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

[JCBBQ]

First of all, THANK YOU Meathead for this incredible site! As a rookie fire cooker the information is invaluable. I smoked my first ribs for the Super Bowl - followed your last meal recipe, made your KC sauce (twice, but hey, now I know the difference between chilI and chilE), and also made the Kentucky bourbon baked beans - all the food was SENSATIONAL! I've watched this video a couple of times and used the techniques of cold ribs just out of the fridge into the smoker, water pan even with my ceramic cooker and I got ribs that had a smoke ring all the way to the bone. I'm confused about a couple of things though. In the video you both mentioned smoking meat for only 10-15 mins and still getting a smoke ring and smoke flavor. Can you explain the difference between smoke ring and smoke flavor. The video suggests the ring doesn't reflect the smoke flavor. If I understand correctly, the meat temp and humidity determine how much smoke is drawn to the meat, the ph determines how deep the ring will go down from the surface, and the smoke flavor collects on the surface and could be washed off. Is there a point when the smoke flavor reaches saturation, when it no longer collects or can you continue to add smoke flavor throughout the cook? Is that the temp range 140-170, or does that just have to do with the smoke ring?

[Jerod Broussard]

The smoke adsorbs to the surface, the wetter the surface the more adhesion you will get, to an extent. That temp range is for the smoke ring. You can spritz late in the cook and get more smoke particles to adhere, regardless of the temp of the meat.

[JCBBQ]

Ok, thanks Jerod. So is the reason they give the example of the cook with smoke of only 10-15 mins just to illustrate a kind of bbq Pareto Principle? In other words, are they saying that the vast majority of smoke flavor occurs in the first 30 mins and that the rest of the time is negligible? Dr Blonder says you can't over smoke meet w the right smoke but Meathead's recipe calls for only 8 oz so I was a little confused by that.

[David Parrish]

The smoke flavor accumulates throughout the cook, the smoke ring primarily happens in the first half hour when the meat is cool. Two different things we're talking about.

[JCBBQ]

Coin drop! Got it. Thanks.

[JCBBQ]

Sorry, one more question. I got a bag of wood and some of the chunks are very light, so dry I can snap them easily. I didn't use any of those pieces bc they seem like they'll just go up in flames. Is there a real reason not to use these very dry chunks, or are my concerns unfounded?

[David Parrish]

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/zen_of_wood.html

[David Parrish]

The overly dry wood will just burn up fast and give off a lot of smoke doing it. If that's what you're looking for then go ahead and use it.

[wgcooley]

Love understand the physics of what makes good BBQ. If a small, hot, flame is desired, then why not create an S-shaped maze using firebrick or welded steel to produce a uniform-size flame front in a WSM? In other words, the maze creates a constant area exposed to fire. It would be like the fuse method coiled into an S shape, but with a smaller, taller fuse sections. The traditional minion method produces a flame front with area increasing non-linearly as it burns through from the center to the outside.

[JCBBQ]

I'm bumping this bc I just re-watched it. There're a lot of details I'd forgotten. It's definitely worth another look.

[fzxdoc]

Good call, JCBBQ . I watch this one every few months or so, just as a refresher, usually when I can't sleep in the middle of the night. Lots of info in there!

Kathryn

[jshoresh]

That was worth every second of showtime. Thanks a million.
Josh

[David Parrish]

I agree!

[Finster]

Took a first pass at watching this in parts. A little bit last night, and the rest this afternoon.
first impression is I need to be a damn rocket scientist to build a good fire...lol.
Definitely will watch again, as there is just too much info for me to digest at once. I understand the smallest, hottest fire concept, just not sure how to get to it in my cooker...

[FireMan]

Hey, Finster , that’s the great thing about the Pit, we have way to much information available. And if ya want more, just ask! 🕶

[Andrrr]

Thanks for the bump…. that was a great video. I’ve heard quite a bit of it already but never put together so well. I can definitely see me watching this again as a refresher later on.

[nikolausp]

Anybody know where the smoke_seminar.pdf went in the 1st post of this thread?

[Donw]

Huskee ? He might know.

[Huskee]

Anybody know where the smoke_seminar.pdf went in the 1st post of this thread?

My best guess is it's the info on this page: https://amazingribs.com/more-techniq...ood-and-smoke/