Doing something wrong

[Iowa Smoker]

I am not doing something right when smoking. I am using the TBBQ rub and cooking most everything around 200 degrees. Only problem is everything tastes the same.

Now granted the fish I smoked didn't taste like the pork, but the beef roast, pork loin and pork butt all tasted the same. Is there something I did wrong or is that the way it works?

Oh yeah I cooked the pork butt for about till the internal temp at the bone was about 160. The bone didn't fall out but the outside got a little tough any ideas there?

[kpigout]

Your temp is too low. You need to run at lest 225, but I go around 260-275 myself.

You want the bone to slide out, you gotta get the meat up to 195.

[txpgapro]

Are you using wood or charcoal? Over smoking may cause everything to taste the same.

[TB]

and.....at 200F, the meat will reach 195 bout the same time your son is out of college. :lol:

[Iowa Smoker]

okay I am getting the hint

First I am over smoking. I am getting a great smoke ring but Ihave commented how it is too deep

second it has taken forever to get to a proper temp.

I am using charcoal briq not lump, I can't find any lump close to me yet.

I have used a variety of woods. Apple, cherry, hickory and mesquite so far.

so your telling me to slow the smoke down some. THen how much.how often should I add wood for smoking?

oh yeah using an indirect heat smoker

[jgh1204]

Make sure your fire grate has at least 2 to 3 inches of clearance underneath. Poor circulation can cause problems getting your temps up and wastes a lot of fuel.

Using charcoal can cause a lot of ash and the resulting buildup underneath the grate can also affect performance.

Are you getting clear/light blue smoke?

I use a combination of charcoal and splits(pecan or hickory).

[david brace]

Sounds like ALL good suggestions so far. You have to get a very light smoke coming from the smoker, not a choo-choo train...as far as how much wood- I usually toss in one piece every 1 1/2 hours on average.

As we've all said, experience is the best teacher...IF you are a good student.

DB

[M38A1]

It's fair game to start with charcoal to get the temps up to 225*F +/- and go from there with either 1)more charcoal and wood chunks or 2) sticks only. If your getting a LOT of smoke, the fire is too fuel rich at the moment. Open up the intake or door and let it breath. Temp should come up and smoke amount decrease which is what you want...

YMMV

[bigwheel]

Sound just like a dumb yankee I work with. Biggest problemo is your roots and heritage and such things. I been working on him for and trying to teach him stuff for the past 20 years and he is still a dumb yankee. Stick with the gas grill. Have it hooked up to natural gas. Permanant fixture in other words.

bigwheel

[M38A1]

Let's give him the benefit of the doubt with only 10 posts here, OK? We don't want to run him off....

Iowa - Start with the basics first, OK?
Exactly what kind of offset smoker/cooking rig do you have?
What is the first meat you want to cook and cook well?
Do you have charcoal and wood available?
Do you understand some of the simple concepts like binders, rubs, meat cuts etc?

Give us a yell back with some answers to these and we'll do our best to get you going. There's no reason everything should taste the same unless your taste buds are dead.
~m

[Paul Taylor]

I agree with Scott. Give the man a break as I believe that he is honestly trying to do this right. At least give him the benefit of the doubt.

Hey Iowa, look here, there ain't no such a thing as a 'dumb'question with the exception of the one that you never ask. Anybody in here that knows me knows that's how I look @ this. Ain't none of us in here was born knowing how to do this. So go ahead & ask away @ anytime.

Paul Taylor

[TB]

Sound just like a dumb yankee I work with. Biggest problemo is your roots and heritage and such things. I been working on him for and trying to teach him stuff for the past 20 years and he is still a dumb yankee. Stick with the gas grill. Have it hooked up to natural gas. Permanant fixture in other words.

bigwheel
Bigwheel,
You been drinking your bathwater agin?
:lol: :lol: :lol:

[PhotoKirk]

You might want to switch to lump charcoal from briquettes. Lump will burn hotter with less ash.

When you say that everything tastes the same, does it all taste like smoke? If you have a smoky fire, it's easy to overpower the taste of the meat.

[TexLaw]

It sounds like you're getting the right advice here. Also, are you cooking with foil? If your meat spends too much time in the foil, everything seems to taste like the same, mushy sort of thing.


TL

[bigwheel]

Ahh them Iowans got a good sense of humor. He know I was just pushing his leg a litle:)

bigwheel



Bigwheel,
You been drinking your bathwater agin?
:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Iowa Smoker]

Actually I was laughing Big Wheel

I have an off set grill manufactured by a local fabrication shop. We looked up web sites, other smokers and all sorts of info to put it together.

I think it will work okay but we need to make a few more modifications. I didn't paint it because we knew we might be taking the torch or welder to it yet.

I am sure I am smoking stuff too much. Being a dumb yankee I have just enjoyed seeing smoke rolling out of the cooker and when it stopped we added more wood. Because we all know if a little smoke is good then a lot is better right?

Thanks for all of the info. I do appreciate how willing people are to help in this forum. I am sure I will be asking more dumb yankee questions in the near future!

[bigwheel]

Well glad you sorta like that other fella I know from Iowa. He is a big jokester type person too. Actually..as long as you got good wood and keep a well managed fire...think it close to impossible to oversmoke something. Now by well managed I mean giving it all the intake and exhaust the fire demands. Good wood do not include a lot of yankee wood like cheery..or Blue Spruce or whutever. Oak is the best and most forgiving. Jack up the heat to where my old pal Smokey Hale always tells folks..pit temp need to be about 60 degrees higher than the anticipated finishing temp of the meat. For example on that undercooked butt (butts need to terminal at about 195-200) you need to jack up the heat to where you come up with 195-200+60 Which means you should be striving for a pit temp of 255-260. Now that is as low and as slow as you want to go with that cut of meat in my book. Just my twicen guilders.

bigwheel

[gatorpit]

On the pork butt: Want the bone to easily slip out. You weren't even close to that tenderness. You probably had a few hours left to go. Cook hotter and longer. Rub with TexasBBQRub as you did before and rub a little yellow mustard all around the butt. Cook. You can double foil wrap toward the end and this will help tender the butt. When pulling (shredding) the pork, mix in a little of your favorite BBQ sauce. Not too much though. Then sprinkle Kosher salt on top and mix it all up. Kosher to taste. This combined with TexasBBQRub will add more flavor to the pork butt and will be excellent tasting. Give it a try next burn. Ritch

[cleglue]

It was stated earlier but take the butt to 195. You will have excellent pulled pork. I take brisket to 195 also. To foil or not to foil. Whatever you want. You will get mixed reviews on that. I've only cooked three true BBQ briskets and I foiled the all. I've cooke a few butts. I've done them both ways. Both were good. I'm trying to get away from foiling ribs. I plan on smoking a slab of spares Saturday hopefully.

Let us know how your next cook comes out and what you did.

[Woodman]

Now what part of The Hawkeye State are you from? You know, they have a preponderance of cook-offs there! I like Iowa. Best fried chicken I ever had was in a little Catholic town (the whloe town was centered around the church as was the bar/ chicken joint) called Mt Hamill just south of Mt Pleasant. Been to Debook, Cedar Rapids, Burlington, Keokuk,Fairfield, Ottumwa, Mt Pleasant, Muscatine, Davenport, and Council Bluffs.

ps. almost forgot Iowa City! :wink:

[Iowa Smoker]

being a Cyclone (Iowa State Univesity) I would have no problem with you forgetting Iowa City!

I am from the Far northeast corner. I am about 30 minutes form Minnesota and 30 minutes from Wisconsin. We are in the pretty part of the state. Also lots of woods.

Which brings me to another question and I one I have never thought about. When I built my smoker I put a large fire box one it. This would give the the capability to use wood rather than charcoal. What does everyone think is cooking with wood good or should I stay with lump or briquettes for now?

Either way I am going to get a supply of small oak split and seasoning for next year! Biwheel said oak is the best so I might as well tey it right?

Mike

[TexLaw]

Cooking with wood is very good.


TL

[TB]

Try it all bro.

[M38A1]

What does everyone think is cooking with wood good or should I stay with lump or briquettes for now?
Mike

I used to use just charcoal with wood chunks, then switched to lump and wood chunks for the entire cook. Now it's charcoal to get a bed of coals going and nothing but sticks after that. It takes a leap of faith, sort of like not opening the pit door for 6 hour, but it works well for me.

[Iowa Smoker]

what about getting a fire started with wood itself. Just like a camp fire. Then letting it cook down some and cook off of that? Or will that get too hot by the time ou get it regulated?

[bigwheel]

That is a real good plan with strong flavored wood..mesquite for example. Not needed if your using oak. Just build a reasonable sized fire for the temps you want to generate and start cooking. When it looks like the heat is headed down..throw another log or two..which has prefereably been pre-heated on top of the firebox so to make all the doodle bugs come out of it.

bigwheel

[TexLaw]

what about getting a fire started with wood itself. Just like a camp fire. Then letting it cook down some and cook off of that? Or will that get too hot by the time ou get it regulated?

You can do that, but it's really more hassle than anything else. I'd rather not fool around with lighting paper and kindling and all that jazz.

Rather, I do like M38. I put a stick or two (depending on the size and target temp) on top of a pile of charcoal and hit the whole thing from underneath with the log lighter for a good minute or so. Then, I leave the thing alone. When I come back in about 35-45 minutes, I have a nice fire, coal bed, and pit that's up to temperature (I have a small pit).

From there on out, I do like Bigwheel mentioned. If the temperature starts heading down off my mark, I check the fire. If a stick needs turning, I turn it. If I need to add a stick, I add one.

If I ever want to cook with coals that I burned down from sticks, I do it one of two ways. One way is to start a larger fire in the firebox, then pull some of that out to my kettle (as a firepit) for a side fire. The other way is to start a chimney or so of charcoal for the side fire.


TL

[Woodman]

being a Cyclone (Iowa State Univesity) I would have no problem with you forgetting Iowa City!

I am from the Far northeast corner. I am about 30 minutes form Minnesota and 30 minutes from Wisconsin. We are in the pretty part of the state. Also lots of woods.

Which brings me to another question and I one I have never thought about. When I built my smoker I put a large fire box one it. This would give the the capability to use wood rather than charcoal. What does everyone think is cooking with wood good or should I stay with lump or briquettes for now?

Either way I am going to get a supply of small oak split and seasoning for next year! Biwheel said oak is the best so I might as well tey it right?

Mike

Been through there on my way from Lacrosse to Burlington. Very pretty indeed. Don't they call that area Little Switzerland or Germany or something? Lots of turkeys and pheasants if I recall.