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DATsBBQ

Head Chef
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
1,763
Location
Galveston TX
I bought a WSM about a month ago so I could compete in a very small local cookoff over the 4th. Just ain't happy with the smoke ring in the final product compared with what I consistantly get from the ceramics.

Any tips on how to improve the smoke ring? I'm using Kingsford charcoal with some lump mixed in. Water in the pan.

Here are the extremes of what I end up with, the first being the best and the second link what is typical.

http://www.ncre.biz/DATsBBQ/CookLogs/052208WSMcook.html
http://www.ncre.biz/DATsBBQ/CookLogs/Fatties060708.html
 
DATsBBQ said:
Any tips on how to improve the smoke ring? I'm using Kingsford charcoal with some lump mixed in. Water in the pan.

Put your meat on as cold as you can and slooowly bring your pit up to temp. The longer you keep your meat below 140º (within reason) the deeper your smoke ring will be.

How much wood are you using Dave? Kingsford by itself should give you a nice smoke ring......
 
Larry Wolfe said:
DATsBBQ said:
Any tips on how to improve the smoke ring? I'm using Kingsford charcoal with some lump mixed in. Water in the pan.

Put your meat on as cold as you can and slooowly bring your pit up to temp. The longer you keep your meat below 140º (within reason) the deeper your smoke ring will be.

How much wood are you using Dave? Kingsford by itself should give you a nice smoke ring......

Not much if any...maybe a chunk or two of oak. Same drill as I use on the ceramics.

I did one cook with wadded up foil, didn't seem to make a difference.

I'll try to keep the lid on ;)
 
I seem to recall last year Larry telling me he got a better smoke ring in the wsm than the ceramic...I could be wrong, maybe it's the reverse, but with the ceramics being so airtight, I would guess you'd need to use more wood in the wsm. I know I use 5 to 6 chunks for butts in mine.

Of course, wood smoke doesn't form smoke rings..it's a chemical reaction that often occurs during the presence of smoke. I can dig up a pic in the catering section under the heading "Cappy's Big Ad-Vend-ture" about
a freezing March vend event I did on a gas cooker with a large smoke ring.
 
I agree with Larry, take the meat out of the cooler and get it on the cooker as cold as you can get it...a better ring should form...of course, as we all well know, smoke ring plays no part in how you'll be judged in comps! :shock: :shock: 8) :LOL: :LOL:
 
which is taught by KCBS....but we all know judging is subjective...kind of like juries dealing with people having sex with goats.
 
IMHO, I suspect the smoke ring is caused my the carbon monoxide in high concentrations inside the cooking chamber. So it stands to reason the the more airtight the interior of the cooker the higher concentration of CO the more defined the smoke ring.

This is just a pet theory of mine, don't get your panties in a bunch I ain't saying it like its is a proven fact......BOY! :)
 
Finney said:
Well first... Fill up that damn charcoal ring and stop thinking like a ceramic owner. LOL You need about 3 baseball sized chunks of wood in there.

They do seem a bit heavy on the fuel usage, so I'll follow your advice. Don't want anyone to claim I ain't doing my part to increase my carbon footprint.

I never allow the meat to get to room temp before the cook. I know some folks do but I try to avoid that. Out of the icebox and onto the smoker is what I do. The meat is typically at 38* when the probe goes in. Maybe I should stick the meat in the freezer when I start the cooker? That should give it a good half hour to get close to frozen on the outside.

Thanks for all the advice. I got a bunch of apple limbs so I'll make sure that there is at least 3 fist sized chunks in the box next cook.

:D
 
BchrisL said:
IMHO, I suspect the smoke ring is caused my the carbon monoxide in high concentrations inside the cooking chamber. So it stands to reason the the more airtight the interior of the cooker the higher concentration of CO the more defined the smoke ring.

This is just a pet theory of mine, don't get your panties in a bunch I ain't saying it like its is a proven fact......BOY! :)

The proven fact is, that the smoke ring is caused by the nitrates and the nitrites in the wood smoke causing a reaction in the myoglobin in the cells of the meat, this creates the red of a smoke ring, the reaction works best across a wet transfer surface, so moisture in your pit is important, (once the meat is on a WSM, try and keep the temperature above the boiling point of water, and don't open the lid for any reason for the first 3 hours).

Don't forget if you are smoking to make things look good for un-bbq-educated friends and family, that there's more than one way to create a "good" smoke ring, you can always fake it if you want to.

To fake a smoke ring, give the meat a covering of Morton's Tender Quick, or Prague #1 powder or even Salt Peter, allow it to stand 25 - 30 minutes wash it off, add your rub and smoke the meat, you'll get a remarkable smoke ring using this technique...but is it BBQ? ;)
 
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