Karen C. wrote:
> "Dan" <intrceptor@gmaildotcom> wrote in message
> .. .
>> That's too much smoke - particularly Hickory.
>
> Uh-oh! The amount of hickory chunks is where DH and I disagreed
> most. He wanted to keep seeing smoke all day from the smoker.
> He said you always see that coming from the smokehouse at the BBQ
> joint we frequent. I would have put in more than the four
> chunks, but I remember reading where you can oversmoke and make
> it not fit to eat.
>
> Fortunately, DH can (and does) eat just about anything, so I'm
> sure it won't go to waste, even if DD and I don't like
> yesterday's efforts <g>.
>
>> I cooked one last night
>> with a golfball sized piece of Hickory, two Cherry - same size,
> and a
>> small handful of apple - it was shredded. The smoke ring was
> 1/4" -
>> 3/8" all around in a small picnic and the flavor was great.
>
> So do you put all of the chunks and chips in at the same time,
> when first starting up, or do you spread it out over the cook?
>
> And that's the total amount of chunks and chips you put on? IOW,
> no additional chunks nor chips?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Karen C.
>
>

The local BBQ joints are adding new meat all of the time so they need
constant smoke. The consensus is that when cooking pork butts or beef
brisket the smoke only penetrates the meat during the first hour or so.

I bought some large boxes of hickory and apple that were cut and split
into small pieces. I called them golf ball size since that's the
closest object I could compare them to. The apple I have is shredded
like mulch. I used one piece of hickory, two cherry, and a small
handful of apple - about the same amount as the hickory Sunday night for
a 7# picnic (butt). The smoke lasted maybe 45-60 minutes and I had a
nice smoke ring. I didn't add any more smoking wood after that.

Are you using lump or briquettes? That makes a huge difference in
flavor, too.

Dan


Dan

"Dan" <intrceptor@gmaildotcom> wrote in message
.. .
> The local BBQ joints are adding new meat all of the time so
they need
> constant smoke.

That makes a whole lot of sense to me, but DH just isn't buying
it.

> The consensus is that when cooking pork butts or beef
> brisket the smoke only penetrates the meat during the first
hour or so.

I do recall reading that someone in the group had said the meat
will only take on smoke the first hour. But then I wondered how
that could be, considering people have said you can over smoke if
you're not careful.

> I bought some large boxes of hickory and apple that were cut
and split
> into small pieces. I called them golf ball size since that's
the
> closest object I could compare them to. The apple I have is
shredded
> like mulch. I used one piece of hickory, two cherry, and a
small
> handful of apple - about the same amount as the hickory Sunday
night for
> a 7# picnic (butt). The smoke lasted maybe 45-60 minutes and I
had a
> nice smoke ring. I didn't add any more smoking wood after
that.

This is good to know. I'm going to try the apple and cherry
woods soon.

> Are you using lump or briquettes? That makes a huge difference
in
> flavor, too.

Definitely lump--although I can't find a good brand around here.
Cowboy and Frontier are all I've found so far. I did spot
Kingsford's Charwood last week, but I seem to recall reading that
it ain't that great. I'm going to special order a decent brand
if I don't find some locally soon.

Thanks a bunch!

Karen C.

On Sep 4, 7:41 pm, "Karen C." > wrote:
> "Dan" <intrceptor@gmaildotcom> wrote in message

> > The consensus is that when cooking pork butts or beef
> > brisket the smoke only penetrates the meat during the first
>
> hour or so.
>
> I do recall reading that someone in the group had said the meat
> will only take on smoke the first hour. But then I wondered how
> that could be, considering people have said you can over smoke if
> you're not careful.
>

Well, first couple of hours not just the first one is the normal
concensus. But as to your question on how meat can be oversmoked?

What I've observed is that the smoke will condense and leave a layer
directly on the meat itself. I'm pretty sure that it's this
condensation is what most people refer to when they say something was
oversmoked.

"Tutall" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Well, first couple of hours not just the first one is the
normal
> concensus. But as to your question on how meat can be
oversmoked?
>
> What I've observed is that the smoke will condense and leave a
layer
> directly on the meat itself. I'm pretty sure that it's this
> condensation is what most people refer to when they say
something was
> oversmoked.

It did seem as if the inside of the meat had a good smoky flavor
to it, too, but that may be just because I included a bit of the
bark in the mix.

I think our challenge is going to be that DH likes things a lot
smokier than DH or I do. I only used a small portion of the bark
when I pulled the pork (because the rest of it was tough), but DH
saved the discarded bark for himself. It was waaaaaaay to smoky
smelling for my taste, but . . .

Karen C.

On Sep 6, 6:08 am, "Karen C." > wrote:
> "Tutall" > wrote in message
>
> ups.com...
>
> > Well, first couple of hours not just the first one is the
> normal
> > concensus. But as to your question on how meat can be
> oversmoked?
>
> > What I've observed is that the smoke will condense and leave a
> layer
> > directly on the meat itself. I'm pretty sure that it's this
> > condensation is what most people refer to when they say
> something was
> > oversmoked.
>
> It did seem as if the inside of the meat had a good smoky flavor
> to it, too, but that may be just because I included a bit of the
> bark in the mix.

That's the way most people chop/shred the bark into the shredded mix.
The inner meat is really pretty bland. The bark is the spice if you
will.

>
> I think our challenge is going to be that DH likes things a lot
> smokier than DH or I do. I only used a small portion of the bark
> when I pulled the pork (because the rest of it was tough),

It's only tough by itself, chopped in and mixed with the rest of the
meat I think you'll be happier with the results.

"Tutall" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> That's the way most people chop/shred the bark into the
shredded mix.
> The inner meat is really pretty bland. The bark is the spice if
you
> will. . . .
> It's only tough by itself, chopped in and mixed with the rest
of the
> meat I think you'll be happier with the results.

Aha! That makes sense. Will do.

But is it supposed to be that tough? I'm just wondering if maybe
I didn't overdo it because it seems awfully dry.

Thanks!

Karen C.

> Aha! That makes sense. Will do.
>
> But is it supposed to be that tough? I'm just wondering if maybe
> I didn't overdo it because it seems awfully dry.
>

Well, it IS called *bark* after all, and not for the sound dogs
make. ;-)

Yeah, it's normal to resemble jerky. Most of us do things to assist
it's formation, like using brown sugar.

On 7-Sep-2007, "Karen C." > wrote:

> "Tutall" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > That's the way most people chop/shred the bark into the
> shredded mix.
> > The inner meat is really pretty bland. The bark is the spice if
> you
> > will. . . .
> > It's only tough by itself, chopped in and mixed with the rest
> of the
> > meat I think you'll be happier with the results.
>
> Aha! That makes sense. Will do.
>
> But is it supposed to be that tough? I'm just wondering if maybe
> I didn't overdo it because it seems awfully dry.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Karen C.

Karen, I bought a 17 oz cleaver and a sacrificial cutting board
just for the purpose of dealing with BBQ bark. It's well worth it.
Although it usually looks burnt and is often quite hard, it doesn't
taste burnt and after blending with the rest of the meat and
sitting awhile to mellow it really enhances the overall taste.

On the other hand, if it tastes like tar to you, it probably is and
should be discarded.

I always separate the bark as best I can from the rest of the
meat as I pull it. I chop the bark separately to avoid any
possibility that I will mix crap into my meat. Only when it meets
my approval do I mix it into the main batch. It's been a long
time since I've had to discard any bark, but I will pitch it in
a New York second of it doesn't measure up.

--
Brick(Save a tree, eat a Beaver)