How to Build a Fire in a Smoker
- 1). Cook with dry, seasoned wood that is as old as possible. Stay away from coniferous wood such as pine and stick with fruit or nut trees.
- 2). Create several long slivers of wood the thickness of a pencil, using an ax or hatchet. Take your time and slowly peel away the slivers from a wedge of your seasoned wood.
- 3). Stack your slivers into a pyramid shape in the center of your smoker. Stuff some tissue in the center.
- 4). Light the tissue with a match. Blow gently into the center of the pyramid to make the wood slivers catch fire.
- 5). Add some larger pieces of wood to make a small, self-sufficient fire within the smoker. The fire should be slightly smaller than the typical campfire.
- 6). Add four seasoned smoking logs to the small fire. These four logs will create a bed of coals for smoking and should maintain a low temperature of 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 7). Add another log each hour to maintain cooking temperature.
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