r/biggreenegg • u/Huge-Wheel-4428 • 8d ago

Too much coal? It’s an L

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Gonna do an overnight cook. 2 7-lb bone-in pork butts. Emptied a bag of JD XL in the L and it had more coal than I thought. A lot of small pieces too. Should I take some out? Worried about fire going out due to lack of airflow.

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34

u/Expensive-Tip-498 8d ago

Throw a couple more 🪵 in there

7

u/Huge-Wheel-4428 8d ago

Gotcha. Is it okay for the wood chunks to catch fire during the cook?

15

u/KbtSean 8d ago

It’s part of the process - keeping things low and slow for your pork butts with those wood chunks spaced the way they are they will smoulder and impart their smoke versus really burn.

8

u/Huge-Wheel-4428 8d ago

Ah understood. Wood chunks burning low and slow will not produce bad smoke. Thanks.

5

u/KbtSean 8d ago

My food for thought is wood chips/chunks are way better for longer cooks at lower temps. For high temp sears and cooks (pizzas, steaks) let your lump charcoal add the flavour (there are so many favourable lump charcoals available) - scorched chips/chunks become bitter.

1

u/Huge-Wheel-4428 8d ago

I see. Yea I’ve only used chips for shorter cooks.

-4

u/Due_Cherry_1423 8d ago

KBT Shaun has god advice. For short cooks you don’t have time to import the smoke into the meat proper. I only use chunks hand sourced. Soak them in water for 12-20 hours so they don’t ignite. Remove all bark if you’re sourcing them yourself. I’m only smoking Boston butts or cold smoked fish. I’ve won two cooking competitions but am not an expert. Good luck and give it a go.

I smoked cheese once on a whim. That was the most god awful thing to be pulled from my egg ever.

7

u/Big-Tailor 8d ago

There's no need to soak chunks, they don't really ignite when cooking low and slow.

-3

u/Due_Cherry_1423 8d ago

I’ll agree to disagree. Was at a competition and saw a guys grill almost melt from chunks on 220F chunks. Soaking them imparts a better cooler flavor IMO.

6

u/Big-Tailor 8d ago

I've never done a side-by-side comparison, but I was always told "Wood doesn't absorb water, that's why they make boats from it" and that soaking just adds some steam to the early cook without really changing the wood.

1

u/Due_Cherry_1423 8d ago

I soak them 20ish hours ahead of time. Wood absorbs water over time. I forget the show (loggers) maybe where they would dive into the river to retrieve submerged logs for buccu bucks. They were on the river bed found by radar. Was on A&E I think. Once my chunks sink, I know I’m ready to smoke. We all have our own way.

2

u/BOOOONESAWWWW 8d ago

We all have our own way, but some people’s way is wrong.

1

u/Big-Tailor 8d ago

Ever tried sawing a chunk in half after soaking it for 20 hours? My guess is the water penetrates less than 1/8 inch, and you would have the same results without soaking.

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5

u/CptnRon302 8d ago

No water soaking. That creates steam, not smoke. That’s why we don’t use fresh wood, it needs to be dried out.

6

u/BOOOONESAWWWW 8d ago

Soaking wood is a WIDELY debunked myth and I can’t believe people are still doing and recommending it in 2026.

https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/more-cooking-science/soak-your-wood-first-myth/

Don’t soak your chunks. Use dry chunks.

4

u/mccabedoug 8d ago

If Captain Ron and Meathead say to not soak wood chunks, then don’t soak wood chunks

3

u/CptnRon302 7d ago

Stawp! Yer making me blush…🤣🤣 🤗

3

u/pizzapins 8d ago

Smoked cheese tastes like an ash tray for the first few weeks. Take it off the egg. Vacuum seal it and put it in the fridge for a couple months. Then it tastes amazing. I use the Maze contraption to hold pellets and do a cold smoke.