Adding wood and "bad" smoke

[Chad P.]

Hello, I have been searching for the answer to to this and haven't found the answer. If I missed it I apologize. Anyway, I did my first longer cook over over the weekend and had issues when adding fresh wood to the charcoal. The smoke went white and heavy for a while and eventually to nice thin smoke. Not too long after, no real smoke to speak of at all. What is the best way to keep good smoke when you have to add wood?

 

[Bob Sample]

That's pretty normal when you add wood. If your getting a grey or black smoke then you will get a bad taste from it.

 

[Chad P.]

So perhaps I'm over thinking it? When the smoke runs out, just add more?

 

[W Tyler]

What is the best way to keep good smoke when you have to add wood?

If you really want the absolute least "bad" smoke from your wood I would think you'd have to preheat it somehow, either in a chimney or a spare grill. That way you burn off the components that cause the heavy white smoke (which is caused mostly by a difference in the very hot coals and the wood (which is likely air temperature or lower).

This is the reason I try build my fires such that I add all wood up front, and wait until the TBS (thin blue smoke) appears before adding any meat. That way you'll get thin blue smoke (and ONLY thin blue smoke) moving forward.

 

[MKEvenson]

Chad, I am sure that there are various answers to adding smoke wood during a cook. I think that using seasoned wood and very small pieces are at least one key. By very small I would say maybe 2 finger widths. I have had success with this method for many years, in fact it was suggested here in the forums some years back. Secondarily there is an accepted belief that the smoke flavor will only be absorbed up to a certain surface temp of the meat, so adding smoke wood after 3-4 hrs of smoking may not be too beneficial to the meat flavor, smoke wise. I am sure that others have there own methods tho, and you gotta find what works for you.

Mark

 

[Joe F]

So perhaps I'm over thinking it? When the smoke runs out, just add more?

I think so.
Once the first 2-3 hours go by on a cook I don't think you should continue to try to infuse smoke....because it won't infuse as the bark develops.
Just adjust your chunk size and amount at the front end of the cook. This is part of the science that takes a few runs to get it honed.
If charcoal is your fuel, you are going to get smoke flavor from that as well, especially if it's lump.

 

[Chad P.]

Thanks for the replies, great forum. I was using lump and started off with Temps that were too high so things were a little rough from the beginning. Maybe too much wood too. I can't wait to get at it again and try to find the right combo to start with.

 

[KeithG]

Don't confuse smoke and the smoke ring. The smoke ring only forms up to about 140 degrees meat temperature. However, smoke will continue to stick to the meat and add to the flavor profile throughout the cook. Therefore, there is benefit to continuing the smoke to the end of the cook....however, it seems logical (although I am no expert) that as the bark forms and dries out some, less smoke will stick to it.

A couple of things you may consider to help maintain your smoke throughout the cook:
--bury a few pieces of smoke wood in your unlit charcoal....these will light as the charcoal burns down through the ring
--use lump charcoal vice briquettes (I know I get more flavor from my WGC lump than my Stubbs briquettes).

I use lump exclusively for my long cooks and everything I do in my WSM. I use briquettes for my kettle (hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, etc.) The WGC lump leaves extremely low ash and burns really clean. Yes I will get a couple of temp spikes with it and it is probably not as steady as briquettes, but it won't vary drastically as long as I break up the big pieces and pack everything nice and tight. Also, a ring of the WGC lump will burn forever so you shouldn't have to worry about reloading and you don't have to worry about the ash buildup.

Just some things to consider.
Kg

 

[G Savrnoch]

First I'm going to assume when you say "fresh wood" you mean a new piece and NOT freshly cut i.e. wet. So again assuming you're talking a new piece of well seasoned smoking wood of a proper species e.g. apple, pecan....then yes you can expect some white smoke when it's added. Heavy white billowing smoke is not good. Also keep in mind, smoke for the entire cook is not necessary, meat will only take smoke so long then it's just wasted. Also, it's very possible to over smoke certain items especially if you're serving people who only like a bit of smokiness.

 

[James Mundy]

I only add the wood once i've put the meat on, so everytime i've smoked something it's been subject to the "bad" grey billowy smoke and i've never had anything i'd describe as a bad smoke flavour.