How can one cook with wood and NOT get a smoke flavor?

Bamabuzzard

Bamabuzzard

is Blowin Smoke!
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Our work had lunch catered today and it was bbq from a local restaurant. They served ribs, chicken quarters, sausage with trimmings. NOT ONE of the different selection of meats had any smoke flavor whatsoever. I asked the guys serving what did they use to cook this on and they said hickory and pecan.

I didn't tell them it didn't have any smoke flavor I just told them "okay I was just wondering what y'all use" and moved on. But there was ZERO smoke flavor. How can this happen?
 
The possibilities that come to mind are....

1) Foil.....lots of foil.
2) They lied :eek:
 
I don't know which one it was, lying or foiling but I can tell you I've never tasted meat smoked over hickory and pecan wood that had absolutely ZERO smoke flavor. I tasted rub and meat. That's it. Somebody got sum splainin' to do! :mrgreen:
 
I agree with swiburn, foil, and probably from the start of cooking. There are some folks in my neck of the woods that "BBQ" at high temps with their butts or whatever in foil the entire cook.
 
cardiac_cadet002 said:
I agree with swiburn, foil, and probably from the start of cooking. There are some folks in my neck of the woods that "BBQ" at high temps with their butts or whatever in foil the entire cook.
Click to expand...


Oh I live around some of those as well. It's laughable. They tell me I'm just "jealous" because they can produce a comparable product in 65% less time and hassle and it takes me four to five hours. I have been known to tell them (after tasting some of their "Q") "You obviously aren't tasting what I'm tasting." But I had one of'ems wife actually tell me one time that I was right and my bbq tasted much better than her husbands (who "BBQ's" on a gas grill). But she might of just been hittin' on me too... :eek:
 
When I read the title of this thread all I could think of was why would you want to?
 
One word: Oven. They just forgot to pour the Liquid Smoke over the meat that day...
 
Neil said:
When I read the title of this thread all I could think of was why would you want to?
Click to expand...

I don't think it was their purpose to not have smoke flavor but it's what the result was. I think they were cooked in foil to be honest because they almost had that "cooked in the oven" type flavor (if that makes any sense). They could easily accomplish this by putting them in foil and cooking over wood.
 
Yeah, I think they are probably lying. Hell, charcoal and especially Lump gives off a smoky flavor.
 
Bamabuzzard said:
but I can tell you I've never tasted meat smoked over hickory and pecan wood that had absolutely ZERO smoke flavor.
Click to expand...


You have obviously never eaten my BBQ or from a pellet pit! :eusa_clap

We were judging in Bakersfield 2 weeks ago. My sister had a person judging at her table that gave a rib a taste score of 3. Most of the others at the table gave it a 7-8. She asked him what was wrong with it and he said it had a smoke taste to it. A little puzzled she asked him what he thought it should taste like, he answered it should not be smokey, he did not like smoky meat. He like meat cook with fire, it should not taste like smoke. OK, Sparky...I was not sure if he thought BBQ meant grilled.

I felt sorry for that team.
 
My $.02.

Can be one of two things.

1 - They use a pellet cooker, which uses 100% wood pellets, so they are not lying about cooking over wood... but they dont give it any time at low temps or 'smoke setting'. Using a pellet cooker straight up, even 250( worse even higher) will give very light smoke flavor. Higher the temps, the less time and less smoke.... They needs some low temp time. Its just the nature and efficiency(very) of the cooker.

2 - A real stickbuner was used but cooked hot and fast(> 350). this will give a 'roasting' flavor with minimal smokiness. I do it that way for the wife sometimes who likes the wood roasting flavor, but doestnt like smoke.
 
I'd go with #2 probably due to the volume or lazyness of the cooks.
 
BBQchef33 said:
2 - A real stickbuner was used but cooked hot and fast(> 350). this will give a 'roasting' flavor with minimal smokiness. I do it that way for the wife sometimes who likes the wood roasting flavor, but doestnt like smoke.
Click to expand...

I second that motion....
 
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