All tastes the same?


 
E

Eric Larson

New member
In my Weber smoker, regardless of which rub, sop, and/or injection I use, my meat generally comes out tasting the same. I usually use apple wood, so that is pretty consistent. Is it the seasoning of my smoker that's imparting the same flavor? Sometimes I'll try a couple different recipes (substantially different) in the same cook and I can't tell the difference when it's done.

Thanks,
Eric
 
There are a lot of factors that could come into play here. A few questions:
1. What sort of taste are we talking about? A bad taste or smokey?
2. Are you using a lot of smoke? That's where I went wrong at first. Too much smoke will generally over power the meat flavor.
3. What sort of taste are you expecting with the different seasonings you use?

My meat always comes out the same as far as taste (unless I over smoke something or just flat over cook it). Big hunks of meat won't really take too much flavor internally except with an injection and even then the flavor really doesn't change.
 
Do you ever do high heat? Or foil? Remove sugar from the rubs?

Try some experimenting with those if you have not
 
One of the points Mike makes is soooooo true. Too much smoke will over power.

Two hours of smoke (say, 1/4 of your cooking time ) is MORE than enough. I shudder when I see recipes calling for the addition of wood every hour.

Also, in my opinion, DON'T smoke everything you're eating that meal.

Too much of a good thing is not good. You need a variety of flavours to make a good meal great.
 
I agree with all said above, especially the statements about too much smoke. Along those lines, what charcoal are you using? Has it always been the same? Maybe try some lump if you used briquettes, or briquettes if you used lump. Personaly, I prefer lump and wait until it is burning clean thin blue - almost nonexistant - smoke. That's when I may add one chuck of wood to see how much smoke this adds and MAY add another (but I doubt it). MAYBE an hour later I'd add another chunk (but I doubt it).
 
I can vouch for what everyone is saying here. Too much is bad and really over powers your meat. When I started smoking, I was under the impression that if I wasn't seeing smoke I wasn't smoking. I was constantly shoveling wood chips in for 3 hours. Didn't take long to learn, that that was bad.

I recently did a test cook where I used 2 different rubs on 2 racks of ribs. They both got the same smoke and same 3-2-1 treatment. When all was said and done, one rack had a slight bitter taste like there was too much smoke. I then realized that the TYPE of smoke and rub COMBINATIONS can effect the taste. If you can, try a couple different rubs or sauces in the same cook. If it all still tastes the same, then maybe it's the type of smoke.
 
Eric-

Agree with everyone above. I think I can help isolate your problem between the wood you are selecting and the volume you are adding to your briquettes. Normal rule of thumb, stick to no more than 3 handfulls of wood chunks and use sweet woods (apple or cherry) for poultry and use medium to strong flavored woods (ranging from white oak to mesquite) for red meat and don't add anymore during your smoke. Bottom line: from what I can discern you are probably overpowering your smoking wood which can normalize a consistent taste no matter what you smoke. A friend of mine loves using hickory on chicken thighs but to me it tastes like ham, I don't like too much but it doesn't bother him.

Mike
 
Thanks for all the replies. Sorry I haven't replied back myself, been taking care of a sick kid. I think I may need to experiment this weekend during the conference championships on Saturday.

MH Brown,
1. It's not a bad taste, not overly smokey.
2. I usually add 3-4 chunks of apple wood when I start the smoker (Minion method with only half a dozen lit coals) and sometimes I'll throw in a second round of wood (similar amount) during a long smoke, but not on something that only goes a few hours. I usually smoke at around 225.
3. Not sure what taste I'm expecting to get, just expecting them to be different. Like last time I smoked, I did two racks of ribs with completely different rub recipes -- one was very basic and traditional, the other had a bunch of different spices and little sugar, I also smothered one in mustard prior to smoking. After I was finished, I tasted both ribs and they tasted the same. So maybe there's too much smoke and it's overpowering the rub. I'd like to be able to experiment and tweak the rub recipe to find something that's uniquely me and tasty -- right now, I think I could add just add some salt and they'd taste about the same.

DK Smith,
I usually smoke at about 225. I've started using an automatic temperature control system, so heat is pretty consistent. I foil that water pan with no water. Or are you referring to foiling the meat? I often foil the meat, but not always. The two racks of ribs I did above I did foil at the end. I always foil my pork butts at the end. I've used sugarless rubs and they still tend to come out the same as rubs with sugar.

Len Dennis,
I tend to smoke all the meat for meal and sometimes do beans on the smoker too. But I usually serve something else with the meal that hasn't been smoked like slaw or mac-and-cheese.

Gene_N,
No, it doesn't all taste like chicken. Though I haven't experimented too much with different chicken rubs. I don't smoke too much chicken because the skin gets so rubbery and it's such a hassle to crisp up the skin -- my Weber is out of round and difficult to get the mid-section off to get down to the hot coals to crisp the skin. Though I do like to throw on some skinless breasts and make chicken salad with some cilantro, lime, and green onions.

Dwain Pannell,
I use Kingsford blue. I have some lump charcoal in the garage, but usually only use that if I want a really high heat grill. Maybe I'll try the lump this weekend.

Tony Ruelas,
Anything specifically that hasn't been covered in this?

Tom Rotta,
I'd like to try oak, but haven't been able to find it. I don't like pecan and have been scared away from mesquite and hickory because I've heard they're too overpowering. Cherry is pretty easy to find, but I've always just stuck to apple. I usually use chunks, but will sometimes throw a small piece from the bottom of the bag to get some early smoke.

M. Chesney,
My wood chunks are a small fist size and I usually use about 3-4 chunks and always apple. I usually only smoke pork and chicken. Did one brisket and it turned out a little dry and haven't done one since.

--------------

I think this weekend I'm going to do some ribs
1. I'm going to use different rubs on each slab.
2. I'll try using lump charcoal instead of briquettes.
3. I'll use less wood, only 1-2 chunks of apple wood (depending on their size).

Thanks for all the suggestions!
Eric
 
AFAIK, mesquite is the only wood to use sparingly. Hickory is basic and used in moderation (as most every other wood) is fine.
 
Try to cut down on the number of spices in your rub. Or omit the rub, and use just salt and pepper, and maybe just one extra taste- herb/spice/whatever. If you have meat with a good flavor, let it shine on its own.
Brines, spices, lots of ingredients can be nice, but keeping it simple if your ingredients are top notch can something to try. Good meat does not really need acids to be tender, just cook the meat to the desired temperature.
 
How's the leftovers taste?
Our sense of taste and smell can get a little jaded hanging around a smoker all day.
Apple for me is too mild of a flavor on it's own. I would suggest adding some Hickory or Pecan for Pork but you said you don't like Pecan which is a milder version of Hickory.
Maybe try some Maple or Alder? Both good on Pork and Poultry.

Tim
 
timothy said:
How's the leftovers taste?
Our sense of taste and smell can get a little jaded hanging around a smoker all day.
Apple for me is too mild of a flavor on it's own. I would suggest adding some Hickory or Pecan for Pork but you said you don't like Pecan which is a milder version of Hickory.
Maybe try some Maple or Alder? Both good on Pork and Poultry.

Tim
Click to expand...

The colder weather requires wearing a sweatshirt & layers. A lot of my outerwear still has a smoke aroma many days later. Sampling your cooking a day or later for different flavors and getting your neighbors involved may help. I have tried a few different rubs but have kept the wood (cherry/apple) consistent. I read somewhere on this site that you want the smoke to kiss the meat. I take that to mean less is better. In my limited experience (9 smokes), the wood smoke and charcoal impart more of the overall flavor; the rub spices provide the tangy, spicy, sweet, more impactful flavors.

So it all does the same due to the smoke/charcoal.... Controlling smoke flavor is much harder (IMHO) because wood, charcoal & fire characteristics has too many uncontrollable variables than controlling rub flavor.
 
Clint,
Maybe I'll try that with one rack and just use salt and pepper on the other.

Len Dennis,
Good to know. I have some old hickory chunks, maybe I'll throw one of those in (assuming they haven't rotted, they're several years old).

Geir Widar,
I'll try one rack with just salt and pepper, it'll be a good control in the experiment. The meat I use is from the grocery store. I try to avoid enhanced meat when possible. I haven't found a butcher. There's a Sam's, but it's across town (25 minutes or so), so I let my membership lapse. There are some gourmet meat shops, but paying $3/lb for pork butt seems a little crazy to me. The acid I use is vinegar or apple juice in the occasional injection or sop.

Tim,
Leftovers are good. Taste pretty much the same as the day of, just a little drier.

Gene_N,
I'll ask the others if they can taste a difference. I usually just try to do the comparison myself, but might as well enlist some help.

Thanks guys!
 
Im with Geir! Keep it simple. Try one smoke and forget everything you lernd about rubs. Salt/pepper/glaze with honey the last 30-20 min. I bet you will have an AhA moment.
 
ditch the K. Try a nice clean burning lump.

I find that most flavors simply don't hold up during long periods of cooking. Heat kills them and there isn't much you can do about it. Try using whole spices and keep them somewhat coarsely ground, or adding a rub ground to powder at the end.
 
I do a lot of cooking, not just Q'ing and I find that a lot of what I cook tends to taste kind of bland to me, but everyone who I cook for seems to really enjoy what I've produced and I've never heard any complaints (and they'd let me know), sometimes I think it might just be spending too much time around whatever it is you're cooking, like what someone said above.
 
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