Santa Maria Grilling, Smoke Flavor?

[darita]

Thinking about trying a Santa Maria style grill and I'm wondering if you get any smoke flavor on the meat and so, how intense is it?

 

[Nuco59]

Mine just tastes "grilled" over an open wood fired flame if I choose to cook over splits that have not entirely burnt down OR like over hardwood lump if I let the splits burn down and sweep them under the grate. Either is pretty danged good- but if I want smoke- I use a smoker.

so- "a little" to "not much" that's about as precise as I can get it...but I might be doing it differently from other SM'ers (if that is a thing)

 

[Music Junkie]

I've got a large SM Grill and all the local oak I could hope for. If I get the pit started up and get the coals burned in, there is not really a 'smoke" flavor to the food. You can taste the difference between it and a gas grill for sure, but it's not a smoker. I think the flavor is awesome, especially for chicken, tri-tip and sausage. Rib Eyes are darn good too.

 

[LordRiffenstein]

Agree with Nuco59, have a few cooks on the SM under my belt and I think the smoke flavor is minimal. On my last cook, I had some unburned wood providing extra smoke. When tasting the chicken, I couldn´t really tell a smoke flavor but the misses could a little. The lephtovers def had some smoke flavor but nowhere near as much as I can get from my other cookers (pellet, kettle, offset).

 

[darita]

Got it. Thanks all. It makes sense. I still like the idea of cooking over burning wood though.

 

[padge31]

If you go to trendkiller bbq on YouTube, he make a santa maria grill that has a hood type thing. I think it allows smoke to roll over the food.

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

Open cooking will always have a less smokiness than cooking in a closed cooker. For live fire cooking, I have found a few factors make a difference.

1. Smokiness of the fire. If the wood is smoldering it will make more smoke.
2. Meat temp and surface moisture. Just like when smoking with any other method. Smoke sticks better to cold and wet meat.
3. Time. Slow down and you will get more smoke. On mine, if i put the fire on one side and the meat as far away as possible, it will get more time to get smoky. A tri tip will spend 90 minutes parked far from the fire while coming up around 110 before I do a hard sear. Great smokiness with that method.

 

[TXNewbie]

Sorry for pulling up an old thread - but look at the pics I just posted ($8 meat thread) using my SM grill. Could clearly taste the wood flavor. It was perfect for us - not minimal and not overpowering. We did a mix of charcoal and wood.

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

Also, you can use mesquite if you can get it and that will be pretty darn smoky

 

[darita]

Thanks. Now I'm looking at the attachment for a Weber grill. It's not the real deal, but it gets me close, without having to hear the wife complain about the space it's taking up.

 

[edmonds]

I don't have a Santa Maria grill. But I have a Schwenker type grill that is suspended over an open fire, can be lowered/raised, and can swing/rotate over the fire (this latter averages out hot spots).

Cooking over an open fire is more variable than using a grill/smoker. But the heat and smoke can be controlled by (1) tending the fire and (2) raising/lowering the grate.

If you let the wood burn all the way down to ashes, it is the same as grilling over lump charcoal. Or you can use variable amounts of actively burning wood, which exposes the meat to variable amounts of smoke. Since there is no lid, the meat may not absorb as much smoke as when using a smoker. But wood combusted in an open fire has a somewhat different profile of byproducts, which imparts a slightly different smoke flavor. Also, there is a roasted flavor component, which is usually absent from smokers.

IMHO, meat cooked over an open fire has a smokey flavor, but it depends on how the cook was done. It sometimes may not seem as strong as cooked in a smoker, but the combination of smoke and roasted flavors are hard to beat.