So what's the final verdict? Are you a hot and fast convert or are you sticking to low and slow?
Food look great! How are you liking cooking on your new Lang?
Smoke ring was pretty minimal. First smoke with 100% Apple wood as well....did that have an impact or does the hot & fast reduce the smoke ring?
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The smaller smoke ring is coming from the higher heat and less time in the smoke.
Anyone have any thoughts on the fairly minimal smoke ring? Is this a function of the process, or perhaps attributed to the type of wood used?
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There are several things that will effect the smoke ring.
* Salts/nitrates in your rub
* Time in the smoke
I have gotten plenty of good smoke rings cooking at 300+ degrees. I apply the rubs to my meats as the pit is coming up to temp and these are smoke rings I have gotten on different cuts of meat.
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What aawa is talking about is how you you can get a smoke ring with something like tenderquick.
Of course you know a smoke ring isn't necessarily indicative of smoke flavor but rather the nitric dioxide in the smoke and moisture in the meat. When i do get a good smoke ring i'm always happy because i know it was done the old fashioned way...no cheating.
What aawa is talking about is how you you can get a smoke ring with something like tenderquick.
Of course you know a smoke ring isn't necessarily indicative of smoke flavor but rather the nitric dioxide in the smoke and moisture in the meat. When i do get a good smoke ring i'm always happy because i know it was done the old fashioned way...no cheating.
You can use tenderquick or other nitrates to help create a smoke ring, but what I was talking about is that the amount of salts in your rub can help form smoke rings. Sorry if I was unclear about that.
I have never used tenderquick or any other agent to create a smoke ring. All the smoke rings you see in my pictures are produced by the rub (typically 1 part salt, 1 part pepper, 1/4 part garlic powder by volume) heat provided by charcoal, and smoke provided by wood.
As pointed out though in this thread, you can help the production along of a smoke ring by going from the fridge right to the smoker, put your meat on at a lower temperature and then ramp up the temperature later, use more salt in your rub, use nitrates such as tenderquick in your rub.
My process for things going into the smoker. Get fire started, trim and rub, put on smoker when I get thin blue (normally around 250-275 degrees) and let the smoker climb to 300-325, I don't hold the smoker at 250-275, I just let it keep climbing till it gets to 300-325. I normally will go nekkid on everything I smoke unless the color gets too dark (but most of the time I don't have to wrap)