That yucky, awful smoke...

dperrin · July 2015

Egghead Gurus,

I ruined what should have been a really good dinner last night. At Costco, I bought beef skewers (tenderloin, I believe) that had peppers and onions and a hunk of bacon wrapped high temp cheese in the middle. The entire skewer was seasoned with a orange coloured rub/marinade. Since I didn't know how much sugar was in the rub, I cooked at 400 degrees for about 10 min. Half way into the cook I started getting a lot of smoke, which I think was from the bacon fat. The end result was, the beef in particular, had that awful acrid, bitter smokey taste that I ran into once before when cooking chicken with skin direct.

In hind sight, I think the bacon was the culprit. I guess I could have removed the bacon (not needed) or cooked indirect or with the top open to release the smoke (which I am sure is not a good idea). The instructions did not mention indirect cooking, but recommend the grill or the oven. I wonder if a gas grill would have had the same effect.

What should I have done with these, and how can you predict when this will occur in the future? Fatty steaks do not seem to produce this kind of nasty smoke..

Thanks

RRP · July 2015

Your answer lies in "400 for 10 minutes direct" to boot. I'm surprised even the skewers weren't burnt to a crisp! Sorry, but next time either go raised direct or indirect and then check the ka-bobs for temperature rather than cooking to time. Live & learn as they say...

stemc33 · July 2015

Since you joined the forum in 2012, I'm assuming let the bad smoke clear prior to putting the skewers on the egg. How often did you rotate them during the 10min? Rotating frequently might of helped, but I'd follow the advice from @RRP for the next cook.

dperrin · July 2015

RRP said:

Your answer lies in "400 for 10 minutes direct" to boot. I'm surprised even the skewers weren't burnt to a crisp! Sorry, but next time either go raised direct or indirect and then check the ka-bobs for temperature rather than cooking to time. Live & learn as they say...

Thanks for the suggestion on raised direct or indirect. Nothing was overcooked and the wooden skewers were not burnt. I pulled them at 145 (they were large hunks of meat). Do you agree that the smoke was created by the bacon fat? If so maybe a dumb question,but how will the raising the grill change the result?

Thanks

dperrin · July 2015

stemc33 said:

Since you joined the forum in 2012, I'm assuming let the bad smoke clear prior to putting the skewers on the egg. How often did you rotate them during the 10min? Rotating frequently might of helped, but I'd follow the advice from @RRP for the next cook.

Yes, the egg was stable at 400 with no smoke before I started the cook. I rotated them once after 5 min (as per directions on the package).

RRP · July 2015

dperrin said:

Yes, the egg was stable at 400 with no smoke before I started the cook. I rotated them once after 5 min (as per directions on the package).

Sorry, but 400 for 10 minutes cooked direct on a BGE whether you turned them or not meant burnt bacon, meat and veggies which I think you sort of said - regardless of what the instructions said on the package. Good night!

Skiddymarker · July 2015

Personal perspective here but bacon and kabobs is a very tough cook. Bacon drips and if it is standard Kirkland bacon it will smoke like crazy. I think you are on the right track thinking it was the bacon. An indirect cook - like an oven or a gasser where you can move the kabobs from direct to indirect (or a Primo Oval) would have fixed that. Other than VOCs, acrid fat smoke is the worst. Two choices here, indirect or caveman - caveman has the advantage of no airspace hence no acrid smoke....

dperrin · July 2015

Skiddymarker said:

Personal perspective here but bacon and kabobs is a very tough cook. Bacon drips and if it is standard Kirkland bacon it will smoke like crazy. I think you are on the right track thinking it was the bacon. An indirect cook - like an oven or a gasser where you can move the kabobs from direct to indirect (or a Primo Oval) would have fixed that. Other than VOCs, acrid fat smoke is the worst. Two choices here, indirect or caveman - caveman has the advantage of no airspace hence no acrid smoke....

Thanks for that. Caveman means open lid? Also makes me curious as to why fatty steaks cooked at high temps does not produce that awful flavour? Could it be that the higher temps incinerate the droppings more quickly and with less smoke?

Longhorn_Brent · July 2015

@dperrin Do you have an XLBGE? If so you can use 1/2 the amount of lump and put it all to one side of firebox. Start and cook the bacon on indirect side and once the fat renders you can finish on fire to crisp it up.

theyolksonyou · July 2015

dperrin said:

Skiddymarker said:

Personal perspective here but bacon and kabobs is a very tough cook. Bacon drips and if it is standard Kirkland bacon it will smoke like crazy. I think you are on the right track thinking it was the bacon. An indirect cook - like an oven or a gasser where you can move the kabobs from direct to indirect (or a Primo Oval) would have fixed that. Other than VOCs, acrid fat smoke is the worst. Two choices here, indirect or caveman - caveman has the advantage of no airspace hence no acrid smoke....

Thanks for that. Caveman means open lid? Also makes me curious as to why fatty steaks cooked at high temps does not produce that awful flavour? Could it be that the higher temps incinerate the droppings more quickly and with less smoke?

Caveman means throw it directly on the lump.

nolaegghead · July 2015

I suspect the bacon fat combined with a hot reducing fire (oxygen limited - you weren't running it full open or the temp would have shot up with the introduction of the fat) vaporized the fat and it condensed on whatever was relatively cool - in your case, the food.

So you're right.

You can have the same effect with steaks if they are very fatty. Bacon fat renders, especially when bacon is cut into strips, very easily. It's getting hot, while a steak is typically cooked to much lower temps so we're talking about the volume of fat and rate it's hitting the fire.

The fat is also extinguishing some of your lump fire and extinguishing lump can put off some pretty awful smoke.

I'd cook them a bit slower - raised or lower heat until some of the fat renders, then hit them with a hot fire with the lid open. Fat burning isn't as bad as fat vaporizing and not burning.

This is my theory, reality may be completely different.

wspcarter · July 2015

Put a pan underneath to catch drippings. fixed

nolaegghead · July 2015

wspcarter said:

Put a pan underneath to catch drippings. fixed

AKA: "indirect"

dperrin · July 2015

Thanks to everyone for their opinion. All good suggestions.

That yucky, awful smoke...

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