Bad Batch of Hickory?

[Count Porcula]

A friend of mine is fixated on hickory, so when we decided to do some smoking, I picked up some Greenwise hickory chips from Publix. They were the only hickory chips there. They looked fine to me. He smoked some chicken parts, and the chicken smelled and tasted medicinal. The smoke was a bit thick and greenish at first. Today, I smoked some pork belly for salt pork, and I used a couple of the chips. Again, the smell and flavor were not up to par. The pork was lightly smoked, so it will still be fine, but I don't want any more problems in the future.

Do any of you ever get a batch of wood that just doesn't work, even though it looks like it ought to work fine? I'm going to throw these chips out.

I'm using a Smokin-It. Far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with the smoker.

 

[Count Porcula]

Could this problem be caused by a plugged air inlet? The inlet/fat drain at the bottom of the smoker was caked with crud.

When I got this thing, I felt it had to be spotless after every use, but now I just clean the racks and pan. Keeping the unit itself really clean was not possible. Maybe I used the wrong tools. I have a steam cleaner and a pressure washer.

 

[TNJAKE]

I know nothing of that smoker but if your inlet is clogged you are getting stale smoke. Also the exhaust needs to be opened up. You said greenish smoke is why I say that. Sounds like the wood isn't combusting

 

[cal1956]

if the Hickory wasn't seasoned properly the smoke would be white not green. i have been using nothing but Hickory for 30 years never had a problem with the wood

 

[Count Porcula]

The lack of air must have been the problem. Thanks for the responses.