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Missing smoke ring

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    Missing smoke ring

    Need some assistance. My last several rib cooks; taste, flavor, tenderness, all turned out great. Nice smokey flavor as well. But, I haven't been able to get a smoke ring.

    Using a 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain with three decent sized chunks of apple wood. St. Louis cut, membrane pulled, rub added about 30 min before I put them on.

    Maybe I need to dry brine a few hours before??

    #2
    In my limited experience I seem to get a better smoke ring when the meat is cold when placed in the smoker. I also dry brine everything, most meats at least overnight but ribs a few hours before cooking. I know that Dr. Blonder has written that humidity also plays a large part.

    Comment


      #3
      Cold and moisture attract smoke. While I don’t know of any studies but from my experience the amount of salt seems to affect the smoke ring.

      Comment


        #4
        I agree with Donw that the meat should be cold when you put it on the smoker. You should also have some sort of water pan inside the smoker to help maintain humidity. Both should help with achieving a good smoke ring.

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          #5
          Cold meat. I can't emphasize this enough. Also, lower temps. Smoke ring is essentially a chemical reaction between the meat and the gasses from the charcoal/wood. Once the outer edge of the meat hits a certain temp smoke ring development stops.

          Keep this in mind - smoke ring has zero effect on flavor and BBQ competition judges are instructed not to take it into account when evaluating meat.

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            #6
            Thanks all. Meat is cold when putting it on, always have water in the pan (plus I live in FL, humidity not a problem. lol). True about the ring not doing anything for flavor, just looks cool. I'll tweak it a bit with the dry brine and see if that's what I'm missing. I've done it before....

            Comment


            • GolfGeezer
              GolfGeezer commented
              Editing a comment
              pizza67 if you really want to try to "put a ring on it" (ouch..) try chunks of cherry as your smoking wood. I find pork meats in particular tend to get a more pronounced ring from cherry. Plus it tastes good!

            • Ahumadora
              Ahumadora commented
              Editing a comment
              Mesquite is a super heavy smoke wood. Put the meat on frozen with some good chunks and bound to have a smoke ring/

            • Ricardo
              Ricardo commented
              Editing a comment
              +1 on GolfGeezer and +1 on Ahumadora
              I’m in Florida too, and these suggestions work. Give them a try and you will be rewarded with a smoke ring. Not sure it adds any taste, but it’s nice to have your finished products sporting it.
              Last edited by Ricardo; July 7, 2020, 08:39 PM.

            #7
            If you want a truly impressive smoke ring to show off, go blasphemy style.

            Or just worry about how they taste

            Comment


              #8
              If you're really desperate for a smoke ring and just aren't getting it, https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/09/...ribs.html#ring

              Comment


                #9
                Thanks you pkadare , someone finally got it right. Forget about the cold meat, the water pan and the tribal dance around a full moon. SMOKE RING DON'T MEAN CRAP. In golf terminology it would be the equivalent of driving for show, worry more about putting for dough and cook those ribs, regardless of the smoke ring, properly.

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                • Steve R.
                  Steve R. commented
                  Editing a comment
                  If we typically ate while blindfolded, I would agree completely. I don't have any great advice for the OP, but I think it's a valid question.

                #10
                I think I had used cherry wood when I did this cook.
                Attached Files

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                  #11
                  When I first got my WSCGC I couldn't get a smoke ring on the first couple of cooks. Then I added more wood for the next cook, and badda-bing! Pretty smoke ring!

                  Have had nice smoke rings ever since.

                  Kathryn

                  Comment


                    #12
                    I think most of us understand that the smoke ring has no effect on flavor. But we eat first with our eyes, and appearance absolutely does matter. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a SUWYC thread.

                    Having said all of that, I'm baffled as to why the smoke ring is not there. It's something that just happens, in my experience.
                    Last edited by Steve R.; July 8, 2020, 07:12 AM.

                    Comment


                      #13
                      I read somewhere that adding some celery seed to the rub promotes a smoke ring. I haven't tried it though.

                      Comment


                      • Backroadmeats
                        Backroadmeats commented
                        Editing a comment
                        Celery seed contains nitrate. I use my bacon cure to dry brine.. I have had people tell me I can't get a smoke ring in an electric smoker.. I then explain that I can get a smoke ring in an electric oven with no smoke..

                      • klflowers
                        klflowers commented
                        Editing a comment
                        Backroadmeats, care to share your bacon dry brine? I used the basic one on the free side for my first batch; I really would like to try yours. I promise not to tell anyone lol

                      #14
                      Steve R. has made an excellent point here.
                      We do eat with our eyes first, and the smoke ring is just part of the overall experience.

                      Agreed that it may not add anything as far as taste is concerned, but it does matter. If I had to judge 2 pieces of BBQ fixings, I would start evaluating appearance and presentation. The one without a smoke ring may win in the end after all is said, tasted and done... but it’s not getting my initial point’s for presentation, particularly if one of them has a nice smoke ring.

                      Try using cherrywood right of the bat. It works for me. The initial hour or so of your smoke with cherry and see how that goes. Small chunks should do it. Another tip is placing your cuts cold from the fridge.
                      Last edited by Ricardo; July 8, 2020, 03:45 PM. Reason: Fixing some typos and adding some text

                      Comment


                      • TripleB
                        TripleB commented
                        Editing a comment
                        I'm a BBQ judge. Smoke ring is not a contributing factor for scoring. Your picture of the brisket would raise a "wow - that was a deep smoke ring" by the judges after scoring was completed and score cards turned in, but that would be it.

                      #15
                      This is a brisket point that we prepared last weekend with just a few cherrywood chunks and southern live oak for btu. It’s for a brisket chili, so it wasn’t prepared for serving as you see in the photo, but for mincing and incorporating at a later time into a chili. In any case, take a look at this crazy smoke ring.
                      Cheers,
                      Ricardo
                      Click image for larger version

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