Mixed Grill, Mixed Success, and I'm about to Spend Some Money

[SunnyDC]

Just pulled some things off tonight and I have some pictures, some questions, and a fail!

Yesterday's project to smoke the piece of steelhead that had been resting in the fridge for a day or so after a bit of curing time got bumped by my being asked to make some brunch dishes for my better half's work breakfast this morning, so that went on tonight. We kept the temp at just under 200° for an hour and a half, and it looks nice... should I wait until it rests for a while before tearing into it? I basted it twice with maple syrup mixed with a splash of ginger ale some black pepper. It looks juicy and not dried out.. I just don't know whether best practices would call for holding off, or if we can nosh now...

I also put a heatproof dish filled with brown sugar in there and stirred it a few times. I can't taste much smoke taste in there yet, but from what I've read, it might take a little time before it becomes apparent. I might have left it in there a while longer, but I didn't do so because of the FAIL (see next picture) that was the pan of Roma tomatoes **sob**

I just cored them and sprinkled with salt and pepper, then set them on top of the grate inside a foil steam pan. They were smoky and could have been labeled tasty... only they just tasted bitter and the smoke taste was... offputting? I don't know if it is because I'm still having to dabble in this work with a cheapo grill and there was just too much charcoal flavor or if the pecan was just too harsh, but I have never equated a strong pecan flavor with the level of bitterness this had. I almost wonder if it was because I was still using up the chips I have (I'm planning to get blocks for next time) and that I tried putting them on there this time without soaking them, maybe? Perhaps the burning of the chips without the ameliorating effects of the moisture was just too much? Either way, I'm going to risk wasting some onions and chilies to see if these are salvageable in some salsa, but any ideas about why they are just so icky would be appreciated. (They will probably end up in the imaginary compost bin that I have in my head while I'm stuck living where I'm living right now!)

FINAL CONCLUSION: I need an offset smoker stat. Off to shop tomorrow and see what we can find that I can justify spending money on, right as it's time to pay for this semester of my better half's grad school tuition... ;)

 

[pc farmer]

Fish looks great. Its good to eat right away in my opinion.

Tomatoes will take smoke very easy being so soft and juicy. Can we get a pic of your smoker and what your using to make smoke? What smoker?

 

[SunnyDC]

No smoker... just a grill. I've never had trouble doing my boston butts in there, and other few things I did also turned out really well. We made a snake of charcoal about 3/4 of the way around and put chips on top. Usually I soak them first, but someone here (can't remember who, sorry!) suggested not soaking, so I tried it that way. Then I just positioned everything away from the top of the flames and monitored the temp inside. Hope that helps?

 

[JckDanls 07]

Whooooaaaaa up ... lets see if we can diagnose the problem... first off.. what kind of grill/smoker are you using (pictures are good) ... ??

 

[pc farmer]

So its a charcoal grill. Like a Weber?

We will get this figured out.

 

[SunnyDC]

See above... no smoker. Just a square-ish, el-cheapo grill from The Orange Borg Store. Single line of charcoal around 3/4 of the bottom, unsoaked pecan chips scattered over them, then lit from the end.

 

[SunnyDC]

I seriously think we paid like $40 for this grill... I ain't kiddin when I say cheap!

 

[pc farmer]

I dont care how cheap it was. You can make it work. One single row of charcoal around the outside of the grill with chips on top? Sorry, I am better with picks.

 

[JckDanls 07]

IMO.. the best starter grill/smoker out there is the Weber Kettle (22")

 

[pc farmer]

IMO.. the best starter grill/smoker out there is the Weber Kettle (22")

I agree with this and they are cheap. Around 100 bucks. That should fit in to your budget with paying for schooling

 

[pineywoods]

What did your smoke look like? White billowing smoke??
You said bitter did it kind of numb your tongue?

 

[SunnyDC]

I don't have any of tonight's but this is the same setup only with far more charcoal and wood on it because I was doing something totally different.

Not sure if you can tell, because this is like 3-4 briquettes deep (we only used 1 for today's smoke), but what we do is light the far left front briquette, then it slowly ignites all around, slowly raising the temperature. With only one deep, it's not very hot (this one was much bigger and hotter and was before I found SMF).

 

[SunnyDC]

Nope, no billowy smoke. It does that for a few minutes at first, then once it calms down, I put the stuff in there, and as long as it doesn't flare up, it just kinda trickles out thinly.

 

[SunnyDC]

Ok, here's an update: we just tasted the salmon. I've got some tweaking to do with the seasoning, but the texture was great and the smoke flavor profile was NOT the nasty one we got in the tomatoes -- not sure if that helps!

 

[pc farmer]

Like I said the tomatoes will take smoke very easy.

 

[pineywoods]

Does the grill allow the smoke to escape easily or is it trapped under the lid for awhile does it have a vent near the top?

 

[pc farmer]

Does the grill allow the smoke to escape easily or is it trapped under the lid for awhile does it have a vent near the top?

In the thumbnail pic you can see the vent in the lid

 

[SunnyDC]

There are two vents in the bottom (back and front); one in the middle on the top (cover). We kept them all open.

 

[tbrtt1]

As stated above, you should be able to make good Q with the cheap grill you have.

A couple of thoughts and/or recommendations and observations:

*Good on you with the snake method. You have learned well grasshopper.
*Keep your top vent wide open and adjust temp with the bottom vents.
*Get a dual probe thermometer. You need to know you pit's temp and you should have some idea of your meat's temp, though not necessary for your salmon or tomatoes.
*Never soak your wood. What moisture actually gets into the wood only has to steam out before you get any real smoke. The smoke flavor when using a charcoal pit comes from the wood smoldering not steaming, which leads to the next point
*It looks like way too much wood chips. Smoldering wood will impart a relatively strong smoke flavor. Since the wood is not actually igniting in most cases, the burn is not "clean" relative to wood that is actually combusting and burning (as in a stick burner). This is not bad or wrong (heck, charcoal and wood chunks/chips may be the most prevalent smoking technique in use), you just have to get the right ratio when smoking. Cut back and eventually you will instinctively know how much to use depending on what you are smoking. You don't want to actually see a lot of smoke billowing from your pit. A pale, thin, blue smoke is desirable.
*Chips are fine. Most folks will use chunks since you can get a little more mileage out of them.
*I wholeheartedly 2nd the idea of the 22 inch Weber Kettle for your next purchase. Without a doubt the most versatile smoking/grilling/BBQ device available. There are endless add-ons (Smokenator/ Slow-n Sear/Vortex etc.) and ways to use it as a fantastic smoker.
*I haven't smoked tomatoes, so not sure what that particular problem would be. They are delicate and as mentioned above, prone to taking on a lot of smoke. Maybe only smoke them for half the time and the finish in the oven. Veggies in general tend to take on a lot of smoke.

 

[Geos7812]

Go see what’s out there on Craigslist. I spent 125 on a offset built with 1/4 inch a few years back. You will have to stalk it but it could be worth it.