How long should you smoke for?

[leorousseau]

Say you are smoking ribs. How long into the cooking time should you smoke? I have done it al the way through using one chunk at a time and the meat has been pink all the way through with a very strong hickory taste. I was just reading a thread somewhere and it was talking about when using a certain wood to smoke a little longer than hickory. Am I doing wrong by smoking throughout the cooking time or should I just smoke one chunk and then just feed charcoal after that one chunk is spent?

Thank you,
Leo

 

[ultramag]

You just have to find your preference in smoke flavor, whether it be wood type or strength. There is no right or wrong necessarily to the how much smoke question.

 

[Dutch]

leorousseau, Like 'mag said it's a personal preference.

Some folks stop adding wood chunks or chips once the meat passes through the 140* internal temp zone while others may choose to add wood.

The smoke ring is created when the smoke reacts with the nitrites and nitrates in the meat. This reaction ceases once the meat passes through the 140* zone. The meat however, will still take on smoke as long as there is smoke in the chamber.

 

[crewdawg52]

Leorousseau, Try smoking with a less "smoky tasting" wood. I like cherry or apple. I find I get a "sweeter" tasting smoke that isn't as strong when compared to hickory or mesquite.

But like the others stated, it's your personal preference on how much smoke you want to use/like. Experiment and keep notes.

 

[chris_harper]

i smoke thru the whole process. usually i use mesquite. i love the way it tastes, and smells. i like reheating ABTs (when i have some leftover) and you can smell the mesquite as i pull it out of the microwave.

 

[leorousseau]

Thanks for the replies....