Taste problem with barbeque


 
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Hello All,

I have had some really good batches of barbeque but on at least three occasions I have had some batches that have a distinctive, bad taste. This bad taste is more prominent when the barbeque is warmed up in the microwave. It has also been present in both chicken and pork.

I'm thinking it may be that I didn't get the charcoal burning well enough before putting the meat on, or maybe I added too much fresh charcoal at one time...I use Kingsford charcoal and an electric starter so it's not from lighter fluid or anything...

I also have the vents open fairly well and don't think it could be creosote but since I don't know what creosote would taste like it's hard to say. And I haven't cleaned the smoker much other than the grills, and that has just been with common chemicals like dishwashing liquid.

I would appreciate any advice on what this may be....it's hard to describe except with the word 'acrid'....it has a somewhat charcoal taste..

Thanks.

Robert
 
Robert
What are using for wood?
Creosote taste bitter and can cause numbness
to lips.
Bitterness can also be caused by over smoking with strong woods ie: hickory,osk,
pecan.
When you reheat Q it is common that the smoke flavor will be stronger, should not be bitter.
Jim Minion
 
Hello Jim,

The last batch was a batch of ribs and I used pecan. It had the undesirable taste...

The worst batch was a batch of chicken that I smoked with cherry.

It is possible that I smoked them too much..with the ribs I applied soaked chips, every hour or so..maybe five small chips the size of a quarter..with the chicken I believe I applied a handful of them once at the beginning of the session.

I used an Italian dressing with lemon/pepper seasoning on the chicken...

Basically my approach is to toss the wood chips at various spots in the coals and let them burn up. I have read that some people put them in a pile in the center.

Robert
 
Robert
Soak chips is for grilling and it works well,
for Qing use chunks of wood about the size of your fist, no need to soak.
You will need only 2 or 3 for the whole cook.
Cherry should be fine for chicken, it is a mild wood.
The ribs were over smoked, forget the chips
and I think you will have better results.
There should not be a lot of smoke during the cook, a little goes a long ways.
This is a case of spare the chips and don't spoil the ribs. :d
Jim
 
Hello Jim,

I bought some chunks of white oak and apple for the ribs...

I used one chunk of apple perhaps three inches long and one inch wide...and two little chunks of oak maybe the size of a Zippo cigarette lighter...

The ribs came out fine and were not smoky..the problem,as you identified, I believe, is that I have been oversmoking them.

Thanks for your advice.

By the way the place I bought the wood is http://smokingwood.homestead.com if anyone is interested..they were kind enough to rush it so that I would have it in time for the ribs...

Thanks.


Robert
 
I have bought wood from sources on the internet and experienced the same thing you describe. I took your advice and tried not to over smoke using wood that i bought from www.smokingwood.homestead.com and it turned out fine. Could the problem be with the wood? smokingwood.homestead.com seemed to be a better grade of wood.
 
Unless the wood you are using is punk or
coated with something you would not want on the food, chances are it is either bad smoke from fire control or over smoking, not the quality of the wood.
The main two items you need to keep in mind is clean fires and transparent smoke out the top of the cooker.
Jim
 
A lot of folks make the mistake of thinking that they've got to see a steady stream of thick, white smoke billowing out of their cooker to be making real barbecue. I've always encouraged people to start out with light smoke, then increase to suit your taste.

Early on, I found this quote from Mike Scrutchfield, wizard of the WSM, to be helpful to me:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Forget about how much smoke is coming out of the cooker, if you've got the wood you like in there burning up cleanly, the flavor will be in the meat. Smoke is nothing more that a smoke screen, and any coming out of the top of the cooker is flavor lost! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Regards,
Chris
 
Typically for the first hour of each session I have what I would call a moderate flow of white smoke from my lid. After the first hour the smoke begins to dissipate to what is finally no smoke at about 2 hours after applying wood.

Your messages lead me to believe any white smoke is a bad thing and not a clean burn. Is that true? How can I control the white smoke I am experiencing?

Thanks.
 
MH, I have the same experience you do, a moderate amount of smoke coming out of the cooker for the first 60-90 minutes, then ramping down toward very thin or no noticeable smoke thereafter. I think that's OK.

My point was just that you don't need to maintain throughout the cook the amount of smoke that comes out at the beginning, nor should you have a thick, billowing smokestack-like effect coming out of the cooker. There is such a thing as too much smoke...better to start with a small amount of smoke wood (2-4 large chunks) and increase as desired to suit your taste.

Regards,
Chris
 
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