Friday, June 16, 2006

Fire Control in a Charbroil Smoker


Q: I use a CharBroil Silver Smoker (barrel type with offset smoker box). I am learning to use the damper on the smokestack and the damper on the firebox to regulate the temperature. My
problem seems to be that I usually end up with too hot of a fire (sometimes upwards of 300-350). I have used mostly briquettes, but am going to give lump charcoal a try as well as just hardwood. Could it be that I am just using too much fuel at once? Also, since this model does not come with a water pan, I have used an old bread pan filled with water. Didn't seem to do much to help. I set it inside the cooking chamber. Maybe I need to put it in the fire chamber so it will be closer to the heat.

Your tips and analysis would be much appreciated.

A: Since you need plenty of airflow in your smoker to prevent creosote from building up on your meat and in your smoker, I recommend building a much smaller fire. It may take some practice to learn exactly what your smoker requres to maintain around 225 degrees.

The smaller fire will allow you to leave your intake open about half way and the damper open about 3/4 of the way. You can make very minor adjustments by closing/opening the intake just a little if you need to.

Be sure to take into consideration that lump burns about twice as hot as briquettes.

If the fire is too small and is maintaining a too low temperature just add a trowel full of lump charcoal into the firebox at a time and wait about 20 minutes for it to level out. If you need more repeat with another trowel full.

Once you get the hang of maintaining a 225 degree fire you can adjust your damper just a little to allow more smoke flavor or less.

Something else you can experiment with and may be able to get good results from is the Minion method which is simply piling a good bit of unlit charcoal in the firebox with a small chimney full of lit charcoal on top.

The lit charcoal will slowly light the unlit charcoal over time and will help to maintain an even temperature over long smokes like brisket and pork shoulder. It requires some practice and you may find it is not for you but you should at least try it.

This method works best with the cooler burning briquettes but it is not worth it to me to use the lower quality fuel with all of the extra additives.

Visit Smoking-Meat.com for hundreds of great tutorials and guides on smoking meat.

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