Smoke Ring Issues (pics)

[-Chris-]

What does a smoke ring taste like?

Like warm apple pie... :-D

 

[morningwoodbbq]

I put my wood on the top of my coals. You want to get that smoke rolling early in the cook. Your smoke may be hitting the meat too late. Also ensure the outside of the meat is wet when you put it on as smoke sticks to wet.

 

[SweetHeatBBQnSC]

If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it.

Yes, the smoke ring has nothing to do with the amount of smoke. This helps to explain how pellet grills leave such awesome smoke rings, regardless of how much smoke they impart on the actual food.

 

[jermoQ]

Meat looks good! A couple of people already said it, but the smoke ring is just food for the eyes. A chemical reaction, that's all.

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

How much did you trim the fat? The smoke ring can't form in fat so the ring won't go as deep. Silver-skin seems to have some effect. Keeping the air moist can help. I don't do water in the pan with my WSM but it can help. You could also spritz and that will help the smoke ring, and contrary to popular belief it can continue past 140 degrees. Celery power is a good way to kind of hack a smoke ring. Some people resort to Tenderquick. Personally, I see a smoke ring on those ribs even if it's not deep. The ribs look amazing.

 

[zachg18]

How much did you trim the fat? The smoke ring can't form in fat so the ring won't go as deep. Silver-skin seems to have some effect. Keeping the air moist can help. I don't do water in the pan with my WSM but it can help. You could also spritz and that will help the smoke ring, and contrary to popular belief it can continue past 140 degrees. Celery power is a good way to kind of hack a smoke ring. Some people resort to Tenderquick. Personally, I see a smoke ring on those ribs even if it's not deep. The ribs look amazing.

Trimmed it all off the top. Including silver skin.

I also don't do water in the pan just because I had seen several top BBQ guys recommend agains it (although side note - what is the purpose of the water anyway?)

I'm down in Miami so it's pretty humid here already...

Thanks!

 

[jwilliamson1000]

Use a little celery seed in your rub. Tastes good and will help with the smoke ring

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

Trimmed it all off the top. Including silver skin.

I also don't do water in the pan just because I had seen several top BBQ guys recommend agains it (although side note - what is the purpose of the water anyway?)

I'm down in Miami so it's pretty humid here already...

Thanks!

Humid air transmits heat better. It also helps stabilize temperature in the cook chamber. The surface of the meat being wet attracts smoke and helps the reaction that causes the smoke ring. However, it also decreases the efficiency of the WSM and can inhibit bark formation. I generally don't use it in my WSM, but I did get a slightly better smoke ring when I did.

 

[SirPorkaLot]

So here is what I’ve learned.
The tighter the smoker, the bigger the ring.
Smokers like WSMs are, by design, not sealed tightly and it is hard to produce a ring.

On the other hand, heavy well sealed smokers like my Shirley offset, produce amazing rings with little to no effort.

It may be true that the ring is only cosmetic, but you eat with your eyes first and a strong smoke ring looks banging.

There are some things you can do to help the process.

Put meat on the smoker cold, bring temps up slowly. The longer you can keep it on smoke before it hits 140F, the better chance of a ring.
You can add celery seed to rub, but that is mostly a bbq myth (it helps a little, maybe.. or maybe not)

 

[boogiechillen]

A little reading material for ya...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/the-science-of-the-smoke-ring/amp/

Great read

 

[jkief]

Ditch the WSM and buy an Assassin. :clap2:
In all seriousness, what everyone else here said holds true. I wouldn’t chase the ring. Chase the flavor, moisture, and tenderness. If you can nail all 3 of them, you’ve hit the BBQ trinity!