Different kinds of meat - same smoky taste

markopa

Hello all !

I'm owning a large egg for nearly half a year now. Getting used to all tips and tricks of temperature regulation and general handling. The grilling culture in south/east EU is doing things on open fire with no or little smoking. However my trips to US opened me a new way of doing meat on the grill which really is bbq if I understand well. So I started using the low and slow technique on my BGE.

The problem is that my guests complain that all the meat tastes the same - a smoky taste instead of meat taste. And I have to agree to a degree. It turns out the on cooks when using the low&slow technique they all have a very similar taste. I was doing a boston butt which was great. Few days later I tried to do a leg of lamb which was on for 3.5 hours. Guess what ? There was little or no taste of lamb. Just the very inner parts of the meat were having the lamb taste.

Its kind of disappointing for me. OK smoked, but not to a degree that the smoky flavor preveals on the meat taste.

What is your experience ? Is this normal ? Oh, I use the original BGE charcoal.

Thanks, Marko

grege345

How long do you let the egg heat up before you add meat?

johnmitchell

First off..Change your lump. I experienced the same thing with BGE lump. I now use Rockwood and let it burn lid open for aprox 20 min then close and stabilize at desired temp...Rockwood is in my opinion a great clean burning lump...

:-c

gdenby

First, the food should never go into the Egg till the smoke becomes thin and wispy, almost invisible. Typically, this takes between 20 and 40 minutes.

All the lump I've used will impart a small amount of wood smoke flavor. But the main flavor/aroma comes from the particular woods added into the fire. Most people consider oak and hickory to have a very strong effect. Fruitwoods, such as apple, are considered moderate. Alder is usually regarded as the mildest. So, you need to choose to add wood, and then what kind of wood to get the level of smoke that you want.

There are some meats that are traditionally used for BBQ in the US. Pork and beef are the most prominent. Poultry is less used, and one area uses mutton. Lamb is not used for low and slow, that I know of. Most parts of the [pig do well is smoked, but cuts from the loin and tenderloin are not often used. Beef briskets, back ribs short ribs and a portion sometimes called the tri-tip are commonly used. Steaks, and most roasts are not BBQ'd.

Depending on how much the Egg is used, and what is cooked, it needs a "clean burn" on occasion. Otherwise everything will have a heavy smoke flavor. Some people bake bread in their Egg(s), and either reserve an Egg for nothing but baking, or do a clean burn before baking to reduce smoke flavor to a minimum.

I have to run, hope this helps.

Mkadilla

I have some relatives in SE Europe and have experienced the grilling culture there. The meat was cooked over wood coals and did not have any smoky taste at all that I can remember. It was very good.

Are you using any smoking wood at all in the Egg? Or just BGE Lump? It is important to make sure that the BGE Lump is burning clean before you start to cook. That means that the initial smoke that is coming from the coals when you first light it change from a white smoke to a lighter, almost transparent smoke. If you do not wait for this clear smoke (up to 30 minutes or more), the "bad" smoke will give your meat a strong taste that you do not want. You may have to do a clean burn as suggested here as well?

I think that if you get the lump prepared properly that your guests should not taste any smoke if you do not want them to.