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

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    #61
    Too little oxygen, and too low a flame temperature. The nitrogen in wood joins with hydrogen from other organics and becomes ammonia instead of nitric oxide (NO). Sometimes adding a bit of charcoal helps. The charcoal contains more nitrogen than wood, and burns a bit hotter. But still oxygen deficient, and generally no ring.

    Still, the 'Q still tastes pretty good. It's one of those things, you probably will always like a Hershey candy bar if that is what you ate as a kid. Often, when you taste Belgian chocolate as an adult, you realize what you've been missing. But you still might prefer the Hershey. A matter of comfort and taste.

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    • Ray
      Ray commented
      Editing a comment
      Well, unfortunately, I'd take the Belgian chocolate any day (haha)!! So now my interest is growing in a wood/charcoal smoker. Seems like a lot of trade offs in getting the best for temp control, optimum combustion, and convenience of use, not to mention price. Where do you start?

    • docblonder
      docblonder commented
      Editing a comment
      Meathead's buying guide is a good place to start. Always best to watch the smoker in action- attend a local BBQ contest and pump the contestants for advice (when they aren't rushing to submit their box).

    #62
    Thanks so much for your expertise. I have a pellet smoker and have tried several different pellet brand and can never get that good smokey taste you taste in traditional Central Texas BBQ (oak). I have even tried using the Amaz-N-Smoker tube and still can't get a real actual smoke flavor in my meat. I know that the smoke is penetrating because I have a great smoke ring but I'm super disappointed you can't taste the wood flavor.

    I understand you will never have the full smoke effect going from wood to pellets but I want to get as close as possible. Any tips on how I could modify my smoker or ways to make it actually taste like it had smoke?
    Last edited by mattsmith; December 4, 2014, 10:37 PM.

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    • docblonder
      docblonder commented
      Editing a comment
      Run at a low temperature (200F) initially- that creates more smoke. Make sure the meat is cold when you start. Use a shallow water pan on the metal heat defector below the grates to keep things moist, or lightly spritz every half hour with water or a bit of apple juice. Also, in some models the smoke path diverts around the metal heat grate above the firebox, and barely hits the meat. Consequently, the food is smokier on the top grate (buy an aftermarket second grate level to reach the smoke in the top of the hood).

      Good luck!

    • mattsmith
      mattsmith commented
      Editing a comment
      Amazing, thanks so much for the tips! I will pick up a grate and start experimenting. I should probably add seals to the door as well. Come to think of it adding a grate will be good because traeger's are so hot right on the grill and this should better balance the heat.
      Last edited by mattsmith; December 5, 2014, 10:35 PM.

    #63
    Are these videos searchable on vimeo site? If yes, under what name?

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      #64
      hmmm setting my neighbors lawn on fire for the betterment of my Brisket.. I like it!

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        #65
        Thanks for an awesome seminar! I picked up some great tips from it!

        -Alden

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          #66
          I have watched this >3 times and leaning towards the idea that we're wasting money on these wood chunks.
          Perfect example is the PBC. makes great BBQ without added wood. Even better Q with lump charcoal. Soooo, why do I have these bags of different types of wood?

          And if smoke does not penetrate the meat, what's the point?

          Comment


          • smarkley
            smarkley commented
            Editing a comment
            my mention has been troubling me, so when I did my beef ribs this weekend, I used NO wood.

          • cdd315
            cdd315 commented
            Editing a comment
            @Ernest: As we all know already, nothing penetrates meat except salt. I guess, IMO, smoke just adds another layer of flavour. If you want your cook with smoke then you'll add wood.
            @Smarkley: I'm not sure Doc Blonder was saying so much that adding wood to an already well lit fire will, so much, produce dirty smoke as he meant more when you are cooking with wood only. I would expect some dirty smoke at the start when you add a chunk to a coal fire, but hazards would be minimal. IDK, just what I got out of the seminar.

          • docblonder
            docblonder commented
            Editing a comment
            Wood adds another layer of smoke flavor that charcoal doesn't provide. It mostly sits on the surface, but the first thing you taste is the bark, so it's worth the effort. And a bit of color. Thus I always add wood. But you are also right to worry that the initial stage of wood combustion can be acrid. In a BGE (which tends to run on the low side of ventilation) I like to add wood that I started burning in a chimney- not quite coals, but no longer white smoke. Not a problem in an offset if you add small amounts of new wood to an existing bed of fire. I'm not a fan of simply laying wood out along the minion like breadcrumbs on a path. No way of being sure they burn properly. But many people use this method and enjoy the results- figure out what works for you.

          #67
          Finally got to checking this out. For the PBC it seems like I should make a small wood fire to impart all of the smoke for the 30 minutes my coals are in the chimney and that should take care of flavor and smoke ring. Seems easy to control a wood fire that small for that short of time.

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            #68
            John, this "smoke" ring (maybe it should be called gas ring) was produced without added wood on my PBC. That's just from Ozark Oak lump charcoal. So I'm guessing that added wood is not necessary if you're after the ring.

            Comment


            • docblonder
              docblonder commented
              Editing a comment
              That's correct. There is enough nitrogen in lump charcoal (and plenty in briquettes) to generate nitric oxide gas and produce the smoke ring. Especially if you run the PBC at 275F or so.

            • tastey life
              tastey life commented
              Editing a comment
              That looks amazing Ernest !

            #69
            Couldn't care less about the ring, I just want some good smoke flavor, I've had a few that were still good, but nowhere near where they should be.

            And that looks amazing btw.

            Comment


              #70
              And another thing, by the time you get clean smoke, the wood chunks are pretty much burnt down to charcoal right?
              So technically I can burn my wood chunks down to charcoal and fuel my WSM with that?

              Comment


                #71
                I may be wrong but isn't lump charcoal "wood"?

                Comment


                • DWCowles
                  DWCowles commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Oh ok Huskee now I understand...I think

                • DWCowles
                  DWCowles commented
                  Editing a comment
                  So Huskee, since you preburn your wood before putting it in the firebox does that mean you're not cooking with wood?

                • Huskee
                  Huskee commented
                  Editing a comment
                  I preburn them with full oxygen, so they're half burned, not lump charcoalified. New words are fun.

                #72
                Thank you Dr Blonder! I think my best option would be to put my lit coals directly ontop of the wood chunks. Let them burn slightly before placing the food. My current set up, I place the chunks so that they touch the lit coals. But this takes forever to stabilize the bellowing smoke.

                Comment


                • dpsphotos
                  dpsphotos commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Ernest, many thanks for the reply. I just got my PBC and have only cooked on it 4-times. I have only used the Kingsford Briquettes and have not used any wood yet. I was not getting a great light and ash over using the chimney method and then immediately hanging the meat. After watching the seminar I questioned that method and have since been using some of the techniques Bruce and Kathryn have suggested in the Light my PBC forum. This requires letting the coals burn after dumping them out of the chimney and adds quite a bit more time in order to get the coals uniform and the white smoke gone before hanging the meat.

                • dpsphotos
                  dpsphotos commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Ernest, I would like to put some wood in the PBC and will also give lump a try. I like the idea of dumping the coals on top of the wood when using the basket. Not sure I can find Ozark Oak locally but I know I can find Royal Oak Lump.

                • Ernest
                  Ernest commented
                  Editing a comment
                  dpsphotos yeah I haven't followed any of the recommendations from PBC folks from day one. Hanging food immediately after dumping the hot coals never made any sense to me.
                  I'd suggest that you experiment with yours and make it your own.
                  Try Royal Oak, stay away from Stubbs lump.

                #73
                I was talking to someone last night who made the comment that the lower the temperature of the smoker the more smoke flavor produced. What he also said was that if I wanted a more pronounced smoke flavor, start the cooking process at a lower temperature and bring the unit up to cook temp. Truth or fiction?

                Great seminar.

                Comment


                • docblonder
                  docblonder commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Half truth. The colder the meat, the deeper the smoke flavor. On the other hand, a colder fire or colder smoker often means the combustion conditions are poor, and while the smoke is copious (and often dense white), the flavor can be acrid. It is a part truth in pellet smokers- lower temps means the pellet feeder and fan cycles less frequently, and the lower air flow helps the smoke molecules make it to the meat's surface. But when the pellets burn, they burn with lots of air and the smoke flavor is still light to sweet.

                  Can't say this is true in all smokers, but almost always applies.

                • Huskee
                  Huskee commented
                  Editing a comment
                  To add to Dr B's words- if you're doing something quick like pork chops or burgers, a more dense white/grey smoke from a lower temp fire will put more of a pungent smoke on your meat quicker, therefore it can be perceived as "more" smoke flavor, but over time this will become acrid like Dr B mentions. For low & slow a HOT fire is the best (but small enough to keep your temps in the proper range) since the meat has more time to absorb more smoke, and it's better smoke too.

                #74
                Can the webinars be downloaded to an iPad so I can view them on a airplane?

                Comment


                  #75
                  Welcome RavenVail! Wow, joined in July and just posting today? How have you been able to stay away from the excitement for so long?


                  In regards to the videos... Alas, they are not downloadable and sorry to say there are no plans at this time to make downloading available.

                  When you have a second, please check out our homework assignment post for new members, it contains lots of how-tos and please-dos!

                  Hope to hear & see more from you.

                  Comment


                  • Huskee
                    Huskee commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Might be possible to bring it up, pause it and let it load up, then play when you get on the plane. I've preloaded videos before and done similar. Granted, not on an ipad with a Vimeo video, but worth a shot.

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