Smoked food tastes metallic, bitter and very smoky.

[hfactor]

I have a Meco 5030 Electric Water Smoker.   I’ve had this setup for about 5 years now, and have really never had any luck in producing the results I’ve desired.   I’ve had great luck with salmon, but when I try beef, and pork products, the results are not as I would expect.   It seems with pork and beef, I tend to get end results that taste metallic, bitter and very smoky.   I’ve tried hickory, oak, mesquite, and all the fruit woods, but never seem to get the rick, sweet smoky favors I desire.

 

So I’m asking the forum for help.   Could the metallic taste be from the fact that I’m setting the wood chunks directly on the heating element?   Could this direct contact result in the wood actually burning, and releasing bitter smoke?  I’ve soaked the wood chunks for 24 hours, so I think that they are saturated with water.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Howie

 

[alblancher]

What does the smoke exiting the smoker look like?  Is it thick and white or thin and blueish?

 

[hfactor]

The smoke looks and seems fine, white, smells great.  Over the weekend, smoked some baby back ribs, dry rub for 24 hours, let the ribs come to room temperature, soaked the apple chunks for 24 hours, and filled the water bowl with beer, apples, and a touch of water. Placed ribs on rack, set three or four wood chunks on heating element, and plug the smoker in.... smoked for 3 hours at about 225 degrees, finished in crock pot for an additional 5 hours on low.  Rib meat as very tender, and moist, yet the taste was metallic, bitter and very smoky....  maybe I over smoked them.  But these baby backs were not what I've had at local BBQ restaurants...

I’ve experienced similar taste with other cuts of beef and pork… the salmon I smoke seems to be less affected by this process… 

 

[alblancher]

Hfactor,

everything you are doing is fine,  we need to explore the smoke issue more.  If you have a thick white smoke you are depositing creosote on the meat.  This is the most common cause and usually the easiest to correct mistake a new smoker makes.  We are looking for TBS  Thin Blue Smoke exiting your smoker.  You want to be able to smell it but have to look for it as it exits your smoker.   You also want to leave the exit damper open all the way if possible so the smoke doesn't hang in the smoker to long.

 

[SmokinAl]

You may try putting the wood next to the heating element instead of on top of it. It should smolder & not catch fire & burn.

 

[hfactor]

Yes I have white billowing smoke, and your creosote   comment is probably what I'm experiencing... so the next question is how do I reduce the smoke generated by the wood chunks?  And generate the TBS you recommend.   Place wood chunks next to element as opposed to on top of heating element?

Am I using too much wood?   Like I mentioned, I use about 4 or 5 1” by 3/4” by 2” wood chunks per smoking session.   Is that too much wood?

 

[fpnmf]

      H !!!!

Have you signed up for the totally awesome E-Course yet??

http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-basics-ecourse.html  

There is also lots of reading in the WIKIs.

It looks to me like you are oversmoking the stuff..

For baby backs most of us use the old 2-2-1 method and most of don't soak our chunks.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/102248/ribs-and-2-2-1  

Others don't foil.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/74976/baby-back-ribs-no-foiling  

Also a quick trip to the handy dandy search shows some info too..

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/50190/meco-5030  

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/65765/question-about-meco-smoker  

 Have fun and a great day!!

  Craig

 

[jirodriguez]

You are tasting creasote. Most folks with electric burners have a rack that lets them put a chip pan a couple of inches above the electric element, and your wood goes in that pan. Also you don't need to have smoke constantly pouring from the smoker for the entire smoke.... a chunk or two of wood every hour or so for the first half of a smoke is about all you need. If you are using chunks of wood don't bother soaking them, soaking only really works well with chips.

Since you probably already have creasote in your smoker, pull it apart and scrub it out real well with some simple green. Start with something small and add just a small amount of wood and see what kind of results you get. The rule of thumb is if you smell the smoke you are getting smoke regardless of if you can see it or not.

 

[Bearcarver]

hfactor,

The name of the game is "A-MAZE-N-SMOKER".

Link:

http://www.amazenproducts.com/

Get one of those, and No More Smoke Problems.

Bear

 

[daveomak]

What everybody else said. Also, putting 3-4 chunks on the burner sounds like you want too much smoke. Try 1 small chunk after you have cleaned everything out to remove the cresote. Small chunk meaning 1/2  fist sized or smaller. That should be enough smoke for 3-4 hours. I am comparing the amount of wood in the chunk to what would go into the  A-MAZE-N smoker. Only a thought.

If your 1st smoke, after the clean-up, is bad tasting, purchase the A-MAZE-N smoker and your troubles and worries are gone.

 

[scarbelly]

These guys are right on the money with the advice. You are getting too much smoke. I too would agree that the AMNS would help solve your problem

 

[tjohnson]

Too much nasty white smoke and for too long.

I like Al's suggestion to place the chunks adjacent to the element

Here's one of my favorite pics of good vs. bad smoke

Good Smoke = Blue/Grey Smoke on the Right

Bad Smoke = White on the Left

 

[meateater]

I agree, to much white smoke aka creosote. Click on the link in my signature that says Thin Blue Smoke and you will see what were talking about. You want just wisps of smoke. Hope this helps.

 

[flash]

Too much nasty white smoke and for too long.

I like Al's suggestion to place the chunks adjacent to the element

Here's one of my favorite pics of good vs. bad smoke

Good Smoke = Blue/Grey Smoke on the Right

Bad Smoke = White on the Left

Beat me too it.

Plus I would add cutting back on the amount of wood, two small chunks will do fine. Plus, no need to soak 24 hours. 4 hours is more than enough and some don't soak their wood at all.  Work on some of these suggestions from members and you'll get it worked out.

 

[hfactor]

Thanks to all that took the time to offer up a few suggestions... much appreciated..

I will try to clean the smoker, although it's pretty coated with black guck.... might be time to start from scratch and do it right, anyways I'll take a look

I’ll try adding just one chuck of wood, soaked for 2 to 4 hours; I’ll refrain from placing the wood directed on the heating element, maybe in a tin pan on top of element …

 

I’ll report back….

 

[hfactor]

And lastly, I just checked my smoker and it’s pretty caked with creosote, what’s the best way to removed this from my smoker walls?

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks to all that took the time to offer up a few suggestions... much appreciated..

I will try to clean the smoker, although it's pretty coated with black guck.... might be time to start from scratch and do it right, anyways I'll take a look

I’ll try adding just one chuck of wood, soaked for 2 to 4 hours; I’ll refrain from placing the wood directed on the heating element, maybe in a tin pan on top of element …

 

I’ll report back….

Any particular reason you're gonna soak that chunk?

Some do, most of us don't.

Not telling you what to do---just giving info.

Bear

 

[hfactor]

Bear,

I have no clue.  I'm figuring that the wood placed directly on the electrical heating element created the creosote problem and soaking the wood in water would help... apparently not...

 

So with an electric smoker, what is the best way to generate smoke?  Wood chips in foil pouch on top of heating element?  Wood chuck placed next to heating element?    proble, and that soaking it in water would

 

[Bearcarver]

Bear,

I have no clue.  I'm figuring that the wood placed directly on the electrical heating element created the creosote problem and soaking the wood in water would help... apparently not...

 

So with an electric smoker, what is the best way to generate smoke?  Wood chips in foil pouch on top of heating element?  Wood chuck placed next to heating element?    proble, and that soaking it in water would

LOL---The best way is to get an "A-MAZE-N-SMOKER".

I don't know that smoker you have, so I can't tell you the second best way.

Bear
 

 

[daveomak]

hfactor, Morning. About removing the creosote.

Try heating it up to say, 225-250 first and scraping with a spatula or board scraper. If it seems it might come off, turn the temp up to say 300 and scrape.

I have seen some of the "orange cleaners" clean off creosote pretty well.

Lastly, maybe a hair dryer or heat gun and a scraper might work.

Let us know what you found out. I'm sure others are interested in this topic also.

Dave