End of summer thoughts on my M1

[ecowper]

One thing I will note is that I use almost entirely naturally seasoned wood (red oak) and it is only, perhaps, 2 years old. When I pick up a split, I can smell the wood. I’ve noticed that most kiln dried wood, and a lot of older wood that is sold for fireplaces, tends to have no wood smell at all. And I’ve never really got much smoke flavor from those, either.

I cook on a Hasty-Bake and a WSM, both are charcoal burners. But with good wood chunks or splits added to the firebox, I get good smoke flavor. WIth older wood or kiln dried wood, I don’t really.

For what that is worth in the "smoke flavor" department.

[ecowper]

efincoop what I absolutely have noticed is the smoke flavor from kiln dried wood is minimal, at best. So, I’ve completely stopped using wood that was kiln dried.

[Mr. Bones]

Imce, kiln dried is rather inert , devoid of any tangible scent, smell, or smoke flavour...

[Primo]

just to get on the bandwagon, I recall seeing an Aaron Franklin video, where he recommends using seasoned but not kiln dried wood for this very reason - not enough moisture in the kiln dried, and not enough flavor. I think he suggested a moisture level of around 20%.

[Redwng]

You will get this figured out. Have you tried the M Grills Army FB group, someone there may be able to offer suggestions too. They have 600+ members so they should be able to assist. Good luck!

[Tuckmonster]

I wasn't aware of that group. Thanks for the tip!

[Tuckmonster]

Yesterday I smoked 6 racks of Costco baby backs using a method I've documented here before - 2.5-3 hours at 275, wrap w/ butter bath for about another hour until ribs are around 203-205, rest for 30 minutes, apply sauce then a final 20-30 minutes to let the sauce set. Final results were phenomenal and my guests were asking if they could take some home with them. An informal survey of my guests had a consensus of around 7 out of 10 for smoky flavor. I would have said about a 5 but I was also breathing in the smoky air all day. Anyway, I did notice more smoke flavor then I have in the past with the M1. Still not at the level of charcoal and chunks on a Weber kettle but better than the "clean burn" stick-burning method. I did find it harder to control the temp and had to play with the dampers quite a bit before I got it dialed in. I settled on the lower firebox being almost completely closed, maybe 1/8" opening and the chimney damper about 80% closed. That seemed to settle in around 280 when I added a log. I did notice a heavier, whiter smoke coming from the chimney, especially when a new stick was first added but then it would thin out after 5-10 minutes and be almost invisible. I think I need to play with this method some more to find the best settings to produce the smoke I want. Also, I think it would benefit from a "wetter" wood but I'll have to find a local source for that.

[Tuckmonster]

I used cherry wood. I wanted to use hickory or mesquite but I didn't have any handy and didn't have the time to go foraging. I definitely intend to try hickory soon, I think I should be able to find that locally

[Rob whatever]

Good to hear, Tuck. I did a similar cook on my M36 yesterday. I smoked salmon steaks, which only took an hour or so to get to 140* but the smoke flavor was much better - I realized that when I cook with the fire box door shut, a lot more heat moves through the cooker than with the door open. I used one larger hickory split and one decent sized cherry split. The smoke was whiter and it gave the salmon a good smoke flavor without overpowering it. Thanks for your follow up and posting.

Rob

[Tuckmonster]

So Rob, how did you set up your dampers and the lower firebox door with your salmon cook? And what temp were you running on the cooking grate?

[70monte]

Sounds like the cook went well. There definitely is a learning curve when using all wood. Sounds like you are getting the hang of it.