Getting Better Smoking with BGE

[loki993]

Ive had a BGE for a few years now and Ive done quite a few smokes on it. My issue is smoke and smoke level. I can do just fine without adding any wood but when I try to add wood to get more smoke flavor that's where my problems start.

The issue I have is the wood doesn't produce "good" smoke. I light the Egg and let it come up to temp on charcoal only. Then I add the wood and smoke billows out, obviously I cant put anything in the egg at that point. So I wait for the smoke the change, but, at least to my eyes, It never does, it eventually just stops smoking and the wood is all burnt up.

I've tried different kinds of wood, but just stuff I can get easily at the store.
Ive tried chips, but they burn up way too fast. So I went to chunks I got at menards, Im using relatively large chunks so I only put 1 or 2 in and they will burn for a while but I never get that wispy blue smoke Im looking for. I know different woods taste different but does one have more bad smoke than another, could it just be the type of wood Im using? I know I used hickory a bit but I can't remember what I have currently. I didn't really think the type of wood mattered while I was getting the technique down.

I did some ribs the other day and they came out ok, I didn't wait for the smoke to really change I just added the wood waited about 15 minutes and put the ribs on. they had a bit of bad smoke flavor but not a ton. Also though I didn't really have a smoke ring and the smoke didn't seem the penetrate the meat.

Second issue is bark, Im not getting a good bark on anything Im smoking. Any tips for that?

 

[cmosypder]

I mix my wood chunks in with my charcoal before I light it. I usually put 4 to 5 chunks of whatever kind I want. Never had to add more during a cook. The meat has a descent smoke ring.I'm not really worried about the smoke ring, I'm more concerned about the taste. As far as the bark, it seems I get a good bark on beef when I wrap in the peach butchers paper and a towel to rest for an hour after the meat reaches temperature. Hope this helps.

 

[Geebs]

With your cooks, what temps are you trying to maintain?

 

[loki993]

I guess I do seem to be hung up on the smoke ring, but yes smoke flavor is what I am after. The smoke flavor only seems to be on the surface of the meat when I get it, it doesn't seem to penetrate.

Temps are a bit high, around 275 to 295, but I've tended to have better luck smoking at that temp on the egg instead of the more traditional 225 to 250. I can definitely try to smoke at the lower temps again though if someone thinks that could be the issue.

 

[Geebs]

I was wondering if you were up over 300 where the wood was burning to quick but I still get TBS around 275. I dont have a green egg so not really sure why you are getting so much white smoke. In my WSM I also bury the chunks in the coals.

 

[cmosypder]

On my Vision B which is ceramic like the BGE, I set my temps 250 or below for 45 minutes or longer then put the meat on. I don't chase the temps after I put the meat in, it will come back to the set temp. Sometimes it will take almost an hour to get back up but it will. To me the smoke seems to take better if the meat is not at room temp.
Also I set temps a my grate height not the temp on the dome thermometer which is sometimes up to 5 or 6 inches higher in the dome. I think the reason for the difference is the deflector is redirecting the heat towards the outside of the cooker.