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No smoke flavor! Help?!

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abrant23
abrant23 Posts: 2
edited July 2012 in EggHead Forum
Smoked (2) butts last night.  250 degrees, about 16 hours.  Pulled them out this morning and tasted one, and there was absolutely zero smoke flavor!  I did the exact same thing that I always do.  Soaked hickory chips, about three cups of them, and scattered them through the lump before lighting it in the center.  The only thing I did different was use Wicked lump instead of the Green egg lump.  That shouldn't have mattered, correct?  Any suggestions on what I may have done wrong?!?
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,336
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    Actually lump does have a big say in the level of smoke during a cook-have done a few less than scientific experiments and have found that different lumps impart different levels of "smoke flavor" during a cook.  I haven't used BGE lump for quite a while but do use a generic Royal Oak so I'm familiar with what that does.  Turns out Wicked Good is very "smoke neutral" when it comes to flavor-less than the RO/BGE.  I have also cooked with Ozark Oak and it definitely adds a much deeper "oak" flavor than RO/BGE.  So contribute this to another "lesson learned" on the BGE journey.

    Perhaps The Naked Whiz will see this and bring his vast level of knowledge/experience to this thread-we would both learn from that!  Happy B'day USA!

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • Tjcoley
    Tjcoley Posts: 3,551
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    Just burned my first bag of Wicked Good, and it has much less smoke flavor than the BGE I've been using.  Even in the bag, the BGE smells smokier.  That being said, it was a great bag, lots of big pieces, and it burned nicely.  I found myself adding more wood chips.
    __________________________________________
    It's not a science, it's an art. And it's flawed.
    - Camp Hill, PA
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  • Sun Deviled Egg
    Sun Deviled Egg Posts: 14
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    I had this issue as well.  I use mostly use Royal Oak and after the charcoal is ready to go, I toss in 6 to 8 chunks (not chips) of my smoking wood and then adjust to my cooking temp.  This process has given me a favorable result, but I'm still open to other ideas.  
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  • nineee
    nineee Posts: 41
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    For long cooks, I too use chunks instead of the chips.  i use Royal Oak or Kroger brand charcoal.  Smoked a turkey breast last week and used 5 soaked chunks.  Delicious smoke flavor.  Nina in KY

     

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  • Rolling Egg
    Rolling Egg Posts: 1,995
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    If you want a nice smoke flavor, get everything up to temp and stable. Then take a pair of hot gloves and lift the plate setter up and throw the chunks right on the fire. Then go on with your meat at the same time. Set back and watch the smoke roll!
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  • FxLynch
    FxLynch Posts: 433
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    If you want a nice smoke flavor, get everything up to temp and stable. Then take a pair of hot gloves and lift the plate setter up and throw the chunks right on the fire. Then go on with your meat at the same time. Set back and watch the smoke roll!
    I agree with this, sometimes if you let your fire burn with the wood to a stable temp, a lot of the smoke it gone.  Get it stabilized with the plate setter in place until all the smoke from the lump gone, then add the chunks, grid, and start the cook.  If you want a little extra time, soak the chunks.  It doesn't ultimately do much, but it does slightly delay the smoke.
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,336
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    Here's a lazy approach-and one driven by the fact that I have quite an inventory of chips...just load chips as you load up the lump-lots of lump, lots of chips-actually equate about a good handful of chips to a chunk (no scientific proof...) and go from there.  No need to wrestle with a hot platesetter and wherever there is fire there is smoke.  FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • abrant23
    abrant23 Posts: 2
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    Thanks for all the tips.  I guess I'll use the ole scientific method of trial and error to see if I can make it work again!.  The missus and I love the smoky flavor of hickory.

    -Alvin.
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