Odd Coating


 
R

Russ Sylvester

TVWBB Pro
Did three chicken breasts and two baked potatoes last weekend and it all turned out great. I put the potatoes in (with nail) about 1.5 hours before the chicken and held the temp at about 250-275 the whole time. Used two medium sized pieces of hickory. The chicken had a simple dry rub and that was it.

The next day went to clean 'er out and found that the entire interior of the WSM was coated with a light brown haze or dust. It was in the water pan, it was mixed in with the charcoal ash, everywhere.

I'm thinking it was the potatoe skin that did it as I didn't wrap them in foil. I've done chicken several times and have never seen this before. Now I did use an Emeril dry chicken rub for the first time but I can't believe that did it.

Has anyone seen this before?

BTW, it came right off the inside with either rinsing or a very mild scrub with my nylon brush.

Russ
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Russ Sylvester:
I put the potatoes in (with nail) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi Russ-

Maybe a dumb question, but what does it mean to put the potatoes in with nail? I haven't done potatoes in the smoker so I'm not any help on the matter, and I don't think I've seen anything I'd consider a brown haze or dust. Sometimes if the laziness strikes and I don't clean up after the smoke I can get some funky science projects going on in there, but you said you found this the next day so I doubt that's an overnight mold bloom...
 
I did have the brown haze in mine as well, until I took it camping and grilled burgers on it. All the grease then coated the walls so it is now black. Once I clean it out now that its warm I will see if the brown stuff comes back. It is very easy to remove with a ball of foil, seems to dust off.

Burt
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Benny L.:

Maybe a dumb question, but what does it mean to put the potatoes in with nail? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I believe he used the technique of inserting a large nail into each potato. The theory is that the nail conducts heat to the inside of the potato, speeding up the cooking process. You can buy aluminum "nails" like these, or just use regular steel ones.
 
Sorry. Larry is correct. I bought the aluminum 'nails' from amazon that has the loop in the end of it which makes extracting them really easy. The nails really speed up the cooking time. If someone were doing a brisket or other long cook time piece it wouldn't make any difference but with chicken it helps to use the nail and the higher temps to do baked spuds in the WSM.

Just my personal opinion but I don't think doing baked potatos in the WSM adds any flavor but it does mean that I don't have to heat up the oven in the kitchen.

Russ
 
Russ, I experienced this after my first few smokes. I never thought much about it though. It was a little flaky in my smoker. When I removed the lid, if I tapped it or touched the inside, it would flake off. Is this what you're experiencing? It went away after a few more smokes. Weird!
 
The "flaky brown stuff", as it has been called, is a combination of water vapor and smoke particulates adhering to mainly the underside of the lid. It's normal, and not related to any one food item. Just brush it off before it becomes thick enough to fall of in large pieces onto the food.

Note it's mention here in one of the main website's many comprehensive articles.
 
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