VIDEO- Dr. Greg Blonder: "Wood, Smoke, & the Smoke Ring" (1hr:39m)

[DWCowles]

I hAve never let it get to room temp bc I was afraid to.

[cdd315]

Wow, I caught the last half live and just finished watching the whole thing again. So much information!! These seminars are more than worth the membership. Except now I want to minionize (<- is that a word?) my BGE with a vortex or cake pan which will change my whole cooking methods. Also, IwannaLangreallybad!! Ugh, Doc Blonder you are a bad influence Keep up the good work!

[Smokin'Rick]

Gotta love the Doc's sense of humor. Made me chuckle at times! What a great seminar. Took away several great tips. Thanks Doc B!

[W.A.]

I always thought the idea of "over-smoking" made no sense. For your next presentation perhaps introduce the major concept of Toxicology, i.e., everything can be poisonous, it is the dose that makes the poison. In my opinion this even pertains to some of the potentially genotoxic compounds found in smoke. Also, not all things considered highly or even moderately toxic are ill-tasting (e.g., anti-freeze solutions). Nice talk!

[docblonder]

Quite right. I never worry about the small health issues from consuming preserved meats or the occasional dose of PAHs from dripping grease over an open flame. But I draw the line at smoking cigarettes or living in smoggy Beijing.

[TheSmokingYeti]

Wow....this was worth the membership by itself. Really great stuff.

[h12mike]

I am still confused on the proper way to smoke on the Egg. How do you get a hot fire without chocking back the vents which reduce the air flow?

[cdd315]

I am still confused on the proper way to smoke on the Egg. How do you get a hot fire without chocking back the vents which reduce the air flow?

I think what he means is that it's better to have a hot fire on a handful of coal than a cool fire spread out over say five handfuls if that makes sense. I'm considering putting a vortex and trying the minion method in the firebox. IDK, I'll have to think about it.

[TheSmokingYeti]

What's a vortex? Same as a cfm fan?

[cdd315]

Check this post here for a vortex: http://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/for...ry-has-arrived

It's really not meant to be used to form a fuse, but you could use it for that. I want it for my kettle and alternatively (if dimensions work out) in my egg for the fuse. Really though, Henrik (another member of the pit) used an old cake pan which would work also. Heck, even a burnt out coffee can would work. You only need something to form the fuse. I mentioned minion method above and maybe I should clarify that I meant fuse.

[TheSmokingYeti]

thanks

[TheSmokingYeti]

Another quick question about the "minion method". I watched a video on the Yoder website about temp in the firebox. They or the guy in the video anyway, suggested to make sure the metal is hot before you put the meat on. So he gets the coals and wood wood going for an hour (assuming he was talking about cold weather smoking) and then puts the meat on racks and adds wood as the cook goes on. If I do the minion method how would I heat up the smoker with out wasting the coals before the cook. Hope that made sense. Thanks.

[grayfoot]

Are the slides presented posted somewhere? The link under the first entry in this thread doesn't work for me. Thanks.

[mgaretz]

Hi Greg,

Some while ago on the AR site I asked whether a water pan was desirable in a pellet smoker and you answered saying that pellet smokers didn't need them because they were humid due to the pellets. On the webinar you contradicted that and said they were dry and you now use a water pan on the heat deflector to raise the humidity. Can you comment?

Also, does sealing a pellet smoker with gaskets on the lid make a difference? How about a downdraft hood?

Thanks!

Mark

[docblonder]

The pellets produce almost no water vapor. I've measured humidity levels in pellet smokers at around 3% RH without a water pan, and 15% with a pan as described in the talk. The meat is more tender with the water pan, but even without, turns out quite well. More an effect with ribs than shoulder.

Sealing does make a difference- mostly, a poorly sealed lid may redirect the smoke away from the meat on a windy day. Downdraft hood has little effect.

[mgaretz]

Thanks!

[cdd315]

Another quick question about the "minion method". I watched a video on the Yoder website about temp in the firebox. They or the guy in the video anyway, suggested to make sure the metal is hot before you put the meat on. So he gets the coals and wood wood going for an hour (assuming he was talking about cold weather smoking) and then puts the meat on racks and adds wood as the cook goes on. If I do the minion method how would I heat up the smoker with out wasting the coals before the cook. Hope that made sense. Thanks.

I don't think you're wasting coals before the cook. One of the points I think Doc Blonder was making was that you want to make sure your cooker is at temperature and stabilized. One of the reasons for doing this is to ensure you have clear exhaust if using coal (lump or briqs), or nice blue exhaust if using a wood fire. At that point you should be ready to toss your smoking wood into the fire and put your meat on. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong please.

[TheSmokingYeti]

That makes sense to me...but I'm new at this so I don't think that counts much lol.

[cdd315]

Of course it counts!! We're all here to learn to be Pit Masters Oh and to get bragging rights when you show us your cooks .. very important

[Huskee]

Originally posted by TheSmokingYeti View Post
Another quick question about the "minion method". I watched a video on the Yoder website about temp in the firebox. They or the guy in the video anyway, suggested to make sure the metal is hot before you put the meat on. So he gets the coals and wood wood going for an hour (assuming he was talking about cold weather smoking) and then puts the meat on racks and adds wood as the cook goes on. If I do the minion method how would I heat up the smoker with out wasting the coals before the cook. Hope that made sense. Thanks.

QUOTE==cdd315]
I don't think you're wasting coals before the cook. One of the points I think Doc Blonder was making was that you want to make sure your cooker is at temperature and stabilized. One of the reasons for doing this is to ensure you have clear exhaust if using coal (lump or briqs), or nice blue exhaust if using a wood fire. At that point you should be ready to toss your smoking wood into the fire and put your meat on. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong please.

I see what you're saying, I think. Unfortunately there's no way around "wasting" coals when preheating a smoker. Something needs to burn in order to preheat it, this is obvious. What you could do to reduce the amount wasted is, perhaps, dump a chimney full (or half, or whatever it takes) to preheat your smoker (which is what, by the way?) and preheat it. Let that amount burn out, rake the ashes away and then setup for the minion method. Then you'll still have a full minion setup for smoking. What heat you lose while resetting up will quickly return as the new load fires up, since now the metal's hot. If there's enough air in your smoker and height, place the chimney inside it so while it's lighting it's heating the smoker. These are just a couple of workarounds to get the max mileage out of coals while doing a preheat.

[TheSmokingYeti]

Thanks Huskee....I use a Yoder wichita. Just got it. I figured there was going to be some wasted coals...I think I will try the raking out suggestion first. Again, Thanks for the ideas.

[Huskee]

Thanks Huskee....I use a Yoder wichita. Just got it. I figured there was going to be some wasted coals...I think I will try the raking out suggestion first. Again, Thanks for the ideas.

I use the same smoker. In fact as chance has it I'm putting together a how-to-smoke-a-chicken-on-an-offset to be posted shortly. I even have my fire starting preheat method in pics, using charcoal then logs. Not that my way is the best or most refined, but it's how I dos it. Stay tuned...

I know for a fact it's not possible to put a lit full sized Weber chimney in the firebox and close the lid (I tried before) unless you set it right on the bottom and not on the charcoal grate. With my smoker, my chimney lighting method post is how I gauge lighting a chimney for my smoker. I use the "when the blue smoke stops" method regarding the charcoal chimney. Then the charcoal is hot enough, but you don' have to wait until it's "ashed over" as if you were cooking over it right then. Waiting longer than when the blue smoke clears just wastes those precious BTUs up into the air. between the charcoal lighting post and the one I'll do later on tonight, I hope this helps you, since it's your exact smoker.

[Huskee]

I've done this many times. I'll even on occasion place two bricks in the middle end-to-end and snake the charcoal around it, and place thin split logs on top of the line of charcoal. Same basic principle. Whatever it takes! If you can get a load of good smoking wood and make all log fires you'll love it even more....but all in due time right? I started out with mostly charcoal until I could secure some good amounts of wood.

[TheSmokingYeti]

yep. I have secured a load of apple for next year and just got a cord of hickory the other day. so its all looking up!!

[Huskee]

Rock on Yeti!

[Smokeshow]

This was another fantastic seminar. I did have a question about freezing meats, or more likely par-freezing meats, prior to smoking. I know that cold meat is good and I know that wet meat is good. My question is which is better and is there a trade-off between wet and cold?

The reason I ask this is that I have put steaks in the freezer for 15 minutes to dry the outside of the steak which helps form a good crust.

What is more important, wet or cold? Is refrigerator cold with a wet exterior better or worse than a frozen (par-frozen) with a dry exterior better?

[docblonder]

Cold is more important than wet. Without cold, the meat will not attract smoke. True, less will stick if perfectly dry, but some will no matter what.

[Ray]

Another great seminar, Doc Greg! You shared a lot of useful information. I only own an electric smoker and realize that I'm really missing the best of Q without getting a real wood burning smoker. In regards to the smoke ring, you indicated that you can't get a smoke ring with an electric smoker; thus far, I've not been able to get one so I totally agree...but what's the reason for this? is it that there's not enough wood used or is it temperature in an electric? Let me know what you think.