Smoke v Roast - food is a bit too smoky

Aussie_Hugh · October 2003

Hello all,[p]Being from Oz I am not used to smoky food and I am finding some of my efforts in my large egg are coming out a bit too smoky. Now what I call smoky probably would not raise a blimp on with some of your more conditioned BBQ taste buds.[p]So what I am hoping for is some feed back on how to acheive a more 'roasted' flavour rather than a 'smoked' flavour (and red colouring). Of course totally omitting smoke chips helps. But I am wondering if also covering the food in foil for the first 1/4 cooking time or using heat beads rather than charcoal may make a difference?[p]NB: We are very limited in our range of charcoal here so it may be just the charcoal I am using. It is a 'red gum' hardwood charcoal.[p]Regards,
Hugh.

Smokey · October 2003

Aussie_Hugh,[p]Try letting you coals go a little longer before putting the meat on. Most lump charcoal will give off smoke at first. After lighting the charcoal, stabilize the temperature and in a few minutes, you should notice less smoke coming from you egg. That's when you should add the meat! Just a thought! Good luck "MATE"![p]Smokey

Steve-O · October 2003

Aussie Hugh,
A good hardwood lump made from oak and hickory should give you only a little smoke flavor if you are not adding any other wood chips to it. I don't know about red gum, though. If there is a strong aroma coming from your fire after it is going good and strong, your lump is probably the problem. I don't know what your alternatives might be short of wrapping in foil (which I would be loath to do) until the external temp of the meat exceeds 140°. After that it should not absorb too much smoke.

Mully · October 2003

Aussie_Hugh,
Hows the weather down there bud??
Anyhoo,When I first started egging I too had meat especally chicken that tasted too smokey!Here's the gig..Now I use only enough lump to get the job done ,then let the coals burn 10-15 min after my desired temp is reached.Then I add the meat.When I used too much lump it did not all ignite at the same time causing some to just smolder letting off thick smoke the whole cook,this added too much smoke flavor.
For less smoke taste:
1)Use only enough lump to get the job done.Don't overfil firebox.
2)When desired temp is reached let it burn 10-15 min before adding meat,
This greatly improved the tayste of my cooking when I don't desire a heavy smoke flavor.
Give it a whirl!
Mully

Unknown · October 2003

Aussie_Hugh,
In addition to what the others had said... you may try a different brand of lump as well. I have had my egg now for about 4 mos.... I had the same type problem at first (especially with chicken). Different brands of lump have different characteristics one of which is the smokiness of the lump when burned... [p]One brand that I found adds little to no smoke flavor is the Cowboy brand lump (here in Maryland its pretty easy to find at most all major hardware stores).[p]Also check out the Neked Whiz's lump review page (no link... I think go to wwww.nakedwhiz.com and you'll find easy enough). He has reviews of many different brands of lump and I do recall there were a few with a low level of smokiness.[p]Cheers,[p]

Smoke v Roast - food is a bit too smoky

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