“I have a black sticky mass building up in my smoker”
“My meat has a bitter flavor on the outside”
“I love my ribs, but my lips tingle and get numb after eating them”
These are a few things that are mentioned here on the SMF when folks have a concern with what’s happening to their meats in the smoker, and the above are generally an indication of creosote build up.
The first question we tend to ask is; “Is your exhaust port wide open?” A lot of the time we’ll get the answer that it wasn’t wide open and the next cook comes out without issue.
For the last few weeks I’ve been contemplating some ways to show the difference between an open exhaust and a closed, or only partially open exhaust on a smoker. Below, you’ll see part one of this endeavor.
First off, what is creosote? Creosote is a tar like substance that is generated through pyrolysis of organic materials. Basically, the smoldering of wood, or pellets, in a low oxygen environment. This residue will adhere to most surfaces of your BBQ pit and your meat, or other food, products that are inside of the smoke chamber, and leave you with the look, taste, or sensation listed above. Oh, it’s also carcinogenic…
To keep all tests on the same playing field I made sure of the following items:
• The heating element was turned on and was running a constant 100°, controlled by a recently tested PID.
• The same size of jar was used on both tests
• The same number of ice cubes were used on both tests
• The same amount of pellets were used in each test by weight
To perform the test, I first started the heating element inside of my electric pit. Once it was up to 100°F I then placed the pre-lit A-MAZE-N tray, with apple pellets, into the pit at the normal location I place it, a ½ pint jar of ice water was placed on a rack at about the mid-point of the smoke chamber, which is the location I seem to use the most.
I then closed off the exhaust port on the top of the pit, and the timer was then set for 3 hours of smoke.
After 3 hours, I removed the jar of water with tongs and brought it into the house for observation. There was a noticeable color change to the water, the exterior of the jar was quite sticky, and the smoke smell wasn’t pleasant, it was quite acrid. Using a dropper, I tasted the water and found it to be extremely bitter tasting, bitter to the point that I had to take a shot of whiskey to rid my mouth of the taste!
I then reset the sample to the same specifications as above, but this time I opened the exhaust fully and obtained a new jar of ice water to sit in the smoke chamber for 3 hours.
The results of this jar were quite different after 3 hours in the smoke. The exterior of the jar wasn’t as sticky, the color of the water wasn’t as yellow as the first sample, and the smell, while still strong, wasn’t as acrid as the first test. The flavor of this water was a subtle hint of bitterness, but NOTHING like the first sample was. I still cleansed my tongue with a shot though!
As you can see, there is quite a difference between the 2 jars of water.
So, what are my findings thus far, with the exhaust port closed, creosote has the opportunity to heavily form and condensate onto items that are within the smoke chamber. With the exhaust port open, a lighter smoke is obtained that doesn’t have the same acrid smell and bitter flavors.
Conclusion for this test, leave your exhaust port open.
Why did I do this? I’m a geek at heart and love to experiment. More will be coming to show in greater detail how creosote forms and adheres to meats…
“My meat has a bitter flavor on the outside”
“I love my ribs, but my lips tingle and get numb after eating them”
These are a few things that are mentioned here on the SMF when folks have a concern with what’s happening to their meats in the smoker, and the above are generally an indication of creosote build up.
The first question we tend to ask is; “Is your exhaust port wide open?” A lot of the time we’ll get the answer that it wasn’t wide open and the next cook comes out without issue.
For the last few weeks I’ve been contemplating some ways to show the difference between an open exhaust and a closed, or only partially open exhaust on a smoker. Below, you’ll see part one of this endeavor.
First off, what is creosote? Creosote is a tar like substance that is generated through pyrolysis of organic materials. Basically, the smoldering of wood, or pellets, in a low oxygen environment. This residue will adhere to most surfaces of your BBQ pit and your meat, or other food, products that are inside of the smoke chamber, and leave you with the look, taste, or sensation listed above. Oh, it’s also carcinogenic…
To keep all tests on the same playing field I made sure of the following items:
• The heating element was turned on and was running a constant 100°, controlled by a recently tested PID.
• The same size of jar was used on both tests
• The same number of ice cubes were used on both tests
• The same amount of pellets were used in each test by weight
To perform the test, I first started the heating element inside of my electric pit. Once it was up to 100°F I then placed the pre-lit A-MAZE-N tray, with apple pellets, into the pit at the normal location I place it, a ½ pint jar of ice water was placed on a rack at about the mid-point of the smoke chamber, which is the location I seem to use the most.
I then closed off the exhaust port on the top of the pit, and the timer was then set for 3 hours of smoke.
After 3 hours, I removed the jar of water with tongs and brought it into the house for observation. There was a noticeable color change to the water, the exterior of the jar was quite sticky, and the smoke smell wasn’t pleasant, it was quite acrid. Using a dropper, I tasted the water and found it to be extremely bitter tasting, bitter to the point that I had to take a shot of whiskey to rid my mouth of the taste!
I then reset the sample to the same specifications as above, but this time I opened the exhaust fully and obtained a new jar of ice water to sit in the smoke chamber for 3 hours.
The results of this jar were quite different after 3 hours in the smoke. The exterior of the jar wasn’t as sticky, the color of the water wasn’t as yellow as the first sample, and the smell, while still strong, wasn’t as acrid as the first test. The flavor of this water was a subtle hint of bitterness, but NOTHING like the first sample was. I still cleansed my tongue with a shot though!
As you can see, there is quite a difference between the 2 jars of water.
So, what are my findings thus far, with the exhaust port closed, creosote has the opportunity to heavily form and condensate onto items that are within the smoke chamber. With the exhaust port open, a lighter smoke is obtained that doesn’t have the same acrid smell and bitter flavors.
Conclusion for this test, leave your exhaust port open.
Why did I do this? I’m a geek at heart and love to experiment. More will be coming to show in greater detail how creosote forms and adheres to meats…
