Newbie, lack of smoke question


 
T

ToddM

New member
After wanting a WSM 22.5 for a while, at the start of the summer by pure luck stumbled upon one on craigslist the guy found it more work than he wanted so I got a steal at $200 (only 5 smokes plus a rib rack). anyways so far Ive added the Cajun bandit door (not impressed still leaks round the top even after some massaging. I even just RTV around opening and use a bungee cord), also put the IQ110 on it.

So I'm on my sixth smoke as of today and after hit or miss results so far (Done all the normal butt, brisket, ribs, chick...etc) what I notice is that I get a good rolling smoke in the begining as its close to temp, but even right now after meats been on for 1.5 hrs there seems to be almost nothing, I even buried the chunks at different depths. The last shoulder I did was ok but there wasntt that real good smoky flavor. Any suggestions tips or comments. Thanks Todd, long time post reader.
 
What kind of wood are you using and how big are the chunks and how much are you using? some fruit woods have a lighter smoke flavor and wood like Mesquite and hickory have a heavier flavor it may also just be a matter of using a few more chunks or adding a chunk now and then through out the cook
 
Ive use mostly apple on my pork stuff (today) once in awhile mix in some hickory, at the start I put in 6 chunks about the size of a stick of butter buried, I just opened the door and did a stir one thimg Ive noticed with that IQ is the "V" pattern burn from the attached vent out where in the V it nice grey ash the almost nothing on the outter parts. But after stirring getting a bit more smoke rollin so lets see.
 
Alton Brown did a "Good Eats" show about a year or so ago titled "Right on Q", I believe. In it he explains that visible smoke is bad and contains carcinogens. The smoke that is invisible is what is best and also imparts the best flavor. Invisible smoke happens when temps are low...like around 220°F, I think. You can't see it, but you can definitely smell it. When temps rise, you get more visible smoke and the wood can even catch fire...he called that "bad eats". :)
 
I can't agree that all visible smoke is bad smoke. While I was at the Royal last weekend, my team pardner was cooking for a catering job and used my offset for some of the butts. I think he had like 10 on there. Anyway, when I got back home, I looked in the offset to see if it needed anything. Man! Never saw so much grease and fat in the bottom. Figured the best way to get rid of it was with a big fire. Started it up then decided I might as well make good use of the heat.

Threw 3 racks of spares on and was trying a new method to see if it would work for comps. Nailed it, absolutely nailed these ribs. Best I have ever done. Will definitely try the method again. Anyway I wasn't real concerned with smoke and wood and at times had large amounts of white smoke billowing out the exhaust stacks. No over smoking or creosote flavor or smell. My opinion, and it may not be worth much, is that if you have a good draft going some white smoke won't kill the meat. I say some, as constant white smoke probably would result in over smoked meat. I was using mostly oak with some apple thrown in just for the fun of it.

I never close the exhaust vents while cooking. If I need to bring the temp down just a bit, I simply open the cooker. Presto, heat gone.
This was an offset. On my wsm I don't add wood as often, but will add a chunk or two every hour or so. I get white smoke for a bit but it clears and gets blue pretty quick. I leave top vent fully open all the time.

All this to say I wouldn't worry too much about some white smoke for a short period of time. Smoke is one the reasons us old stick burner guys have red eyes all the time. Can't ever remember to stoop down when I open the cooking chamber.
 
Thanks, for the help everyone, I actually found opening the door and moving the coals and wood around kept an even production of smoke and there was proper combustion because it was the nice bluish kind.

To add some knowledge to the forum, on this smoke for the first time I ditched the H2O in the pan and filled the pan with some brick Pavers I had around the house topped with foil and besides taking a little longer to get to temp. (They did sit out in the cold Michigan nite air) but once they warmed up that thing was 225 holding machine even on a cool windy day next time I might warm the the pavers in the oven first to speed up heating, but glad to be free of messy water pans.
 
Yeah, Alton Brown isn't right about everything. Thin, blue smoke isn't completely invisible. It's THIN and BLUE, and if cooking on an offset, completely invisible smoke means it's probably about time to put a split on the fire.

Back to the OP though, I don't like to have "a good rolling smoke". Sounds like the wood just got used up too fast, but J's right. Some of the time what we think is bad smoke is perfectly ok. I classify smoke into the thin blue, marginal, and bad. Generally, you're not gonna get bad smoke on the wsm unless you let the wood catch fire and then snuff it out. Marginal is perfectly ok when you first put the wood on or it first lights. I'm all for the "waiting for thin, blue smoke" approach with ribs or chicken, but even with hickory or oak, the smoke will last only so long if you let it all get good and engaged at the start. So for long-lasting smoke on butts, I put on six to eight chunks of hickory or maybe some oak around the perimeter of the ring at different levels, with the lit in the middle. If I need to add wood later on, I'll add a milder wood like peach, cherry, or apple.
 
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