Blue Smoke? What's the point?

[R2-Meat2]

Thanks richinlbrg - I suppose the question is, do you notice a small/medium/large (or any) difference in flavor when you wait out the white smoke versus not?

[richinlbrg]

Because I've made so many changes, I don't really know. I've not had a control where the starting smoke color is the only variable.

This weekend, if #1 says this is the best you've done yet, then I may say it does make a difference. Unfortunately, my rub will also be slightly different. AARRGGGHHHH!

maybe I'll put something on as I close up the smoker the first time, and then add something after the smoke turns blue.

[Usernamevalid]

As for what might be conflicting info on the site, remember that the site has been here about a decade. It could be that what we thought we knew some years ago has been shown to be not the best that we can now figure out.

If that is indeed the issue, then management needs to do some editing. It makes no sense to have a site based on instruction when those instructions conflict with one another.

[richinlbrg]

Usernamevalid, and all.

I have not read the linked article carefully and in depth, but based on my perusal, I don't actually see much, so far, that conflict with the seminar. I know I'll be reading it carefully tonight!

[Breadhead]

I remember Meathead saying... Treat the quantity of wood like you treat salt quantities. Just the right amount of salt will greatly enhance your food. A little to much salt will ruin your food. Meathead weighs his wood chips that he is going to use in his smoker for whatever he is smoking. I follow his lead.

[DWCowles]

What about logs? Do I need to weigh them too? 😊

[Huskee]

DWCowles- I weigh mine, I pick one up and say dang this one's heavier than the last one (throw it on), this one's a bit lighter (throw it on). 30-60 min later, repeat the weighing procedure.

[boftx]

I use mesquite logs. 6" in diameter, about 3 hours smoke time if burning right. Screw your briquettes or pellets.

[3DJ]

Actually Aaron Franklin comments on this in his book. If a log is too light for its size, it will burn too fast because it too dry. If it is heavy for its size it's too green and will make bad smoke for hours and little heat.

[Usernamevalid]

I think the comment comes from Dr. Blonder's seminar. I'll watch it again. Because the cold meat creates a different aerodynamic In the smoker the smoke adherence is fairly short at the beginning of the smoke. The idea is to get the smoker running smoothly at temp, thus getting the blue smoke, and then add the meat. I'll try to check it out more thoroughly later.

This. I just watched it for the first time, and Dr. Blonder specifically says he only worries about smoke for the first 15-20 minutes. I can easily see how someone could interpret that to mean smoke only gets on the meat in the first 15-20 minutes. Later he says smoke will continue to stick to the meat provided you follow certain rules, like spritzing, humidity, etc, but you don't really need more than 15-20 minutes of good smoke for the flavor you seek.

FWIW, I don't mind a bit of the white smoke, at least right at the end of it when it's beginning to thin out.

[Huskee]

This all depends on the cooker you're using too; (stickburner with massive airflow for 20 min of smoke, or kettle with handful of chips and very minimal airflow, or an extremely efficient kamado with smoldering chunks for 20 min...). It's such a hard conversation to have because of SO many variables. Dr Blonder couldn't possibly discuss all the cooker types and each airflow:smoke presence, NOR each person's preference for light smoke vs heavy smoke flavor on meat. Jerod and I might eat the exact same piece of meat from one cooker, and one of us says it's perfect and one of us says it needs more smoke! This simple difference in preference might throw off the whole opinion of the 20 min of smoke thing and cause each of us to think something different.

This we know: The first 15-20 is when the meats is most susceptible to smoke adherence (cold, moist) as has already been mentioned above by others. Does this mean that smoking for an hour or two is useless? No! You could put meat on a smoker for 20 min then switch to your oven the rest of the time and still taste smokey meat (think about chicken breasts or pork chops- something that cooks rather quickly. Grill them over direct heat for 20 minutes and they still taste smokey, so 15-20 min absorbs plenty of flavor.)... but it would not be the same as meat smoked for 5, 8 or 12 hrs. Once the meat has heated up and the bark has dried some, it's less susceptible to smoke (some white smoke here and there will have a less negative affect) but it's not insusceptible. Cook two pork butts, or two racks of ribs. Do one for an hour on the smoker then finish in an oven, do the other with smoke the whole time. You will notice a difference if you're one who can notice those differences.

The tricky stuff is like I alluded to at first is: 20 min of apple wood smoke on a stickburner or 20 min of smoke with a kettle and mesquite chips, or 20 min of smoke on a BGE with a oak chunk. You're likely to notice a huge difference in those as well, even with seemingly identical methods (ie, 20 min smoke).

[richinlbrg]

Well put....thank you!

[DWCowles]

Huskee you took the word right out of my mouth... well said 😊

[Meathead]

One thing that is important: Blue Smoke is ideal, but white smoke works fine. It's not as good, but it is not evil. Gray and black smoke are evil.

[scottranda]

Thanks for this sage advice Meathead ... I'm smoking ribs right now, and I'm terrified I screwed it up with some white smoke at the beginning. I'm experimenting with the timing of adding wood and temperatures, so, at least I know I (probably) didn't screw this one up. Thanks to this forum and website, I'm learning from you and others! Well worth the price of admission!

[Meathead]

scottranda RULE# 345 Never let cooking terrify you. You are smarter than dead meat.

What? No rules in the kitchen or bedroom? Oh. Never mind.

[_John_]

scottranda It took a good 30-40 minutes for mine to calm down last time. I want to try again this weekend but I had good luck a while back sandwiching some wood between coals in my chimney and burning it all together. This gave me smoke in the pit right off the bat.

[DWCowles]

I'm glad that I don't have that problem with my stickburner anymore. At the beginning I will fill it up good with season logs to get a nice bed of coals. When I throw another log or two on every 30-45 mins I will leave the firebox door open about 5-6 inches so the grayish and heavy white smoke will escape and when the log/logs start burning clean I will shut the door and/if I see dirty smoke coming out the exhaust pipe I will open the door again but as long as it has plenty of good airflow it"s all good.

[JeffJ]

I love the way blue smoke smells. It's very sweet. When I use my 14.5 WSM and have water in the bowl steam is what comes out of the vent so I can't visually tell if I am producing good smoke. But once I jam my snout over the top vent my nose tells me exactly what I need to know.

Meathead preaches restraint when it comes to using wood and that's sagely advice IMO. When I make a large pot of chili for a tailgate I always try to keep the spicy heat to somewhat of a minimum. I love spicy chili but plenty of people prefer their chili to be milder than I would prefer, so I dial back the peppers a bit. The same applies to smoke - less is a safer bet. I cooked 3 loaves on the performer tonight and probably had half fist of wood. It was plenty. The meatloaf picked up good smoke flavor but it was a somewhat subtle enhancement to the loaves in lieu of overpowering the meat.