Wood during long smokes...


 
S

Scott in SoCal

TVWBB Member
I have a WSM 18.5. I sometimes smoke brisket in LONG overnight smokes -- like starting at midnight and going 14 hours at 225. It occurred to me that during the first part of the smoke, when I'm asleep, once the wood chunks burn off there's no "thin blue smoke" until I wake up in the morning and add more chunks. I've always thought that it was most important to get smoke into the meat during the first part of the smoke, so by not being available to add chunks for the first few hours, I fear I'm depriving the meat of smoke at the time when it's most necessary.

So...what do others do in this situation? How do you keep the thin blue smoke going during long overnight cooks? Do I need to get out of bed every couple of hours and throw a few chunks of wood on to the coals? Do I start with a bunch of chunks at midnight and let them burn off, and then replace them when I get out of bed in the morning?

Advice and help appreciated!
 
Scott,

I once cooked a 10 lb PB overnight, total cook time was 13 hours. Used 3 or 4 chunks of apple wood and minion start. When I spread the lit I placed pieces of it real close to the wood chunks to get smoke quickly. When I pulled the meat it had a nice smoke ring and tasted wonderful. Have learned even though the wood doesn't appear to smoke for the entire cook you'll still get smoke flavor in the meat. Never have had to add wood on any long cook.

Scotty
 
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I'd say the same, but also you can help extend the "smoke" by burying small chunks (1 - 1 1/2") down in your unlit. They will start smoldering later. Wood really has nothing to do with the smoke ring, just flavor. The smoke ring is a chemical reaction due to the process. Having wood smoke longer may make the "smoke" flavor stronger. Just depends on how you like your smoked meat.

Rich
 
RichPB (richlife) said:
I'd say the same, but also you can help extend the "smoke" by burying small chunks (1 - 1 1/2") down in your unlit. They will start smoldering later. Wood really has nothing to do with the smoke ring, just flavor.
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Excellent idea! Maybe the way to go is to put a few chunks of wood down first, then the charcoal, then a few more chunks of wood. Thanks, Rich! :cool:
 
I'm not sure how well this would work on a 18", with the smaller ring, but with my 22" I put the lit coals in the center and put the wood around the rim. That gives me a bit of a time delay so the smoker gets pretty hot before anything starts burning. But since it's kind of random which way it burns, they do tend to get set off at different times during the cook. I'm not sure it really matters if the smoke comes all at once or spread around but it's an approach that works for me.
 
Doug Wade said:
I'm not sure how well this would work on a 18", with the smaller ring, but with my 22" I put the lit coals in the center and put the wood around the rim. That gives me a bit of a time delay so the smoker gets pretty hot before anything starts burning. But since it's kind of random which way it burns, they do tend to get set off at different times during the cook. I'm not sure it really matters if the smoke comes all at once or spread around but it's an approach that works for me.
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I think that's going to be my approach this weekend...if the weather clears!
 
I'm with Rich, bury fist size chunks in your MM setup ring and you're good to go. Pieces will naturally stager as your fire expands through the cook.
 
Also, the denser the wood, the longer the smoke, and you can't beat hickory or oak for a stout smoke flavor to go with brisket, anyway. If you can find wood that still has some moisture in it, that's even better for long smoke and flavor, as long as it's sufficiently seasoned so that two pieces clack when knocked together.
 
Dave Russell said:
Also, the denser the wood, the longer the smoke, and you can't beat hickory or oak for a stout smoke flavor to go with brisket, anyway. If you can find wood that still has some moisture in it, that's even better for long smoke and flavor, as long as it's sufficiently seasoned so that two pieces clack when knocked together.
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I've been using a blend of hickory and apple for my briskets. But for the next one, I'm going to do some things differently -- different wood (maybe a blend of hickory and oak), different rub, different injection.

Thanks, Dave!
 
I bet you would be surprised how much smoke you still have going when you wake up. Hold your hand over the exhaust for a few seconds and then smell your hand. I bet there is plenty smoke still coming out. That being said I bury some in the charcoal and lay a couple on top.
 
Marty W said:
I bet you would be surprised how much smoke you still have going when you wake up. Hold your hand over the exhaust for a few seconds and then smell your hand. I bet there is plenty smoke still coming out. That being said I bury some in the charcoal and lay a couple on top.
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+1 on this. Be mindful that just because you don't see it, you're not getting it. If you're throwing lots of smoke you're meat is going to end up bitter.

As far as the smoke ring is concerned, that's a chemical reaction between the nitrogen dioxide in the smoke (visible or not) and the water in the meat. The more moisture your meat has (or more you can draw to the surface of the meat during cooking) will create the better smoke ring even with smoke that you really cannot see.

tl;dr (too long; didn't read)
You don't need to keep throwing wood on to get great que.
Too much smoke may cause bitter meat and bitter meat is bad.
Heavy Smoke is not equal to awesome smoke ring.
 
RichPB (richlife) said:
I'd say the same, but also you can help extend the "smoke" by burying small chunks (1 - 1 1/2") down in your unlit. They will start smoldering later. Wood really has nothing to do with the smoke ring, just flavor. The smoke ring is a chemical reaction due to the process. Having wood smoke longer may make the "smoke" flavor stronger. Just depends on how you like your smoked meat.

Rich
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Ditto what Rich said...

Spread them out and bury them 3-4 chunks will do.
 
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