Getting smoke on my food in my BGE...

HogHeaven

Here's the original article where I found this technique... https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/grills-and-smokers/charcoal/kamado-cookes/183749-the-smoking-lamp-is-lit-smoke-em-if-you-ve-got-em-part-2

Carolina Q

HogHeaven said:

As most of you probably know the smoke flavor on your meat is going to happen in the first 2 hours of your cook. Once your meat reaches about 160° the smoke particles will no longer adhere to the meat.

This is not the case. Food will take on smoke flavor as long as there IS smoke. You are thinking of the smoke ring. I believe the max temp for that is about 140°.

Personally, I don't care much about smoke flavor. As often as not, I don't even add smoke wood. 

jtcBoynton

Carolina Q said:

HogHeaven said:

As most of you probably know the smoke flavor on your meat is going to happen in the first 2 hours of your cook. Once your meat reaches about 160° the smoke particles will no longer adhere to the meat.

This is not the case. Food will take on smoke flavor as long as there IS smoke. You are thinking of the smoke ring. I believe the max temp for that is about 140°.

Personally, I don't care much about smoke flavor. As often as not, I don't even add smoke wood. 

This discussion is avoiding what is actually the most important factor - the rate at which smoke adheres to the meat.  Smoke will continue to adhere to the meat from the beginning to the end of the cook, but not at the same rate.  

HeavyG

HogHeaven said:

I found this technique on another website about a year ago. I immediately saw the vision as an improvement over what I had been doing which was place wood chunks in or near the small fire in my lump pile. Historically some of those wood chunks would not burn during the cook. Sometimes I would get no smoke flavor and sometimes I would get to much smoke flavor. 

As most of you probably know the smoke flavor on your meat is going to happen in the first 2 hours of your cook. Once your meat reaches about 160° the smoke particles will no longer adhere to the meat. 

By drilling the holes in the bottom of the pot the smoke travels out of the pot directly into the red hot lump which cleanses the undesirable particles out of the smoke before it travels up to your meat... making it Thin Blue Smoke.    

The gentleman that devised this method is an engineer and he uses a Kamodo Kamado cooker... the Rolls Royce of Kamado cookers. 

I have a Kick Ash Basket in my BGE and after every cook using the Smoke Pot I dump the smoke pot out and I shake the Ash off of the unburned lump. I never have a left over smoke flavor on the next cook. 

I've been using the technique for over a year now and feel I have much more control over Smoke distribution in my large BGE with this technique VS just dumping wood chunks on and/or around my small fire for long low and slow cooks.

I'm just sharing it with you guys and girls. If you see the potential I did, use it. If you don't think it will improve your Smoke distribution in your cooker... forget you ever saw it.

From Amazing Ribs - http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/zen_of_wood.html

Does meat stop taking on smoke?

There is a popular myth that at some point the meat stops taking on smoke. Sorry, but meat does not have doors that it shuts at some time during a cook. There is a lot of smoke moving through the cooking chamber although sometimes it is not very visible. If the surface is cold or wet, more of it sticks. Usually, late in the cook, the bark gets pretty warm and dry, and by then the coals are not producing a lot of smoke. Smoke bounces off warm dry surfaces so we are fooled into thinking the meat is somehow saturated with smoke. Throw on a log and baste the meat and it will start taking on smoke again. Just don't baste so often that you wash off the smoke and rub.

Smoker317

jtcBoynton said:

Smoker317 said:

....

What is a good lump that actually has smoke flavor?


What is a quality lump wood that is not too neutral in flavor.  

None.  The definition of quality lump charcoal is wood that has been highly carbonized.  Highly carbonized charcoal has very little smoke flavor.  The lump that has more pronounced smoke flavor is under carbonized.

You can buy under carbonized lump to get more smoke flavor, just don't call it quality.  It will burn fine and give you some smoke flavor, but I would guess still less than you want.  You will still need to add wood chunks.  If you are up for it, an offset or upright stick burner would be more to your tastes.

Thank you for the explanation, and yes I did come from an offset smoker that I used for 18 years.  Only room for so many outdoor cooking devices at my place so I still have my propane, black stone, and then the egg as of a couple years now.