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Topic: A couple of questions about my OK Joe . . . .
From: Jimmy,
Subject: Re: OK Joe and Soot Problems

Hello,

My name is Jimmy and I am in Rogers Arkansas, and I had a couple of questions about my OK Joe..

This is a big unit 24" and has the firebox on the right end and in the middle it has the 48" flat grilling part and on the left of that it has the upright 24" slow smoker with the smoke stack on the top of that. It is I think the Chuck Wagon model but I had them put the door for the slow smoking on the front of the unit instead of the end..{Just seemed the more natural place to put it instead of on the end}

Well anyway you probably know what unit I have, I use the slow upright part of the unit more than any other part for the ribs, brisket etc and use the flat middle part for hamburgers steak etc.

My question is, I am having trouble keeping the temp down to 225 in the far left slow smoking chamber. It seems when I get it that low the wood, usually Hickory or Pecan gets to smoldering and starts getting too smokey as the fire becomes distressed and not getting enough oxygen. And of course when this happens I am big trouble, as the meat is sure enough going to get sooty.

Smoky, do you have any ideas as to what I might do or try? I would even modify the OK Joe in some way if I thought it would help? I was thinking of maybe an extra vent out before the smoke gets to the slow smoke chamber to get the fire going a little better and to bring down the heat into the slow smoke chamber.

Well if you have any ideas let me know??

Thanks in Advance,

Jimmy

Hi Jimmy,

You're trying to start cooking too early. Fill up the fire box, open up the air intake and exhaust all the way and let the wood burn down to embers. Shut down the air intake until the temp. drops to 210°F, leave the exhaust full open. Control the temp. by varying the amount of incoming air. I also think you are using too much hickory/pecan and not enough oak. In any case, you don't want to be cooking in the fumes of flaming wood or the smoke of smoldering. There is plenty of flavor in the coals. Anytime you see more than a wisp of smoke exiting the exhaust, you have too much smoke. If you need to replenish the coals, you need to burn down the wood in a separate pit before you add the coals to your fire box.

I believe that you are wasting a lot of cooking space by not using the horizontal section for barbecuing ribs, briskets.

My grill by Pitts & Spitts is a good bit larger than yours but the design was probably copied by OK Joe. I used the horizontal part for cooking and the upright area for holding brisket etc. I also cooked sausage, smoked chickens etc in the upright area.

Now crank up the grill, and while the wood is burning down, have a cool one on me.

Fun,
Smoky

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