Question about type of charcoal...

Hello all,

been smoking in my drum smoker for the past several months with fairly good results.. last couple of smokes, the wife complained that the meat was "too smoky" and to be honest, i kind of agreed..

i use very little wood when smoking - usually just a 1/2 fist sized piece of hickory, etc.

i light my charcoal with a weed burner - light the top layer and let it burn down. then drop a chunk of wood on..

so anyway, last smoke, i just refrained from putting any wood at all on.. ribs turned out tasting great - everyone like them.

i was frankly, pretty surprised at the amount of smoke that was generated from simply the charcoal.. i'm using kingsford's original in the blue/white bag. am i doing something wrong? i've read that you shouldn't put unlit charcoal in the basket - that it will create off flavors.

i generally smoke at 225-230 degrees. just wondering if there is a way to reduce the smoke from the charcoal, and actually add a smoke flavor from the wood....

Cliff H. said:

Why don't try switching to lump charcoal and don't add any wood. See if that makes it better or worse. Use Royal Oak lump as a starting point.

Click to expand...

Hi Cliff,

That's actually what I've decided to do, but I'm going to use Gorden's food service lump since I get lot's of discounts there.

{I'm in the same boat as the thread starter is )

unless it ribs then they don't complain at all. And I've always get the light blue smoke, but I put too much wood in like a fist full & a half some times.

Thanks for the advice guys.. Will try the lump next time.

I get a light white/grey smoke from the kingsford original without any wood on it at all. not billowing, but not "thin blue" like i've been trying to achieve. you can definitely see the smoke coming out of it..

i usually start the coals and wait at least 20-30 minutes.

i've got a big log from a cherry tree that my parents cut down about 3 years ago.. can i just buzz some chunks off that to use?