I have a little hondo smoker with an off-set fire-box.
Two days ago I tried to smoke a brisket using only wood (pecan).
I never had to fire hotter than 225F. During the day I kept adding wood to
it. I started burning the wood in a chimney but did not wait for the fire to
be out . When I opened it up, the cover of the smoker was covered with
tar-like substance, the brisket had a strong taste to it, but was still
eatable and quite soft.
My question is what did I do wrong? Should I have used charcoal or
briquettes as a heat source and use the wood chunks for smoke?
Another question: what is the optimal time to smoke a brisket for just the
flavor.


Thanks
Ken