smoke wood or no?


 
D

DW Frommer II

TVWBB Fan
I find that when I smoke most meats with chunks of hickory or maple...or whatever...not only do I lose the ability to taste the smoke in the meat for a day or so but in some cases even when I'm not in the smoke-stream (such as smoking cheese) the smoke tastes way to strong.

So...my question is: if we use hardwood charcoal...lump or briquets...isn't there going to be a certain amount of smoke coming off the charcoal? Why do you need the extra wood if the charcoal is already a decent hardwood and already in the optimal state to produce smoke without the risk of too much or even creosote?
 
For me it's the added flavor component of the wood smoke. Different woods give different flavors to food which is good too for variety.
 
The difference when using smoke wood is the same differ as going from oven to grilling over coals.

Its all about the taste,coals/lumps give taste but wood chunks gives WAY more.

Start out slow on smoke and work to range ur confert zone.

Bless//Me
 
Well ...

It's all about taste. Yes, there is a nice level of smoke from the 'fuel' which I find is plenty for turkey or fish. As the 'heaviness' of the meat goes up, so does my use of smoke wood.
 
And yet...it's my understanding that when you throw in a piece of uncharred wood...a certain amount of the colour in the smoke is moisture coming off the wood. And that in turn makes for some creosote.

In fact I've been led to believe that the best and cleanest smoke comes from that same piece of wood when it has finally charred up to the point that it is dry and almost indistinguishable from lump charcoal.

Is that not true?
 
I think a lot of the compounds that give a woods smoke its characteristic flavor are burned off in the charcoal making process. Take mesquite lump for example and think of how you could do an entire cook on it, versus using a huge amount of mesquite chunks during your cook would probably leave you with some meat for the trash.
 
For me, I find the smoke flavor in meat comes through stronger after a day or so. I don't know why that is, but food right out of the smoker doesn't have as strong a smoke flavor as it does the next day.

Too much smoke is a killer. It's better to err on the light side than the heavy side. Cheese in particular is easily over smoked. You just want a little bit.

Charcoal doesn't add very much smoke flavor by itself, which is why you use wood.
 
Originally posted by DW Frommer II:
And yet...it's my understanding that when you throw in a piece of uncharred wood...a certain amount of the colour in the smoke is moisture coming off the wood. And that in turn makes for some creosote.
Click to expand...
That's a main reason for drying wood.

Creosote is formed when the volatile chemicals in wood are boiled off and the smoke carrying them drops below 250º and they condense on a surface.

Drying wood for months is recommended for the reduction of these volatile chemicals below 25%.

Wood containing higher than 25% moisture is deemed unsuitable for cook stoves for this reason.


In fact I've been led to believe that the best and cleanest smoke comes from that same piece of wood when it has finally charred up to the point that it is dry and almost indistinguishable from lump charcoal.
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It's "indistinguishable" because it has become lump charcoal.

Lump is wood put into kilns and charred (burnt with miminal oxygen) until it reduces to a form of carbon.

But lump is not in an "optimal state to produce smoke". It's in an optimal state to produce heat without smoke.
 
Different meat or should i say texture soak up different amount of smoke, and all meat,fish even vegs tastes stronger the day after.

I think of the surface of the meat as an absorber,the one meat thet gets the highest smoke absorb is the minced meat no doubt.

And what do minced meat have that a tenderloin dont? Well surface all the meat is exposed in one way or another.

Minced meat is surface.

Well maby didnt add anything to the post but atleased kept me buisy for 5 min :p


Bless//Me
 
I just read a BBQ book from a guy who originally went the to CIA and was a personal chef for millionares etc. He decided he wanted to do BBQ and get away from all the stuffiness of snobby cuisine etc. His name eludes me but he owns a restaurant named Daisy Mays in New York city. His reccomendation is placing your wood chunks in your charcoal chimney until charred and only sending out a faint whisp of blue smoke. He feels the white smoke of uncharred wood kills the taste of the food. Haven't tried it yet but he did make the food networks best thing I ever ate BBQ edition so on my next smoke that's my plan, Ken
 
He recommended tucking them in between your charcoal in the chimney I think. Or maybe that was my idea, can't remember, and it was a library book. Thats what I'm going to try this weekend anyway, when the coals and wood look good I'm dumping them in. Worse case scenario I get some great ribs without enough smoke, Ken
 
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