Vent Control


 
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Jim Minion

TVWBB Emerald Member
I think this is the right forum for the disscussion of fire control theory.
First you need a clean fire to produce clean
smoke. To produce a clean fire you need a supply of oxygen, by closing top or all three bottom vents, the supply of oxygen is straved. When you strave the fire, the wood and charcoal start to smolder, creating dirty smoke.
When I start up once I spread the charcoal I
also add the wood. I put the full water pan
in, meat on the grates, the reason I put the meat on is smokering is produced while the meats is below 140* internal. By putting it on at this time I get a longer cook during
the meats lower temp and in theory I should get more ring.
My questions is can you see a problem with my logic or practice?
Jim
 
Jim,

I follow exactly the procedure you described!! My thinking was......Why bring the WSM up to temp and THEN add the meat and the wood?? This just brings the temp back DOWN after adding all the stuff!!

I use your method to start and after adding the 15-20 lit briquettes, I throw on the wood AND add the meat. This way I have so much more control over the temp!! One thing I have learned about the WSM.....It is VERY hard to bring the temp back down!! I also, never, ever close that top vent because of the possibility of creosote creation!

Stogie
 
I once read something somewhere that described the smoke ring as a chemical reaction that's triggered by the interaction of smoke and/or spices with the meat. If someone out there has that information, I wish they'd post it here.

In the meantime, I abide by Paul Kirk's admonition, which is to not worry about the smoke ring. Don't worry about the size, don't worry about the color. If you get one, great...if you don't, that's OK too.

Of course, in the backyard, I don't get points for appearance like you do in competition, Jim!
wink.gif
 
You're right about bringing the temp down in a WSM, it is tough! When I first bought the cooker, I had a tough time getting the temp up. But after the first 2 or 3 times, I got the hang of it and now my major problem is keeping the temp down at 225. I like Jim's method but I am still a little suspicious of cooking over the blueish funny smelling smoke that comes off Kingsford when it is first ignited. Any thoughts there?

You guys are right though, it sure seems a waste to get all of the coals burning with gray ash, just to have to get the temp down to the right cooking temp. Sometimes this can take hours whereas Jim's method gets you going in less than 45 minutes.

SC Que
 
In my experience, there's no discernable negative flavor or aroma that results from Jim's method, but I know others differ on that point. Maybe my senses just aren't that sensitive.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>It sure seems a waste to get all of the coals burning with gray ash, just to have to get the temp down to the right cooking temp. Sometimes this can take hours... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, it does use more charcoal, but since I use Kingsford and it's cheap, so I don't worry too much about it. When using the non-Minion method, I don't wait that long. Once all the coals are covered with gray ash, I assemble the cooker, add cold water, close up all the bottom vents, and wait maybe 15-20 minutes for the cooker to get down to 325*F. Then I throw on my meat. Even room temp meat seems to drive the temp down into the 235-250*F range within 30 minutes. I may have to begin cracking open the bottom vents after an hour or so when the temp falls to 220-225*F.
 
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