How long do I need smoke?

jwc6160 · July 2016

I've asked a version of this before. I keep having trouble keeping smoke at low temps. I get smoke around 300 but when I choke it down to around 250 I'm getting nothing. I'm doing some ribs right now and I'm at the 2.5 hour mark and I've got no smoke sitting around 250. If I let it crank up to 300 and shuffle the coals around a bit I get some smoke but I don't want the temp that high. I had a full load of lump with 4-5 pretty large wood chunks mixed about. Once I get it lit and up to temp I even added another large chunk. Should I be losing my smoke after just a couple hours?

Dyal_SC · July 2016

A couple hours of smoke is all you need.

Foghorn · July 2016

You're getting more smoke than you think at 250. It's just good clean smoke. And you've been in and around the egg so you are accustomed to the smoke so you barely smell it.

This will make total sense when you eat something off your egg and you think it is not smoky enough - and then we you eat the same stuff as leftovers on a day when you haven't been around a charcoal or wood fire, and you notice just how smoky it tastes.

shtgunal3 · July 2016

As @Foghorn says you are getting smoke. You may not see it but you're getting it. 250 is plenty hit enough for wood to smoke

jwc6160 · July 2016

It's just weird to see basically nothing I guess. It looks like it's shut down when I open it around 250. I get the steam from the ribs but don't see or smell the smoke at all. If I crank it to 300 I see the blue smoke. I guess I'm just visual and want to see it.

Thanks

Theophan · July 2016

I'm no expert, but I disagree: I think 250° is the minimum for getting good smoke on a BGE, and maybe in your Egg you do better at a higher temp. Maybe try 275°. I get visibly more smoke at 275° than 225°, and I taste more smoke as well. It's not good enough for me to taste the smoke on leftovers -- I want to taste it the first time, and when I use a bit higher temp, and do the chunks of wood right, I get smokier flavor (for the foods I want smokier, that is).

If you got visible blue smoke for the first 2.5h, then the problem isn't the temperature -- you got good smoke! If the smoke ran out, then it has to be that you ran out of wood chunks, or that the rest of them aren't where the fire is. I don't usually get visible smoke throughout the entire cook, and 2.5h ought to give you some good smoke flavor, but usually I have some smoke going on through most of the cook, maybe not all of it.

jwc6160 · July 2016

About how many wood chunks should be enough for a 5 hour smoke?

NonaScott · July 2016

All depends how big they are. I just place 3 or four nice size chunks around the edge of the the lump under the gaps in the plate setter in addition to what I start with. If I want more smoke I take the ash tool and reach through the grid and flip them to the center as needed.

Hans61 · July 2016

I like to do a chip chunk combo layering the chips in w/ the lump prior to lighting then right before putting food on place a couple chunks on the edge of the fire and one more mid way toward the back fire usually finds that one

How long do I need smoke?

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