Oklahoma Joe's Bronco Wood Chunks In The Ash Pan Method

For years I have known about a method that will have your wood chunks burn clean. Your Bronco won't have temp swings, making it easier to control your temperature in your Bronco. That method is placing your wood chunks in your ash pan. That's right. Wood chunks in your ash pan. I came across this method on Facebook Oklahoma Joe's Bronco pages and everyone swears it's the best way to go when using wood chunks in your Bronco. Well in this video I put this method to the test. See the process and the results! 7-9-23
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[@edwardmiskotten2380]

I am with you

[@BakersBBQ]

I’ve tried it a couple of times and didn’t have any luck. I prefer to keep the wood chunks in the charcoal pan 👍🏻

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

Agree. I don't see any point in doing it this way.

[@JBsBBQ]

Never had an issue doing it the regular way. temps always hold steady, no spikes at all. maybe people just don't know what they are doing. lol lol lol good video bro. def gotta get on the B&B though.

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

Lol, my first thought was, maybe they don't know how to use their Bronco. Just like you, I have never had an issue with my Bronco holding Temps. No flare-ups. Idk, I guess it's like, don't fix something that isn't broken. You know.

[@BabyDiego10599]

I tried this method with the wood chunks on the bottom, works great!

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

Is their anything that I did wrong? A lot of people say this is the best method.

[@BabyDiego10599]

@@MoesBlackGoldBBQ you did it a little differently than I did, I spread the chunks out more evenly. Honestly, I like the conventional method too, I think it’s a matter of choice really.

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

@BabyDiego10599 I'm gonna spread them out. How I did it is how people were doing it when I was reading about how to do the method.

[@BabyDiego10599]

@@MoesBlackGoldBBQ my cook was a little longer so probably the reason why I spread them out.

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

@BabyDiego10599 I see. Thank you for your input.

[@PaulieDetmurds]

You know I am a fellow proud owner of a Bronco and I have to say I have never even heard of using wood chunks in this manner. Actually pretty excited while I am still watching this video to see how well it works. I am skeptical it could over smoke? Great to hear the temps are maintaining. Ribs already done, look how efficient the Bronco is with all that good charcoal in there after 3 hours! I think with a longer cook, or maybe spreading the wood chunks out a little would have caused them to burn a little more? In the end, I think I have to agree with you and just do this the conventional way. Heat to the meat, and enjoy the eat!

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

I agree. Keep using the wood chunks in or on the charcoal. People state to keep the wood chunks together and under heat. Maybe it would have been better to scatter the wood chunks. Giving them a chance to burn better. I'm assuming the ash did not allow the bottom of the wood chunks to ignite. I saw no difference in using this method. Idk, maybe I did something wrong.

[@PaulieDetmurds]

@@MoesBlackGoldBBQ You did nothing wrong at all!

[@pangelo4023]

I did this method once but didn’t care for it. Once I get my temp set, I never get flare ups. I’m more intrigued with how much charcoal was left after three hours of cook. I usually go with Kingsford, I may have to switch to B&B.

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

I've always read about this method and was reading another post about it last week, and I decided then to test it out for myself. As you saw, it didn't work for me. I didn't see any difference doing it this way. I started off using Kingsford in the Bronco, but once I did my long burn video of the B&B briquettes, I got 20 hours of burn time off of one basket. Since then I use B&B in the majority of my cooks in the Bronco.

[@tonyaanderson7490]

a game changer

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

@tonyaanderson7490 Thank you for watching.

[@jonkarg2528]

I haven't tried this yet as I dont have my Bronco just yet. One thing I would probably do different is to split the chunks smaller and thinner.

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

That's another way to do it.

[@chrisjohns5877]

I’ve had mixed results with this method. I did it the other day with B&B lump and post oak chunks on a pork but for 12 hours and it worked really well. Had amazing clean smoke flavor and the chunks burned up all the way. I did it on a different cook with ribs and it turned out about like yours did this time. I can’t remember how I placed them in the pan but I spaced them out a little more. Either way, I think the results I’ve had aren’t that drastic anyways. Each method I had good tasting food so idk what to think 😂 I think we are all overthinking it.

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

The cooks you have done with this method have they all been done with lump charcoal? I wonder if that was an issue with my experience. Maybe the charcoal briquettes weren't hot enough, like how hot lump charcoal can get. I placed the wood chunks together because the commenters said it worked best that way. Maybe separating them will work. Would you say your wood chunks were bigger or smaller than the ones I used?

[@JoeyKirkland]

Thanks for testing that ot. I'm a novice to be sure, but I keep my wood in the charcoal basket. M biggest issue with the temp is getting it to the right temp and keeping it there. I think I am burning up my coals too fast, or I'm not loading it correctly.

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

Thank you for watching! What is your process of starting your charcoal basket. Maybe I can help you.

[@JoeyKirkland]

@@MoesBlackGoldBBQ I normally aim for a 4-6 hour cook/smoke so I fill my basket to about half and then fill a chimney and light that. Once those coals are white I add them to the basket and then I wait for clean smoke, adjust my side vent/air intake to 2 (ish) until the temp comes down between 225 and 250. Then I add my meat.

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

@JoeyKirkland Do you fill the lit chimney all the way? Have you tried the way that I set up for short or long cooks? I always use the weber cube. I use one in the middle when I'm going for cooks up to 6 hours and place a Weber cube on the side of the charcoal basket when I want longer cooks. I allow the one weber cube to burn out and then allow the charcoal to get white ash where I placed the weber cube. I then place the basket into the Bronco and set the side intake to 1 and the top intake fully open. I watch as it gets to 250f. If it starts to go over that number, I then slowly move the side intake below one. But because I know what my Bronco can do, I always have the side intake at 1 and the top intake wide open. I always get 250f with that set up.

[@JoeyKirkland]

@@MoesBlackGoldBBQ I have not. I’ve really only done a handful of cooks with it. Like I said, I’m a novice. Im going to give your method a shot. Thank you!

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

@JoeyKirkland let me know how it goes.

[@rhaw8031]

Ash pan is for ashes. I have better results with putting a couple wood chunks in with the coals in my Bronco. I also soak mine overnight in water and they don’t burn away!

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

This was an experiment done because a lot of people on Oklahoma Joe's Facebook pages say this way is the best way to use wood chunks. So I wanted to see if that was true.

[@JeffB1961]

i'll be putting my wood chunks on/in the charcoal .

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

Yeah, I'm sticking with that way. I don't see the need to do it this way. But like I said, maybe I'm doing it wrong, and someone can help me do it the right way.

[@wisconsinlife3971]

Maybe if the ash basket had a grate to raise the chunks would probably burn totally..

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

@wisconsinlife3971 in the people's descriptions, it's never mentioned to do any sort of thing like that. All they say is to place the chunks together in the ash pan. And it works like that.

[@wisconsinlife3971]

@@MoesBlackGoldBBQ well if ya think about a offset smoker don't they have some sort of a grate that keep the wood off the bottom to get 360° airflow? I bet that would do the trick in the Bronco.. just my 2 cents..

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

@wisconsinlife3971 it would help, but as we know, the Bronco ash pan isn't made to place wood chunks in it. It's an ash pan, but it's viewed as a way to have a better performance in the Bronco. I will stick with wood chunks in or on the charcoal.

[@samrmills]

I’ve seen you mention that you’ve tried using a water pan before. Did you do any vids on it? Thx Btw do you have any recommendations on any wired or wireless thermometers? I don’t remember ever seeing you use one in your vids. Thx again!

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

I have used a water pan, but I felt it really didn't do much for me using it in the Bronco. So I stopped using one. I use Inkbird wired and wireless thermometers. I bought them off Amazon. I use Inkbird instant read thermometer IHT-1P and Inkbird bluetooth bbq thermometer wireless IBT-6XS, 6 probes.

[@justmy2sense]

Wood on top of coals

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

I know. This was an experiment that I read a lot about online. I thought I'd try it out.

[@VillanuevaMedia]

I've been burying the chunks inside the coal bed. My bronco is a really good cooker. Usually use B&B and Kingsford at times.What's your method to cleaning the bronco?

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

I bury or place wood chunks on the charcoal. I've been using B&B more. To clean, I use a scrapper and scrape off as much of the inside that I can. I then remove the bottom grease cap and hose the inside of the Bronco with water. I then let it air dry, and I go ahead, and reseason the Bronco.

[@christophervela5447]

Ey how do I talk to you about Oklahoma joes bbq pits and smokers?

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

What do you want to know?

[@samrmills]

I'm wondering if your results would be any different using wood chips. I'm thinking sprinkle them all over the ash pan...maybe a little more in the center. I might give it a try someday since I have some chips I need to get rid of.

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

I wonder how many wood chips to use? Half a bag or full bag?

[@samrmills]

@@MoesBlackGoldBBQ in my case...i'll probably try just a light layer to cover the whole bottom of the ash pan due to the ash situation you pointed out after your burn

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

@samrmills now thinking I gotta try the wood chips.

[@samrmills]

I found a vid with wood chips using the green egg smoker…dude swore by it. I’ll keep an eye out if you do

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

@samrmills I'm going to do research, then put it to the test. My concern is if the wood chips will be too thin and set lower from the charcoal basket l, compared to wood chunks.

[@smileyblair3321]

Why not try a couple on top and couple on the ash pan

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

I did it this way because this is the way the method is done. The whole thinking is that the wood chunks will burn cleaner and longer when not placed onto the charcoal.

[@DanGoodBBQ]

Do you ever put a water pan in your bronco?

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

I have done it a couple of times, but the majority of the time, I don't use it. It's never said to use a water pan in the Bronco, but that doesn't mean you can't. You surely can.

[@Alidowdy]

No did not work

[@MoesBlackGoldBBQ]

No, it didn't. I'm sticking to the way I've always done it.