Smokeless Mountain


 
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Garrett Rowe

TVWBB Member
My last few cooks, I have had little trouble maintaining proper cooking temps, and my meat has been tender and moist, but I have had no luck getting much smoke flavor to penetrate the meat. There has also been very little smoke ring to speak of. I am wary of using too much smoke wood because I don't want to overdo it. But lately I guess I've been underdoing it. Normally my fire-up technique has been:

1. Fill ring about 3/4 full of unlit Royal Oak lump

2. Light about half a chimney of my briqs of choice (Lately I've been using Humphrries Briqs)

3. spread lit briqs evenly over unlit coals

4. Once my cooker temp reaches 300-310 I add my meat and about 4-5 tennis ball sized chunks of smoke wood (or equivalent smaller pieces).

My smoke comes steadily (not too thick) for about 1-1.5 hours and then tapers off to a thin wispy smoke. I haven't been adding any more smoke wood after this because this seems to be the consensus amount most people on this site seem to have pretty good results with. If anyone sees anything in my technique that I need to alter please let me know. Maybe next time I'll just throw half a tree in the fire and see where that gets me /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
I'm just stabbin a guess here but maybe your fire is too hot. I use water in my WSM, what do you use? I have found when using lump controling the fire early is important. Once it goes above the desired temp it is harder to bring back down. Perhaps the lump is burning up the smoke wood early? Some suggest the wispy smoke is better than the stuff you see.... I don't know about that. What type of meat are you cooking?. What is your target temp? How long are you smokes taking?
 
I usually run @ 220-240*F. Once I put the meat on a 300* the cooker temp usually settles right in at 225-240. I run with sand in the water pan most of the time. I take my temps at the lid using a long stemmed candy thermometer and at the bottom grate using a remote meat thermometer stuck through a cut piece of sweet potato. I cook all the "normal" BBQ meats, brisket, spares, butts, and sausage. I have been using hickory exclusively (only because it is what is readily available at retail outlets in my area). Like I said before controling the temps hasn't seemed to be a problem. Maybe running the first two hours closer to 200-210*F might help. What do you think?
 
Thanks for the link Tomas. Very interesting stuff. Perhaps the fact that I don't usually run with water in the pan is contributing to my lack of smoke ring. Also I rarely baste, but I do usually give my meat a nice yellow mustard coat before I apply my rub. I don't rub very far in advance like some people advocate. Maybe its all these things combined. I really don't care as much about not getting the ring as much as I wish my food had a smokier flavor. Like I said I know too much smoke is not a good thing but I'm not roasting here either. But just as many other people have posted here, my mistakes taste better than all my friends' barbecue ever has. So I still feel like a low-level superhero.
(PIT MAN- striking fear in the hearts of pigs everywhere) /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
Garrett,

Do you notice any difference in smokey taste the next day with the foods you cooked. Many people on this forum and others have discussed this very issue.

If you spend the day next to your cooker and are exposed to the smoke and aroma of your cooking it is difficult to taste any smokey flavor because your senses have been "in the smoke" all day.

The next day they have no problem tasting the smoke flavor.

You might want to try this or at least keep it in mind. What do others say about your food's flavor? It seems that 5 or 6 fist size pieces of Hickory should definitely do the job. Good luck!
 
If you added all your wood at once and hope to get a nice smoke ring, you are doing it wrong. I tend to do one chunk at a time when I smoke; adding any more wood chunks just wastes the smoke. You have to let the smoke steadily penetrate the meat during most of the cooking process in order to have that nice smoke ring. It doesn't matter if you have a heavy coat of mustard or not. I marinate my meats with a thick coat of cheap mustard and put my homemade rub on top of that, and the smoke still pentrates all of that.

I generally put a fist sized chunk about every 45 minutes or until the smoke thins out, whichever comes first. I do it for almost the entire smoking session (except for the last 2 hours of smoking I do not add any more wood)of my meats, particulary briskets and pork butts. Doing it this way, you will definately have a nice smoke ring anywhere from 1/8 to a 1/2 inch ring. My WSM is always pegged at 250 degrees, with the bottom vents usually at 50%. Just make sure you have plenty of hot water in the water pan, that way you help keep the temps stable. Spraying with apple juice or mopping frequently will hinder the smoke ring a little but not enough to stop it, you shouldn't be opening the lid so much anyways. /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif And make sure the top vent is 100% open at all times. I don't detect any bitterness or anything just fine meat that tastes sweet! /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif Good luck!
 
Martin...

The smokering stops forming after the meat reaches between 120-140?. So any wood added when the meat is above 140? is giving you flavor but no more smokering formation.

Garrett...

I think your answer is simply adding more wood! Perhaps in the second hour add a few more chunks. OR as Martin stated, add more wood the whole time while cooking.

It will not matter if you use water or sand and it won't matter if you baste or not.

More wood = more smoke flavor

Good luck!
 
The "smoke ring" pink discoloration is the least important objective to me. As for smoke flavor, if you want more then no shame in using more wood.
 
Garrett,
Are you letting the meat "rest" on the counter before you put it in the smoke? I take mine from the icebox straight to the smoker and get about a half an inch smoke ring. I think it has to do the the tempitures Stoogie was talking about, (i.e. takes the meat longer to break through the 140F bearer) giving the smoke ring more time to form.
Just my thought,
alsfoto
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kevin Taylor:
[qb] Martin...

The smokering stops forming after the meat reaches between 120-140?. So any wood added when the meat is above 140? is giving you flavor but no more smokering formation.
More wood = more smoke flavor

Good luck! [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Didn't know about the temp range that is the ideal absorbtion for smoke... THANKS! Always learning something new.
 
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