Posted by peterN on June 13, 2004 at 08:18:00:
In Reply to: Is this ok posted by mario on June 10, 2004 at 17:58:39:
Mario,
As eluded to by QSis, I've been inclined to use all wood in my WSM but will use Kingsford when price can't be beat.
I like to use fist sized chunks, and I preburn the wood outside of the cooker down to coals. For a 'preburn', I use a large old blue-enamel pot with cover - the kind you might be inclined to cook a bunch of corn in (Mine is actually a double boiler type that is used for steaming)
First I set up a small grate about an inch off bottom of the pot - a charcoal grate of sorts. I start a small fire on the grate, then add my chunks over the small fire. All wood for each preburn should be of similar size as you don't want the small pieces to ash-away before the large pieces get a chance to coal-over.
Once you are sure that you have a small fire going in the pot (you will see white smoke/steam rising), then put the cover partially on the pot so as to keep the heat in. Use the cover as a 'valve' to regulate a slow burn. Keep the flames down to an absolute minimum, and the heat from the slow burn will drive off the moisture in the chunks. When the amount of smoke from the pot has slowed considerably, the pot will be about half full of good cookin coals. Transfer (carefully) those coals into your cooker.
Pesky chunks that flame up in the cooker should be removed, quenched, and set back into the cooker - if you have a hotspot in your coalbed (usually the same spot that the chunk came from), you can return the quenched ember to that spot.
To start (preburn) a second pot of chunks, put a few glowing embers in the pot, followed by a few pieces of kindling, then fill the pot with chunks.
I usually start one 'pot' as soon as the previous pot has been emptied, and use the cover as a 'valve' to get a REAL SLOW burn - hoping that the cooker will require refueling just as the second batch of coals is ready.
If I get a batch of coals that are ready ahead of time, I put the cover properly on the pot to stop the burn, then when I need to refuel the cooker I open the pot (carefully! - got a 'backdraft' once or twice. that'll wake you up.) and transfer the oxygen starved coals into the cooker.
Good Luck - peterN
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