Like i said to each there own.I appreciate that you did this experiment, but it's what we should expect to see. We all knew before this started that dry wood burns faster than wet wood.
Why do we care what color the smoke is? I do. Creosote. I think where we get hung up is, what do we want to do with the creosote? Eliminate it. Contrary to what some people think, we want to deposit that on the meat.Creosote is a tasty preservative.What we don't want is the nasty bitter junk that results from burning creosote. By soaking, we've added water, and evaporation is cooling the hot wood. Exactly. This keeps the temps down on the surface of the wood to allow the creosote to evaporate and escape before burning.
I don't know what the answer is. But what I do know is that we can taste nasty burnt creosote. If you have wood, wet or dry, laying directly on the hot coals, you are going to burn evaporated creosote. Add a layer of ash in there, and you might be OK, or wrap it in foil.
Either way, we can taste the result, so we can adjust our methods. If your cooker requires that you put wood on the coals, chances are that the right way to do it is going to be to soak it. If you've got some space near your smoker, you're going to be able to evaporate it off from a distance.
Huh?I appreciate that you did this experiment, but it's what we should expect to see. We all knew before this started that dry wood burns faster than wet wood.
Why do we care what color the smoke is? Creosote. I think where we get hung up is, what do we want to do with the creosote? Contrary to what some people think, we want to deposit that on the meat. Creosote is a tasty preservative. What we don't want is the nasty bitter junk that results from burning creosote. By soaking, we've added water, and evaporation is cooling the hot wood. This keeps the temps down on the surface of the wood to allow the creosote to evaporate and escape before burning.
I don't know what the answer is. But what I do know is that we can taste nasty burnt creosote. If you have wood, wet or dry, laying directly on the hot coals, you are going to burn evaporated creosote. Add a layer of ash in there, and you might be OK, or wrap it in foil.
Either way, we can taste the result, so we can adjust our methods. If your cooker requires that you put wood on the coals, chances are that the right way to do it is going to be to soak it. If you've got some space near your smoker, you're going to be able to evaporate it off from a distance.
Thanks for the link, great info.Huh?
I really think that you are confused as to what creosote is and how it forms.
If creosote is being deposited on the meat in your cooker you need to clean out your cooker.
Far from being tasty, creosote is simply nasty, powerline poles are preserved with it, not food.
How is it possible to burn something that has evaporated?
A short article about creosote formation-
http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/creosote_from_wood_burning_causes_and_solutions
Yes, we all have unique smokers and our own taste buds. It's more important that people know if it tastes bad it is bad, and like I said, I appreciate you sharing you knowledge, experiment, and experience.
AhHa, so this is what you are talking about-For the most part, you can ONLY burn something after it has evaporated. You need to make space for Oxygen. This is why gasoline must be atomized before it will burn efficiently (or expeditiously), and why you can burn steel wool but make a grill out of steel. If you want to burn creosote, put a wood chunk in a paint can. Poke a hole in the top, and heat it up. The gases that come off the top (largely creosote) can be lit afire, but this is specifically what we are trying to avoid in a smoker or grill. When that flame extinguishes on top of the can, you will be left with a piece of charcoal. That is wood with all of the creosote (and other things) evaporated off. And, this is why we largely use charcoal or more specially designed cookers for raw wood.
Read here about the discovery of creosote: http://books.google.com/books?id=OCTzAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA152#v=onepage&q&f=false .
Paraphrased: Creosote is a liquid identified by distilling wood. When wood was is distilled, different liquids are recovered and some possess the same properties of preservation, but not the delicious flavor. Creosote exists in wood, it is not created through the conditions when it's burned.
The term has become intermingled with coal tar creosote, but they are not the same thing. That's nasty carcinogenic stuff. In broad terms and almost all the time when it relates to health and medicine, the word "creosote" means coal creosote. When you mentioned telephone poles, that's coal tar creosote, not wood creosote.
And like I said before, I'm an engineer, but science be damned, you can taste when you are doing the right thing. If it tastes bitter, something's wrong.
Thank you for that link.Huh?
I really think that you are confused as to what creosote is and how it forms.
If creosote is being deposited on the meat in your cooker you need to clean out your cooker.
Far from being tasty, creosote is simply nasty, powerline poles are preserved with it, not food.
How is it possible to burn something that has evaporated?
A short article about creosote formation-
http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/creosote_from_wood_burning_causes_and_solutions
I understand the stuff inside the drum to be vaporized creosote.I agree with every thing you wrote except this. The coating on the inside of the drum was tar, not wood creosote. The blow torch of gases was wood creosote, and this is what would be captured (without burning) to make liquid smoke. The tar is tar, and is separated from cresosote (liquid smoke) via distillation.
cool test... Thanks for posting its got me thinking now...
Yup !Give it a try and post the results, the technical stuff is to much for me......TBS=Good, billowing white stuff=bad. How you get there is all good.
I am NOT wasting MY beer, wine or apple juice soaking woodNow for the next test. soaking in wine, beer apple juice etc etc.
I have use all the above including the water and i do think it is best with soaking and i do think each adds its own flavor. I have also been told it is all in my head.
What the heck i feel better doing it.
Tnx again Meat
Karl
Now I'm really confused.....