"Acrid grease smoke" vs "Wok Hei"

Botch · December 2020

@jdMyers posted a thread on rotisserieing a rib roast, and the following question was asked:

Wouldn’t all that fat burning on the coal give you acrid smoke?

I started to reply on that thread, but there was a deeper question there, so I've started this separate thread.

In Chinese cooking, burning fat (the fat spray at the back of the flipping wok, hitting the jet-burner flames, burning, and falling back into the pan) provides the desired "wok hei" ("breath of the wok") that differentiates good Chinese food from "buffet" (ie pan-steamed) chinese food.
Plus, I loved the smells coming off Dad's charcoal grill, once the Texaco 87 Octane burned off and the steak/rib fat started dripping into the charcoal. Same thing when I was using my own $88 gasser with "Flavor Bars" and perfect round "lava stones"; that burning grease smelled wonderful.
So, does anyone really know that burning fat gives you "acrid" smoke? Or just "different", from lump/wood smoke?

Hmmm.

There's an experiment here, but I don't know how to set it up.
Yet. Thoughts?

PigBeanUs · December 2020

I’m thinking the issue is burning vs smoldering.

As long as the fire is burning well, no problem.

Photo Egg · December 2020

My uneducated guess. Drippings that hit hot lump or fire ignite and give off good or at least tolerable smoke flavor. Drippings that drop, collect and smolder are bad. Similar to the smell put off from smoldering wet wood.

Botch · December 2020

How does anyone here define the difference between "burning", and "smoldering", besides speed? And if its a speed, where's the rate cutoff?

Sorry, I'm an unemployed engineer, who's anal retentive/OCD/bored.

U_tarded · December 2020

That was me that asked that question. In the thread op had a rib roast coated in a lot of butter. It’s already a fatty cut plus all that butter. So a lot of fat to drip on the fire, while not a full bed of coals it was banked to the sides, it’s. I also asked a similar question on a thread where someone posted about a pork but done the same way. I know some grease burns off but not all of it.

I’ve Cooked chickens in a similar fashion and didn’t like the acrid smoke I got. It was a lot more pronounced than the nostalgic flare up taste we all remember. The way they had the coal banked has me thinking about this again. I guess I will food lab when I am off on holiday the next few weeks.

jdMyers · December 2020

So my experience. And great thread btw. A hot grill fire. Not low temp smoking. The fat drippings incinerate as they hit especially if using rotisserie meat.

Stationary meat has more volume of drip and its all in the same spot, not all of it incinerates, acts like cooled lava at that point, smoldering and burning. It sits piled up in the same spot and burns causing flare ups etc. That produces bad smoke thus bad flavor.

In a drip pan that has no water or the moisture evaporates the drippings tend to start to char and burn thus producing the un flavorful smoke introduced in the meat. Looking at long cooks like brisket. The drip pan collects a lot and then burns bad if not changed. Again produced un wanted smoke. Fruit or sugar flavors in a drip pan burn faster and produce un wanted smoke. Incinerated drippings. No smoke flavor. In the wok. Food never stops moving. No grease build up.

Photo Egg · December 2020

Botch said:

How does anyone here define the difference between "burning", and "smoldering", besides speed? And if its a speed, where's the rate cutoff?

Sorry, I'm an unemployed engineer, who's anal retentive/OCD/bored.

If it puts off a bad smell, it’s not burning off fast enough.lol

pgprescott · December 2020

U_tarded said:

That was me that asked that question. In the thread op had a rib roast coated in a lot of butter. It’s already a fatty cut plus all that butter. So a lot of fat to drip on the fire, while not a full bed of coals it was banked to the sides, it’s. I also asked a similar question on a thread where someone posted about a pork but done the same way. I know some grease burns off but not all of it.

I’ve Cooked chickens in a similar fashion and didn’t like the acrid smoke I got. It was a lot more pronounced than the nostalgic flare up taste we all remember. The way they had the coal banked has me thinking about this again. I guess I will food lab when I am off on holiday the next few weeks.

Funny, I often cook my spatchcocked chicken raised direct in lieu of indirect because I do enjoy the nostalgic flavor produced as the chicken fat hits the coals and vaporizes.

I will say it is required to either burn off the remaining coal or just remove it for the next cook. The chicken fat basically infects the entire batch and you won’t be able to relight and get clean burning coals without basically burning it all up anyway.

Different strokes for different folks I guess.

nolaegghead · December 2020

Hot grease is like green splits. The more complete the combustion the less VOCs and vaporized fats, many of which are various combustion products of a reducing (oxygen poor) fire.

Anyway, some of you will understand this analogy - adjusting an acetylene flame by controlling the ratio of oxygen. A very reducing flame give you lots of orange color and a sooty smoke. A oxygen rich (oxidizing, the opposite of reducing) flame is very small, hot and white. No smoke.

Burning full blast like a stick burner runs. Apply all that to fat burning.

nolaegghead · December 2020

PS - I didn't read any of the stuff above, so sorry if this has been explained.

bettyball · December 2020

Thank for sharing your information

"Acrid grease smoke" vs "Wok Hei"

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