Grant Narita
TVWBB Fan
okay, no wonder my chicken always tastes a little too smoky. I was wondering if it was supposed to be that strong. I think I will try cutting down on the wood for chicken, or putting in less, and trying apple wood..
Using the weber with no wood
- Thread starter Neil Guest
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Enrico Brandizzi
TVWBB Honor Circle
Ive used weber briqs and also when completly burned they do affect slightly flavour, imo.
Ive used lump charcoal and I got different results. Some did affect really much flavour also WITHOUT any wood smoke. Others did not affect at all.
At this point I started using coconut briquettes that have no flavour at all. But just for long cooks because they are a little more expensive than weber's.
My goal is to smoke KNOWINGLY.
Ive used lump charcoal and I got different results. Some did affect really much flavour also WITHOUT any wood smoke. Others did not affect at all.
At this point I started using coconut briquettes that have no flavour at all. But just for long cooks because they are a little more expensive than weber's.
My goal is to smoke KNOWINGLY.
ChadVKealey
TVWBB Pro
I've found that brining (I brine pretty much all of the poultry I cook) seems to increase smoke absorption. Not sure why, but I'd bet there's a chemical reason for it. One thing brines do is help break down the compounds in the skin and outer layers of muscle to allow liquids carrying salt and other flavorings to penetrate, so it's reasonable to assume that smoke would act like a liquid in that case.
So, when cooking chicken parts, I skip the smoke wood altogether. The charcoal will provide some flavor on its own. Doing chicken halves or whole birds, I'll often throw in a small (2" cube) of apple.
So, when cooking chicken parts, I skip the smoke wood altogether. The charcoal will provide some flavor on its own. Doing chicken halves or whole birds, I'll often throw in a small (2" cube) of apple.
Ron G.
TVWBB Wizard
Even WITHOUT any wood - many common charcoal brands have their own "flavor-signature".
I find that K-Blue Bag has its own type of smoky flavor, due to the stuff that's in it. I like it with some stuff like steaks / pork, but not so much with other stuff (poultry / fish)
Generally - I find that ALL-Hardwood Lump tends to be more flavor-neutral, meaning that I can typically use more smoke wood than I would with typical commercial briquettes. In particular - Cowboy brand seems to be more neutral, perhaps because it seems to be made mostly from kiln-dried hardwood scraps (I would bet that they buy scrap from commercial cabinet makers, etc.) instead of "raw" lump like Royal oak, which seems to be made from charred whole logs with bark, etc.
You might want to experiment with bare charcoal of different brands with something inexpensive (like yard bird) and see what you think of the various flavors from different brands. Then, based on your findings, you can "tweak" the amount of smoke wood, if any, that you and your family prefers with different meats.
I find that K-Blue Bag has its own type of smoky flavor, due to the stuff that's in it. I like it with some stuff like steaks / pork, but not so much with other stuff (poultry / fish)
Generally - I find that ALL-Hardwood Lump tends to be more flavor-neutral, meaning that I can typically use more smoke wood than I would with typical commercial briquettes. In particular - Cowboy brand seems to be more neutral, perhaps because it seems to be made mostly from kiln-dried hardwood scraps (I would bet that they buy scrap from commercial cabinet makers, etc.) instead of "raw" lump like Royal oak, which seems to be made from charred whole logs with bark, etc.
You might want to experiment with bare charcoal of different brands with something inexpensive (like yard bird) and see what you think of the various flavors from different brands. Then, based on your findings, you can "tweak" the amount of smoke wood, if any, that you and your family prefers with different meats.