Control Smoke on BGE?

PigSmoker916 · February 2011

Hi,

I haven't bought an Egg yet, and I'm dying to get one. :silly:

One question that I have is how do you control the amount of time you apply smoke to the meat? I run a Bradley Digital smoker, and one of the things I really like about it is I can closely control the amount of smoke I apply by using the built in timer on the smoke generator.

I've found that most meats only absorb smoke for the first few hours, the rest is for the benefit of the neighborhood... And of course some wood smoke like Mesquite is so potent, it only requires a little bit or it overpowers the flavor. Is there some way to control that? I'm thinkin' not - just experiment to figure out how much wood to put on the fire - but just thought I'd ask...

FlaPoolman · February 2011

The smoke is not absorbed but settles on the food throughout the whole cook. You may be thinking of the smoke ring which will stop forming about 140°. Controlling the smoke taste is just how much and when you and the chunks or chips

Fidel · February 2011

I've found that most meats only absorb smoke for the first few hours

First off, this is just not correct. Meat will accept smoke flavor at any time during the cook. Don't confuse creation of a smoke ring with the ability to impart smoke particulate and the resulting flavor. Meat doesn't absorb smoke at all in the traditional sense - rather smoke particulate lands on and adheres to the meat.

Secondly, you control the amount of smoke by how much wood chips/chunks/pellets/sawdust you put into the egg when you cook. There's a bit of a learning curve, but not too steep for an experienced cook that knows what they are after.

PigSmoker916 · February 2011

FlaPoolman and Fidel,

Thanks folks. I wasn't thinking of the smoke ring as from what I've read isn't actually smoke penetration anyway but is instead a chemical reaction of the cooking process.

I think you've answered my question anyway - limit the amount of wood used - which is learned by trial and error.
The bottom line is I'm stuck with the amount of wood I use if I've used too much... I guess I could always add more wood if I need to, but it would be difficult to remove the wood once it's in the heat. The answer is obvious I guess, but was just wondering how to turn the smoke off...

Thanks

fiercetimbo17 · February 2011

Yea removing it would be too much of a task. Like everything with the egg it's a learning process, and will depend on your personal taste. I've only oversmoked something once and it was hickory on chicken.
My dad uses a Bradley and really likes it, he has the cold smoking attachment it makes great cheese

stike · February 2011

i like a lot of smoke, and tend to put chips or chunks in the center in a column. it'll come and go but generally smokes all the way through.

if you DON'T want smoke because it may be too much, try chunks at the beginning, placed right down into the coals, and no other wood below that. you'll get early smoke and it'll die off when the chunk quits. you could always add some if you want more.

as for that pedantic blowhard fidel... :laugh: (that's a joke, since his reply is almost verbatim what half the folks here were probably expecting me to reply with... i have a 'history' re: the smoke ring and 'absorbing smoke' :laugh: )

i think what his point was is that smoke will flavor meat whenever it is there. all the way thru, at the end, or just the beginning. meaning, it doesn't "stop absorbing" smoke the first couple hours or so. as you said, that flavor is independent of the smoke ring

...he just mentioned the smoke ring because many (many) people have heard that smoke stops absorbing in the first hour, and he's doing us the service of pointing out that it is only the smoke RING which stops forming, but that smoke will add flavor at any time as long as it is there. it's a frequent discussion here

essentially something smoked for 8 hours will be 'twice' as smokey as something smoked for four... it won't stop adding smoke

Control Smoke on BGE?

Comments

Categories