Too much or not enough smoke

[tpcdelisle]

Hey everyone. After looking at numerous posts about smoke flavor, I’m curious about opinions if you think you have more problems of too much smoke if not careful or if you have problems getting enough smoke on your meats. For myself, a newbie with only 7 cooks on my 3D WiFi, I have to make sure not to add too much wood. I feel like it could get way to Smokey for my taste and I like smoke taste. How is it for others; do you have to be careful to not over smoke (too much wood) or do wish that you could use more wood and get more smoke.

 

[old sarge]

Good question.  I once went with a total of 12 ounces of hickory in 4 ounce increments each time the smoke ran out. Ruined a nice butt.  Very tarry on the outside and ugly bitter. Pulling and mixing it up did not help.  Tossed it. I find 3 to 4 ounces of hickory is plenty for my family's taste for ribs and butts although I have gone to 6 on full packer briskets on occasion, by request, but generally stick with 4 on briskets.  I use a OXO digital scale to figure weight when guessing is out of the question or I am splitting rather large chunks.  You might want to add more if the wood has a milder profile but smoke is smoke and creosote is creosote.

 

[barelfly]

6-8 oz is what I usually use for butts or brisket. Smaller cuts, it’s 2-4 oz. AT times, I’ve thought some things could use a bit more smoke. But that is only the larger cuts only.

One thing I’ll ask you, are you smoking with cold meat? Straight out of the fridge to the smoker box? Smoke adheres to cold meat better, so just curious if that’s how you go about your smokes.

 

[lcdearman]

I've often wondered if not just the quantity of wood matters, but also how it is divided up. In other words, it seems to me that 2 2oz chunks of wood will produce a lot of smoke quickly but stop earlier than if I use 1 4 oz chunk. I've also toyed with soaking 1 chunk in water to delay the smoke (as per the amazing ribs website), thus giving me a longer smoke time.

All of that said, I generally use 1-2 oz for small stuff (wings, thighs, ribs), 4 for tri-tip, picanha, and brisket flats/points, and 6 oz for butts. I haven't done a full brisket yet.

I've never had anything on my #2 that was too smokey, but I learned that lesson on my Orion cooker. My first cook on it was ribs and chicken breasts and I used a LOT of chips. Tasted like I was gnawing on sticks, had to toss it all in the trash.

 

[tpcdelisle]

David, I’m using about the amount of wood as you. I’ve maxed out so far at about 4 oz on both butts and on a brisket point, and 2 oz for chicken, meatloaf, etc. I thought that was great for our tastes.

Jeremy, I agree about smoke adhering to cold meat better and that’s what I do as well.

Clay, that’s a great point that you make about the size of wood pieces. I’ll have to experiment with that.

What made me question this about smoke levels was reading posts that some aren’t getting enough smoke and I’m wondering why.  I definitely don’t have a problem getting enough smoke for our tastes and I was just wondering if I’m missing something. My wife and I have judged quite a bit of bbq and we’ve tasted many levels of smoke and I was just curious if it is a smoker issue of not burning the wood enough or if others just like that much more smoke than us (of course, nothing wrong with that). Anyway, just curious about others wood usage.  Thanks guys.

 

[old sarge]

Some folks who say they aren't getting enough smoke may be volume and some may mean flavor.  I belong to a few forums and one in particular is fond of the masterbuilt brand (after they mod/fix all its inherent faults).  They us a device that you fill with pellets to produce smoke that last in the neighborhood of 12 or more hours. This replaces having to fill the wood chip tray every half hour.  You can achieve the same long hours of smoke with the Bella or similar device. As for my experiences, I am quite happy with the flavor I get from 3 to 4 hours of active smoke and so is the family and guests. At some point when the meat hist 140 degrees ( I am assuming that is the surface temp and slightly below the surface) conventional wisdom says the meat will not absorb any more smoke flavor.  Not sure how true that is but when I had the old stick burner, the smoke ring never made it past 1/4 inch penetration.  Below is a link that may help:
https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/grill-and-smoker-setup-and-firing/what-you-need-know-about-wood-smoke-and/

 

[tpcdelisle]

Thanks for the article David.  I read it when I first joined the forum on your suggestion. I’m also like you that I wrap beef or pork by 165ish degrees and that is plenty for us.  I have an old Masterbuilt and because I could never get any decent amount of smoke, I purchased a medium sized Smoke Daddy. That definitely helped but I had to refill after about 30-45 minutes. It was smokier though.  I just was wondering if I was missing something by using less wood.  I sure don’t want to trash some good meat with tons of smoke way beyond our taste. Thanks.