Split Log Smoke Wood In The Weber Smoker - Chris Allingham - The Virtual Weber Bullet

[@chashint1]

Hello Chris, just wanted to reach out and say thanks for creating TVWB. In 2015 your website was instrumental in my decision making process to join the WSM family and learning how to use the cooker. It is a valuable resource for the WSM community. I chose the 22" WSM and have no regrets at all. My cooker holds temperature hands free for 10+ hours at a time. Your brisket looks absolutely beautiful, I have never been able to achieve a smoke ring and gave up worrying about it a very long time ago. Once again thanks for all the work you do for the community.

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

Thanks for that generous feedback, Charles! Much appreciated! I, too, don't pay much attention to smoke ring. I used water in the pan and spritzed with a 50/50 mix of apple cider vinegar + water every 30 minutes for 6 hours to arrive at this one.

[@creepinwhileyousleepin]

Very nice bark and smoke ring on that one. Im hoping to do a few that well this summer on my 18''

[@grokutube]

this was great and directly answered my question, thanks so much

[@BbqMikeG]

I’ve also seen people use a split log on a kettle and used it as a divider for a 50/50 cook with extra smoke. Great video! I appreciate your advice!

[@billwilkinson5381]

Hello and thanks for your nice channel. That was a whole lot of lit charcoal you put in the cooker. Did it not run hot? I have a 22 inch and i only have to start out with around 10-12 lit coals.

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

No, it didn't run hot. I usually start with 20-30 hot coals in my 18" WSM, but this method came from Kevin Kolman, head grillmaster at Weber, and he used the amount of charcoal I used in this video, I just copied what he did. It worked fine for me for this cook.

[@TheReal_DeanD]

Thanks for this video. I do have a bag of B&B Post oak and was having trouble splitting them into chucks. I'll just use this method now until that bag runs out.

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

Good plan! Thanks for your comment.

[@swjones87]

Great video. My question is maintaining temp - was it any easier or harder to maintain constant temp compared to a normal cook? I wonder if the log makes the surrounding charcoal last any longer or not.

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

Temp control was no harder or easier than my usual 4-5 chunks of smoke wood. When done, I shut down the cooker and didn't get back to it for a couple of days. When I opened it up, I expected to see some leftover wood and charcoal, but both were mostly consumed, especially the wood. Not sure if that was due to the use of the wood or due to the type and amount of charcoal used--I used Weber charcoal, not my usual Kingsford blue bag.

[@pspinali]

Thanks for sharing your info

[@epb613]

Great video. In New England, we are surrounded by maple trees everywhere. It’s actually more convenient (and cheaper) for me to use splits from my backyard than to buy wood chunks (or charocal) at Home Depot. I really appreciate the tip, and I will be using this method frequently.

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

Thanks for sharing!

[@waltzb7548]

Same here on the Rhode Island Connecticut Coastline. Big pile of maple from the last summer storms. How long do you age the maple before trying to use it for smoking?

[@epb613]

@@waltzb7548 Pretty long time. After Isaias in 2020, there were downed maple trees everywhere. That’s actually when I purchased my little 10” Makita electric chain saw and kindling cracker - and since then I have had more firewood than I know what to do with. I stockpile it much faster than I manage to burn it (to my wife’s chagrin).

[@odeed]

Thanks for the info, Chris. Judging by what you said I think I'll stick with wood chunks. Just a heads up I also did a "burn barrel method" in my WSM where I burned wood down to coals in a separate barrel and then transferred the coals info the WSM. And i did not really see much difference doing it this way, either. But as you mentioned in this video, it was fun for me to do.

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

Thanks for your comment!

[@johnknapp6328]

Chris I've heard Royal Oak Chef Select are same as weber charcoal.

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

I've heard similar rumors. Thanks for your comment!

[@marknichols9651]

I've always had trouble getting a decent smoke ring with the WSM. In this video it looks like you got a real nice one (and you mention it in the video). Was the smoke ring different than what you get using other fire methods in your cooker? Curious if you would attribute the smoke ring on this cook to your use of the log...

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

I'd say I get a similar smoke ring using 4-5 fist-sized wood chunks for a brisket. I use water in the pan and I spritz about every 30 minutes once the crust sets. It's that wet surface that promotes smoke ring formation when kissed by the by-products of combustion. www.virtualweberbullet.com/smoke-ring-basics-what-you-need-to-know/

[@larrydavis4919]

A couple of years ago I bought a bag of hickory mini-logs thinking I was buying chunks. I ended up splitting them into pieces roughly 2 to 3 inches square, and burying a couple in my charcoal pile when I cooked. I like this method. Of course, having a maul to split the mini-logs (left over from when I had a wood stove) makes it easier.

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

Thanks for the comment!

[@epb613]

I still have a few dozen bags of Weber charcoal. I filled my garage when it went on clearance for $3.94/bag. Honestly, it’s fine charcoal, but not any better or worse than other major brands. I miss the good charcoal sales though - haven’t seen any since before Covid.

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

You're right, people thought that Weber charcoal was good but way too expensive at $20/bag. However, they loved it when the price dropped to just a couple of bucks per bag after it was discontinued!

[@rossej56]

How could you control low temp with that much fuel in the basket.

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

One gallon of cool water in the water pan and a cold brisket straight from the refrigerator. Started with top vent 50% open and all bottom vents 25% open. Cooker ran at 225-230 for the first 90 minutes, after that I opened the top vent fully and over a couple of hours opened the bottom vents more, ending up with two at 100% open and one at 25% open and the cooker running between 250-300*F. Once the brisket was a 163*F, I wrapped in butcher paper and moved it into a 275*F oven until an internal temp of 203-205*F.

[@bentleyfatheree1616]

My ???? Is why charcoal? I mean just try with post oak. Maybe just enough charcoal to get the wood started. Great video

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

Many people have tried burning wood in the WSM, with mixed results. WSM was designed to burn charcoal, and briquets give a long, consistent burn with minimal effort/fuss vs. raw wood. Some want to turn the WSM into a stick burner, but those have much greater air flow than does the WSM.

[@victorbenner539]

I'm curious about using the log split. Did you notice a difference in the actual burn of the log and the briquettes? I would think despite using air control that large amount of burning wood will speed up the ignition of more briquettes then you would want. That's why I like using chunks on any type of vertical smoker. So what are your thoughts on this? Have a great day and thanks for mentioning that class in Texas, I'll check that out. 👍🌤😃🐂🍖

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

Thanks for your comment. I didn't monitor the actual burn of the wood and charcoal during the cooking process. I only ran the WSM for 10 hours using this setup, then wrapped the brisket and moved it to a 250*F oven to finish cooking. At that point, I shut down the cooker and didn't get back to it for a couple of days. When I opened it up, I expected to see some leftover wood and charcoal, but both were mostly consumed, especially the wood. So maybe your theory is correct. I will say, though, that I had no trouble maintaining around 250-275*F for most of the cook. Temp did creep up to 275-300 toward the end before drifting back down to 272 when I removed the brisket. Bottom vents were set 100/25/25 for a while, then 100/100/25, then 50/50/25, then 100/100/25, so you can see there were some ups and downs along the way as I tried to maintain 250-275*F.

[@victorbenner539]

@@TheVirtualWeberBullet interesting. I have always been careful with my wood chunks so the flames won't leap frog through the briquettes. Same for my large Lonestargrillz Insulated Vertical Smoker. Here's something funny to think about. Folks will talk about their WSM'S, their Komodo in the many brands, their Ugly drum smokers and so on right. But they are all a type of vertical smoker. Weather folks realize it vertical smokers are the most popular smokers in the USA. Have fun with this and ask someone what is the favorite "type " of smoker in the USA and see what they say. If they say " Traeger " just say " well bless your heart ". Sir have a great day. 🌤