I Removed The Tuning Plates On My Lone Star Grillz 24x40

I removed the tuning plates on my Lone Star Grillz 24x40 and I'm glad I did! This brisket came out better than I expected!

[@PlanktoniusRex]

That is 100% right. Tuning plates basically create a reverse smoker with the stack on the wrong end. It helps with temps, but it just doesn't work well. For best smoke flavor, I have accepted the fact that I have to place the meat on the stack end of my smoker and cook at a grate temp of 225 and no higher. I also delay the wrap or use the boat wrap method for more smoke exposure. It doesn't compare to Franklin's or a cook on a 250+ gallon pit but it's very good. If you really want to match those top tier flavors, you need a huge smoker and a lot of wood. I use 50% premium briquettes and 50% post oak to keep temps in check.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Absolutely. Lone Star Grillz sold me with these even temps from the plates but in all honesty, if you can get a good coal bed and control your fire, those temps aren't bad at all. If you can learn how your smoker performs, you can absolutely maintain great temps across the board. Cheers!

[@Harleyforever20]

Thank you for sharing your time and experience! I own a LSG 24x 48. I’m starting to try different techniques that work better for me. Videos like this are giving me different ideas 👍

[@ElSenorBbq]

Oh yeah! I did a long cook last night for the superbowl today. As long as your coal bed is plentiful, your Temps across the grates will be great. I'll have another video coming this week that goes over it a bit as well

[@Harleyforever20]

@@ElSenorBbq I was wondering if you have ever tried to turn the fire management basket sideways and place it towards the door of the fire box. It was a afterthought I just had. Also, I just recently bought a charcoal basket however, I have not had the opportunity to try it yet. I’ll be on the lookout for more of your videos. Thanks again!

[@ElSenorBbq]

@Harleyforever20 I have not tried it. I don't think it fits sideways but perhaps that'll be another experiment haha.

[@irvwander8756]

Slam dunk !! I have watched hundreds and hundreds of smoking videos since I got my LSG 24X36 3years ago . This was the absolute most helpful I have ever watched . I even emailed Chris at LSG to get his opinion. He said if you remove the plates you will have a 75° differential from one end of your grill to the other. It didn't happen ! I got the exact same result you did . I urge everyone to at least try this ! I had to buy a small battery powered chainsaw to cut all my 16" wood in half , but it was so worth it . Thank you !

[@ElSenorBbq]

Outstanding!! Great to hear for sure! These are supposed to be traditional offsets and the flavor carries over just as it should without the tuning plates. Glad you found the video helpful! Be sure to subscribe if you haven't, every video I put out from the LSG will be without the tuning plates as the flavor is far superior that way. Cheers!

[@jazzmaster9426]

Great video brother. It’s about time somebody did a comparison cook without those annoying tuning plates. Straight flow cookers are 100% better than a reverse-flow or tuning plates. Great job!!!👍🏾

[@ElSenorBbq]

Yessir! Traditional offsets have always been the standard and this is no different.

[@rodericamos127]

I put a water pan directly over the fire hole on top rack and get a /250 all over the pit. Tuning plate was removed

[@ElSenorBbq]

I may have to try the water pan for sure! Thank you for that!

[@ignoranceisnotatrend4669]

I also like the " start with a smaller fire concept, I really feel like that will help me. 👍🏽💯

[@ElSenorBbq]

Hell yeah! I'm glad you enjoyed the video my man! Be sure to subscribe if you haven't already! Definitely helps out the channel for sure

[@elmerolion2424]

Looks like a prime brother nice job 👍

[@rjs5798]

Great video! That brisket is what I ultimately want to master. I just got my LSG yesterday and I seasoned it today. Being new to all wood smoking I'll start off with easier types of meat until I am confident in doing a full brisket, but this is helpful and inspiring, Thumbs up brother.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Hell yeah which version LSG did you get?

[@rjs5798]

@@ElSenorBbq 24x40 offset. This weekend imma do a pork shoulder/butt. I have the wood burning down, with this shoulder I'll concentrate on temperature control.

[@ElSenorBbq]

@@rjs5798 Pork butt is going to be a great cut of meat to learn the smoker for sure! You can do the tuning plates if you fish but there will be times where you just get frustrated trying to control the temps, move the plates around that removing them all like a traditional offset smoker will be much easier. More fuel efficient as well.

[@rjs5798]

@@ElSenorBbq Appreciate the tips and I will keep at it until I get down, many weekends of Q'ing in my future. You and the videos are a big help, thanks.

[@ElSenorBbq]

@@rjs5798 Anytime!

[@donhgr]

Another awesome video

[@ElSenorBbq]

I certainly appreciate it!

[@brewcrewfishing]

Yep you're right. My experience was that I had too much heat radiation from all the other plates and was over cooking the bottom of meat. Works great now.

[@markowen7129]

That brisket looked delicious brother!! I've only done one so far and it was dry, but I was a newbie to brisket. I was fortunate enough to be able to save the point for some pretty good burnt ends. I definitely have to give it another try soon. Nice video as always man..

[@ElSenorBbq]

Man if I could tell you how many I've ruined my man. Honestly, I got put off bbq for a bit because I was using just a cheap'ol offset smoker from Home Depot and it was hard as hell to maintain temps. If you ever want to test your fundamentals, get you one of them lmao. Keep at it though! Your best brisket is only one cook away!

[@markowen7129]

@@ElSenorBbq I've considered trying a cheap offset to at least sample something non pellet. I just need to overcome my laziness. Lol.

[@ElSenorBbq]

A cheap offset will definitely test your patience but it also gives you a very good feeling of accomplishment. Don't get me wrong, I love my pellet smokers and I use them ALOT. Let's face it, they are incredibly convenient and still good with high quality pellets. An offset is just traditional and if you can master a cheap offset, a Lone Star Grillz would be a walk in the park for you.

[@markowen7129]

@@ElSenorBbq sounds like a good challenge for myself sometime. Thank you for your expertise info sir!

[@ElSenorBbq]

@@markowen7129 Anytime!

[@ignoranceisnotatrend4669]

Good video, I have the old country pecos and my last cook i had a probe by the stack and a probe at the front and I noticed the probe by the stack was about 15 degrees lower, do you have a stack extension on your smoker? I did remove the baffle and now the heat goes over the top of the meat rather than the bottom and I like that because the bottom of my briskets would tend to get burnt. I will remove my tuning plates as well .👍🏽

[@ElSenorBbq]

I didn't do the extension because my smoker is a 40" and a taller stack would make the smoke flow more diagonal vs up and over.

[@hankt2792]

I made an exhaust collector for my cheap chargriller offset with a 38in smoke chamber and it dramatically improved the taste of the finished product.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Great to hear! I always like seeing stuff like this!

[@jsblusmokebbq4343]

lone star grillz offers a collector now on their offsets

[@bigdawgsbbq2737]

had a LSG 24X48 for roughly six years... recently sold it, moved to FL and should take delivery of a new LSG 24X60 in a few weeks. I always used the tuning plates in the 24x48 up till last year on the last couple of cooks and will not be using them on the new 24x60. First cook without the plates I ran the stack wide open, the firebox vent closed and just used the firebox door (from just barely open to about 1 1/2" open... Even though the two build-in temp gauges were reading (325 degrees on firebox side) & (250 on the stack side), the two temp gauges I had (both sides) right on the cook grate held @ 275 degrees for the whole 5 hr. cook time by adding a small split about every 40 to 45 minutes. Good clean hot fire with plenty of air flow in the cook chamber.

[@ElSenorBbq]

This is very good info to hear! I definitely appreciate it. I think what happened is people are so focused on 100% even temps that tuning plates just make sense to them which it did to me initially. But as I had mentioned, my Home Depot cheap offset had a bit better smoke flavor than the LSG and once I took those plates out, the flavor just multiplied that much more. And you are 100% correct, I use alot less fuel. 10-12" splits instead of the bigger logs is all it takes. I feel with the tuning plates, it takes more fuel to get everything hot since it's blocking majority of the heat source. Thank you!

[@TonyBarber-vb5ep]

I bought a pellet smoker and love it. Retiring soon and have to admit with more time on my hands has me thinking l would like to try my hand at an offset smoker.

[@ElSenorBbq]

If you are a man of culture with all the time in the world, a stick burner is a great way to pass time as well. It's great hoe you can build a fire, maintain it, and be able to produce a solid product!

[@hinds90]

I'd like to see some one with a lone star grillz add a smoke stake collector and slightly taller stack

[@ElSenorBbq]

I think I'd do that if I had a longer barrel. From my understanding, a large collector on a short barrel smoker will cause most of the smoke to go diagonally from the firebox, to the bottom of the grates, to out the collector. Maybe on a 48 but I don't think my 40 would do well with one.

[@chadpeterson6805]

Good stuff brutha! Going along on the same concept…I get better smoke flavor on my reverse flow on the upper rack 😜

[@ElSenorBbq]

Thanks Chad, you know, I've never used a reverse flow before. I understand the concept behind it but they aren't that common down here in South Texas. Something I haven't told many people is the old pit boss 1150 that burnt down is going to be turned into an off set smoker, maybe reverse flow. I'll see how good my welding skills are with my one good eye haha

[@chadpeterson6805]

@@ElSenorBbq Ha ha ha no doubt! That’s awesome though!

[@chadpeterson6805]

@@ElSenorBbq Hey brutha shoot me your email!

[@ElSenorBbq]

[e-mail]

[@BBQROCKSTAR178]

Bro…..best video you’ve put out! I’ve been watching you for awhile now, being an LSG owner myself. This was very awakening for me. I’m gonna do a similar video and shout you out on my channel. Thanks my brother 🤘🔥

[@ElSenorBbq]

Hell yeah man! This is by far the best "mod" I've done to the LSG. The flavor alone is worth it!

[@BBQROCKSTAR178]

@@ElSenorBbq I’ll giver ‘er a shot next time I do shoulders!

[@ftrevino4493]

I'm in the market for a offset. Having said that I've been watching a lot of offset videos from every make and model. I watched mod vids and why they did that. From what I've learned it's all about metal thickness, stack length and airflow. A good offset with good airflow doesn't need tuning plates or baffles. And extend your stack.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Yup this is correct. I'd extend my stack but I don't think my short barrel smoker would work well with it. Mainly because the air from the firebox will most likely flow diagonally into the stack and not rise up and flow to the stack side and then drop to extract. That's fine on a larger smoker but my 40" wouldn't really benefit from it. If you are looking for an LSG, they are great, tuning plates are not needed, even on a 40"

[@lpburke86]

Extending the stack on a 40 inch Brazos smoker helps….. extending the stack is actually better on a small smoker than a big pit.

[@ElSenorBbq]

@@lpburke86 I'm not sure if it would allow the airflow to go up, across, and then down and out of the stack. If a longer stack is added, it would most likely draw the gasses from the firebox, go diagonally across my bottom rack, and out the stack. I'd probably have to choke down the inlet but then that would defeat the purpose of a longer stack to draw more air.

[@enyceofnyc]

How do you think this would work on a vertical LSG?

[@ElSenorBbq]

I'm not sure since a cabinet smoker isn't an offset stick burner. With an offset, the smoke has to flow from the bottom, through the top and across the meat. The vertical wouldn't need smoke to flow across the meat since it all comes from the bottom. If I had a vertical, I'd try it without to see how your results would be

[@enyceofnyc]

@@ElSenorBbq cool. I’ll try it. My vertical is LSG and my horizontal is Old Country Brazos, which didn’t come with tuning plates.

[@ElSenorBbq]

@@enyceofnyc give it a shot and see how she does! Who knows, it might just surprise you!

[@thomasjobe3915]

Why have those baffles unless it's a reverse flow offset? It defeats the purpose of having the exhaust on that end of the cook chamber

[@ElSenorBbq]

I believe alot of folks are worried (me included due to experience with a cheap home depot stick burner years back) about temperatures side to side or irregular temps. LSG made these to cater to those folks and give them a better feeling to make it some what fool proof. The LSG is still a great smoker with amazing flavor without the tuning plates, I just don't think you need them.

[@thomasjobe3915]

@@ElSenorBbq I understand that but those baffles defeat the purpose of the exhaust flow unless the exhaust is on the same end of the cool chamber as the firebox. That's what a reverse flow does. All the smoke goes to the far end and then enters the cook chamber and comes back across the chamber to the exhaust end which is above the firebox. Since the exhaust isn't on that end those baffles just make no sense. That's all I'm saying. Lsg are really nice. I hope to have one one day

[@thomasjobe3915]

@@ElSenorBbq btw I do like your content you make some amazing looking food

[@ElSenorBbq]

@@thomasjobe3915 I certainly appreciate it and wasn't disagreeing with you. I think they just did it to cater to that type of crowd but honestly, having no tuning plates is far superior.

[@thomasjobe3915]

@@ElSenorBbq no doubt man. Keep doing your thing

[@chevycmf]

What kind of knife ?

[@ElSenorBbq]

This one right here my man. dalstrong.com/products/omega-series-6-curved-boning-knife

[@DyaTrill]

Next time. Maybe use smaller and thinner splits. Might help with fire issues. Also add tallot to the butcher paper. It's definitely worth a shot to try out. I've been debating whether or not to remove the tuning plates and this is the first video I've seen where they recommend it. My brother and I have been trying to figure out why my cooks haven't been satisfactory for me.

[@ElSenorBbq]

I've done videos of tallow and it works great, I just don't use it alot since my wife says it's a bit rich. Without the tuning plates it definitely needs smaller splits. The tuning plates are no longer present so you aren't needing to get them up to temp anymore. Removing the tuning plates made a HUGE difference in flavor. If you feel that your food is coming out too clean in smoke flavor, this is why. It's using the tuning plates radiant heat to cook your food rather than the full smoke itself. It doesn't help that the tuning plates cover almost half the barrel from getting the smoke. Run it like a traditional offset stick burner and it's going to be a game changer. My tuning plates have not gone back in at all. Not even when I make sausages. Tuning plates are meant for folks that have OCD with temps being even but as you can see in the video, it's really a non issue. Remove them for 1 cook, just 1. Run the fire closer to the door so it gives the smoke time to cool off entering the chamber, run it at around 225ish or so for the first 3-4 hours. I promise you it will be a game changer. For me at least, I had the richness in smoke flavor as the Franklin Brisket (made video of it) but more flavor due to the addition in rubs. You'll be glad you did!

[@DyaTrill]

@El Señor BBQ Man. My issue hasn't been with flavor, but the bottom of briskets and pork butts are much more dry and almost charred. Part of me thinks the deflectors are blocking the heat and it shouldn't dry the bottom of the briskets, but my brother and I were discussing it and we also thought of removing the tuning plates because it just pushes the heat toward the back and not enough escapes to the top of the pit. Also, a tip for you to try. Don't wrap the brisket. Just pushed through the stall and leave it unwrapped until the resting time like Goldees does. Or Goldies. Whatever. It isn't overwhelming and too smoky. It tastes delicious still. Then just wrap and rest like normal AFTER it reaches 200-205 or wherever you like to finish off at.

[@ElSenorBbq]

I have videos of no wrapping here my man. Personally, even after the foil boat, I still prefer the paper. The one I do enjoy the most now is the no wrap and the sous vide rest. The bark still has texture but not as crunchy as a no wrap-rest-slice brisket would. I get Goldees foils their stuff while it rests but ehhh..... idk. This no wrap plus sous vide is pretty great. To each their own I guess haha. If the bottom of the meat is drying out, it's the radiant heat from the tuning plates. There are quite a bit of reports of this already. Run the smoker like a traditional stick burner and the heat will rise and flow across rather than have the tuning plates take all the heat and radiate to the meat. Idk which smoker you have but on mine, whenever the juices started coming out of the meat and hitting the tuning plate, the plates would sizzle even at 225*.

[@DyaTrill]

@El Señor BBQ Yeah. I intended to do that on my own at some point. I have the 24"×40". I believe you have the 24"×36".

[@ElSenorBbq]

@@DyaTrill 40" as well. 36 is too small and honestly I think I should have gone with a 48 but oh well.

[@wcneathery3100]

I stack all my tuning plates on top of each other tight against the fire box on my LSG 24 X 36 I have experienced better cooks since cooking that way. I usually run 250 to 275 based on the Teltru.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Outstanding! I've thought about doing that but I may just do that if I were to do 275* and up cooks. My thing is that I want the hot gasses to come up as soon as possible. I may get rid of the baffle tbh so it can do it sooner but I'll keep smoking this way for now. I'm glad I'm not the only one not spreading the tuning plates so I appreciate the comment!

[@wcneathery3100]

@@ElSenorBbq I definitely experience more smoke without the tuning plates. With or without the plates the LSG drafts clean smoke like a champ. I did a Walmart select brisket last Friday and my buddy and his wife were over. He said it was the best brisket of his life even better than the SRF Wagyu I made for us at Christmas. Difference was the Wagyu with tuning plates Wally World Select without tuning plates. Go figure 🤔. I'm not sure the select was better however it sure came close and at $150.00 cheaper it made it all the better.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Most definitely. This select brisket I made for this video was incredible! I really enjoyed it! I believe the tuning plates help with even temps but it will prevent alot of smoke flavor into the food I feel. First bite I took, that was it. That was all I needed to verify whether I was going to keep them or get rid of them. I doubt they'll go back in

[@dmb3428]

i may take the plates out of mine, I have a smoke collector and taller exhaust with excellent airflow

[@ElSenorBbq]

Definitely give it a shot. I have yet to put the tuning plates back in and I'm loving it.

[@noneyah4047]

Now you have to try fat side down and up and figure out how it compares.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Most definitely!

[@BBQROCKSTAR178]

I own a LSG 30” vertical smoker with a 1/2” thick firebox and warming oven. It’s a great pit….but I’ve got to always cook briskets and pork butts fat side down or else the bottom of the meat gets too cooked. Fat side down also allows you to spritz your meat as it cooks. Try it….and lemme know your thoughts.

[@mikes.3165]

In the video when you put the brisket on it looks as if the tuning place are still in the pit

[@ElSenorBbq]

They definitely aren't in place. You can literally see the fire from the main chamber where you wouldn't with them in place

[@mikes.3165]

@ElSenorBbq okay got it thank you. I have the 24 by 48 I'm going to try without the tuning plates

[@ElSenorBbq]

@mikes.3165 do it! Best thing you'll ever do. With tuning plates you get some smoke flavor but not the rich flavor you'd get without them. I can see why they did it but it's definitely not necessary

[@mikes.3165]

@@ElSenorBbq I agree with you I definitely can understand why the tuning plates are there. They do make running the pit very persistent in temp. But I don't care for the radiant heat that I'm getting from them

[@mikes.3165]

So I'm going to run my pit tomorrow without the tuning plates. I'm wondering how large the hotspot is next to the Firebox

[@markb4078]

My 2ox36 has no plates and do not need them just cook and smoke it's not a science. Shall we

[@ElSenorBbq]

Well Mark, alot of people leave the tuning plates on and some have wondered about how would it be without them. This is the reason behind the video. If you have the LSG 20x36, you have baffles top and bottom that pretty much acts like tuning plates already. Nothing wrong with that but it's not the traditional offset type of smoking