New 18.5 and first cook


 
C

Chuck Tatham

TVWBB Member
Hi all!

Treated myself to a new smoker. fired it up yesterday.

The good....easy to operate and get a stable temp.
Bad.....way too smokey said the family.

meat was bone in and skin on very large rubbed chick breasts from Costco (all i had on hand)

I used maple leaf briquettes. Lit a full chimney then added another half. used 4 chunks of apple wood. they were about 2x1 inch.

temp went right to 300 then backed to 258-275 for an hour to meat temp of 160.

ran all vents at about 1/4 open to keep the temp.

Assuming i used too much wood?

(side question)is that too much fuel for an hour cook?



hit them on lower grill for a very short time.
 
Chuck try 1 or 2 lumps next time. Chicken is very susceptible to an over smoked taste.

How much charcoal was left after your cook. I would think 1 chimney would be enough for a 1hr cook. That said you can also use the unburnt charcoal in your next cook. So extra is better than not enough.
 
Chuck, Welcome to the group. What the others said, plus, if the family hasn't enjoyed smoked meat before they may just be overwhelmed at first. It is a new experience.And yes use much less wood. I cut my wood petty small and probably for that much chicken would use maybe 1/2 fist size cut into 1/3s.
The great thing about smoking meat is that you can do another cook! Try no smoke wood and see how the family reacts.

Mark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chuck Tatham: Assuming i used too much wood?

(side question)is that too much fuel for an hour cook? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bingo! I do many similar cooks and use about 1/2 of the wood you used. I learned to error on the side of not quite smokey enough vs. over smoked. In-fact, if you compared the amount of wood I use on my smokes today vs. when I first started, I'd guess I'm at about 1/2 of what I was using.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bob Sample:
Chuck try 1 or 2 lumps next time. Chicken is very susceptible to an over smoked taste.

How much charcoal was left after your cook. I would think 1 chimney would be enough for a 1hr cook. That said you can also use the unburnt charcoal in your next cook. So extra is better than not enough. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

thanks guys. Is anything that isnt ash considered unburnt?
 
I tend to stir things up a bit and anything big enough to not fall through the grate gets reused.

re: the wood - definitely take the approach that a little goes a long way. You can always ramp it up later once you've made a few things.
 
Sorry it wasn't what was expected. Everyone has already said it but yes you used to much wood. You'll get the hang of it!!
 
Chuck,

Welcome! I noticed you mentioned "all vents were 1/4 open." Does that mean the top vent as well? The top vent should always be 100% open, to let the smoke escape. Control your temps with the bottom vents. You just want the smoke to "lick" the food on it's way out the vent. If it is trapped and hangs on the food, it can create creosote- which is a nasty substance that makes food taste bitter and oversmoked.

Enjoy the new hobby!
 
I keep trying to push the limits by adding more and more smoke wood but still haven't made a single dish where I was like "ok, that's too much smoke". But it's all preference and as someone said, perhaps folks aren't used to the flavor yet.

Also, something like chicken, and particularly fish and meatloaf, will really take on the smoke flavor more so than a tri tip or brisket, which would need comparably more smoke to get the same amount of smoke flavor. Not sure on the science of it, but that seems to be what I"ve experienced.

And yes, the amount of charcoal/lump you used is the same amount I used the other day to cook 18 pounds (7 roasts) of tri tip,and still had some coals left over.

Good luck!
 
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