Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco Drum Lighting Guide

Oklahoma Joe's Bronco Drum Lighting Guide: There are quite a few different lighting styles regarding preference and smoking experience, here are the 3 best coal lighting styles!

Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco Drum Lighting Guide

Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco Drum Lighting Guide

There are quite a few different lighting styles regarding preference and smoking experience for the Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco Drum Smoker, here are the 3 best coal lighting styles!

 

 

Fuse Lighting (Slow Burn)

The first lighting style is “like a fuse”.

For long burns with hefty cuts, fill the basket to its eight-pound charcoal capacity and place a single fire starter on one edge

You then place wood chunks in whatever flavour preference you have (it is best if you dig 1 or 2 chunks underneath the coals, as this allows the wood to be smothered and creates more smoke; this adds more flavour in your meats).

By placing the wood chunks all around the charcoal basket it allows the flavour to be available during the whole smoking process, as there the firelighter is only at 1 end of the coal basket, it acts as a fuse by sweeping the flame along the entire basket for the whole smoking process.

This form of lighting allows for you to smoke for 8+ hours on a controlled temperature.

 

Centre Lighting (Competition Burn)

This form of lighting is a quicker burn as to be time conscious, so if you don’t have 10 hours to wait for your smoking to be completed, this burn is best for you.

This form of lighting requires you to break 1 fire lighter into 2-3 pieces. You then place these pieces in the centre of your charcoal basket and light the starters.

Let the firelighter burn into the charcoal until the coals are glowing red, this means that there is a high centred heat and is ready to add the flavoured wood chunks.

Place the wood chunks directly on top of the firelighters, as this is the hottest section of the fire and will create a centred smoking section. Add extra chunks to the side sections of the charcoal basket once the original chunks begin smoking, this allows the meat to have even smoking as the fire burns through the whole charcoal basket.

By burning high amounts of the charcoal at once it allows the temperatures to be hotter and reduce the overall cooking time, all whilst allowing the smoky flavours to still work into the meats.

Hot Lighting (Grilling Burn)

This way of lighting allows you to use your charcoal smoker in a grilling form, this means that it burns hot and a lot quicker than when smoking meats over long periods of time like the Fuse Lighting, or precise smoking like the Centre Lighting form).

For charcoal grilling, simply flip the heat diffuser upside down and place it under the charcoal basket, so it holds the charcoal up toward the grates.

You begin by laying a blanket of coals into your charcoal basket and placing it inside the bottom of the Oklahoma Joes’ Bronco Drum Smoker, configure the BBQ in the “grilling” form to create better and hotter results.

Then put broken (smaller sized) coals into a fire-starter as to quickly create hot coals.

Place the hot coals from the fire-starter on top of the cold coals in the charcoal basket, this allows the hot and cold coals to mix and create and even bigger and hotter source of heat, perfect temperatures for charcoal grilling.

 

PRO-TIP: By adding smaller wood chunks/ larger wood chips onto into the top of the roaring coals, it allows the flavours from the woods to smoke into the grilled foods.

 

Below is the official Oklahoma Joe’s “Three Ways To Light Your Fire” video with detailed video instructions and examples.