At what point do wood chunks stop producing smoke?

[Bbqtitto]

I built a uds and am still figuring it out. When I put a wood chunk in it gives off white smoke then blue smoke then what looks like no smoke at all. When I opened the lid the wood chunk was fully ignited and glowing orange (or yellow? I don't know what color glowing embers are). My question is does it still produce smoke at this point or am I supposed to add more wood? Does there come a point where the wood chunk stops producing smoke?

With love from Tanzania. East Africa

 

[mike243]

when its ashes it is done, everybody is different as to how much smoke they like, if the woods seasoned you can cook with just wood, the higher temps will cut down on the smoke amount a little with any wood but airflow is needed more on stick burners imo. I like smoke any amount lite-heavy

 

[thirdeye]

I built a uds and am still figuring it out. When I put a wood chunk in it gives off white smoke then blue smoke then what looks like no smoke at all. When I opened the lid the wood chunk was fully ignited and glowing orange (or yellow? I don't know what color glowing embers are). My question is does it still produce smoke at this point or am I supposed to add more wood? Does there come a point where the wood chunk stops producing smoke?

With love from Tanzania. East Africa

Welcome aboard!

Wood chunks will produce smoke for quite a while, unless you have a very high temp fire burning, and the color change you see is normal. The early white smoke you see is usually bitter, so the fire needs to settle down before putting food on. Light gray or blue smoke is ideal. The simple test is to smell the smoke. If it's strong or bitter your food will taste like that. Wait for the smoke to have a pleasant smell before putting your meat on. BUT.... from this point forward, a UDS acts differently than most other smokers.

Because the meat drips fat into the coals on a UDS, white smoke will re-appear during cooking, but the fat is like little flavor bombs. The idea behind a UDS is to give an "open pit" flavor to the food by using a combination of smoke and burning fat. Here is how I build a fire to insure I get gentle smoke for 8 to 10 hours: I put one or two chunks in the bottom of the charcoal basket, add a layer of charcoal (lump and briquettes mixed) and sprinkle a few pellets (chips work too), add a layer of charcoal, then a chunk but still sprinkle a few pellets. I repeat this until the basket is full and will add one more chunk on top. At this point I lower the basket into the smoker and use a weed burner to light an area in the middle of the basket. Maybe 5" or 6" in diameter. I set my vents and give the fire about 45 minutes to burn and I can get the smoker up to my cooking temp. For the rest of the day the fire will gradually grow down in the basket and across the basket. As it grows it finds the pellets or chips and the scattered chunks making a gentle smoke. Meanwhile, fats drip into the basket giving another layer of flavor.

One tool you can build yourself is a "wiggle rod", which is a solid rod about 24" long with a "L" bend at the end. For a drum I use 1/4" stainless rod. The wiggle rod is inserted under the basket and into the basket. A gentle wiggle in 4 or 5 spots will make sure you have good airflow and knock ash off the coals. I use mine about 4 or 5 hours into the cook, or anytime I notice a stubborn fire, and always before taking a nap during an overnight cook. Here are ones I built for my Big Green Egg they are smaller diameter rod and shorter in length, but you can get the general idea. (click the photo to make it larger)