Too much smoke


 
B

BoMadsen

New member
So, I just got the wsm 14.5 and I am having a blast. Coming from a pellet cooker the wsm is a welcome change.
How ever, while we lacked smoke flavor on the pellet grill, we are getting too much on the wsm.
First time we did chicken I used three small hickory chunks and placed them in top of the hot coals, and the chicken was nearly uneatable. Then we tried two chunks, not much better. And the the last cook was pork tenderloin, where I used one chunk of apple... And the smoke flavor was still pretty strong.

I put the chunks on top of the lit coals, and they produce quiet a bit of white smoke. Should I wait for the white smoke to disappear before putting the meat on? Our is there something else I can do?

Then you in advance 🙂
 
Chris has you on the right track with thin blue smoke...... Also, I'd stick to apple, cherry, or other milder woods with poultry. Hickory can be a bit strong, and is quite distinctive, and can be overpowering for chicken.

If waiting on thin blue smoke is still too strong for your liking, you can also take a hatchet and make smaller chunks.

Rich
 
Can't add much other than welcome to the forum and congrats on your little WSM. You'll enjoy both.
 
Rich G said:
you can also take a hatchet and make smaller chunks.
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That's what I do, and use a dead blow or mallet to strike the axe, keeps your fingers out of harms way.
I also place my lit over the chunks. I think the smoke passing thru the lit helps cleanse it.
Everyone has different tastes and ways to do it. ( like my sig says) but I never had any problems with white smoke, because I always minion method and load my meat immediately.
OBTW welcome to the forum!
 
What charcoal are you using? The choice of charcoal plays a huge role in flavor. With the right charcoal, you might not need to add any wood. Perhaps start experimenting with some different charcoal brands to find the flavor you are looking for.

For low and slow cooks, I place wood chunks in the coal ring first, cover it with unlit, and add a few lit coals to the top. (Minion Method)

For hot and fast cooks I use a grill and I rely on the charcoal for flavor. If I do use wood chunks on a high heat cook, I place wood chunks on the coal grate, then dump the lit coals on top of it and wait. Generally, by the time the grates are hot, the heavy smoke has died down.

Welcome to TVWBB!
 
I hate to wait to put the food on.

So I put most of the wood chunks on the grate and then cover them with the lit. And then I also put a wood chunk or two in my chimney. So I have good wood smoke from the moment the chimney gets dumped.

For a 14 WSM cooking chicken, four chunks is probably too many. And hickory is kinda heavy for chicken. Try two chunks of fruit wood instead.
 
Bo,
Wecome to the forum and welcome to the WSM 14 club. I love my little smoker!
Yeah, I always wait for that white smoke to clear before I put my meat on.
Also with the WSM 14 being so small the max wood chunks I used is three, the max. My normal is 2 smaller chunks or one bigger than a fist size.
After talking to a buddy who works at the bbq Shop and uses the 14 for tailgating, he strongly advices to put the chunks in first. He said that is not how he does it with the WSM 22, but with the 14 he does. I have followed this and love it! Last, is the charcoal you uses gives smoke flavor also and in my opinion the king of charcoal gives off a bad smoke flavor in the WSM 14. I am not sure what you used, but I love Royal Oak Chef's Select and Royal Oak All Natural for briquettes because they are very mild. Also lump is going to be less smoky.
 
Michael Richards said:
After talking to a buddy who works at the bbq Shop and uses the 14 for tailgating, he strongly advices to put the chunks in first. He said that is not how he does it with the WSM 22, but with the 14 he does. I have followed this and love it!
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interesting one method for the 14 and another for the 22, would never have considered that.

Setting up my 14:
- liberally bury chunks deep and shallow. typically use cherry and apple.
- fill an arbor fab charcoal basket every time and recycle used charcoal.
- tin can lighting method
- wait for cleaner smoke (I let mine run for about an hour before adding food anyway)
- add water every 2 hrs
 
I’m a person who doesn’t like a lot of smoke. Chicken is really susceptible to over smoking. I don’t even use wood chunks when doing chicken. I just use a good quality lump charcoal. The bottom line with smoke is that it’s personal taste. About all you can do is start off with small amounts of wood chunks and work your way up. Also, recognize that chicken is different than pork is different than beef. The good news is that practice not only makes perfect, it feeds you well along the way.
 
Damn guys, I thought I would get an email when someone replied, so I thought no one had replied and then I get back to this ❤️
Thank you all for the advice.

I was using standard heat beads, they are the only brand once available where I live.

Firstly I think I will try and bury the wood among the burning coals and wait with putting on the meat until the white smoke is gone.
If that doesn't do the trick I will try lump charcoal without wood.

I will keep you updated, and thanks 👍
 
my rule of smoke.... I’ve had people complain about too much, but never a complaint about to little. Like Jerry, I am a less is best person. its my opinion that too much smoke detracts from the taste of what’s being smoked and can have a bitter taste.
That being said, I only cook chicken in the kettle with lump, no smoking wood.

just my taste and opinion....
 
BoMadsen said:
Damn guys, I thought I would get an email when someone replied, so I thought no one had replied and then I get back to this ❤️
Thank you all for the advice.

I was using standard heat beads, they are the only brand once available where I live.

Firstly I think I will try and bury the wood among the burning coals and wait with putting on the meat until the white smoke is gone.
If that doesn't do the trick I will try lump charcoal without wood.

I will keep you updated, and thanks 👍
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I agree with many of the comments in this thread. I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned it, but pecan and oak chunks are good choices for mild smoke flavor. I use Pecan for almost anything I cook with charcoal. I like hickory but only use it when I'm in the mood for really strong Smoke-BBQ flavor.

Welcome to the forum!
 
Now, I am a person that likes a heavy smoke, not bitter, but I want the smoke to stand out. What I have started doing is dialing way back on the seasonings and up the wood chunks. Now instead of dumping a bucket of rub, just a very light dusting. Or more often than not, a light dusting of just salt and pepper.
 
MartinB said:
Poultry takes up smoke easy. Yep.

1-1.5 chunks for chicken


Pork butts, brisket can take 5-6
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Martin,
I promise I am not trying to disagree or argue, but what size WSM are you using 5 or 6 chunks? Is it the 14 or one of the bigger two models? I think 5 or 6 chucks would take up most of the charcoal ring in the 14.
 
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