Expert: Whitestag - 10/27/2008

Question
QUESTION: my neighbor has a trailer type box and barrel set up with a propane starter to ignite wood.i have a patio type barrel smoker/grill.he has been wandering what usage(if any)lava rocks could have in a charcoal grill.the theory is,that we can do our usual fire start and use lava rocks to continue heat source without adding more wood/charcoal for longer cooking.how far off are we on this concept?

ANSWER: I think I understand correctly the kind of smoker you're describing.  The gas not only starts the wood fire; it also preheats the unit, which is a real advantage for a large mobile barbecue.  You want to start the thing up with wood/charcoal, then switch to gas only, correct?  If that's what you intend, then you won't really be doing real barbecue, which requires cooking with hot smoke over the course of many hours.  The smoke generated by a start-up batch of hardwood charcoal/wood would add a bit of flavor, but you wouldn't end up with the rich flavor of true barbecue.

If I've misunderstood your question, let me know, and I'll try again!

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QUESTION: sorry probably mostly me..he doesn't use his propane hardly at all.i just thought it might be revelent to the lava rocks(having gas access)..smoking is actually the concern.i have plain barrel with firebox.can lava rocks be used for continuos heat source(without gas)do they keep long enough to do;say a brisket.can the smoking  wood be added to the rocks...don't know much about lava rocks,trying to cut back on the cost of wood.

Answer
No -- brisket (depending on the initial weight) takes anywhere from 10-14 hours to cook in a standard smoker with the temperature maintained at 210F-220F.  Some folks cook as low as 190F-200F, which of course will take longer (14-18 hours).  You want the internal temperature to reach about 180F.  In any case, to maintain such temperatures, you have to almost continuously monitor the fire and constantly be adding fuel to keep the temperature even.