Hey, Where Did My Smoke Go?


 
K

Ken Hendrix

New member
18.5" SMC. Relatively new to smoking and I have an issue that is really starting to bug me. I have done several cooks now and have used a couple of methods for starting the fire.

When I first got the SMC I began with the minion method and have used that technique the most. The variation of the minion method I have used most often is to fill the charcoal ring to the desired level with unlit charcoal and then apply lit charcoal scattered across the top. Then I add the wood, which is small diameter limbs from a pecan tree, where some of the fully lit charcoal is. I have tried the minion donut method early on but migrated to the other version and have stuck with that when using the minion.

On the last couple of cooks I have used the technique as outlined in the Best Ribs in the Universe recipe of igniting a whole chimney of charcoal and putting it in the fire ring and then adding another chimney of unlit charcoal on top of that. After all the charcoal is in place I apply 4 - 6 wood chunks and wait until they start flaming. Once they are flaming I assemble the SMC and wait about an hour for the temperature to drop and stabilize and then start cooking.

Regardless of which method I have used I will get smoke for a while and then it seems like that within 30 minutes to an hour it just quits, and usually closer to 30 minutes than an hour. Or if there is smoke there I can't see it. I don't expect to have smoke then entire duration of a several hour cook but I would at least like to know that I have it for the first 2 or 3 hours. Whether it be the wood chunks or the pecan limbs the wood is still there but its not smoking, or at least it doesnt appear that way to me. Im not looking for freight train smoke, just that light wispy smoke. Can food still get the effect of the wood even though there is no visible smoke?

I have tried nudging the wood deeper into the coals and that will produce some visible smoke but it is usually very short lived.

It just seems like once wood gets hot enough to burn and smolder it would continue to smolder sitting on top of or nestled into a hot bed of coals but that has not been my experience. Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to do something different? Is there only so much smoke you will get out of a chunk of wood or small piece of limb? Do I need to add more wood periodically? If so, at what interval and is there a preferred technique to get it ignited and producing smoke before adding it to the coals?
 
Ken,
Limbs, unless they are large, will burn fast, and not give a long smoke time.
Try burying larger chunks in the unlit, dump on the lit, then close her up, no need to let it start flaming, this will just burn your wood up fast.
And, as you suspect, there's probably smoke going on that is hard to see.
When it's burning right there will be thin barely visible bluish smoke.
No reason to not add more wood later too within the first few hours of the cook.
 
I looked at the instructions Chris gave, and wonder if he still does it this way, I never have.

@ Chris
When the smoke wood is engulfed in flames, but not fully consumed (Photo 6), assemble the cooker
 
When I BBQ, I put the wood chunks (3 or so) in when I add the hot coals, then wait for about 30-45 minutes (til the white smoke is no longer present), then add the meat to the smoker.

White smoke = bad
Black smoke = bad
Blur or no smoke = the sweet spot
 
Ken Hendrix said:
After all the charcoal is in place I apply 4 - 6 wood chunks and wait until they start flaming. Once they are flaming I assemble the SMC and wait about an hour for the temperature to drop and stabilize and then start cooking.
Click to expand...


If you put all the wood on, wait for it to flame and then wait for another hour to start cooking, the wood will burn out in short order. If you want smoke throughout the cook, you have to place wood in the unlit charcoal so that it will catch and burn when the charcoal around it ignites.
 
Having completed my second smoke starting the fire as outlined in the BRITU recipe I think I am going back to the minion method. Even though BRITU stated that 2 chimneys of charcoal (unlit charcoal on top of lit charcoal) should last for the duration of the smoke for ribs I started running out of fuel both times. And I never could get the temp to hit the 250-275 mark as prescribed for the latter part of the smoke. BTW, I use a Digi Q controller and the fan was going 100% the latter part of the smoke and the temp only got into the 240's.

With the minion method I have been adding about a half a chimney of lit charcoal on top of the unlit pile. Going forward I think I will start using a whole chimney of lit charcoal on top of the pile and nestle some of the lit coals together in a few places and set my wood chunks/limbs on top of those really hot places. Surely that will get them smoking like they ought to be. What do you guys think?
 
Last edited:
​
I use WSM W/lump charcoal
I started ALWAYS with minion method with BBQGURU ATC.
not the center minion method but the side method. I start the fire just immediately in front of one of the bottom vent, where the ATC is settled.
I initially used to bury logs (1 or 2) in the charcoal but IMO this causes more withe smoke.
So for this reason now I put my smoking logs just over the unlit charcoal.
Then I wait 1 hour to 1,5 hour before adding meat.
During this period I can see some billowing white smoke that slowly decreases.
When I remove used charcoal and clean the coal box I find my smoking wood compltely burned (transormed in ash). Instead when I buried it in the charcoal I usually found my logs transformed in charcoal, not completely burned.
 
I think a little bad smoke on a long cook isn't going to make a difference so I always use the minion method.
 
White smoke can impart a heavy, bitter smoke flavor. Blue (can be tough to see) is the goal for a nice, subtle smokey flavor. You want the meat flavor to be center stage, not the smoke flavor.

(also, the presence or lack of a smoke ring is aesthetics only, doesn't affect flavor one bit)
 
I have a question. I am planning on doing a brisket flat andI have read a few different threads/thoughts on when to add the wood. One recommendation was to bury the chunks in the unlit charcoal. Another was to set the wood on top of the unlit adding the lit coals on top. Another was to set the chunks on top of the hot charcoal after adding assembling the cooker and then waiting for the heavy white smoke to subside and then adding the meat. Which would be the best option?
 
I've never tried to bury the wood. I did one yesterday with 2 large pieces on opposite edges. I used water this time. Lit 14 let it burn for a little bit. Put my meat on at about 180 and let it come up to 250. Later added another large piece and called it a day. It mostly burned clean for the cook and tasted great. I have discovered that Apple wood works for everything.
 
I always use the Minion Method when starting my coals, I throw a chunk on top of the lit coals and have a few setup close to where the lit coals are going to meet the unlit coals so I can get a couple of hours of good consistent light smoke. After meats hit an IT of 140 they aren't going to take on anymore smoke and all you will do is add bitterness, I'm really only concerned about the first couple of hours then after that it's cooking to time and tenderness for Ribs or IT temp and tenderness for everything else. I used to over smoke my meats but have learned over the years that less is more.
 
David,

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think you're over-thinking this... a lot.

I've put the wood on the top, on the bottom, in the middle and it all works. Just put it in. Like Cee El, if it smells good, you're doing it right. If there's a nasty edge to the smell, the fire's not ready. I can say that in my experience (20+ years) the acrid smoke never comes back once it goes away, unless you add more charcoal. Three or four chunks about the size of a kid's fist is a ball park amount for a strong, but not overpowering smoke. While I don't think it makes a lot of difference where it is, I tend to put in on top of the charcoal in a hot spot as the fire is getting going. Most meats are going to absorb smoke flavor early and less as the temperature of the meat goes up, so I want the smoke concentrated early. But, I've buried it, too, and had great cooks.

Relax. Crack a beer. Throw some chunks on wherever they land and have some fun.

All that said, I know that no one wants to ruin an expensive cut of meat. Other than putting the meat in while thick white smoke is billowing or leaving the meat on until it is a cinder, it's kinda hard to screw up real bad.
 
Kevin John said:
After meats hit an IT of 140 they aren't going to take on anymore smoke and all you will do is add bitterness,
Click to expand...


This is incorrect Kevin. While the smoke ring stops developing around 140 degrees, meat will continue to take on smoke throughout the cook. That said, as the temp increases, the rate of smoke absorption does decrease to some extent, but it still adds to the flavor. If you want a lighter smoke flavor, nothing wrong with that. But if you want a more pronounced smoke flavor, continue to hit the meat with smoke the entire time.


The bitterness that you are talking about comes from bad smoke, not too long a duration of good smoke.
 
JRAiona said:
I have a question. I am planning on doing a brisket flat andI have read a few different threads/thoughts on when to add the wood. One recommendation was to bury the chunks in the unlit charcoal. Another was to set the wood on top of the unlit adding the lit coals on top. Another was to set the chunks on top of the hot charcoal after adding assembling the cooker and then waiting for the heavy white smoke to subside and then adding the meat. Which would be the best option?
Click to expand...

Jr, all of the above is sound advice. Let's start with the last one. "Cold" wood will usually give off a heavy white smoke when it first starts to burn. Short version is that you don't want this on your meat. So, let it subside then put the meat on. When you put would on top of unlit coals or buried down within, that wood basically kind of preheats and when it ignites, you don't get the heavy white smoke.

The question then becomes: "How pronounced (heavy) a smoke flavor do you want?" If you only want a light smoke, just go with wood on top of lit coals and wait til it subsides. If you want a heavier smoke flavor, do the same thing, but also have chunks mixed in, and/or on top of the unlit coals.
 
Thanks everyone for your input. Dave just to clarify, when putting the wood on top of the unlit, when you add the lit coals do you place any of the lit ones on the wood?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top