Another WSM Smoke Ring Failure


 
Anthony Hunter

Anthony Hunter

TVWBB Fan
So I decided to do another WSM cook to see if I could get Miss Piggy to redeem herself, and give me a smoke ring. There was one thing that many suggested that I had not tried, and that was to use some quality wood instead of the bagged wood I usually use in the WSM. So, now that I have a sawzall, I cut me some oak chunks from the logs I use in my offset, which by the way, always gives me an amazing smoke ring. Well, the wood did not make a difference. I made a video of the experience and I want to share it with my you all. :grin:

WSM Smoke Ring Challenge

 
Great video. Your food was cold and moist going on a hot smoky cooker, I just knew you were going to cut into it and see a nice pink ring. Did you have water in the pan? You might try that. High humidity contributes to the smoke ring. Spritzing throughout the cook may help as well.
 
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Tony, Dwaine's suggestions are good, but as you're observing, you're simply not going to achieve the smoke ring you're accustomed to with a charcoal smoker. It's not that there's not enough smoke. No matter how much moisture there may be, there's simply not near as much combustion gases.
 
Tony,
Just thinking out loud here but do you think perhaps it has to do with how quickly the smoker gets up to 140° stopping the ring formation? Have you tried the Minion method with just a couple of lit briquettes to slow down the temp rise.
 
I watched your video and Dwaine is spot on about using water in the pan. Not only will it add moisture, but you can start with more lit briquettes and get more COMBUSTION. That's a big part of the equation, more than the actual smoke itself. That's why you can have tbs in a stickburner and rolling white smoke in a wsm and still get more of a smoke ring from the pit with a FIRE.

Here's a blurry shot from some spares I smoked the other day on my new Oklahoma Joe. Even if smoking cold, wet ribs lownslow with water and starting with half a chimney or more of lit briquettes, I've still never gotten this thick a smoke ring with my wsm's. I've never had anyone comment that my smoke ring wasn't good, but my MIL did ask the other day why these ribs were gray in the center. (??) Anyhow, I'm taking the 18" wsm down to MS this week for our family reunion so I'll try to take a pic or two.

 
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I tend to get a more defined ring with my offset wich is one of the cheap Old Country models you see at Academy. I typically cook with lump on the offset and throw chunks in for smoke for the first few hours and I usually get a nice smoke ring. I have yet to do a true stick burn on it. I've noticed with the WSM that the smoke ring is there but not as defined. I'll see pink penetrating deep into the rib but its a light pink, not the dark that I've seen with my offset. I've noticed the same thing with my brisket.

The taste is generally pretty similar with both cookers. I don't use a water pan at all on the offset. In the WSM I'm filling the ring with KBB and putting 5 or 6 chunks in for smoke. I figure I have less control over when that smoke wood is going to ignite in the WSM. It's not something that going to keep me up at night whereas cooking on that offset will!

I've got some well seasoned hickory though and I may cooks some ribs with it. I figure my offset is getting lonely.
 
Try giving the meat a rub with some tender quick and keep the meat surface below 140 as long as you can.
 
Al Silverman said:
Tony,
Just thinking out loud here but do you think perhaps it has to do with how quickly the smoker gets up to 140° stopping the ring formation? Have you tried the Minion method with just a couple of lit briquettes to slow down the temp rise.
Click to expand...

In my hopinion is NOT the smoker BUT the meat that stop allowing smoke ring formation if it goes upper than 140F.
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
I tend to get a more defined ring with my offset wich is one of the cheap Old Country models you see at Academy. I typically cook with lump on the offset and throw chunks in for smoke for the first few hours and I usually get a nice smoke ring. I have yet to do a true stick burn on it. I've noticed with the WSM that the smoke ring is there but not as defined. I'll see pink penetrating deep into the rib but its a light pink, not the dark that I've seen with my offset. I've noticed the same thing with my brisket.

The taste is generally pretty similar with both cookers. I don't use a water pan at all on the offset. In the WSM I'm filling the ring with KBB and putting 5 or 6 chunks in for smoke. I figure I have less control over when that smoke wood is going to ignite in the WSM. It's not something that going to keep me up at night whereas cooking on that offset will!

I've got some well seasoned hickory though and I may cooks some ribs with it. I figure my offset is getting lonely.
Click to expand...

Nearly everyone I know starts off with charcoal, but if you're BURNING wood with an aerated fire you're "burning sticks", as far as I'm concerned. (The goal being to manage and feed the fire wood that is well seasoned and the right size to burn cleanly without having to add another piece on every fifteen minutes.) Anyhow, with wood chunks on the wsm, as long as the door or dome is on at least, as you know, wood isn't going to ignite into flames. It smolders, and there aren't nearly the combustion gases produced. It's two completely different scenarios, one oxygenated and one oxygen deprived...and the smoke will even smell completely different than in a wsm, even with the same type of wood. I'm talking a clean burning fire, though. Heck, that often means the firebox door can't even be shut, as in Aaron Franklin's rib video.
 
Sure glad KCBS will not allow us to take a smoke ring in to consideration when judging bbq.
A smoke ring is nothing more than a chemical reaction. The pitmasters actions will determine if there is a smoke ring and if so, how well it is developed... be it 'natural' or otherwise.
 
Dave Russell said:
Nearly everyone I know starts off with charcoal, but if you're BURNING wood with an aerated fire you're "burning sticks", as far as I'm concerned. (The goal being to manage and feed the fire wood that is well seasoned and the right size to burn cleanly without having to add another piece on every fifteen minutes.) Anyhow, with wood chunks on the wsm, as long as the door or dome is on at least, as you know, wood isn't going to ignite into flames. It smolders, and there aren't nearly the combustion gases produced. It's two completely different scenarios, one oxygenated and one oxygen deprived...and the smoke will even smell completely different than in a wsm, even with the same type of wood. I'm talking a clean burning fire, though. Heck, that often means the firebox door can't even be shut, as in Aaron Franklin's rib video.
Click to expand...
On my offset the wood chunks would typically immediately ignite. I haven't given it a whole lot of thought. I know with my WSM as it stands I have a hard time having a fire that breathes because I'm having to shut the vents almost completely, however by the time that happens I'm no longer producing smoke. I'm very stubborn so taking something off the smoker and putting it in the oven, even with smoke no longer being a factor, is not something I'm going to every be happy with. The main reason my offset is rarely used at this point is it is way too much of beating for me to cook a brisket for 16 hours. I've done a few and I couldn't even socialize with people I was so beat and this was adding fuel every hour so an hour and a half. Now cooking ribs and maybe even a pork butt is not such a big deal.

I do understand though if you wanna stick burn on a COS it's a good idea to cook at higher temps than where I typically fall.
 
Bob Bass said:
Sure glad KCBS will not allow us to take a smoke ring in to consideration when judging bbq.
A smoke ring is nothing more than a chemical reaction. The pitmasters actions will determine if there is a smoke ring and if so, how well it is developed... be it 'natural' or otherwise.
Click to expand...

I hear ya, Bob. I don't compete, but I don't usually notice it when my smoke ring is "lacking", either. I'm mainly just concerned with the flavor and textures, like most folks, and you can rest assured I don't like stickburners for the thick smoke rings they produce. With me, that's not it at all.

When you say "the pit master's actions" will determine the degree of the smoke ring...well let's just say, what if the KCBS did take smoke rings into account? Wood smoker smoke ring vs ceramic charcoal cooker smoke ring? NO CONTEST...unless I guess the guy with the ceramic cooker is using tender quick. Right? So the cooker does make a difference, and it's not just up to cold or moist meat that starts cooking slowly in smoke. This is because it's not simply a chemical reaction between the nitrates in the smoke and the protein in the meat. Actually, from what I've learned I'm pretty sure that the amount of combustion gases from the fire are probably more important than the amount of smoke. Anyhow, I know, the horse is dead. Still, it doesn't have much of a smoke ring. :-)
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
On my offset the wood chunks would typically immediately ignite. I haven't given it a whole lot of thought. I know with my WSM as it stands I have a hard time having a fire that breathes because I'm having to shut the vents almost completely, however by the time that happens I'm no longer producing smoke. I'm very stubborn so taking something off the smoker and putting it in the oven, even with smoke no longer being a factor, is not something I'm going to every be happy with. The main reason my offset is rarely used at this point is it is way too much of beating for me to cook a brisket for 16 hours. I've done a few and I couldn't even socialize with people I was so beat and this was adding fuel every hour so an hour and a half. Now cooking ribs and maybe even a pork butt is not such a big deal.

I do understand though if you wanna stick burn on a COS it's a good idea to cook at higher temps than where I typically fall.
Click to expand...

Dustin, I'm with you. Tend a stickburner for 16 hrs? No thank you. It's too hard to maintain tbs in my cheap offset at temps that low anyhow, and I'm just as happy cooking at more moderate temps.

I hear you on not wanting to oven a brisket after smoking. What's wrong with smoking a brisket a few hours with an oak or hickory fire, then finishing on a wsm, though? I'll let you know how it turns out...:-)
 
Tony, there is only one thing contributing to your no smoke ring problem that I can see. Miss Piggy is ****ed. What women after being called Miss Piggy is
EVER going to do what you ask of her? It is a hopeless situation. Just send her to me, I'll treat her right. :-).
 
Dwain Pannell said:
Great video. Your food was cold and moist going on a hot smoky cooker, I just knew you were going to cut into it and see a nice pink ring. Did you have water in the pan? You might try that. High humidity contributes to the smoke ring. Spritzing throughout the cook may help as well.
Click to expand...

Dwain, no water in the pan this time, but I have used water before. But, I have gotten a smoke ring both ways before in my WSM. Some factor has changed, and I'm compelled to find out what. Thanks for your reply. :)
 
Dave Russell said:
Tony, Dwaine's suggestions are good, but as you're observing, you're simply not going to achieve the smoke ring you're accustomed to with a charcoal smoker. It's not that there's not enough smoke. No matter how much moisture there may be, there's simply not near as much combustion gases.
Click to expand...

Dave, that probably explains why I always get a great smoke ring on my offset. There is always a clean burning fire. Very interesting!
 
Al Silverman said:
Tony,
Just thinking out loud here but do you think perhaps it has to do with how quickly the smoker gets up to 140° stopping the ring formation? Have you tried the Minion method with just a couple of lit briquettes to slow down the temp rise.
Click to expand...

Al, yes, that is how I run my WSMs all the time. But, the weather has been very warm here on my cook days, and the smoker gets up to temp pretty quickly. You may be on to something here. Thanks.
 
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