Frequently Asked Question
How Long to get to Temperature
- How long does it take to get the 48 and the 60 up to temp and is the temp fairly even from end to end?
- Thirty minutes. All you do is build a fire and work from those coals by adding a stick of wood every 45 to 55 minutes. The heat draws down and back and the heat is everywhere all the time, so the heat gets even left to right and stays there. Works very well.
Smoke Cure ... How Long
- In your online directions you initially say to "Then, add a large piece or two of split wood, close chimney damper to 45 degrees and fire box vents to almost closed, and let cooker "smoke cure" which creates a hardwood smoke glaze. " How long should this smoke cure? Then...my understanding to cook with it, you manage your fire with damper and vents to get the temp you want and add a stick every 45-60 minutes to maintain. Is that right?
- You can let it smoke cure for as long as you want and continue to add wood to it during this phase. Three or four hours are good, longer if you like. All afternoon won't hurt. And yes, you are right on with the maintaining of the fire. You can get longer burn times by controlling the air coming into the coals. A good hot bed of coals can get you long burn times....
Can I use charcoal?
- I have two questions for you. I used to have a cheap New Braunfels smoker and loved the way the food cooked on it tasted. I cooked only with charcoal, graying it first before putting it into the smoker. I'd then add one or two blocks of Hickory that had been soaked in water of 30 min. This was primarily because finding seasoned hickory in good supply is hard to do. Could I cook food on this Model 48 Mobile with charcoal the way I did on my old cooker, or is it's firebox so big that the cost of charcoal would be too much? 2. Could I season the Model 48 by wiping peanut oil within as you describe here and then build a fire to a temp of 250 degrees for about four hours? Again, I'm referencing the hassle of obtaining enough wood to get it done as opposed to purchasing bag of charcoal.
- Yes, you can use charcoal and wood in the 48 the same way you were cooking. Yes again, you build the fire for seasoning after the oiling.
More information and videos about starting a fire, seasoning, using reverse flow, and cooking with "clean heat" in our Tips and Caring Instructions page.
