white smoke problem

doncarl

I'm still not sure how to avoid having the "early smoke" affect the taste of whatever I'm cooking.  Here's what I do for an overnight pork shoulder.

---Fill the firebox and add about 5 chunks of apple wood

---start the fire with the bottom open and the top up.  

---wait about 15 minutes, and close the bottom, add the daisy wheel with just about a quarter inch opening, and shut the bottom vent to about a quarter inch also.  

---wait for the dome temp to get down to about 200/225

---add the plate setter and the meat.

My problem is that it seems like there is the dreaded "white smoke" coming out the top for almost 45 minutes.  What to do?

badinfluence

Um...that is the apple wood chunks smokong

nolaegghead

^^probably.  You lit the top in a small area, right? 

If the smoke smells good, throw that be-otch on da grill!

Foghorn

@badinfluence may be right. 

The other possibility is that the rest of the charcoal never really got warm enough to burn off the VOCs.   If you go straight from having an open lid to closed with very little airflow you haven't really let the lump that isn't actively burning warm up.  I insert the platesetter and close my lid immediately after I start my fire, but leave both vents wide open and CHECK THE EGG EVERY 5 MINUTES.  (If my prepping is such that I can't check the egg every 5 minutes then I usually open only the petals of the daisy wheel - that way I know it won't go above 350).  By the time the dome thermometer gets to 250, I know that all the charcoal that is below the platesetter has spent a fair amount of time at a temperature significantly higher than 250 allowing for evaporation and/or burning of all VOCs... and at that point I almost always have clear smoke.

nolaegghead

The lump in close proximity to the fire needs to stabilize with respect to the VOCs.  I doubt all the lump gets up to 250 if the air in the egg reaches 250. 

lousubcap

To reinforce the above-"The nose knows".  If it smells good then it is good and the time/temp/degree of burning lump/new vs used lump are all factors that means it will be different every time you fire up the BGE.

fishlessman

smell it, if it smells right your good to go, i dont pay much attention to color anymore
that could apply to bbq as well
)