Creosote Flavor - Too much smoke?


 
M

Musky-Hunter

TVWBB Member
I've been doing butts on my WSM for about 10 years and I've starting learning the value of keeping a log, the hard way. Clearly my memory is fading and my end product is not as consistent as it used to be.

I have 4 butts on now that have been on for about 6 hours. I put the butts on right after applying 6 ~3x5" pieces of apple with the bark removed. I noticed about the same volume and duration of white smoke as I normally do but this time when I tasted the forming bark it tasted unpleasant, like creosote, that made my tongue burn for a minute. I over-smoked a load many years ago and literally had to remove the bark to eat it. I hope that doesn't happen again this time, we'll see.

On to my question...
Do you typically wait to put the meat on until after the white smoke is over? Do you leave the wood on for the entire smoke or do you take it out when you have to add kingsford to ensure the old wood doesn't ignite?

Thanks.
 
I always wait until the white smoke disappears. but it appears that the majority on the forum do not. I leave the wood on for the entire cook. If I do have to replenish the lump I put the butts on the gas bbq while the WSM settles down tempeature and smoke wise.

Did you have the top vent wide open? It could be more of a case of wet briquetts or lump or maybe bad wood. How does the smoke smell?
 
I dont use a lotta apple mostly hickory for butts, 6 - 3"x5" pcs seems overkill to me on a WSM. If the apple was still a little green, than that might be part of it.
And to your Que..
I load immediately, minion start, and I never remove any smokewood, but I only use a quarter of what you use..No K just lump for this guy.

Tim
 
Did you use a rub with paprika or sugar that might have burned? I recently switched to smoked paprika because a lot of the plain paprika is bitter to start with and only gets worse when heated.
 
To me that is too much wood and is to big in size. I cut my chuncks to 1-1.5" then bury in the center under where I pour the minion and add 1 pc next to the lit. Usually use no more than 5-6 pcs. Always load cold meat in the smoker as soon as assembled for maximum smoke penetration and ring formation for me.

I don't use paprika or mustard (powder) of any kind for long smokes anymore.
 
Considering the size of each piece of wood it seems like you put to much on.

I never wait to put the meat on. Once my starter is ready, I dump it on top of the unlit coals, middle section goes on, meat goes on and away we go. Never "over smoked" anything before though there have been times I felt I "under smoked" meat mean not enough smoke flavor not under cooked.
 
I only use 3 pieces that size for my smokes. If you run a water pan, that seems to exaggerate the amount of wood too.
 
I only use one fist size piece, which seems plenty. Gives me just enough smoke flavor without being over powering. Sort of like an extra bit of spice. I've over smoked once, was my first time using oak. Had to toss a brisket, tasted metallic, was inedible.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Musky-Hunter:
Do you typically wait to put the meat on until after the white smoke is over? Do you leave the wood on for the entire smoke or do you take it out when you have to add kingsford to ensure the old wood doesn't ignite? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I let the smoke clean up while the smoker is coming up to temp. I don't remember the last time I had to add any fuel to a cook, and I don't add or remove any wood, either. For long cooks, I prefer Stubbs briqs, and will pile it and the wood up as high as my ECB pan will allow.

For a butt cook, I'll typically use two hickory chunks and four peach or apple chunks. That's three chunks buried in the pile around the outer perimeter, and three chunks placed on top after lighting the charcoal ring with my torch. I probably wouldn't use really green hickory, but I'd rather use greener than old, dry wood, because I simply haven't had any issues with oversmoking on the wsm.
 
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