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smoke time

Ok, ladies and germs...this morning the pork butt went on with a dome temp of 275* and 4 med-large pieces of apple chunks that had soaked overnight.  Smoke lasted about 2 1/2 hrs.  I am curious how long your smoke lasts?

Ernie McClain

Scottsbluff, Nebraska

(in the extreme western panhandle of NE)

Comments

  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
    Spread the chunks out in the lump. Just because it's not pouring smoke doesn't mean the chunks aren't working. They're smoldering, not burning. Good luck...sure it'll be awesome.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
  • way longer than that but I bet I know what happened. Smoke goes clear after a little while at low and slow temps and that is actually a good thing. "Smoke should be smelled, not seen" is a good mantra to go by. I bet you anything you still have some apple left when you are done.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • I attended an eggfeast this summer and there was a professional chef doing one of the classes, who said after the meat reaches 140 degrees it will not take on any more smoke flavor, but potentially just add a burned wood flavor. This explained some of my pass cooks and since following his advise I have noticed a significant improvement in the results.
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414

    davedc said:
    I attended an eggfeast this summer and there was a professional chef doing one of the classes, who said after the meat reaches 140 degrees it will not take on any more smoke flavor, but potentially just add a burned wood flavor. This explained some of my pass cooks and since following his advise I have noticed a significant improvement in the results.

    Cooks Illustrated also explains this. In their video of pulled pork on a charcoal grill, they mention that they tested this and found that the meat won't take up any more smoke after 3-4 hours, which is why they finish the shoulder in the oven to save time. 
  • Ok, ladies and germs...this morning the pork butt went on with a dome temp of 275* and 4 med-large pieces of apple chunks that had soaked overnight.  Smoke lasted about 2 1/2 hrs.  I am curious how long your smoke lasts?
    Maybe you are considering a carry over from a non-kamado style smoker. If my old Weber kettle or my gasser had no visible smoke coming out of it, it was time to fill the smoke box or throw on another chunk. Not so the egg, CenTex said it best, I bet you still had a chunk left when you were done. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    As already mentioned, visible smoke is not a good indicator of smoke for flavor. In fact, it is often an indicator of bad flavors. Most visible smoke is condensing water vapor (which may also be a sign of creosote formation), and partially burnt wood residues in the lump, and particles of partially burnt smoking wood. The good vapors occur when the fire is burning well enough that the smoking wood is baking. I think of it like the aroma of bread as it bakes, but hard wood instead.

    If you want smoke flavor to go into the meat for the whole cook, place lump or chips all thru the lump, and keep the meat surface moist.

    Offset cookers and many commercial pits are different. They are burning wood, which has lots of moisture in it, and there will always be some visible condensation in the exhaust.

    As far as I know, meat which has a damp surface always accepts smoke. 140F is when the smoke ring stops forming, but that just means the meat myoglobin has broken down, and hot nitrous oxide and CO can't continue to cause it to become pink.

    It can be difficult to get smoke flavor into the meat. Too much water added to the surface can wash off the flavors instead of letting them soak in. Too little water, and the smoke just sits on the surface while that same surface burns.

    Also, many people will find high levels of smoke flavors to be unpleasant, just as if you put lots of cloves on the meat. A couple of hours may be just what most people like.