I've been reading a lot about the need to have "blue smoke" for a low-n-slow cook (225ish Fahrenheit). I don't believe I've ever hit this point on purpose, so it seems like I have something to learn. Is there a FAQ somewhere? I couldn't find one.
I started smoking pork to make tasso, which packs a lot of flavor from the spices. Tasso isn't subtle, so as long as it tastes smokey I'm happy. But I want to try ribs, so getting the smoke right is important.
My charcoal is Kingsford, lit using a chimney starter. Sometimes it's ordinary Kingsford, sometimes "Pro," depending on what's on sale.
1) For grilling, the advice (and my technique) is to let coals ash over before you start cooking. But for the WSM, we're dumping lit coals into unlit charcoal. This produces a stream of white smoke, even without wood. Is it even possible to get to the blue-smoke stage using Minion, Soo's Donut, etc?
2) Wood chunks: I assumed well-seasoned dry wood was good, but I've read some posts that recommend fresher wood chunks. Right now I'm using big-box hardware store bags of pecan wood and apple wood. This produces white smoke when they ignite. I assumed this is normal --- but should I be looking for blue smoke here as well?
Thanks in advance for any help / advice!
I started smoking pork to make tasso, which packs a lot of flavor from the spices. Tasso isn't subtle, so as long as it tastes smokey I'm happy. But I want to try ribs, so getting the smoke right is important.
My charcoal is Kingsford, lit using a chimney starter. Sometimes it's ordinary Kingsford, sometimes "Pro," depending on what's on sale.
1) For grilling, the advice (and my technique) is to let coals ash over before you start cooking. But for the WSM, we're dumping lit coals into unlit charcoal. This produces a stream of white smoke, even without wood. Is it even possible to get to the blue-smoke stage using Minion, Soo's Donut, etc?
2) Wood chunks: I assumed well-seasoned dry wood was good, but I've read some posts that recommend fresher wood chunks. Right now I'm using big-box hardware store bags of pecan wood and apple wood. This produces white smoke when they ignite. I assumed this is normal --- but should I be looking for blue smoke here as well?
Thanks in advance for any help / advice!
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