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    Charcoal taste

    Hey everyone! Wasn’t exactly sure where to post this but since it’s about some rib cooks, figured here would be fine.

    Long story short, i started with an electric smoker, then graduated to a traeger, and now I’ve been tinkering with a Weber kettle with a SNS. I’ve gotten pretty consistent with my traeger. Producing some good results that even my picky wife likes.

    I’m about 8 cooks (St Louis ribs) in with the kettle & sns combo and I’ve been incredibly disappointed. Frankly, I’ve taken one bite and thrown the whole racks out. Terrible charcoal taste. The first couple cooks I didn’t let the charcoal burn long enough before putting the ribs on (too much white smoke). But my last few cooks I’ve let the coals ash over and the temp stabilize before throwing the meat on. For the most part, I’ve kept the meat prep the same as I would on my traeger. I’ve been using briquettes and 3 or so wood chunks for each cook.

    I understand that there will be some taste difference with pellet vs charcoal but, I’ve had good BBQ on charcoal before (BGE most recently) cooked by others so I think the issue is more in the cook than in our tastebuds.

    Did any of you that went from electric or pellet to charcoal have to make any seasoning adjustments to get similar results?

    Thanks!

    #2
    How are you lighting your charcoal? What does the smoke look like coming out of grill? I picked up a Summit Charcoal in the fall after years of Pellet Grills and have been very happy with the results. Did your charcoal get damp? Have you tried a different brand or type?

    Comment


      #3
      I’m suspecting the briquettes and your palate. Some people have sensitivite taste buds and pick up the briquette ‘flavor’. If I were you I’d try some good quality lump charcoal instead. Especially since you liked the BGE food (and I assume you didn’t use briquettes in that grill).

      Comment


        #4
        I always light my SnS for 225 to 250 "low and slow" smokes by lighting a dozen briquettes fully in a chimney, then dump them into the corner of the SnS, rack them up into that corner, and fill the rest of the SnS with charcoal, fill the water resevoir, then put the lid on the grill with all vents wide open until I hit about 200 degrees (measured at the grate). Then I choke down to 1/2 on the top vent, and about 1/4 on the bottom vent. Or if its a long cook - brisket or butts versus ribs - I setup the PartyQ and let it manage things.

        If cooking indirect at 325 to 350, I light a half chimney of charcoal, let it get going fully, and in the meantime, fill the SnS about halfway (another half chimney). When the coals are ready, I dump them on top of the unlit ones in the SnS, and I run with top and bottom vents wide open.

        All that above pretty much follows the guidance at SnSGrills.com

        Some brands of charcoal have more "acrid" smoke than others. Specifically, I don't like the smoke when first lighting Kingsford "blue bag" (regular) or KBB as they call it here. But I don't notice it really on long smokes. But I can tell you that I prefer the smoke aroma when lighting Royal Oak or Weber briquettes much better - less of a chemical smell and more of a wood smoke smell that you would expect. Lately I've been playing with B&B lump and char-logs, and plan to try some B&B briquettes next time I go to Academy.

        My suggestion is to make sure you follow the proper lighting techniques, and try a different brand or type of charcoal. Also, how much wood were you adding to the charcoal? Try with just one or two small chunks, about golfball sized, at first. Don't over do it with wood, and use chunks - not chips.

        There is also this to consider. Electric and pellet smokers both have much less smoke flavor or profile in the smoked foods than you will ever get from a charcoal or wood fire. And if you are comparing to a kamodo - those type cookers are SO efficient that they don't use a lot of fuel, have low air flow as a result, and are probably less smokey than any other type for charcoal or wood fueled smoker such as an offset, vertical charcoal smoker, or the kettle + SnS. Maybe you just aren't use to traditional smoked meats? I am sure that isn't it, but its also a consideration. Some folks just don't like smoked stuff.

        I've been smoking on an offset for 30+ years, and using the kettle+SnS for 2 to 3 years now, and most of the stuff I turn out with the kettle is comparable in flavor profile to good quality BBQ joints around here in North Alabama - the ones who are smoking their brisket or pork or ribs first thing in the morning or overnight.

        Sorry to be so long winded, but if I had to start somewhere, I would suggest trying some lump charcoal (good lump) next. I like the consistency of briquettes, but not all brands are the same, and my least favorite is Kingsford at this point in time.
        Last edited by jfmorris; January 14, 2020, 10:02 AM.

        Comment


        • jfmorris
          jfmorris commented
          Editing a comment
          Thanks ScottyC13 - I'll try and not let my head get any bigger!

        • jfmorris
          jfmorris commented
          Editing a comment
          FishTalesNC sadly around here, Ace hardware is getting hard to find! I don't have one within 20 miles at least. I used to have one 1 mile from the house, and they filled propane tanks and I loved going in there much better than the big box hardware stores. Unfortunately, a Lowes and Home Depot a half mile away put the local Ace out of business.

        • FishTalesNC
          FishTalesNC commented
          Editing a comment
          jfmorris oh man, that's too bad! I have two Ace Hardwares within 10-15 min of me. One I drive by taking my daughter to tennis, and the other is right next to our dentist. Although I hit one up a week or so ago and they were out of Weber charcoal, I was very happy to discover they carry Blues Hog rub and sauces! Who knew??

        #5
        It could be your palate, but no one has mentioned the wood chunks you are using. How big are they? You might want to try a cook without any wood just to eliminate that as a possibility. And maybe just cook a half rack so you won't waste a whole rack if they are still too smokey.

        Comment


        • jfmorris
          jfmorris commented
          Editing a comment
          This is something I thought about as well.

        #6
        What these guys said. I have used charcoal my whole life, and I recently started using a small pellet grill for things like chicken and burgers, and I can taste the difference - the lack of smoke flavor. So it may just be your palate.

        Comment


          #7
          When I first went from an electric to my current COS, I was using briquettes and chunks and wasn't at all happy with the results. I switched to lump and never looked back. Recently I started learning to cook with all wood on my COS, but when I need to maintain a fairly stable temp, particularly a lower temp like 225, I go back to lump charcoal with wood chunks using my FireBoard Drive and fan to control the temperature.

          David

          Comment


            #8
            Thanks for the tips guys. I’ll try to reply to some of the comments here:

            1. I’ve tried KBB and royal oak lump. Tried the lump in one of my first cooks with terrible results but I think that was because I put the meat on too early. It was still billowing white smoke. I’ll try lump again.

            2. I’ve mainly used a chimney and tumbleweeds to start fires.

            3. I’m using hickory wood chunks. They are pretty big. Will tinker with less wood next cook.

            4. I live down in South Texas and have tried a lot of the top BBQ joints down here (as well as some in KC). Franklins, Killens, Truth, KC Joes and never had any that I thought were too smokey.

            I still think it’s something I’m not doing correctly with my cooks vs my palate.

            Thanks again for the help guys.
            Last edited by Chaser_32; January 14, 2020, 10:47 AM.

            Comment


            • jfmorris
              jfmorris commented
              Editing a comment
              You can get more smoke in the kettle with the SnS than you get in an offset with its much greater airflow and a hot oak fire. I often find I get better bark on ribs that I cook in the kettle than I do in the offset, and blame it on airflow differences - what smoke there is in the offset tends to flow through much faster. Also the offset is a much drier environment than the kettle+SnS, and humidity increases smoke retention. Try much less wood, and better charcoal.

            • Oak Smoke
              Oak Smoke commented
              Editing a comment
              You are the first person I've heard of to find a good use for tumbleweeds. Other than that I've found that just a couple of small chunks of apple wood give me the flavor I want on ribs.

            • Parkin
              Parkin commented
              Editing a comment
              Early on with my drum I was using way too much wood and the proof was in the taste...a couple of chunk of apple is usually good for me...also, the B&B briquettes made a pretty big difference. IMO.

            #9
            I know Henrik uses lump in his SNS pretty regularly but I've never had luck with that due to temperature control issues. it tends to burn to unevenly for me. Be that as it may, it's worth a try. Also, since you are here in Texas, look for the B&B charcoal briquettes. They seem to burn cleaner and hotter, as well as a bit longer, then KBB. Little more expensive but worth it if it solves your problem.

            As someone mentioned, you must have an adversity to something in your fuel. Hickory is pretty strong, that may be it so as you say, try various fuel combinations, hopefully you find the right one. Or....go back to pellet cooking, ain't nothing wrong with that !!!

            Comment


              #10
              Try with no wood once and see

              are you making sure your exhaust vent on top is at least as open as your intake so that smoke flows through cleanly?

              Comment


              • Chaser_32
                Chaser_32 commented
                Editing a comment
                Yeah I’ve mainly kept the top at half open and the bottom. at 1/4th.

              #11
              When folks switch from charcoal smoke to pellet smoke, they often complain pellets are too mild. You're going the opposite way from pellets to charcoal. Both fuels have different flavors. That said, it sounds like you need to reign in the creosote from your charcoal. Lot's of good tips above and here: https://amazingribs.com/ratings-revi...ns/slow-n-sear

              Comment


                #12
                Also, try Pecan, it’s milder that Hickory. If you really like Texas que, maybe post oak or mesquite. I only use 2-3 smallish chunks for a cook like ribs. About the size of 1.5 briquettes.

                Comment


                • Chaser_32
                  Chaser_32 commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Yeah I’ve been using a lot more wood than that. Will definitely try less next time. Thx.

                • jfmorris
                  jfmorris commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Hey - I used post oak for the first time to do a brisket on January 4th! It was a big hit!

                • SparkDog
                  SparkDog commented
                  Editing a comment
                  I would think real careful about the mesquite. I have found that it harsh flavor on my longer cooks

                #13
                Try small chunks of Texas post oak it will be milder than hickory or pecan. Temp control and air flow is important in a Weber. Keep trying and don't give up you will have some killer meat soon.

                Comment


                  #14
                  And fruit woods - I use a lot of apple, cherry and peach. I rarely use hickory or mesquite anymore - if I want something stronger, I use post oak (these TX guys got me into that - wait, you are one of these TX guys...).

                  Comment


                    #15
                    Ribs are pretty easy to over-smoke. I generally only use one or two small chunks of a fruit wood when cooking ribs.

                    Comment

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