Bitter smoke taste vs. Under cooked meat

[efran1666]

Good morning,

I'm not sure if this is the correct channel for this, but it seems to fit best under technique. I have an Oklahoma Joe off-set smoker. I occasionally struggle with food becoming too bitter with smoke flavor or the meat not being done enough.

Ribs for instance. I smoked some baby back ribs (on rib racks) this weekend, and the flavor was amazing. The ribs were done enough except for a larger portion of a rack or two. They were undercooked.
The popular opinion is to cook them until they are nearly done and then finish them off in the oven at 300 for an hour or so. While that is doable, it seems unrealistic to the authenticity of smoking meat.

The other side of that is if I keep cooking them with flavored wood then there is a chance that they become bitter and overly smoked.

I was wondering what thoughts the group would have to my dilemma.

[Huskee]

Welcome! For starters I recommend you view Meathead's Last Meal Ribs article, it walks you through both how to cook ribs (hint: your smoker is an oven, don't bother moving your ribs, cook them there until they're done) and links you to fire management articles. Stickburners are tricky because you MUST have a HOT fire for best smoke. Make your fire smaller to keep your temps in line, but HOT! Keep it so that your cook temps are in the 220-275 range, but make sure that fire is always a hot fire with thin smoke. Thick, billowing smoke from a fire that's choked of air and/or too cool will lead you to your bitter smoke. And if your fire is hot and the smoke is thin, there is no danger of leaving them in the smoker the whole time, it's actually preferred! If you're a fan of softer-bark ribs, you could try wrapping them in foil. Once they're wrapped, your smoke/fire quality doesn't matter, only the temp.

[Huskee]

Thank you CaptainMike

[BRic]

Follow Huskee advice / This the best advice you can get . A good hot fire goes a long
way. It`s all about tending your fire . The minute you start getting white smoke you need to get more air to your firebox. Offset smokers need a lot of good air to burn properly,

[HouseHomey]

Just move to the podium now and take questions from the general Press.

efran1666 what Huskee said.

[JeffJ]

From what I've read about stick burners is that you don't want to try and control temps via airflow - you control temps by the amount of fuel you are burning. You want as much oxygen as possible flowing to the wood. Also, unlike charcoal, wood doesn't burn at a consistent temp so you will have considerable temperature fluctuations over the course of a cook. Don't fret about it. As long as you keep it in the 220-300 range you should be good for ribs/pork butt/brisket/etc. If you are cooking birds, build a bigger fire because you are going to want it to be hotter.

I have the OKJ on my birthday wish list. My wife is pushing back due to limited patio space, which is understandable, but frustrating nevertheless.

[RonB]

I don't have a stick burner, but welcome to The Pit.

[texastweeter]

as recommended above, wide open vents, hotter but smaller fire. what kind of wood are you using. if you like a lighter smoke profile use fruit woods. for heavier smoke use hickory, Oak, or mesquite. I personally use hickory on all pork products.

[Mr. Bones]

I have 3 offsets, an I endorse this message!

[Ahumadora]

I have about 55-60 stickburners and I double endorse this message. Make sure the wood is dry and well seasoned.

[efran1666]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I found all the replies useful. I have several new techniques to try. Thanks again.