Smoke too clean?

[Santamarina]

I throw unlit logs in my stickburner all the time. As you said, no issue with a couple mins of smoke while the log starts.

[smokin fool]

Good advise, my preferred method.

[smokin fool]

Creosote....nothing like it.
A railroad pulled out a buncha ties by a buddies cottage, he drug home a bunch cut it up for firewood and BBQing.
It was harsh.
Ended up taking it back.

[smokin fool]

+2 White, gray, blue smoke, yellow with pink polka dots smoke as long as the food tastes good and isn't covered in some crud like Troutman says I'm good.

[Spinaker]

If your fire is too hot, the cleaner it will burn and the less smoke you will have. For the most part, it is not a concern. Even if you are cooking HOT, you can get good smoke by throwing a chunk right on the fire, that will give you all the smoke you need. It will be clean and be really clean.

[jfmorris]

Yeah, I've had some of that type BBQ myself. It's a sign of someone who doesn't understand fire management or how to use their smoker. I may have been guilty of it myself back in 1990-something, but quickly learned not to let the offset make the black sooty smoke!

[jfmorris]

I'm in the camp that while you want "thin blue" smoke, you don't need to be afraid of the smoke you get as you toss a new chunk of wood or a new split into the smoker either, or of charcoal igniting. I've added unlit charcoal and unlit wood to both my offset and my kettle cookers for many years, and never felt it led to sooty results. I'm not talking about billowing clouds of white smoke here of course.

I see folks that are so afraid of "dirty" smoke that they talk of preburning the wood, or even getting charcoal fully lit and ashed over in the chimney before adding additional charcoal or wood to their smokers. I think that is overkill.

[Bogy]

Threw a pork butt on the Grid Iron this morning before I headed to a meeting. Yes, I put it on and then started the smoker. Then filled the hopper. So the butt was in all that startup smoke for all of maybe a minute before it thinned out. I'm pretty sure my kids and grandkids will still eat the pulled pork tonight. And probably seconds as well.

[Troutman]

Oh good, Rip Van Winkle is back

[ecowper]

oh there you go restarting the pre-burnt wood thread

[ecowper]

I knew it!

[JeffJ]

When I use my stick burner oftentimes the smoke isn't even visible. Comes out great. I'm a clean smoke person all of the way.

[Rob whatever]

He worked at a number of central texas bbq places and has a good, open minded demeanor. He basically said he likes a bit smokier than blue, clean smoke but definitely not billowing. I will be sticking with clean smoke but I wondered if anyone else had experience tweaking the amount of smoke.

[wu7y]

Thanks Rob whatever I hadn't heard of him. For my taste if he likes his smoke "not too clean" I'd be cautious about his other bbq advice.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

My next door neighbor brought over some ribs once, he did on his offest - WOW they were so acrid and smoky I could barely choke down one. I didn't have the heart to tell him I hated them. He loved loved loved my ribs and pulled pork and such I did on my pellet grill.

Now HE has a pellet grill, lol.

But I don't ever see him anymore, either.


<edit> Sounds like he liked the BBQ, but not me.