British BBQ Society Forums

Rockape wrote:Thanks all.

I think i may of got a bit carried away with the wood as well.

Just over half a bag of the Weber apple chunks !! Kept chucking it in there , it looked good though. Should you just add at the beginning ?

Smoke flavour is very subjective, I love a nice strong amount of smoke on my meats, it's all up to you, you'll definitely know if you've gone too far though, the meat will have a bitter creosote type flavour.
Pork especially can soak up a lot of smoke.

Regards duration of smoking, if I've got a big cut of beef or pork and it's going to be a long cook then I'll bury 4-5 chunks amongst the middle layer of the coals, and then put another couple on top of the lit coals. Occasionally I will turn the wood around so that it burns evenly.

Rockape wrote:Thanks all.

I think i may of got a bit carried away with the wood as well.

Just over half a bag of the Weber apple chunks !! Kept chucking it in there , it looked good though. Should you just add at the beginning ?

Half a bag?? You must love the taste of smoke. Generally I use 4 or 5 fist sized chunks and that's about it. I know its called smoking but on long cooks you don't really want to be seeing much in the way of smoke coming out of your cooker.

I've read that after about 3hrs the crust stops any further smoke penetration anyway. So I guess it just builds up on the outside and could get overpowering and even bitter?

essexsmoker wrote:I've read that after about 3hrs the crust stops any further smoke penetration anyway. So I guess it just builds up on the outside and could get overpowering and even bitter?

I know someone who cooked a pork butt in their oven and then finished it off by smoking (backwards, right?) and it still took on smoke flavour. 'Nuff said

Did it get the red smoke ring inside the meat?
I can see that it would still get the smoke flavour on the outside but not deeper inside?
I don't know, just what I have read.

I believe it is smoke ring formation that stops at around 140f, but meat can take on smoke flavour at any point.

Scantily wrote:I believe it is smoke ring formation that stops at around 140f, but meat can take on smoke flavour at any point.

Haha I just beat you to it by 1 minute!:D

Nah the smokiness was very much confined to the surface of the meat and it didn't penetrate as far, but it still took on flavour. The smoke ring's caused by the buildup of nitric oxide in the surface of the meat, which will stop after a certain point in the cook, god knows when that is though

It seems three "fist" sized chunks is enough. Is that it ?

Ribs only getting another run this monday so hopefully better results this time.

Im aiming for around 3 hrs @ 135c , no foil and no lid lifting this time or mopping until i put sauce on for the last 20/30 mins. Fingers crossed.

Also got my Maverick ET733 winging its way from USA woo hoo !

YetiDave wrote:Nah the smokiness was very much confined to the surface of the meat and it didn't penetrate as far, but it still took on flavour. The smoke ring's caused by the buildup of nitric oxide in the surface of the meat, which will stop after a certain point in the cook, god knows when that is though

Maybe that's what they meant? After 3hrs it doesn't penetrate.
Still, so long as the flavour is there.