Bitter smoke

[mbowker641]

This past weekend I did a brisket, pork tenderloin, rib roast and some fatties. Everything turned out OK, but the pork has a bit of a bitter taste to it.

I did some research in the forums and think I found my problem. The smoke coming out of my stack is white and I need to figure out how to turn it blue.

I use a Charbroil Silver offset and start with a starter full of lump. Once the temp gets up to the 225* range, I add the meat and then a few sticks of wood and in a few minutes- smoke, but it's usually white.

Is my fire too hot? Too cool? Do I need to make some sort of modification to the smoker? I have already lined the chamber with firebrick and instead of a baffle, I put a brick in the opening between the firebox and smoke chamber.

I haven't been doing this long, so if the answer is simple, please be gentle.

 

[HeSmellsLikeSmoke]

Seems ok until wood is added. Charcoal is fully lit before adding I assume?

Please describe the wood that you are adding.
Is it dried or green? How much are you adding? Does it have bark? Is it soaked in water first?

 

[The_Kapn]

White smoke is normally a product of moisture.
Cold wood.
Green wood.
Wet wood.

All will produce white smoke.
To me, white smoke is normally "steam" from the above sources.
Steam produced in the firebox grabs the ash around it and "goes hunting" for something cold to land on.
Guess what is the coldest thing around?
YUP--the meat :lol:

So that nasty burned ash deposits itself on the meat and we have a bitter smell and taste.

A "clean fire" produces no visible smoke--just the wonderful byproducts of the wood source to settle on our beloved meat.

Makes sense to me, anyway :lol:

TIM

 

[Papa Tom]

Some other questions:
What kind of wood do you use?
What was the temperature of the pork when you put it on?
How long did you smoke?
Did you have the flue damper open or closed?

Bitter smoke taste is usually an indication that you have over smoked the meat. Everything else could be fine.

 

[mbowker641]

Seems ok until wood is added. Charcoal is fully lit before adding I assume?

Please describe the wood that you are adding.
Is it dried or green? How much are you adding? Does it have bark? Is it soaked in water first?

Dry hickory sticks, about 2x2x8. Made sure none of the pieces I used had bark.

 

[mbowker641]

Some other questions:
What kind of wood do you use?
What was the temperature of the pork when you put it on?
How long did you smoke?
Did you have the flue damper open or closed?

Bitter smoke taste is usually an indication that you have over smoked the meat. Everything else could be fine.

Used hickory, the pork was very cold even though it sat on the counter for nearly an hour and was in the smoke for about 3 hrs. Took it off the smoker at 150* and finished it in the oven at 165* It has a very distinct smoke ring about 3/16"-1/4".

By flue damper, due you mean the lid on the stack or between the firebox and chamber?

 

[Smokin Gator]

Somewhere around here is a thread were the Poobah talks about sweet blue being a factor of the correct air/fuel mix. It makes sense to me and that is what I try to balance. When I have gotten too much/white smoke it always seems to be when I have too much air hence too much fuel trying to start or too much fuel going hence it is trying to pull more air and not burning cleanly.

It is just the mental image that seems to work for me... I have no idea whether it is correct or not!!!

 

[Papa Tom]

Well hickory produces a strong flavored smoke and is one of the easiest woods to over smoke with so you might just try cutting back on the hickory or try mixing it with oak. Just try changing one thing at a time though.

Because the pork was quite cold it will condense more smoke flavor.
The flue damper is on the smoke stack. The trick here is to run it as far open as possible while retaining a stable temperature.

 

[HeSmellsLikeSmoke]

Dry hickory sticks, about 2x2x8. Made sure none of the pieces I used had bark.

Adding a "few sticks" of that size all at once seems like way too much wood to me. Seems like that may be your problem. No way the size fire you have can ignite that much wood at once very well - hence the heavy smoke.

 

[mbowker641]

White smoke is normally a product of moisture.
Cold wood.
Green wood.
Wet wood.

All will produce white smoke.

TIM

Wood was dry and seasoned, also warm. Should I have preheated it?:biggrin:

 

[vr6Cop]

I learned a valuable lesson earlier this week and figured out why some of my meat ended up decent, but sooty.

If I'm wrong on this, please correct me Brethren.

You know how when you add your smoking wood to your fire and you have all this nasty white or tan smoke billowing everywhere? Let it die down before adding your meat. The smoke is still there - just not the acrid smoke.

 

[Papa Tom]

White smoke OK
Tan smoke bad.

 

[Single Fin Smoker]

Um, so does this mean you shouldn't soak your wood?

Please go easy on me.....

 

[FatDaddy]

Um, so does this mean you shouldn't soak your wood?

Please go easy on me.....

I hope your joking........


try preheating your wood. leave it on top of the firebox until u need to stick a log in the fire. it should help with ignition problems and help with the smoke issue. I have never noticed a difference in having the bark on or off the wood. most all the oak and mesquite i use has the bark on and it doesnt make a difference. But once i started preheating the wood. it has helped. ive even had some almost ignite on the firebox. they smolder pretty good when they are on there.

 

[BBQ_Mayor]

Good post. I have noticed some of this white/Tan smoke but it is normally when I have to add charcoal durning a cook. How do I avoid this?

 

[FatDaddy]

Good post. I have noticed some of this white/Tan smoke but it is normally when I have to add charcoal durning a cook. How do I avoid this?

start your charcoal in a chimney and add it once it is lit and hot.

 

[nmayeux]

You will always get a little white smoke when adding wood or charcaol. The key is to keep it at a minimum, and you can do this by preheating sticks, using the Minion method with charcoal, and ensure that you are using dry seasoned fuel. Every smoker is different, so you need to learn your smoker and figure the best way to run her.

This is why the cook is so important. You can have the bestest smoker in the world, but without a cook who understands this, you can still produce chitty Q.

 

[AlabamaGrillBillies]

For me, in my smoker (an NB offset about the size of yours) when I am not getting thin Blue Smoke there are normally one of a few things wrong:

1. Fire not hot enough. Better a small hot fire than a large smoldering one
2. Wood not dry. Don't soak your wood and like mentioned use the top of your firebox to preheat your wood.
3. Wood not seasoned. Green wood = bad smoke and worse tastes.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[WineMaster]

Ok then what do you do when you have a BIG tray of charcoal and chunks of hickory and you only light one corner with a chimney to get a long burn in a Spicewine or a Backwoods?

 

[Papa Hogg]

I put the wood chunks in my firebox in my BWS then the charcoal on top of that, so the wood should be very preheated & ignite easily as the fire burns across, I use fist size chunks or smaller and spread them out in the pan so they ignite at different times.