Another WSM Smoke Ring Failure

[thunter]

So I decided to do another WSM cook to see if I could get Miss Piggy to redeem herself, and give me a smoke ring. There was one thing the Brethren suggested that I had not tried, and that was to use some quality wood instead of the bagged wood I usually use in the WSM. So, now that I have a sawzall, I cut me some oak chunks from the logs I use in my offset, which by the way, always gives me an amazing smoke ring. Well, the wood did not make a difference. I made a video of the experience and I want to share it with my Brethren. :grin:

WSM Smoke Ring Challenge

[smoke ninja]

I remember the first thread you did on this. Call me stumped. Nice cook and good looking chicken though.

[Phubar]

Thanks for posting Tony!
Now I'm curious why you don't get a smokering.

[YetiDave]

Can't understand why you're not getting a smoke ring there, I don't think I've had a single cook without one

[NeilH]

Give me anything without a ring. It all eats.

I don't understand either. Seems like I read brining makes a difference as far as rings, something about the salt.

[lilburnjoe]

You have to LIGHT the coals to get a smoke ring !

[Danny B]

I noticed you said you were going to try a different charcoal next time. I would suggest Stubbs briquettes. They are not too expensive and are readily available. Maybe try ribs with the Stubbs?? I like to get a good smoke ring too and understand your frustration.

Also I've been reading how the stickburner cooks put their splits on top of the smoker to warm them up before putting them in. I'm thinking of trying setting my wood chunks on the middle rack inside the WSM for a while before putting on the hot coals to help with the clean burning fire. Maybe that would help?? Good luck and don't give up on the WSM.

[Cajun Ty]

As long as it taste good thats all that matters to me :wink:

[pjtexas1]

Only thing I can suggest is that you take detailed notes of every cook. It could be something really simple and the notes could help as you go back and compare the cooks that had smoke rings vs the ones that didn't. Write down everything, outside temp, meat temp at start of cook, how many wood chunks, spikes/drops in temps, weight of meat, rub content or brand, everything you did to the meat (brine, rub with mustard, how you trimmed). Some of these details may not matter but the answer is in their somewhere. Good luck and keep at it.

[lantern]

I'm getting pretty stumped myself.

For your next run of different charcoal I suggest stubbs or if you run lump just get some royal oak. I hope it goes well for ya bud!

[thunter]

I noticed you said you were going to try a different charcoal next time. I would suggest Stubbs briquettes. They are not too expensive and are readily available. Maybe try ribs with the Stubbs?? I like to get a good smoke ring too and understand your frustration.

Also I've been reading how the stickburner cooks put their splits on top of the smoker to warm them up before putting them in. I'm thinking of trying setting my wood chunks on the middle rack inside the WSM for a while before putting on the hot coals to help with the clean burning fire. Maybe that would help?? Good luck and don't give up on the WSM.

Thanks Danny! Stubbs is available here at my Lowes. I'll pick some up and give it a shot this week. And, I can't give up on my WSMs, smoke ring or no, the BBQ they turn out is amazing, and I need the added capacity for catering gigs. :grin:

[thunter]

Thanks everyone. I have Stubbs available and my ACE hardware sells Wicked Good Lump.

What do you all think about my Cooker being "too seasoned". Is that even possible? Anyway, these tests are fun because I get to cook alot! :-D

[Shagdog]

Try using water in your pan, and sprinkle a little celery salt in your rub. I was having this same issue in my UDS for a while. I tried everything. In the end, I tried it with a water pan, and voila! Big ol smoke ring. The nitrites in celery salt will help as well. Not that the smoke ring really makes any difference, but I know the feeling.

[aawa]

How much salt content is in your rub? Salt content as well as nitrites (I believe it is nitrites and not nitrates) help in production of smoke rings.

Also ditch the water pan all together if you are just cooking on the top grate and see if direct heat will assist you with getting a smoke ring, if you do not want to change your rub.

[ICDEDTURKES]

Lack of combustion.. I made a post a while back that my smoke rings on the Akorn are less pronounced than on the stick burner, they are there just not as deep or well colored.. About everything I read has stated to add moisture, but this does not hold up in the kamado as it is much more moist than the stickburner.. I believe it is due to the fact such a tiny bit is lit to keep it at temp..

I guess it would be like an electric cabinet vs a propane cabinet.

[akoda]

there must be water present and wood for the chemical reaction. I have learned to throw my wood chunks on my chimney to get them lit which I believe helps me to achieve sweet blue smoke quicker.

I have two 18" WSM's and have never thought about creating a smoke ring but always have one, at least when I look/notice.

[Smoking Westy]

Water isn't needed in the WSM to get a good smoke ring...


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s290/mjweste/Grilling/DSC_0404_zps0833bee7.jpg (http://s155.photobucket.com/user/mjweste/media/Grilling/DSC_0404_zps0833bee7.jpg.html)



http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s290/mjweste/Grilling/null-15.jpg (http://s155.photobucket.com/user/mjweste/media/Grilling/null-15.jpg.html)



http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s290/mjweste/Grilling/DSC_0403_zpsf6cdc799.jpg (http://s155.photobucket.com/user/mjweste/media/Grilling/DSC_0403_zpsf6cdc799.jpg.html)


I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet but for fuel I use either kingsford blue or stubb's with either plum, cherry, apple or hickory depending on what I'm cooking.

I've run nearly 800+ pounds of pork belly through my WSM, don't think it can be over seasoned.

The one thing I consistently do is put my meat on the smoker cold, rarely do I let it start to warm up a bit before putting it on.

[Smoking Westy]

Dang just watched your video - baffled why you didn't get a smoke ring on that fatty!

[TheWolfePit]

Tony, are you putting your meat on cold or at room temp? You can get a smoke ring either way, but colder meat will give you a deeper ring. So if you are warming the meat up put it on ice cold next time and see if that makes a difference.

[1buckie]

Several things come to mind...................

Use oak, you're on to that............

Cold & a moist surface on the meat, you're mostly on to that.............

Longest possible dwell up to 140f.........start as cold as you can, maybe even in the freezer for a short time, but take care to make sure it is moistured up before it cooks..............

The celery seed ground, or salts like said above & something about this:
A hugely thick rub might block the interaction some......medium thick, or even light on the rub...........

I've done ribs & such with certain combinations of spices that tasted phenomenal, but zero ring........the bark was crispy & very flavorful, the pork was just right juicy, they went well together, but again, zero ring......something IN the rub blocked the ring from forming.......don't quite have that figgered out as to what element it was, but I point blank know certain things will impede the formation...........all this may not matter if you're using the same rubs & getting good results on your offset..........

Pre-heating your "splits" may help some:

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd520/1buckie/Jan29%20Danae%20%20dad%20002/Jan29Danaedad039.jpg

This is oak only brisket (w/Stubb's) on a kettle, cold meat, long, slow start on the cookup, Big Ron's Hint of Houston, set for an hour before cookup & very moist surface.............

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd520/1buckie/OCT%209%20brisket%202012/OCT9brisket2012052.jpg

The heat of a chicken / fattie cookup might be too high of heat & get past the area where the ring will form too quickly, just as an observation.........


These ribs both got hammered pretty hard w/ smoke & had different rubs......first, no ring.......
http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd520/1buckie/Late%20May%20Asstd/memorial%20day/LateMayAsstd098.jpg

Second, ring all the way to the bone.........
http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd520/1buckie/Last%20Sunday%20April%202012/LasySundayApril2012012.jpg

If I figure out what causes that, I'll write back in.............

Hope this helps somehow & best of luck..............

[akoda]

There must be moisture, you may not have water in a pan but a moist environment is needed

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_the_smoke_ring.html



Water isn't needed in the WSM to get a good smoke ring...








I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet but for fuel I use either kingsford blue or stubb's with either plum, cherry, apple or hickory depending on what I'm cooking.

I've run nearly 800+ pounds of pork belly through my WSM, don't think it can be over seasoned.

The one thing I consistently do is put my meat on the smoker cold, rarely do I let it start to warm up a bit before putting it on.

[Smoking Westy]

I've just saying it isn't necessary to run water in the pan to achieve a smoke ring in a WSM. He foiled the pan and ran it dry which is what I do all the time.

[DOponds]

I'm a newbie but on my WSM I use Kingsford. Once the smoker is rolling and warmed up, I place meat(usually sat 15-20 min room temp) in smoker. Then I throw 3-4 bagged chunk on coals, fan of pecan & apple. I'm not sure if right method but think I'm getting "good" smoke ring. Here's my first attempt at a fatty the other dayhttp://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=98370&stc=1&d=1403620615

[DOponds]

Oh and Water in pan.

[eddieh70301]

I have no issue with smoke rings but the last time I smoked a brisket, I added a layer of celery salt to the brisket and there was a much larger, noticeable smoke ring. You may want to give that a try to see if it works for you.

[Fwismoker]

I am tempted to drive the 2 hours to indy just to put out a SR in that thing for you! :laugh:

[Fwismoker]

I have no issue with smoke rings but the last time I smoked a brisket, I added a layer of celery salt to the brisket and there was a much larger, noticeable smoke ring. You may want to give that a try to see if it works for you. no need to cheat

[SD_Smoker]

I was getting no smoke ring for the longest time on my WSM's and I was using Kingsford blue bag. I decided to switch over to a nice lump charcoal and that changed everything as far as ring goes.

I did that and I got a beautiful ring on everything I cooked. I have no idea what happened because when I first got the WSM I got a ring but it just kind of stopped one day.

[Shagdog]

I am tempted to drive the 2 hours to indy just to put out a SR in that thing for you! :laugh:

Do you have a solution to help him? Or are you just boasting of your smoke ring prowess?

[CyberdineX]

Well good luck with the WSM. I think you should be getting a nice ring out of what you did, but who knows. Don't believe that it is the Kingsford vs. some other charcoal. Charcoal is just for heat...The oak should have done a great job.
My only thought is temp. I know you have that thermometer in the top, but I have to say I am a strong believer in "Grill Temp" with either an oven thermometer on the grill with the food, of something like a Maverick Grill temp monitor. Still even if you are off a little it shouldn't make a difference.
I just run Kingsford with a few handfuls of chips (in my Kettle BBQ) and have great rings in Chicken, Beef Ribs, Sausages.
If your temps are off (too high) you might be hiding the ring with over cooking??? Just a guess.
Good Luck
C

[TheWolfePit]

Don't believe that it is the Kingsford vs. some other charcoal. Charcoal is just for heat...

Actually Kingsford it not just heat when it comes to a smoke ring, it contains sodium nitrate in it which is assists with developing a smoke ring. This is why you can get a smoke ring while cooking with KF even with no wood.

[oifmarine2003]

Found this on another forum:




The "smoke ring" has nothing to do with smoke.
It's formed by nitrogen gas released by the wood exposed to very high combustion temps to form nitrous oxide (NO2) which then reacts with pigments in the meat.

Unfortunately, I don't think this is possible in the SmokinTex. I don't get a smoke ring in my SmokinTex and I've heard its absence mentioned before. SmokinTex does not cook with the high temps needed to produce NO2 from wood. Nor is enough wood used to release large amounts of nitrogen for the high temps to fix into NO2.

Morton Tender Quick is a favorite of many for adding to the brine. Just a *little*. That's got both sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite and they do often make the meat a faint pink throughout, albeit not in the prized "smoke ring" configuration.

The good news is the pink itself in normal wood/charcoal smoking is only indicative of a slow smoking process; it's generally not believed that it's got any effect on the flavor itself. Well, people disagree some on this issue, logically you'd think the nitrous acid created, penetrating deep in the meat, would have a taste-able effect. The bad news is that we don't know a way to make one in an ST either way, not unless you add a tank of laughing gas to the mix.

Huh here's a scientific paper:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf970475i
Showing that CO and nitrous oxide (NO) only inducing pinking at very high concentrations, but nitrogen dioxide NO2 inducing pinking at very low concentrations. Well, like there's anything you can do about it either way.

and:



But the 225-230 degrees isn't where the NO2 forms. That's inside air temp.
If you stick a thermometer inside the wood or charcoal you'll get well over 1000F. That's where the NO2 forms, and the NO2 persists as the combustion gases mix with air and cool by the time it gets to the meat.





So, maybe your actual fire at the charcoal is not hot enough. Hope this helps.

[Stoke&Smoke]

Have used KF regular blue and competition, also lump, with or without wood and always get some kind of smoke ring. This was hot and fast with 3 or 4 chunks of apple
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn21/2SkinnyCooks/Westmont2012/3rdPlaceBrisket.jpg


This was low and slow, lump, with a few apple chips http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn21/2SkinnyCooks/Shannon08/sausage.jpg

It's a little harder to see but it's got a deep smoke ring

Both done with foiled water pan with foiled clay saucer, no water except what was in the meat to start with, both started right out of the cooler cold

I've tried without wood and still get a smoke ring but I like the flavor better with a little wood smoke

Only thing I can think of is being sure the meat is cold, and the rub not too thick, both of which were already mentioned. Definitely a head scratcher!

[Fwismoker]

This might ruffle some feathers but oh well... Can we stop the talk of using something to produce a faux smoke ring like celery salt, TQ etc...?

I put that in the same category as boiling ribs, crock pots, and liquid smoke. When it comes to the purity of the art it's not hard to do it the good old fashioned way. I just have zero respect for anyone that cheats. :rant2:

[eddieh70301]

This might ruffle some feathers but oh well... Can we stop the talk of using something to produce a faux smoke ring like celery salt, TQ etc...?

I put that in the same category as boiling ribs, crock pots, and liquid smoke. When it comes to the purity of the art it's not hard to do it the good old fashioned way. I just have zero respect for anyone that cheats. :rant2:
That's pretty harsh dude! Who cares if one uses celery salt or any other means to achieve smoke ring. If that's what he wants, then by all means he should do whatever it takes to create one.
I, for one, don't cheat. I used celery salt for the first time when I cooked a brisket a few months ago. Not sure if that helped in achieving a smoke ring or not as I always have some form of a smoke ring.

[grantw]

The best ring I get in a wsm or my backwoods even I feed the wood as it needs, I can get nice rings even at 300 this way. My chunks are weighed between 2 to 3 oz. I add at most 2 chunks at a time and on the hot part of the fire. With 2 chunks I put one right on the hot part and one just off to the side.

[pjtexas1]

Here we go98382

[Shagdog]

This might ruffle some feathers but oh well... Can we stop the talk of using something to produce a faux smoke ring like celery salt, TQ etc...?

I put that in the same category as boiling ribs, crock pots, and liquid smoke. When it comes to the purity of the art it's not hard to do it the good old fashioned way. I just have zero respect for anyone that cheats. :rant2:

First off - I don't understand what this has to do with the current conversation... The man wants a smoke ring, not to be insulted because he can't figure out something that, as you say, "is so easy to do" I have yet to see you suggest anything useful or helpful here...

Secondly, do you mix all your own rubs? Do you know exactly what is going on your meat? If you use store bought rubs, you are putting nitrites on your meats, so I guess you are cheating too. Nitrites are a crucial element in the science of creating a smoke ring, and most likely a contributing factor in why its so easy for you to produce one. How is suggesting that he produce an environment that is optimal for producing a smoke ring cheating? If I use rubs that call for celery salt as an ingredient (not just to create a smoke ring), am I a cheater? Where do you draw that line?

[Fwismoker]

That's pretty harsh dude! Who cares if one uses celery salt or any other means to achieve smoke ring. If that's what he wants, then by all means he should do whatever it takes to create one.
I, for one, don't cheat. I used celery salt for the first time when I cooked a brisket a few months ago. Not sure if that helped in achieving a smoke ring or not as I always have some form of a smoke ring.

LOL...not sure how i deserve a "harsh dude" with a exclamation point for saying i think it's silly to cheat on a smoke ring. It's cheating and in a way it's false advertising imo. Also it's not rocket science to make a good one with fire and wood. ( no offense to the op) If people with electric smokers can make good smoke rings then there's no need to fake one... JMO. I'm entitled to my opinion as you are yours.

[eddieh70301]

LOL...not sure how i deserve a "harsh dude" with a exclamation point for saying i think it's silly to cheat on a smoke ring. It's cheating and in a way it's false advertising imo. Also it's not rocket science to make a good one with fire and wood. ( no offense to the op) If people with electric smokers can make good smoke rings then there's no need to fake one... JMO. I'm entitled to my opinion as you are yours.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. and I agree w/Shagdog. It's not relevant to the post.
I don't call using celery salt cheating. If it helps create a smoke ring, then it should be used. A smoke ring provides no taste enhancement-only for appearance. I like the way it looks on meat so I would do whatever is necessary to achieve it.

[Fwismoker]

Sure it's relevant to the post. If people can suggest going fake I can suggest going natural...it's more than relevant. We're talking about SR...

Of course it doesn't have anything to do with taste which is why i consider it false advertising with regards to appearance.

Back to the OP: I'd look to getting a hotter fire as others have suggested. A hotter fire doesn't have to necessarily mean hotter cooking temps but rather the way you stage your charcoal basket. The next cook you could try lump which should definitely get you a hotter fire.

[SDAR]

This is my opinion, take it as you will. I stay at a lot of Holiday Inn Expresses and I am a Chemical Engineer. :mrgreen:

I believe the smoke ring comes from the amount of air over a given amount of time at the beginning of the smoke (before bark crusts over the outer layer). Air is 78% nitrogen.

Stick burners seldom have a hard time generating smoke rings. Very efficient uprights and even WSM's that don't use as much fuel/air mixture over the given amount of time at the beginning of the cook have less of a smoke ring.

I have cooked 15 briskets on my insulated Pitmaker Vault and wound up with a very pronounced smoke ring on all of the briskets. I believe this is because there was quite a bit of a heat sink inside of the cooker that it took more fuel and more air (nitrogen) flowing over the cold meat to keep the cooker at the desired temperature.

When I cook one brisket at a time on my Vault without any water in the pan (another heat sink) I seldom get a noticable smoke ring. This is especially true in the summer time with ambient temperatures in the 90-100 degree range. During the winter time with ambient temperatures in the 30-40 degree range, the air has to be heated up, using more fuels which requires more air to burn...better smoke ring.

When I use water in the Vault, I begin with about 12 gallons of water (over a 12 hour cook) as a heat sink, use the twice or 3 times the fuel for the 12 hour cook and a smoke ring is almost almost always visible.

I don't know but I would venture a guess that the WSM smoke rings are up north with cooler nights and maybe even generated in the winter time.

Just my thoughts.

[oifmarine2003]

First off - I don't understand what this has to do with the current conversation... The man wants a smoke ring, not to be insulted because he can't figure out something that, as you say, "is so easy to do" I have yet to see you suggest anything useful or helpful here...

Secondly, do you mix all your own rubs? Do you know exactly what is going on your meat? If you use store bought rubs, you are putting nitrites on your meats, so I guess you are cheating too. Nitrites are a crucial element in the science of creating a smoke ring, and most likely a contributing factor in why its so easy for you to produce one. How is suggesting that he produce an environment that is optimal for producing a smoke ring cheating? If I use rubs that call for celery salt as an ingredient (not just to create a smoke ring), am I a cheater? Where do you draw that line?


Science. Got to love it. Wait, science is cheating. :tape:

[nmayeux]

Smoke signals had a very good article on smoke rings with various tests and results. It mentions and tests several of the issues discussed in this thread.

[Fwismoker]

Science. Got to love it. Wait, science is cheating. :tape:

Here's a poll i just did...Curious what most think on the subject.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=192118

[smoke ninja]

Smoke signals had a very good article on smoke rings with various tests and results. It mentions and tests several of the issues discussed in this thread.

Which issue?





So thunter what's your next test trial gonna be?

[Will work for bbq]

Smoke signals had a very good article on smoke rings with various tests and results. It mentions and tests several of the issues discussed in this thread.

I read that article and they found that the best smoke ring was when moisture was present.

So just last weekend I did a rib cook and did two things that I don't normally do. First I switched to Kingsford competition (tired of all the ash from KB) and filled my water pan oh three things I also preheated my wood chunks on the top grate adding moisture to them because I also read on fruita wood that the bagged wood chunks have no moisture and that twice as much is needed compared to wood with some moisture content. The results were very little smoke ring (great tasting ribs but the smoke ring was just not there). The Kingsford competition seemed to burn cleaner and had a nice woodsy aroma to it so I was stumped at the lack of SR when I usually don't have a problem with it. Oh yeah my cook temp was a steady 275* throughout thanks to my Guru (hope that's not cheating :wink:) and my ribs went on cold and moist.

[thunter]

I was getting no smoke ring for the longest time on my WSM's and I was using Kingsford blue bag. I decided to switch over to a nice lump charcoal and that changed everything as far as ring goes.

I did that and I got a beautiful ring on everything I cooked. I have no idea what happened because when I first got the WSM I got a ring but it just kind of stopped one day.

Very interesting! I'm picking up some Wicked Good tomorrow. Going to do another cook on the WSM with it to see what happens. Thanks! :grin:

[thunter]

This is my opinion, take it as you will. I stay at a lot of Holiday Inn Expresses and I am a Chemical Engineer. :mrgreen:

I believe the smoke ring comes from the amount of air over a given amount of time at the beginning of the smoke (before bark crusts over the outer layer). Air is 78% nitrogen.

Stick burners seldom have a hard time generating smoke rings. Very efficient uprights and even WSM's that don't use as much fuel/air mixture over the given amount of time at the beginning of the cook have less of a smoke ring.

I have cooked 15 briskets on my insulated Pitmaker Vault and wound up with a very pronounced smoke ring on all of the briskets. I believe this is because there was quite a bit of a heat sink inside of the cooker that it took more fuel and more air (nitrogen) flowing over the cold meat to keep the cooker at the desired temperature.

When I cook one brisket at a time on my Vault without any water in the pan (another heat sink) I seldom get a noticable smoke ring. This is especially true in the summer time with ambient temperatures in the 90-100 degree range. During the winter time with ambient temperatures in the 30-40 degree range, the air has to be heated up, using more fuels which requires more air to burn...better smoke ring.

When I use water in the Vault, I begin with about 12 gallons of water (over a 12 hour cook) as a heat sink, use the twice or 3 times the fuel for the 12 hour cook and a smoke ring is almost almost always visible.

I don't know but I would venture a guess that the WSM smoke rings are up north with cooler nights and maybe even generated in the winter time.

Just my thoughts.

A scientific explanation and much appreciated. As I think about this, it may explain why my SR experiences on the WSM are hit and miss. I should keep a better log of my cooks so I can know for sure. Thanks for the reply.

[thunter]

Well, I'm not sure how this got derailed but I'm not tripping. The reality is that my WSMs hardly ever produce a smoke ring, and it tasks me to find out why. I also discovered through searching that I am not the only one having this problem. I'm not a rookie cook, so I know that all the advice I have been given has merit. I have tried everything but switching to a good lump, and that's my next move.

I have an offset that I only burn wood in, and I always get deep, rich smoke rings cooking on it, and always have. So, I'm not "hard up" for a smoke ring. I have just found a situation that intrigues me, and calls me to figure it out. To me, that is the fun of the sport of BBQ.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has offered advice and suggestions. It has all been much appreciated.

Peace to my Brethren... and Sistren! :-D

[jrben1]

So I decided to do another WSM cook to see if I could get Miss Piggy to redeem herself, and give me a smoke ring. There was one thing the Brethren suggested that I had not tried, and that was to use some quality wood instead of the bagged wood I usually use in the WSM. So, now that I have a sawzall, I cut me some oak chunks from the logs I use in my offset, which by the way, always gives me an amazing smoke ring. Well, the wood did not make a difference. I made a video of the experience and I want to share it with my Brethren. :grin:

I have been a certified judge for Memphis in May, Kansas City BBQ Society, and the Florida BBQ Association. They tell you to ignore the smoke ring in all three of their judging schools. Meathead has an article on smoke rings on his Amazing Ribs website.

[NAVET]

I use a WSM and have no issue getting a smoke ring. I don't use celery salt in any of my rubs and run my WSM with no water pan 99.9% of the time. BUT I do use Black Cherry almost exclusively as my fruit wood of choice and use oak or hickory to tone it down. The black cherry makes a nice deep red color, not mahogony, and can make it almost black if you aren't careful. I use more oak than black cherry for beef, very little black cherry with oak for chicken and more black cherry than hickory for pork.

[bigthirsty]

Hate to ask a dumb question (ducks).. but does the meat taste smokey? Can you just use some more wood instead of trying to change briquettes?