Smoke Flavor in meats

[Huskee]

The smoke ring is the combustion gases' effect on locking in that pink color in the myoglobin. Essentially what happens when cooking a hunk of meat is the gases and the heat are 2 separate forces racing inward into your meat. The gases are locking in the pink color, while the heat is trying to turn it gray/brown. Eventually the heats wins out. The longer you can hold the heat's effect off and let the gases get a jump, the deeper your smoke ring will be.

I've done some smoke ring experiments and it is fun. I start with my brisket in the freezer for 30-60 minutes, then put it in my smoker at a very low temp, in other words don't preheat it. Cook at 150-180 for an hour, then slowly bring it up to 200, then 250. Deep smoke ring. Longer cook though of course.

Fun fact, you can even get a smoke ring with no actual "smoke"!

[Ghawtho]

@Huskee
The Science of smoking meat can be hard to comprehend. I’ve read meathead’s writing
when the fire is nothing but glowing coals
that provides no flavor.

[Huskee]

Ghawtho I've preburnt wood to that crackly grey & black state, stifled it, repeat, repeat, then used solely that preburnt wood the next day to smoke ribs, and the smoke flavor was so mild it seemed nearly nonexistant. It is fun learning and experimenting and making mental notes. And you get to enjoy the food along the way!

[Ghawtho]

Huskee
On my next brisket am only going to use 6” long splits placed on the fire every 60 to 90 minutes to reduce the amount of heavy smoke and when needing more heat use coals from my charcoal chimney. I like the bug on the windshield explanation, seems the reason for light blue smoke. It makes since to me too much smoke to fast is not what we’re wanting. It’s probably possible to get too much smoke during the first three hours of the cook and it’s so heavy that the smoke wasn’t given enough time to do it’s job, that’s if the smoker was allowed to huff out smoke like a freight train, that’s too much smoke too fast. Seems like thin blue or even thin white smoke is much better for a long cook, 6 inch long splits should provide the thin blue smoke making it easier to manage. If needing more heat am using coals from my charcoal chimney and not more wood for heat. It’s getting where raw wood is costing more than charcoal, so it’s a win, win by using charcoal for more heat and not adding more wood.

[Rob whatever]

I do the exact opposite of this. I've learned to love dirty smoke earlier in the cook. All clear blue smoke doesn't give enough smoky flavor in my experience.

Rob

[FireMan]

Boy, there was a lot to read here, so I skipped over a fair amount. But, the smoke is on the outside as Spin put it & others. It works like marinade, which also doesn’t, for the most part, penetrate meat. It’s yer flavor buds that are doin all the work.

[Ghawtho]

I want to touch on the subject of smoke flavor only on the surface of brisket once more.
With smoke flavor only on the surface of brisket
that makes Dickies BBQ brisket an excellent slice of brisket. In my first time to Dickies BBQ ordered sliced brisket, it had a nice smoke flavor only on the surface with a nice bark flavor but in the center of the cut it was just beef flavor taste.
I’ve heard a few before say (NOT on the pit) we are barbecuing ribeye steaks this weekend.
My immediate thought to myself is, no your grilling your ribeye steaks this weekend, your not barbecuing them. Many people get barbecuing and grilling in the same category wrong.

[Panhead John]

I thought you hated Dickey’s brisket?

“This afternoon we tried Dickies BBQ near our little town and was sadly disappointed. I got sliced brisket and sliced Turkey and have had Turkey from Swanson’s TV dinner just as good, seriously. Brisket wasn’t any better. I give them a score of minus -2 and won’t be back.
I am born and raised Texan and know what GOOD BBQ is.”

[Mosca]

You’re not going to get smoke flavor in the middle, ever. But the knife will pull the smoke from the edges through the slice.

[Mosca]

Words mean what the context says they mean. That’s how language evolves. That’s why flammable and inflammable mean the same thing now.

[Ghawtho]

Panhead John
It was alright with their BBQ sauce but the thin 1/32” surface had a good taste along with the thin bark. The center of the brisket was just beefy like a grilled hamburger.