Less of a smoke taste.

rickw

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Sep 1, 2008

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The Peoples Republic of IL.

• May 25, 2009

• #1

Not long ago I went from a uds to a Horizon offset. My main woods for the offset has been red oak, mulberry and cherry. One thing that strikes me as being a little odd is; I start the offset with some lump then all wood thereafter. The taste of the product so far has had less of a smokey flavor than when done on the drum which is fueled with charcoal and just a few chucks of wood.

Now how can this be? I like the way the offset flavors the meat a bit more than what the drum does. I'll still use the drum on occasion when I need to but I think this Horizon does a better job on taste.

 

coyote-1

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Sep 14, 2008

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• May 26, 2009

• #2

A properly smoked meat ought not be too heavy on smoke. That's usually a sign of creosote, or some other flaw. I smoked ribs a couple weeks ago. It was smoked-pink all the way down to the bone, yet the product does not overwhelm you with smoke.

Might be that the UDS needs a good cleaning.

 

mikey

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Aug 10, 2008

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• May 26, 2009

• #3

Rick, I'm sittin' here scratchin' my head trying to decipher what you're sayin'. Just for clarification purposes, are you saying that the product that comes off of your drum has more smokey flavor than the product that comes off of the offset? "I like the way the offset flavors the meat a bit more than what the drum does". Maybe you could break it down as to the difference between "smokey flavor" & "flavors". To really make an apples to apples comparison, I would fire up the drum in the same manner that you do the offset, using identical lump as a starter then your choice of wood thereafter. Say do a rack of ribs on each, and I'm sure you'd do more on the Horizon just to utilize the fire. If your taste buds tell you that both racks of ribs taste the same, then it's your heat source. If you do notice a difference taste wise, then it's the difference in the two types of smokers. JMO

 

rickw

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Sep 1, 2008

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The Peoples Republic of IL.

• May 26, 2009

• #4

Thanks Mikey, I was thinking about doing so. Yeah, what I'm saying is that I like the taste of the product off the offset more than I do the drum. I was thinking it could also be that the drippings also embark some of the flavor also.

Heck I dunno, I was just thinking.

 

mikey

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Aug 10, 2008

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• May 26, 2009

• #5

It's more than likely the heat source, but to be sure I'd do the "test". That'll tell you for sure. Thinking is good!

 

ddave

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Mar 3, 2008

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Far Northern California

• May 27, 2009

• #6

I think you hit the nail on the head Rick. That is kind of a trademark drum feature. Some people like it, some don't care for it much.

Also I would think the meat in the drum may get more contact with the smoke (from whatever source, wood, fat, etc) because of the drum's vertical nature. Of course offsets can get a lot of smoke too, but the path is different.

I'm with Mikey. Do two racks of ribs side by side. Not necessarily for testing purposes, although that is fine too, but simply because then you'll have two racks of ribs to eat.

Dave