problem maintaining smoke

Try this, courtesy of stike, a long time egger.

ARoehr11 said:

cool thanks, I am doing a beef tenderloin for the future in laws this weekend and want to make sure I do it right

Be careful with that.  Don't go nuts.  You can definitely oversmoke a tenderloin.  I cooked one that tasted like an ashtray once.  

Dinah_Moe_Humm said:

This is a real stupid question, pardon me, but you'r soaking the wood chunks first, right?

Some soak some do not.  I don't soak.  Somewhere I saw a study showing that soaking wood was almost pointless since the depth of moisture penetration in the wood from soaking was minimal.  That's just what I read though.  I mix chunks throughout the lump and sometimes my egg takes about an hour to get the good smoke.  At least get your egg to temp for 20-30 minutes to burn off some of the bad stuff

I agree. A beef tenderloin will shine on its own.  Maybe a dab of pecan smoke if I were doing it.  Actually I might just use lump.  Good luck and let us know how it turns out! ( pics would be great too

lousubcap said:

Absolutely no need to soak any chips or chunks with the BGE (or any other smoker) as the amount of moisture penetration into the smoke wood and subsequent "smoke enhancement" is about zero.  Just load focused toward the back radiating out from the center as that is where the fire travels first.  The air-flow dynamics drive the fire direction.

Agreed ^ this dude knows his stuff! I don't smoke steaks or very little smoke with a beef roast. Maybe a little cherry would pair well with that 

Great thread, I was about to ask a similar question. I've been pre-soaking and tossing chips onto warm coals, ever since our very first LBGE cook nearly 18 months ago. I followed this method, since it was on the official BGE site, I assumed it was legit. The problem every time has been that the temp has dipped and needed encouragement to get back up, which meant opening the dome and smoke escaping.

Also had no idea that the first 30 mins was bad smoke, this does explain why my warm smokes have had a generic smoke aroma rather than the actual flavour sensation I was looking for. I had achieved this using cold-smoking, so didn't understand why it wasn't working for warm smoking.

So next time I'll mix the chips in with the lump. If I understand this correctly, the "bad smoke" will burn off leaving good smoke at about the same time that the Egg is at temperature.

One question though, and the original one I was looking for when I found this thread. Does this approach work with small chips? I suspect that they will burn up, I was initially looking at "chips vs chunks" threads. If it doesn't work with small chips, I can get some larger ones. Planning on doing some low and slow pork with apple smoke this weekend.

Ozzie_Isaac said:

YukonRon said:

For centuries, boats were made from wood. There was a reason, and it was because wood did not absorb water very well. It has been my experience that true flavor smoke will come from the slow burning of the dry wood added to your lump. Soaking wood in water then burning it, usually provides an acrid aroma initially, and therefore an acrid smoke flavor initially as well, nothing like the flavor you would want when you select your wood for smoking.
I think it is better to add more dry chunks for the heavier smoke flavor.
As mentioned before on long L&S, disperse the wood throughout your lump. When I do something like a pork butt, and want a very smoky flavor profile, I will use 8-10 fist sized chunks of peach. Each wood will offer different strength, and experience will provide the number you need to make it perfect for your taste.

Witches are made of wood too.  For the same reason also, so they float.

Very true.  They will, however, even after 30 minutes give your meat an acrid (almost gamey) smoke flavor if you try and smoke meat with them.

I have a LBGE and always use chunks. I get bags of pecan chunks at Wally World. They range in size from golf ball to tennis ball. I don't add them until my coals are hot and all the bad smoke has stopped. That said, the amount of visible smoke I get on a Low and Slow is practically nil. You don't need to see it for it to add flavor.

Regarding chips or chunks, I have not determined any difference.  I used to use Jack Daniels chips, then found some JD chunks so switched.  Can't find the chunks anymore so back to chips.  As long as I load where the fire will likely travel all is well.  FWIW-

Carolina Q said:

Try this, courtesy of stike, a long time egger.

This is exactly what i do with my chunks and i always add a few on the top edges to get some late smoke on my long brisket cooks. 

I have been reading Meatheads BBQ book. I know old news to most here. I think he says soaking chips is not a good idea. If your looking for smoke flavor put meat on grill while it is cold. If it is a low and slow Spritzing your meat will add more smoke flavor to your meat. Great Book BTW. 

td66snrf said:

IMHO I feel you get plenty of smoke from the lump. Usually people don't complain about not enough smoke but too much. 

This can be true but there are differences. Some brands of lump create a smokier flavor than others in my experience. I like to use Rockwood as it is very smoke neutral, meaning I can add chips or chunks to dial in the level of smoke flavor.