question about amount of smoke wood


 
N

Nate L

TVWBB Member
I'm sorry if this has been covered often, but: It looks like many recipes call for 5-7 chunks of smoke wood, which makes sense. But even using the minion method those chunks seem to burn out well before the cooking is done, especially with a 15+ hour butt. So, do you all add more chunks (say, every 5 hours) to keep the smoke going? or is it pointless once the meat has taken on the bark?
thanks!
 
The level of smoke flavor will be a result of how much wood is used, not the length of time. Therefore, it's not necessary to maintain smoke production throughout the entire cook. Putting all the wood in in the beginning is common practice, as is burying some wood in the bed of unlit coals. In either case, the amount of smoke applied to the meat should be the same, if the same total amount of wood is used. Smoke will continue to adhere to the meat for as long as it continues to be applied, as it is being deposited on, rather than being absorbed by, the meat. I prefer to put mine all on in the beginning, as, sometimes, igniting wood buried in the pile can cause temp spikes.
 
thanks--that makes total sense. I appreciate the help. (And I like your tag, "coquo, ergo sum"!)
N
 
I think I read on this site that meat stops absorbing smoke at around 160 degrees internal? So if you are cooking a smaller piece of meat and it's above that and you are still getting smoke, you are actually wasting smoke wood at that point. Or so that's what I've read in the past.

Todd
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Todd Randall:
I think I read on this site that meat stops absorbing smoke at around 160 degrees internal? So if you are cooking a smaller piece of meat and it's above that and you are still getting smoke, you are actually wasting smoke wood at that point. Or so that's what I've read in the past.

Todd </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Meat will take on as much smoke flavor as you give it regardless of the temperature. The 'smoke ring' will stop forming around 140º.
 
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