Just want my meats to taste good

[shan'sgrill]

hello everyone, my name is shan im from henryetta, ok. I use a wood smoker with hickory and pecan. Im just starting. My main problem is I get a thick, black, smokey tar on my meats. What am I doin wrong? Also when Im smoking brisket or ribs should I wrap them in foil or not:?

 

[domn8_ion]

Well your in the right spot for some help. Question about your wood though. Is it seasoned or green? The black tar may be creosote.

 

[desertlites]

welcome Shan this was going to be my next advice-I glad u beat me to it-welcome we'll get u fixed up now.

 

[shan'sgrill]

yes i am only using wood

 

[shan'sgrill]

the wood is seasoned

 

[jlansink]

Shan: I was here 2 months ago...totally ruined 4 racks of ribs. I did it all wrong, but thankfully, this site saved me!!! I thought that "smoking" meant constant, billowing smoke for 8 hours!! I wasn't happy unless it was rolling out. Wrong. I was using all wood. Wrong. I had the ribs right up next to the hold coming from the SFB. Wrong.
You cook mostly with charcoal (preferably hardwood lump stuff, not Kingsford). Throw in a chunk of wood every once in awhile just to keep a little blue smoke coming out the chimney. You may have to add a baffle to distribute the heat. Control heat with damper, not fuel. Hope this helps and just keep tryin'!!

 

[smokingn00b]

I agree. My first smoke I kept the smoke billowing out. I probably went through a half of a bag of wood chunks on one poor chicken. It was awful. The smoke you should look for will be almost invisible. Early on it was tough to learn that and I would constantly get up to check and make sure it was smoking. You'll learn a lot here. Good luck to you.

 

[pigcicles]

Hi shan and welcome to SMF. Looks like you're getting all the answers.

What kind of wood smoker are you using? Is it large or small? You can use all wood if you choose to (in a small smoker) but you will want your first pile of wood to burn down to coals then add a small split as needed to keep the smoke very thin and blue (as stated almost invisible blue smoke)

Depending on the rub your meat may turn dark, but shouldn't taste like some kind of chemical or numb your lips or mouth. The darkness is a bark build up which is desirable - again as long as it isn't from heavy smoke creosote build up.

Keep asking questions til you get the answers you need

 

[waysideranch]

Hi Shan, Welcome. I have a little blue smoke sory for you. Some time ago i was like others. The more the smoke the better the meat. One day my 5 year daughter runs in the house and says, Dad the smoke is almost all gone, all I see is a little blue smoke. Looked at myself and said, Well you finally done it. I had always heard of the blue smoke. Thanks to a kids view I know how to acheive the correct smoke in my smoker. At that time I hadn't found this site. I've been a short time and my meat has taken a nice turn for the better. Good luck.

 

[mossymo]

shan'sgrill
Your questions have been answered, but I can still welcome you to SMF and thank you for joining us !!!

 

[kookie]

Welcome to the smf.............Great place here.......

 

[bb53chevpro]

Welcome to the forum.
Andy

 

[geob]

WOW!!! All these great answers and they solved you problem. Never heard of to much smoke hu? Well that happens to all of us at the start but no one will tell about it, well some did. They were great to share that info.

Welcome to the SMF the greatest place to be if you smoke.
Check out the 5-Day-Course, it's free and you will learn a lot of great info on smoking.
Smoke on.

Geob

 

[crewcab4x4]

Welcome aboard! If you have any other questions feel free to ask someone is always here to lend a hand. That's what's great about smf.