Need more smoke


 
M

Mark B III

New member
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I did my second cook on my new 22" this past weekend. 4 butts
and I started with a full pan of charcoal mixed with 10-12 large chunks
of hickory. I also threw on a couple handfuls of hickory chips when the
pit came to temp & I put the meat on. Anyway, they took about 9 hours to
finish, they were tender, good bark and flavor was good except not much
noticable smoke. I am used to cooking on cheap offsets that burn with
a mixture of charcoal & oak/hickory logs. Do I need to be constantly
putting wood on for the flavor profile I want
 
There's a couple different factors at play here.

First, because you were manning the cooker, you were exposed to lots of smoke while the meat was cooking. You get acclimatized to the smell and flavor of the smoke because it permeates your mouth, nose, throat, and lungs while you're cooking.

Therefore, you should check the smoke flavor levels tomorrow or in the next couple days. That way the smoke that you're exposed to won't change the level of smoke you can taste in the meat.

Smoke levels are a personal preference. In my opinion 10-12 large chunks of hickory is plenty, if not too much, smoke for four butts. But, you may want to experiment with more or less wood.

If you spread the wood chunks out throughout the charcoal ring, you shouldn't have to worry about adding wood during the smoke because pieces will catch as the fire burns through your charcoal, and provide a constant supply of smoke to the meat you're cooking.

Nobody can tell you what you're gonna like best but applying too much smoke to meat that's cooking will over-smoke it and give it a bitter, acrid taste.

Pork butts are a little more lenient with regards to the amount of smoke you apply, but it's much easier to over-smoke chicken or ribs.

Good luck! Experiment and find out what works best for you.

Dave
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mark B III:
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I did my second cook on my new 22" this past weekend. 4 butts
and I started with a full pan of charcoal mixed with 10-12 large chunks
of hickory. I also threw on a couple handfuls of hickory chips when the
pit came to temp & I put the meat on. Anyway, they took about 9 hours to
finish, they were tender, good bark and flavor was good except not much
noticable smoke. I am used to cooking on cheap offsets that burn with
a mixture of charcoal & oak/hickory logs. Do I need to be constantly
putting wood on for the flavor profile I want </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No offense, but a LOT of folks are accustomed to the taste of meat that has been smoked in an unhealthy manner. Hear me out. I really think I'm right on this, and I'm here to help.
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It's not the AMOUNT of smoke that you're used to. It's the KIND of smoke, and that's what's unhealthy: the kind associated with FLAMING wood that's not burning cleanly, or getting enough oxygen. Your wsm will never smoke meat like this if you use it as intended. It's an oxygen starved environment that wood smolders in (doesn't burn with a flame.)

DO THIS:

Go smell the wsm and see if it "smells like a smoker". That is that smell that an offset has that keeps guys from leaving it too close to the back door 'cause the Mrs. objects.

You smoldered a LOT of wood in your wsm, and hickory at that, but I would still bet it doesn't smell like your offset, does it? I burn a clean fire in my offset, but it still smells of creosote to some degree because of my start-up fire and fresh logs that might not burn cleanly at first.

The point is, creosote is NOT what you want on your meat, even if you grew up on meat smoked that way, and lots of health experts dismiss bbq because of the risk of the stuff accumulating on the meat. Just because it tastes good to you doesn't mean it's good for you, right?

I thought my first pork butts smoked on my old offset tasted awesome, back when I didn't have a clue how to burn a clean fire. However, now, I can't stand oversmoked meat, and only use five or six chunks of wood for a pork butt cook in my wsm. FYI, some folks refuse to use wood at all to bbq with until it's burned to coals, not only concerned with dirty smoke, but because this is the oldest method of bbq in the country: burning down oak and hickory to coals and then shoveling into a pit under or next to the meat.

Give it some time and see if your taste doesn't change. I bet it will, but if you insist on more smoke flavor from your wsm, use greener wood. As to the amount, I know you've got the BIG wsm, but I think you're already using plenty.
 
Mark,
I have the same experience as you. If the butt is very big I usually cut it in half, makes for more bark and exposes more of the surface area to the smoke. It cooks faster and I like it better. I don't mix the wood with the charcoal, I just throw a chunk on every now and then.

Dave,
I have not checked out the smell of my offset vs. my WSM but out of curiosity I'm going to give it the sniff test when I get a chance. I have never given this a lot of thought before but I fail to see how burning wood with a flame is dirtier than no flame. I'm not saying it isn't so, I'm just saying I'm gonna have to think about this and may need a little more convincing.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Greg C.:
Mark,
I have the same experience as you. If the butt is very big I usually cut it in half, makes for more bark and exposes more of the surface area to the smoke. It cooks faster and I like it better. I don't mix the wood with the charcoal, I just throw a chunk on every now and then.

Dave,
I have not checked out the smell of my offset vs. my WSM but out of curiosity I'm going to give it the sniff test when I get a chance. I have never given this a lot of thought before but I fail to see how burning wood with a flame is dirtier than no flame. I'm not saying it isn't so, I'm just saying I'm gonna have to think about this and may need a little more convincing. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You can compare the smell of your wsm to a fireplace chimney as well. I'm telling you, it's a different smell, and from what I've been told, the smell is creosote. Tell you what: Compare two more smells, the smell of actual smoke of the offset and the wsm, let's say with the same sized cold hickory chunk just thrown on the coals. See which smoke is more objectionable.
 
You've got some good advice hear already. One thing that I do to make sure that I have that nice kick of smoke... add some more wood chunks/chips in the last hour of cooking. I find that this little kik of extra smoke makes everything taste very smokey. If I foiled or glazed, it helps balance it out (covers washed out from foil and adheres to the glaze). Plus you're adding a layer of smoke particles that are on the outside where you smell it and taste it.
 
It's possible that you are oversmoking your meat and are thinking thats the way you're supposed to do it. I oversmoked mine for many years til I became a BBQ judge.
Now I use four wood (hickory or pecan)chunks about the size of a large tangerine in 20 lbs of K to do a 13 hour butt cook.
Try this as a test....after you pull/sauce your meats, it is likely you have some left over. Put this in a zip lock baggie in the fridge overnight. Next day take it out (you will be away from the smoker and fresh) and open the bag. Smell it deeply and see if there is a light aromatic smoked flavor. This is a good indicator. If a strong, acrid, creosote flavor hits you hard...you are oversmoking.
 
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