Can you smoke to much

[davekat]

Gday guys

Im new to this cooking game and im just after a couple of tips please.

1. Is there a timeframe on how long to smoke particular meats?

2. Is wood only used for smoking or is it also used as a fuel to gain your heat.

3. In australia they sell 5kg bags of heat bricks. Do i use and light all of these at once or do what i have seen about a minion method and say light 1/4 and place them ontop of the remainding 3/4 of coal.

Thabks in advance guys

 

[essexsmoker]

Hi Dave,

Smoke is a matter of taste and smoke quality. It largely depends on personal preference.

Wood can be used for both.
In the UK it is stupid expensive so generally used in small chunks for about 3 hours for smoke (although it will obviously give heat too), then just briquettes or lump for heat alone.

Not sure what heat bricks are. But heat beads are top notch.

Amounts all depend on the unit you are cooking in. If its a small kettle bbq then about 6 briqs is plenty to start. But if it's a WSM then more like about 30 to 40. This does also depend on the weather, and cooking temp obviously.

 

[davekat]

texas-smoker-2.jpg

• davekat
• Feb 9, 2016

This is my unit.

Yeah heat beads mate or briqettes i think they can be called

So is there a point where there is to much smoke as in time frame to say ruin or over power in taste

 

[krex1010]

Smoke can leave a bitter taste, but it's usually because of the type of smoke not the amount. If you have thick white smoke billowing out of your cooker then you could end up with bitter tasting meat. You want to see thin blueish smoke coming out of the exhaust. To get that you want a clean burning fire, don't soak the wood in water, don't throw lots of unseasoned wood on the fire and then cut the airflow. You don't want wood smoldering and throwing lots of thick smoke. If you have that thin blue smoke, you will not "over smoke" your meat no matter how long it cooks

 

[bauchjw]

Welcome Dave! Believe it or not your question is actually pretty difficult to respond to with a simple answer. Mr T sent me these threads to read through to get a better understanding of smoke when I thought I already had it figured out. Extremely informative and I highly recommend reading through them to get a big jump on understanding your new hobby! The first one is especially perfect for you!
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...-have-a-new-smoker-how-to-optimize-your-smoke
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/139474/understanding-smoke-management-updated-12-08-14
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/240463/what-is-going-on-with-smoking-cheese
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/140797/amnps-smoke-daddy-myths
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/178240/smoke-color-chart
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/123130/mr-ts-smoked-cheese-from-go-to-show-w-q-view

Good luck!

 

[chef jimmyj]

I will add...Tastes change. When I started smoking, 4 hours on a Pork Roast was plenty for my family. Now...If there is meat in the smoker, I am making smoke or at least 10 hours for long cooks...JJ

 

[essexsmoker]

Hi Dave, the above links are good to read.

When I put quality of smoke I was referring to TBS and TWS... I guess I should have spelt it out since you're new to this game.

AFAIK stick burners are good at producing TBS.