Strong Smoke Flavor


 
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ECGreen

New member
Fired up the WSM for the first time this past weekend after waiting all winter (was a Xmas present to myself). Deceided to start with the basic barbeque chicken recipe and followed prep/cook instructions exactly as listed. Chicken ended up great with good flavor and was very moist but had a little too strong of smoke flavor (especially for the wife). I used 2 chunks of Apple and 1 of Cherry. The wood seemed to burn the whole cook (white smoke the entire cook) but according to the directions should have eventually stopped.

Does it sound like I botched anything up or does it just sound like we might like a milder smoke taste? The obvious answer is to use less but want to make sure there isn't something I should do differently.
 
I for one prefer less smoke -- especially on poultry. I call too much smoke "the ashtray effect".

For a chicken cook I may have used one chunk of apple. You'll learn what you, your family and friends like. Have fun learning!
 
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I have not done too many things, but so far I have found in the 2-3 times I have done chicken it required a lot less wood then I thought it would. next time I am sticking close to Dwain and using 1 or maybe 2 small apple chunks and that is it
 
If using kingford, let all the charcoal grey over and wait until no white smoke is visible. Put your wood on top of the coals and let it burn for 5-10 minutes until it is charred a bit and then put your chicken on. As Dwain said only use minimal wood as chicken absorbs smoke like a sponge.
 
Thanks guys. How does pork (ribs) handle the smoke relative to chicken? Basic ribs recipe calls for 4 chunks..I'm thinking I might half it this round or go with 3 really small chunks.

Keith - I'm a central Ohio guy as well. Hopefully you catch a wiff of something good coming from the NE today.
 
ECGreen said:
Thanks guys. How does pork (ribs) handle the smoke relative to chicken? Basic ribs recipe calls for 4 chunks..I'm thinking I might half it this round or go with 3 really small chunks.

Keith - I'm a central Ohio guy as well. Hopefully you catch a wiff of something good coming from the NE today.
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In my experience (which is minimal compared to many members here), pork tends to stand up to wood smoke a bit better, at least the large cuts (butt & shoulder). I tend to go lighter smoke on ribs, maybe 2 small chunks of apple for a typical 2-rack cook.
 
I don't like apple or cherry wood. To me the smoke flavor does have the ash tray effect. With chicken I always use hickory. For pork I always use oak. And for beef I use oak, hickory or mesquite depending on my mood. I learned the hard way to much smoke ruins the taste. So for all my smokes I use one chunk at a time, and rotate in a new one every 30 - 40 minutes. That way I always have the light blue smoke. Also I put the wood on top of the coals, not buried. If I see white, it's time to pull it out and replace with a fresh chunk. I want my smoke flavor to be from fresh buring wood, not a black buried chunks. Try it.
 
You all have me wondering.. I use A LOT of wood .. like 10+ good size chunks. I couldn't imagine only using a single chunk. :)
 
I go light on wood with poultry also. One or two chunks is usually enough for a small Turkey. I like to use pecan.
 
less is more.
no one complains of to little smoke but
lots comment when too much

most time just the charcoal adds enough taste
but i always add a chunk or two :)
 
I tend to use 1 cherry and one apple for pork. Sometimes 3. Do my chicken on the Performer with a handful of wet apple chips not chunk. The high heat gives me a faster chicken cook so less of an issue with smoke. Just my 20 cents (adjusted for inflation).
 
I use one chunk of wood when I fire up the WSM. I like smoked meat but you can def oversmoke something in my opinion. I normally start the charcoal the doughnut minion method and put the smoke wood on top of the lit coals in the middle. I assemble the cooker and let the temp settle and smoke burn off for about 30 minutes. I always let the thick heavy smoke burn down until I put food on.
 
I'm going to sort of echo what Tommy said. In my experience the "over-smoked" flavor comes from the clouds of smoke when the wood first goes on. I think it is more about "when" rather than "how much". I want my wood chunks to be giving off the thin blue smoke before the meat goes on. My best smoke flavor comes when I can just barely see the smoke at all.

And...for sure....chicken and turkey are the hardest to get juuuussst right. My advice is to wet brine and then use just a little bit of hickory.
 
KenB said:
If using kingford, let all the charcoal grey over and wait until no white smoke is visible. Put your wood on top of the coals and let it burn for 5-10 minutes until it is charred a bit and then put your chicken on. As Dwain said only use minimal wood as chicken absorbs smoke like a sponge.
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That's exactly my way! +1
 
You want to be careful with poultry in the WSM. Grilling hot and fast you don't have to worry much, but anything lower and longer in the WSM can be too much.
 
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