What are you guys doing to get some heavier wood flavor out of your stick burners. I'm assuming, that at some point early in the cook, I may need to get away from an effecient, well oxidized flame and let a few sticks smolder out some heavier smoke.

The smoke my electric masterbuilt produces isn't anywhere near clearish blue.

Oak is the way to go and post oak if you can find it.
Also, try to use real naturally aged wood as opposed to kiln dried wood chunks from the store.

welcome to the learning curve of a different cooker; document your process, make very small changes and record your results. you may start by choking your choice of the exhaust or the intake(ever so slightly so as not to promote creosote) all while burning the same type and dryness of wood then record your results. only make minor changes and scientifically record your results. Good luck looking forward to your posts.

I wish post oak, hickory or pecan was available up here in the Pacific Northwest. The very, very Pacific Northwest :) Blaine, WA area. I'd need to take a thousand plus mile road trip to get anything other than Alder, Maple, Cherry or Apple.

I'll do some experimenting. I read on another forum, that some guys are having great results building up a big bed of coals, having a fire on one side, and letting the occasional split smolder on the other side during the first couple hours.

There has to be hardwood or fruit trees in that area. Don’t y’all have Apple?

Apple is one of the woods I listed as being available here. I can get tons of it from the orchards near Yakima.

It hasn't given any different results than the cherry or maple. All the woods I have are naturally seasoned, the seem to be burning very clean in my smoker and not giving much smoke flavor at all.

Here is a post on another forum I found via Google, listing similar concerns. Daveomak and sqwib, it that post, suggest that they get best results by letting a few sticks smolder.

Daveomak posts the he lets his splits smolder awhile, even if the temp drops, then resumes normal smoking temps untill getting the right internal temp in the meat. I think I'll try that.

The very last post in the thread, Averlin tried the suggested method and was happy with the results!. It's worth a try, right.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threa ... ng.142811/

I'd go with Apple

Go to Amazon.com and type in "Post Oak", there's lots of choices.
It's going to be kiln dried but that's better than nothing.

spacetrucker wrote:welcome to the learning curve of a different cooker; document your process, make very small changes and record your results. you may start by choking your choice of the exhaust or the intake(ever so slightly so as not to promote creosote) all while burning the same type and dryness of wood then record your results. only make minor changes and scientifically record your results. Good luck looking forward to your posts.

This is solid advice. I typically use hickory as my base but have cooked many times with cherry and had excellent results. Apple gives pork really good flavor. It does sound like the new cooker learning curve.

What are your sporting good and big box store options up there? Down here Academy and Walmart both carry various cooking woods. That’s how I started experimenting with different woods.

Don’t be afraid to mix them either. It has worked out well for me.

Good luck and keep us posted!


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Ken
Being from Enumclaw, you need to search a little more for the oak. Oak is not impossible. I found a seller who bought a train box load of oak and bought 2 cords from him. I don’t always use oak however. I really enjoy the fruit woods which is near us in WA state. Fig wood for me has been super good for flavor and the smoke smell.

For Oak try looking on craigslist for either free or for sale on it.

Here’s one by you. https://bellingham.craigslist.org/grd/d ... 00799.html

Thanks for the info. I'll give oak a try.

If you have an Ace hardware nearby have them order you some B&B Hickory logs.
https://www.acehardware.com/departments ... lsrc=aw.ds

k.a.m. wrote:If you have an Ace hardware nearby have them order you some B&B Hickory logs.
https://www.acehardware.com/departments ... lsrc=aw.ds

Several of you have recommended the logs or chunks from places like Ace or Home Depot, so I'll certainly do that.

But, those logs are like 2x2x8 inches, and about $18 for about a cubic foot. Given the size of my smoker, it would cost me about a few hundred dollars to cook a brisket with them, so I'm assuming that rather than actually throwing them on the fire to burn, I should let them smolder as they would in an electric smoker?

Also, I've used some of the aforementioned woods such as apple, cherry and maple in my electric smoker and got a ton of smoke flavor. The only difference I can think of, is that the electric smoker doesn't keep a flame, it just smolders the wood chunks.

Also, KAM, if you don't mind, would you browse through the link in post# 6? What is your opinion on the suggestion that early in the cook, a few splits should be allowed to smolder a bit. The user who made the last post in that thread seemed to get the results I want using that method?

Ken226 wrote:

k.a.m. wrote:If you have an Ace hardware nearby have them order you some B&B Hickory logs.
https://www.acehardware.com/departments ... lsrc=aw.ds

Several of you have recommended the logs or chunks from places like Ace or Home Depot, so I'll certainly do that.

But, those logs are like 2x2x8 inches, and about $18 for about a cubic foot. Given the size of my smoker, it would cost me about a few hundred dollars to cook a brisket with them, so I'm assuming that rather than actually throwing them on the fire to burn, I should let them smolder as they would in an electric smoker?

Also, I've used some of the aforementioned woods such as apple, cherry and maple in my electric smoker and got a ton of smoke flavor. The only difference I can think of, is that the electric smoker doesn't keep a flame, it just smolders the wood chunks.

Also, KAM, if you don't mind, would you browse through the link in post# 6? What is your opinion on the suggestion that early in the cook, a few splits should be allowed to smolder a bit. The user who made the last post in that thread seemed to get the results I want using that method?

How big is your cooker?