Flavoring Wood; Regulating Heat - Brinkmann Charcoal Smoker Owner's Manual

Flavoring Wood

Regulating Heat

To obtain your favorite smoke flavor, experiment by using chunks, sticks or
chips of flavor producing wood such as hickory, pecan, apple, cherry, or
mesquite. Most fruit or nut tree wood may be used for smoke flavoring. Do not
use resinous wood such as pine as it will produce an unpleasant taste.
Sticks of wood 8" to 12" long and 2" to 3" thick work best. A lot of wood is not
required to obtain a good smoke flavor. A recommended amount for the
Cimarron Deluxe is 5 to 6 sticks of wood. Experiment by using more wood for
stronger smoke flavor or less wood for milder smoke flavor.
Additional flavoring wood should not have to be added during the cooking
process. However, it may be necessary when cooking very large pieces of food.
Follow instructions and cautions in the "Adding Charcoal/Wood During Cooking"
section of this manual to avoid injury while adding wood.
To increase heat and air circulation, fully open firebox air vent and smokestack
damper. If increased air circulation does not raise temperature sufficiently,
more wood and/or charcoal may be needed. Follow instructions in "Adding
Charcoal/Wood During Cooking" section of this manual.
To maintain the temperature, more wood and/or charcoal may need to be
added during the cooking cycle.
NOTE: Dry wood burns hotter than charcoal, so you may want to increase the
ratio of wood to charcoal to increase the cooking temperature.
Hardwood such as oak, hickory, mesquite, fruit and nut wood are an
excellent fuel because of their burning rate. When using wood as fuel,
make sure the wood is seasoned and dry. DO NOT use resinous wood
such as pine as it will produce an unpleasant taste.
Additional charcoal and/or wood may be required to maintain or increase
cooking temperature.
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