Minion & white smoke


 
J

Jason de Weerd

New member
I searched but couldnt find anything specific to this.

I am smoking ribs right now with kingsford using the minion method. I am noticing white smoke and have seen others say it should be a slow "bluish" smoke - white is bad. Seeing as there will be charcoal lighting, wondering if it is from this, and if it is ok? I only used 3 or 4 smaller pieces of wood..should I have used less?

Any thoughts?

Cheers,

Jason
 
How many lit and how long has it been on? Where did you put the wood? If your using water, are you sure its not mostly steam? What is your temp and vent settings?
 
Thanks for your quick reply.

Temp is about 250, top vent wide open, rest about 40% open, trying to bring this down slightly. I placed the wood chunks in the unlit coals (which I have since learnced placing on top may be better).

I am using water and the outside temp here is about 30F. You are right it could be steam I am seeing but how can I tell the difference? I looked in the door but it is hard to tell. I have a feeling I am just worrying too much....

Jason
 
Sorry for the late reply. Got 2 WSM's and a Primo going for 3 seperate cooks.

I have a feeling I am just worrying too much....
Click to expand...
icon_wink.gif


Water will do that especially with cool temps. Blue Kingsford will add to the smoke as well until 3+ hrs into the cook. You done the wood right.

Good luck and keep us posted
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
Originally posted by Jason de Weerd:
I placed the wood chunks in the unlit coals (which I have since learnced placing on top may be better).

I am using water and the outside temp here is about 30F. You are right it could be steam I am seeing but how can I tell the difference? I looked in the door but it is hard to tell. I have a feeling I am just worrying too much....

Jason
Click to expand...

You won't typically get a true blue smoke on the wsm, especially when the steam from the pan is mixed in, which is undoubtedly what you were seeing, based on the cooker temp and ambient temp.

Just this week someone asked about the best wsm procedure on a very popular bbq forum. A few folks mentioned lighting the top and adding wood, but over twice as many folks suggested burying all the wood in the unlit.

If you're gonna put the wood on top, I'd use the coffee can method or put the lit in a small indention in the top, then put the wood around the edges. That'll keep all of the wood from starting to smoulder at once, but wood that gets buried in the coals seems to have even more gradual and most importantly, CLEANER combustion.
 
When my WSM settles in at 250, the bottom vents are barely open. All WSMs are a little different and 40% could be normal for yours, but you could have an airflow problem.

White smoke in the WSM usually means an open flame in the firebox. Burying the wood chunks in the unlit coals towards the outside and pouring the lit in the center so the chunks are gradually heated seems to help me avoid it. Here is what I shoot for.
4874320754_3fe7f9d20c_z.jpg
 
Poured myself a rum and eggnog and the white smoke doesnt seem to be bothering me
icon_smile.gif


Thanks for the tips, will remember all of these for next time.

I am trying the 3-2-1 method for the first time. Not sure they can get more tender than last time I smoked, but I thought I would give foiling a shot.

You wouldnt think all day preparing/smoking ribs would be enjoyable, I love it! Tonight is the first smoke for guests, so fingers crossed.

Jason
 
Jason, welcome to the group. By now you have eaten and everyone enjoyed your ribs. I never tried Rum with my nog, I'm kinda a Brandy guy, but I think that did the trick. If the meat tastes good then you did a good job no matter what the smoke looked like.

Happy Holliday Smokin'
Mark
 
White smoke isn't always necessarily a bad thing, and typically abates soon after the cooking starts. A trick to get that "blue" smoke from your smokewood from the get-go is to put it in the chimney with the charcoal you're using to kick the MM off, and burn it down to charcoal, too-- you'll still get plenty of the characteristic flavor from it. Remember that the application of smoke is an additive process-- it doesn't really matter if you apply it all at the start of the cook, or a little at a time by burying chunks down in the unlit charcoal.
 
The bluish 'thin' white smoke shown above is considered by many to be 'ideal'.

White smoke is not necessarily 'bad', just less desirable.

If it's a thick heavy smoke like when buring leaves or pine needles, now that's 'bad'.
 
Originally posted by Lew:
When my WSM settles in at 250, the bottom vents are barely open. All WSMs are a little different and 40% could be normal for yours, but you could have an airflow problem.

White smoke in the WSM usually means an open flame in the firebox. Burying the wood chunks in the unlit coals towards the outside and pouring the lit in the center so the chunks are gradually heated seems to help me avoid it. Here is what I shoot for.
4874320754_3fe7f9d20c_z.jpg
Click to expand...

Lew knows what to do. That's a beautiful sight there.
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
Thank-you for all your replys, always valid excuses to plan my next smoke and try to improve.

Ribs flavor turned out great, lots of compliments. The one thing I have a bit of trouble with is that the small ribs are always fall off the bone but the larger ribs are not. Next time I may pull the smaller half off and let the bigger ribs go a while longer.

Happy smoking everyone,

Jason
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top