High heat question?? (about the amount of smoke wood)


 
M

Michael N

TVWBB Fan
Hey there,
I just did a HH brisket with spares on the bottom. The cook was perfect.... except that the smoke was hit or miss! Some ribs and briskie were perfect and some were perfect texture and flavor... minus the smoke.

I used apple and hickory. It was 9 small pieces (3 by 2 by 2) mostly apple (and I was worried about the smoke level so I added about 4 more pieces of maple). I know I will up the hickory next time, but have 2 questions.

How much wood do you use on a HH?
Also, does having a full WSM mean I need to up the smoke?

P.S. I had a decent smoke ring (especially on the ribs).
 
I never have done HH, but that seems like an extreme amount of excessive wood. I typically use 3 chucks. Maybe 4 or 5. But 9 seems like a whole lot. Just because you don't see the smoke doesn't mean the wood isnt doing it's job. In fact I (and many others) aim to hit that "blue smoke" where you can barely see the smoke at all.

As long as you had the smoke ring, and the flavor was good, what's to complain about though?

Joe
 
The flavor was there (seasoning) but some pieces didn't have a smoke flavor. The 9 pieces were smaller, maybe 2.5 fist sizes total. I've cooked with 9 before on the same cook and it was perfect. It wasn't that I couldn't see smoke, it was that I didn't get enough smoke flavor.

My question is more about over crowding or HH wich needs more wood (since it is in the smoke for less time).

Are there other factors that I'm missing?
Could my wood have burn up to quickly do to high heat?
 
I use relatively more wood for HH cooks (which are all brisket, back and spare cooks) but not more than you did. I usually use hickory all the way. I never use fist-sized; I always cut it down. A shorter time in smoke does mean less smoke flavor unless you up the wood some.

If the wood flavor wasn't as much as you'd like simply add more when you are part way through the cook. I'm not big on crowding wood in the cooker, nor do I bury it. I'd rather add a few more pieces after some of the original wood is spent.

Yes, it can burn rather quickly in HH cooks, depending on dryness of the wood and position relative to the lit.
 
I start with as big a piece of wood as will fit in my WSM and then add as needed based on my observations. Cherry is my go to wood.
 
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