Help with billowing clouds of smoke.

[flyboys]

I have a question which will show my beginner status, but I want to do it right. I have read all over about the thin blue smoke. I have a weber bullet and use charcoal for fuel. I am pretty efficent at producing and mainting a white billowing cloud of smoke, enough to make a fireman blush, but that is not what I want. How do I maintain the thin blue line of smoke. How do I know when and how often to replenish the wood for smoke??? Help....

 

[deejaydebi]

Put just enough charcoal in there to get up to temperature and maintain it then add a few wood chunks 3 or 4 should do it.

White and bilowy is not a good thing here!

 

[ba_loko]

Use charcoal to heat your unit up and maintain that temp. Use one chunk of wood, no larger than your fist, and you will be able to have the minimal, yet intense smoke that you're looking for. When that wood is burned up, add another single chunk.

 

[blackhawk19]

As long as you can smell it you're smoking, check you're temps and use a little less wood

 

[geek with fire]

What I've started doing is mixing lump charcoal, fruit wood chunks, and oak logs in an open pit. As you need to add heat to your box, scoop a couple shovel fulls of the large ember chunks from the pit. You won't see much or any smoke, but you will get smoke flavor. Just make sure you don't burn the chunks to ash. Also, make sure your fire box can handle the ash buildup. I've raised my ash pan grate with some fire bricks to get a bit more air flowing up underneath the burning embers.

This is a bit more work, but well worth it in my opinion.

 

[gypsyseagod]

what he said- don't worry about pics either- if yer burning wood - yer getting smoke....
p.s.- don't overthink it- it's meat heat & fire....cavemen didn't do physics..... go w/ instinct.....

 

[glued2it]

Are you soaking your wood chunks/chips in water first?

Replenish the wood when it stops smoking.

 

[flyboys]

I have been using chips and I was soaking them in water before placing them on the fire.

 

[glued2it]

So if your using pesoaked chips and still no TBS........

Are you wrapping them in foil? Poke only 1 small in the foil packs if any.

Try to place the foil packs in a cooler area like beside the coals insted of on top.

Trial and error

 

[geek with fire]

This is just my opinion and many may disagree. I think chips will work well for short smokes. But soaked or not, eventually the moisture will evaperate out and you are left with a very dry think piece of flamable fuel. It will flame up, and cause white smoke. You can minimize this by adding the soaked chips to a foil back with holes in it. Place the bag where your coals are, but not directly on the hotest part; just enough heat to cause the wood to smolder, but not burn. Personally, I find chunks are easier to manage.

 

[smokin for life]

I'll tell you what, call me when you're going to smoke. If I can see the smoke down here I'll call you back and tell you "that's too much smoke"
I usually use 1chunk at a time. It may take a while for it to start to smoke, just be patient, it'll start. After I don't see any more smoke coming out, I'll wait a few more minutes and add more. Usually when the chunk is about to burn out it'll start to smoke a lot. Then nothing, add a chunk time. Good luck and I'll be watching or smoke.

 

[richtee]

And there is always the "preburn" method. I have a propane cooker- toss a grill over it, and get my wood charred over all surfaces..a bit of ash even, before I toss it in the smoker. I fail to understand the whole soaking your wood thing. seems to me it just creates half green wood again.

 

[glued2it]

In my experiance.
When you soak your wood it will burn slower in wich it will produce a longer thinner smoke. It pulles the water between the wood fibers like a sponge.

Everyone Finds what works best for them.

I understand the halph green theory, But fire wood gets left out side and rained on. It still seasons.

I'm with geek Chunks are better.

 

[richtee]

But I wonder about the undesirable combustion products being condensed into a liquid..or a mist anyhow, by condensation on cooler surfaces..EG: the meat?

Well, it's not typically soaked in it. That wood on the bottom will rot if you don't rotate it or keep it off the moist ground
Me too

 

[glued2it]

you can soak your wood in wine, beer, or whiskey as well.
Personally I'm keeping the wiskey for myself.

 

[richtee]

Good move. And you still have a door on your smoker ;{)

 

[flyboys]

After reading your replys, I think I may have been putting too much chips on (3 heaping handfulls at a time) as well as placing the meat on when I place the chips on. I also like the idea of warming them up before placing them on. I am going to go and get some chunks and try that instead. Thanks again.