rib question ...

[BamsBBQ]

when i use the big pit, we put the splits on the firebox to dry it out. dry wood equals better combustions and also makes sure the wood is dry

http://www.smoking-meat.com/2006/05/smoking-wood-chips-wet-or-dry.html

Q: Hi Jeff, I have a question about exactly how to use the wood chips when smoking. I have a grill with a side box for smoking. The brand of chips I have says to use the chips dry, but I always though they were supposed to be soaked--am I wrong here? Should I put the chips directly on the coals or should they be wrapped in foil? Also, do I need to add more chips as I'm smoking or just hot coals?

A: Lots of folks soak their wood chips however the water has to evaporate before it will begin to smolder and smoke so to me it does not make sense to soak them in most circumstances.

For the best results,I would take a good sized hand full and wrap them in foil.. poke a few holes in the top and lay it right on the coals.

You want to apply smoke for about 1/3 of the cooking time or until the meat reaches approximately 140 degrees. This may require several foil packages of chips depending on how long it takes them to burn up.

Make sure there is plenty of airflow to prevent the buildup of creosote.. just make sure your damper/intake are both open at least 3/4 of the way.

The trick is to build a small enough fire to allow that much airflow without the temps going off the charts with you.. if you have to close the intake down to 1/2 or then that is ok just make sure the damper stays open real good and you should be fine.

How much you can allow is different for every smoker and as you gain proficiency you will learn just how much you can do without oversmoking the meat.

You will need to add more hot coals periodically to maintain temperatures in the smoker.. I use a charcoal chimney but you can use any type of metal container to make more hot coals and add them to the firebox as needed.

 

[joec]

If the fire is below 275 dry wood smokes....

Keep in mind GF I using a propane heat source directly on the wood box. Don't have a clue the temp it smokes at but know what the cooking temperatures are in the rest of the box as there I have thermometers. However to each their own I guess but I've tried it without soaking and had it burst into flames raising the cooking temps to too high of levels as well as burn the wood up in a minute or two. Soaking no problem just takes a bit longer for it to start making smoke but I don't put in the food until it is happening. One box filled will make 2 hours of solid smoke regardless of the wood used.

 

[Keltin]

Wasn't there a BBQer who had a vid saying that soaking the wood did absolutely nothing. The guy on the WSM Bullet site maybe? I've always read/heard that there were two trains of thought on this, and know I saw a vid one time of some guy disproving that soaking the wood increased the ring.

I’m sure it will depend on many things. What kind of rig are you using (vertical, horizontal, offset firebox, etc). Do you have any water in a pan already. Do you have a salt based tenderizer in your rub? Do you use a liquid based mop or mist.

When wood burns, it creates nitrogen dioxide. When nitrogen dioxide combines with water, it forms nitric acid. But, it has to be a 1-to-1 formation. If you have 8 parts nitrogen dioxide, and 28 parts water, you can only get 8 parts nitric acid. So in the end, your rig and methodology play a part. If you use a water smoker, that’s probably all the water you need. If you use a wet mop, then that could be enough.

But in the end, I ultimately soak my wood so that it smolders and doesn’t bust into a raging flame. Wet wood (coupled with proper use of the lower air intakes) is also handy for controlling an overly-hot bed of coals. If it adds to the smoke ring cool, but I have a water pan and use a wet mop, so I’m sure it is debatable.

Also, remember it is about your meat as well. Meat has moisture in it.

 

[joec]

My smoker does have a 1 gallon water pan also which I keep filled with water but sometimes mix it with other things like apple cider or wine.

 

[Love2"Q"]

So are you saying that overcooking led to all pink rib meat, or just that fall off the bone texture?
In post #11 you said, "not the smoke ring i was looking
for but they were super tasty". What kind of smoke ring did you get?
I'm asking because yesterday, my ribs came out pink thru and thru. And the texture was perfect, so I don't think they were overcooked. Real juicy and real pink (lol).
I'm wondering if I used too much smoke, or perhaps not foiling them left them exposed to the smoke longer before it burnt out. I know I made up larger packets of wood chips than I usually use.... I don't know why, but I'm thinking that was it? Since it was just me, I certainly didn't mind them being all pink looking and there wasn't anything wrong with the taste, but now I'm trying to figure out why the difference This is my first time with them having the all pink look.

over cooking was the culprit of the fall apart .. i like my ribs to have a little chewiness if that makes sense ..
and over smoking for the pinkness .. i noticed if i used apple it was not bitter but still very pink .. if i used hickory i got the bitterness ..
hope that helps ..

 

[Keltin]

i agree with most of what you said but this..lol

when you soak your wood you are not getting a clean burn. thus the white smoke or not so thin blue smoke. if you use chunks instead of chips, there will be no need to soak the wood.

the smoke rings also depends on the kind of wood you burning.. try cherry which is my favorite because it always gives me a very nice ring. i get consistent rings when using cherry wood. as well as the ring, cherry wood has an awesome flavor

http://www.barbecuen.com/faqs/woodchip.htm

Not so sure that type of wood matters. The smoke ring is just a chemical reaction between burning wood and water/moisture in the meat. I’m no chemist and haven’t analyzed ppm production of nitrogen dioxide amongst the various wood types.....but it seems to me combusting wood is combusting wood. I could be wrong.

I use chunk wood 99% of the time. The only time I use chips is if I run out of chunks. But, I soak my chunks.

Most purists would tell you that white smoke is produced by burning wood....any wood....chunks, chips, or logs. The white smoke is the myriad of chemical reactions when one fuel source (potential energy – wood) is converted to another (kinetic – fire). For true blue smoke, the purists will argue you have to burn your wood (chunks or logs) in a separate pit until they are coals. Then you put them in the cooker. When you watch the stack, you shouldn’t see much “smoke” at all.....just a thin blue wisp every now and then.

So throwing dry chunks on the coals is actually making white smoke. But that’s what I do....so hey.

Soaking the chunks slows down the rate of combustion. But a chunk of wood that is soaked and full of water will evaporate the water from the outside in. Thus the fire rests on the outer layer of the wood, evaporates the water there, begins to consume that layer of the wood, and as the heat makes it’s way inside, more water evaporates allowing another layer of wood to burn, and thus it works it’s way down to the core. Not to mention the escaping steam from the interior of the wood will retard the outer layer’s ability to ‘flame on”.

One thing to consider about foil packs of wood. First, a Smoke Ring and Smoke Flavor are two different things. You can have very smokey meat with almost no smoke ring. Now, a smoke ring is formed by burning wood,. The wood must combust. Wood in a foil pouch doesn’t have enough oxygen to combust, thus it just smolders. So using a foil pack can grant smokey flavor, but it can also retard the formation of a smoke ring if the wood doesn’t combust. But again, you can combat this with a rub that loads your meat with nitrates.

Check the pics in this thread. That was grilled in about 35-40 minutes over Kingsford coals only. No wood at all. But, it was a marinated piece of meat, and the marinade was loaded with tenderizers and nitrates. Notice I got a small smoke ring using only charcoal and the nitrates in the marinade. And it was a relatively short cook.

 

[BamsBBQ]

i agree, smoke ring and smoke taste are 2 different things..

you gotta try cherry wood at least once... i notice a big difference in the color of the outside of the meat and a deeper color red smoke ring.

when we are in comps, we always throw in some cherry splits, it seems to work

brisket with just oak and hickory

brisket with oak and cherry

 

[joec]

I use cherry wood, apple, hickory, oak and mesquite depending on the taste I'm going for. In the case of fish I like cedar and alder wood a little better.

 

[Keltin]

i agree, smoke ring and smoke taste are 2 different things..

you gotta try cherry wood at least once... i notice a big difference in the color of the outside of the meat and a deeper color red smoke ring.

when we are in comps, we always throw in some cherry splits, it seems to work

brisket with just oak and hickory

brisket with oak and cherry

Ok, I'm a believer! That is a beautiful smoke ring!!! I'll have to try cherry. I've done Hickory, Mesquite, Apple, Oak, and Pecan. Cherry is now on the list!

 

[chowhound]

over cooking was the culprit of the fall apart .. i like my ribs to have a little chewiness if that makes sense ..
and over smoking for the pinkness .. i noticed if i used apple it was not bitter but still very pink .. if i used hickory i got the bitterness ..
hope that helps ..

Yes. Thanks.