Tony Hunter
TVWBB Pro
Yesterday I was furious and bummed out because me Q came out with no smoke rings at all. I used Royal Oak lump for the cook and I instantly blamed it for my lack of a smoke-ringed product. Here is a link to what I call my Sorry-Q!.
Today, I thought I would give Royal Oak another chance and make sure I did things correctly just in case it was not the fuel but something else. Well, as it turns out, it was something else. Actually, a combination of a couple of things. Thanks to some very good pointers from you guys I was able to weigh all the advice, review it carefully and figure out where I went wrong.
First, I had a very hot smoker when I put the meats on. I thought my temps was lower because I did not wait for the therm needle to rise completely. Even though I put the meat on right out of the fridge, the smoker was indeed up to temp and the meat definitely reach 140* too fast - hence, no smoke ring.
Second, I removed the salt from my rub. I understand from several of you that salt makes a difference in the formation of the smoke ring. So, I added the salt back to my rub - but not the full measure because I still have to watch my sodium intake.
Lastly, I have been cooking way too hot. I have been following the advice of some that 250* and sometimes 265* is a good range to be in. Lump burns hot and fast, these temps were killing all my smoke ring chances!
This time, I made sure the smoker was not up to temp when I put on the meat and wood. As a result, the meat was exposed to smoke a good while before the WSM got to 220*-225*. So, when the smoker reached 225* (240* in the WSM lid), I closed the vents to 50% and it stayed at 225* for the duration of the cook. I used the 3-2-1 method as I usually do and this is what I got ...
The meat was juicy, tender, tasty and it had a nice smoke ring!
I could not be happier to see this! Here is a link to all the pictures of the cook.
Thanks to everyone for you help and support. I have to remember that really great Q is done low and slow and you need patience to make sure it is done right. You will not regret it!
Tony
Today, I thought I would give Royal Oak another chance and make sure I did things correctly just in case it was not the fuel but something else. Well, as it turns out, it was something else. Actually, a combination of a couple of things. Thanks to some very good pointers from you guys I was able to weigh all the advice, review it carefully and figure out where I went wrong.
First, I had a very hot smoker when I put the meats on. I thought my temps was lower because I did not wait for the therm needle to rise completely. Even though I put the meat on right out of the fridge, the smoker was indeed up to temp and the meat definitely reach 140* too fast - hence, no smoke ring.
Second, I removed the salt from my rub. I understand from several of you that salt makes a difference in the formation of the smoke ring. So, I added the salt back to my rub - but not the full measure because I still have to watch my sodium intake.
Lastly, I have been cooking way too hot. I have been following the advice of some that 250* and sometimes 265* is a good range to be in. Lump burns hot and fast, these temps were killing all my smoke ring chances!
This time, I made sure the smoker was not up to temp when I put on the meat and wood. As a result, the meat was exposed to smoke a good while before the WSM got to 220*-225*. So, when the smoker reached 225* (240* in the WSM lid), I closed the vents to 50% and it stayed at 225* for the duration of the cook. I used the 3-2-1 method as I usually do and this is what I got ...
The meat was juicy, tender, tasty and it had a nice smoke ring!
Thanks to everyone for you help and support. I have to remember that really great Q is done low and slow and you need patience to make sure it is done right. You will not regret it!
Tony
