Hi all, I need your thoughts on this one please. I put a pork but on last night at midnight and this morning there was an unusual smell of plastic, not huge but underlying. Unfortunately I can taste it in the meat and our dinner guests arrive in 5 hrs. I'm thinking I'm off to the store to buy steak. Has anyone ever had this before?
I injected both pieces with a mixture of apple juice, water, sugar, pepper and salt, then rubbed it with my usual rub and let it sit wrapped in plastic wrap for 24hrs like I always do. I know the plastic sheets came off all together because I laid each one out on the counter to un wrap them as I use the plastic wrap as a drop cloth to catch the additional rub I put on (this stuff is 24" wide). I smoked using hickory for 4 hrs last night. It's funny but when I smelled the burnt pucks just now I can smell the hint of plastic. This was a huge piece of meat and many hours down the drain. Any thoughts would be much appreciated, I'm wondering if there could have been any foreign debris in the pucks. Oh, I have had the smoker for 2.5 years, never a problem and this was my 78th smoke without incident.
Jason.
That's a strange one.
I'm thinking maybe a part of the wrapper from the pucks go caught up between them and then stuck to the puck burner ?
Is there anything left on the puck burner that would suggest that ?
I'm sorry you ruined a big piece of meat like that, I really don't have any other ideas.
I wish that was it because then I would know. I have a habit of slapping the pucks together a number of times to get rid of the little bits of wood so it does not jam up the advancer so I don't think that could have been it. Just went and checked the burner just in case and it's clean. I also pulled the plastic wrap out of the garbage and laid it out to ensure all was accounted for and it was. I can only think there may have been some plastic in the pucks or the meat itself. Oh well. Thanks for the reply though.
Ever smelled a burnt wire?
I took my generator apart once (for no reason other than being curious) and there is potential for wires grounding inside the generators. Might be worth checking out IF you can't find anything else wrong.
What kind of plastic wrap did you use??? If you used Saran Wrap it gave you the plastic taste... I use a Food Grade Plastic Wrap from Sam's and it works perfect... I do not get any plastic taste in my meat at all...
wes, what kinda wood were you using when this happened?
Hickory....
ok, I was using mesquite yesterday and came across one that had a big brown glob in it.
So I cleaned the DBS inside and out removing anything that looked like it would come off. I turned the burner on and set the generator temp to 220 for three hrs. Just went out and it smells like rubber. I looked at everything and it's the rubber door gasket!!! I don't understand but when I rubbed my finger on the upper part of the gasket and smelled it, that was it 100%.
I have 8 guys coming over tomorrow night for our pre-ice fishing party and I have just mopped and rubbed two massive racks of beef ribs. So I guess it's plan B, anyone know how to BBQ that kind of ribs? I will have to give Bradley a call in the morning.
On the ribs... maybe some cold smoke and then boat and braise in the oven ?
Quote from: weekendsmoker on January 17, 2010, 05:43:58 PM
So I cleaned the DBS inside and out removing anything that looked like it would come off. I turned the burner on and set the generator temp to 220 for three hrs. Just went out and it smells like rubber. I looked at everything and it's the rubber door gasket!!! I don't understand but when I rubbed my finger on the upper part of the gasket and smelled it, that was it 100%.
I have 8 guys coming over tomorrow night for our pre-ice fishing party and I have just mopped and rubbed two massive racks of beef ribs. So I guess it's plan B, anyone know how to BBQ that kind of ribs? I will have to give Bradley a call in the morning.
Did you possibility clean the gasket with some strong cleaner or acetone?
I think CRG is on to something!
I was thinking the same thing.
Just a putty knife, no liquids. Just went out again and the gasket smells terrible, it's actually all the bottom gasket.
Is the gasket deteriated?
Will black rain do that to the bottom seal?
That's where it's going to accumulate.
Would be more like acid rain.
What was the position of the vent ?
A couple of times I have had "puck stack" where the pucks build a tower that continues to smolder instead of get put out in the water bowl. So if the water bowl went dry and the pucks continued to smolder and / or ignite from dripping fat, in theory you could have had a small fire in there that burnt itself out before you detected it, but was enough heat that close to the gasket to cause your symptom.
I'm just sort of thinking out loud, I'm not trying to be accusatory or anything.
Just currious but what is black rain?
Quote from: weekendsmoker on January 17, 2010, 07:56:07 PM
Just currious but what is black rain?
Black rain is when your vent is closed too far and moisture builds up in the chimney area of your smoker. As the moisture builds it collects the black creosote smoke residue that accumulates up there. When the moisture droplets get big enough they rain down onto the product that your cooking. Leaving black specks, dots, or runs on the meat. The black spots taste really really nasty. Keep your vent at least 1/4 open and fully open with poultry and you should never see or have to deal with Black Rain.
FLBentRider, you actually may be right, the bowl was moist with some liquid fat but, there was an incredible amount of REALLY crusty ash on the underside of the tray that I had never seen before as I scrub it down every time. Maybe there was a considerable amount of heat that changed the compounds of the rubber. Well I'm dead in the water for now as the thing smells like burnt wire.
Thanks for all the input folks, I really appreciate it and hope to be smokin' again real soon.
Jason.
Try using a tin foil pan next time that is bigger than the bowl. then when the burnt pucks drop they float around instead of stacking up and continue burning.
"never a problem and this was my 78th smoke without incident."
I'm thinking that after 78 smokes, maybe the seal has disintegrated somewhat?
Also, don't know where you are located, but if you are lucky enough to be in a hot weather climate, perhaps sun light has caused some disintegration?
Did you phone/email Bradley??
Quote from: weekendsmoker on January 17, 2010, 08:41:06 PM
FLBentRider, you actually may be right, the bowl was moist with some liquid fat but, there was an incredible amount of REALLY crusty ash on the underside of the tray that I had never seen before as I scrub it down every time. Maybe there was a considerable amount of heat that changed the compounds of the rubber. Well I'm dead in the water for now as the thing smells like burnt wire.
Thanks for all the input folks, I really appreciate it and hope to be smokin' again real soon.
Jason.
Jason, liquid fat that must mean you have not had water in the bowl to put out the pucks so in turn you have ended up with a fire in your bradley especially if you have had crusty ash, (crusty ask and fat liquid) hense you have created a lot of heat and burnt the bottom of the door seal hense why you meat is tainted, suggestion is next time you use plenty of water to put out the wood pucks so it doesn't happen again but a new door seal is in order ::) as slamdunk has posted ring Bradley they will support you and next thing you know problem is solved ;)