Smoke absorption

Teefus

I did another Texas Chucky this weekend, and while delicious, it really didn't pick up much smoke.

I coated the cold roast with pan drippings from the breakfast bacon to act as a binder for the salt and pepper coating. It went on the Egg with fresh Rockwood and with a big handful of Pecan chunks added just before I dropped the meat. After 4 hours in the smoke it hit the stall and I wrapped tightly in foil and moved it to the oven for another three hours at 275°. I pulled at 205° internal and rested for 30 minutes prior to service.

It was melt in your mouth tender and the salt/pepper rub made for a savory bark, but there was not much smoke to be tasted. I'm wondering if the bacon fat binder shielded the meat from the smoke? I've heard some say that the smoke sticks best to dry meat. When I smoke Salmon I make it a point to dry the filet out first.

Any advice from the more advanced Eggers out there?

lousubcap

I am advanced in the sense of age but that's about it.  However here is a long read from Amazing Ribs about smoke:
https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/grill-and-smoker-setup-and-firing/science-of-wood-and-smoke/  
His site is a true gold mine of useful BBQ info, FWIW.  

GrateEggspectations

No real expertise here, but “big handful of Pecan chunks” doesn’t sound like that much for a long-ish cook. The other thing is chunk placement. If, for example, they were placed at the bottom and the fire never made its way there, no smoke. 

loco_engr

What is a Texas Chucky?
curious minds want to know . . .  

littlerascal56

I use pecan for all my cooks, and it takes a lot to impart smoke flavor on a roast, cooked for several hours.  A lot!

Botch

GrateEggspectations said:

...the other thing is chunk placement. If, for example, they were placed at the bottom and the fire never made its way there, no smoke. 

Is that true?  
When I got my KAB I started dropping chunks of smoke wood to the bottom of the Egg while the KAB was out, then replacing it and lighting it in the top center, as I usually do.  
Once the egg got to temp, I peeked thru the air inlet and saw the smokewood chunks/chips were mostly gone already; I'd also noticed that when the smokewood was somewhere within the lump pile, it always seemed to burn first (paging @stlcharcoal:  what's the ignition temp of raw wood, vs. lump?)  In other words, I've never finished a cook, then extinguished the Egg, to find any raw smokewood left the next morning.  

fishlessman

Use oak and alittle mesquite.......

Teefus

loco_engr said:

What is a Texas Chucky?
curious minds want to know . . .  

A Chuck Roast done in the style of a Texas Brisket. Salt and pepper and a low and slow. Size wise It's a good fit for empty nesters. You have plenty of leftovers, but not months of leftovers like I have with a whole Brisket.

There's another version that involves a demonic red headed doll wearing a cowboy hat. I don't do those any more. The shrieking from under the lid is off-putting.

stlcharcoal

Wood will light off around 550F, but will char are much lower temps because of the volatiles off gassing.  The volatiles will evaporate and cool the surface or burn off first (that's where you see the blue flames), then the wood fiber (yellow flames), and finally the carbon/charcoal which is the glowing coals with little to no smoke or flame (that kindling temp is around 670F.)

So, on a low and slow, you should be lighting from the top, and if you have smoke woods at the bottom of the firebox, the fire might not get down there......and if it does, it might be later in the cook.  The meat absorbs the most smoke early in the cook.  I usually use a combination of chips and chunks--it's not uncommon to see either unburned in the firebox after a 15+ hr cook @ <250F is finished.....the fire just never got to them.  They'll be dry as a bone, and maybe charred, but still full of wood fiber.  

The BGE is a little tough if you're looking for a stronger smoke.  It's so humid and very little air that flows through a kamado, so you just don't generate that much.  A stick burner and pellet grills have a lot of air flowing through them, so you get a lot of smoke, but can dry the meat out more easily (and use more fuel in the process).  If you want to make sure you get some smoke, light the charcoal right in the middle and throw all the wood on that hot spot right when you start.

jtcBoynton

"I've heard some say that the smoke sticks best to dry meat."  I've always been taught smoke sticks best to damp meat.  Too much moisture will wash it off.

Botch

I see an experiment in my future, involving finger-size jicama sticks, one cold and one room temperature, and then one wet and one dry, laid across the top exhaust while waiting for the egg to come up to temp.    

stlcharcoal

jtcBoynton said:

"I've heard some say that the smoke sticks best to dry meat."  I've always been taught smoke sticks best to damp meat.  Too much moisture will wash it off.

That might be true, but the meat isn't necessarily just sitting there, it's heating up and "sweating".  That's why some say it absorbs all the smoke at the beginning of the cook, because it hasn't started to melt the fat and collagen out yet.

CGS

Smoke flavoring can be a challenge in ceramic grills, as the small size fires and limited airflow are not the best for producing clean or constant smoke patterns.  If you think through your process, it should help next time.  

Your cook only went four hours, not much time for adding smoke, given a ceramic grill. keep it in the egg longer.  How you move air through the grill, can help generate more smoke too. 

Pecan is a milder hardwood.  Try hickory a stronger wood. Mesquite, strongest wood, can be harsh, be careful. Stay away from big box store chunk wood. They have been kiln dried for interstate transport which removes vital moisture. Somewhat the same for green (wet) wood, as it's hard to burn in ceramics. Bury wood on the lump and drop a couple chunks on the fire when the meat goes on. Chunks size about half your fist is good size. 

You coated the chucky with oil (drippings), basically adding a protective nonpenetrative layer. If you let the meat come to room temperature before adding the rub, it may work better. 

Meat will absorb smoke through the entire cook, how much depends on a bunch of factors. simple answer is more smoke earlier the better.  

For years I've been taking a straw pole with customers on smoke flavor. As cooks, we feel no or little smoke.....equals failure. Ironically, most family members, say the opposite, just a hint of smoke is good, anything more is.....to overpowering. So ask who you serve, simply there are more of them eating vs. just the one of us (cooks). 

Challenges like this is what makes live (charcoal) grilling/smoking fun.

T  

  

Teefus

Thanks to all for the feedback. There sure is a fair bit of conflicting data out there. I'll just keep plugging along and note what works and what doesn't. Next time I'll try a dry rub with no binder and do the whole cook on the egg without wrapping. I'll try some white oak chunks too. I've had good luck with those in the past on Brisket. I agree with the point that @CGS makes about smoke perception. I like a bolder smoke profile and bride of Teefus prefers a hint or less. That said, when we ate at Black's in Lockhart, TX the food was really smoky and she loved it.