How to keep smoke for many hours?

Use wood chunks and place them in with the lump. As the fire burns down it will find them. It also doesn't take too many chunks...3 or 4.

Civil Engineer gave my answer, but with the egg, just because you are not seeing smoke doesn't mean it's not there.

I understand you wanted more smoke taste, but what I guess I'm saying is that you won't need visible smoke the whole cook to get more flavor if you place 3-4 fist-sized chunks dispersed throughout your lump.

Mix a few chunks(3 or 4) or a handful of chips throughout the lump when you load. As the fire spreads, you hit these little smoke bombs. It doesn't take much...

sorry to be a noodge... The smoke ring may stop forming shortly into the cook, but smoke will flavor meat at any time. if you could smoke the meat for only an hour, and choose to do it at the beginning middle or end, you'd have the same smoke flavor. but the smoke at the beginning would give you the deepest smoke ring.

although the smoke rings stops forming early in the cook, smoke flavor can be added at any time.

hate to keep harping on it. just trying to slowly steer that myth back to shore.

Theophan--Welcome to the forum and this unique club/family. This is the closest to a virtual cooking school as you can get without paying actual money. All the advice is free but some of it is priceless. To get more out of your egg than you ever imagined stay close to this forum and practice, practice, practice.
Two suggestions. Register on the forum. Document your cooks with photos. Someone here will step forward to help you post the photos. We like pictures--some of us can't read real good. Unwritten rule, "no pics--it didn't happen"
It will be fun having you cook with us.

I've always read that after meat reaches a certain temp, it doesn't take in any more smoke. Thanks for the info. I wish I would've read this before I posted. :(

Car Wash Mike wrote:

I always thought the meat stopped forming a smoke ring when the meat reached an internal of 140.

Mike

That's correct Mike. The smoke ring will stop forming at 140°. That's why some folks like to make sure the meat is still very cold when they put it in the smoker - takes longer to get to 140°, hopefully resulting in a deeper and more pronounced smoke ring.

However, as already mentioned here, the meat will continue to take on smoke flavor throughout the cook.

not the internal temp (deep inside the meat), but the temp of the meat where the smoke ring forms.

put it another way, the smoke ring stops forming when the meat where its forming hits 140,. that takes place early in the cook. many folks confuse the smoke ring with smoke absorption. the smoke never really 'absorbs' into the meat. but the nitric acid formed on the surface does get wicked into the meat and form the smoke ring.

so in time, people have equated the twon, thinking the smoke ring=smoke absorption, and since the ring only forms early (maybe within the first hour os so), the assuption is the flavor stops being added after an hour.

a chunk of meat smoked for an hour might have the same smoke ring as one smoked for ten hours, but the ten hour smoke would have far more smoke flavor.

Theophan, I think you got your answers regarding the wood.

Regarding lifting the platesetter out when it's hot, alot of us use high temperature gloves to lift it out. I use the silicone ones that are safe to 700 degrees, though I never would try using them at that high of a temp, they are fine for the low temperature smoking at 250.

Faith

Wayne, I have been neglecting to write a reheat up. I have a couple ways and will send them to you in a few days.

Mike

fish, is "chord" wood what they make pianos out of? :laugh:

Knock yourself out, but stripsteak is right.. As long as there is smoke in the air it will build up on the meat.

The smoke ring is not actually a "smoke" but a chemical reaction between the nitrate formed by the heat on the rubs. With a box of tender quick and a constant heat source you can produce a smoke ring without the presence of smoke.

heck, don't even need heat really, just the nitrites.

nitrites are what turn ham pink when it's cured. pink ham is nothing more than a smoke ring that goes all the way to the center. and you can do that at fridge temps

i should say the color pink in a ham is nothing more than a quasi smoke ring that goes all the way to the center. the nitrites are doing other things for us when curing, but the color is akin to a smoke ring