HELP! Meat way too smokey!

[evanbleeson]

This is a really old thread, but I thought I would throw in my 2c of wood on the fire. The main thing I have noticed is WHEN you add wood over the charcoal. The bitter barks I have created on various pieces of meat have been because I was adding wood too soon, before the additional charcoal has been fully lit. Wood on hot charcoal is better. Wood on partially lit charcoal smokes in an acrid way because I think the remaining moisture that exists even in dry wood doesn't vaporize as fast. This is my theory, and I'm sticking to it. Happy smoking!

 

[JWFokker]

This thread is so old that it contains a lot of bad, outdated advice. It's a stick burner. An all wood fire shouldn't be a problem. OP probably had wet wood or wasn't running the cooker wide open. Also, the hotter the fire the cleaner the smoke.