Questions about smoke???

deadeye · March 10, 2005, 02:43:40 AM

I am still a newbie with my Bradley but I am learning and reading as much as I can. I made a pork butt roast this weekend and it was the best I have ever had. I did have a question though?? Like on this pork butt roast. I smoked it with apple chips like the recipe called for and did the ftc thing also. It just does not seem to have that smoky of a taste untill the next day. I started out my smoker out at 225 at 5am and took it off at 3pm. I smoked it for 5 hours. Should I lower the temp of the bradley to say 150 or so at 1st, for the 1st 4 or 5 hours then increase it. Would that give me a more smoke flavor. i was just wondering if maybe I am getting the outside of the meat too hot to fast for the smoke. Does that make sense??

Thanks guys I really appreciate it.

Derek Canada

jaeger · March 10, 2005, 03:04:37 AM

Derek,
I don't think you had the temp to hot. I would first try a different wood, like maybe hickory. Everyone has different tastes. The nice thing with the Bradley is the variety of woods. Give that a try first. Also, make sure your damper is 3/4 closed during your smoke.
......BTW, mesquite is the strongest wood. To strong for most. Also known as the "devils wood"[}:)][}:)][;)]

Doug

Habanero Smoker · March 10, 2005, 09:27:56 AM

I agree with Jaeger. Everyone's tastes are different, so try other woods, or try mixings woods. For example for every 2 apple use 1 hickory. Another reason could be is that you may not have had enough "bark" mixed with the portion of pork you ate. The bark is the surface of the meat where the seasonings and smoke are concentrated. I chop the bark up as fine as I can so that it will mix well with the pulled pork.

It is not unusual for a smoked product to have a different flavor after it has "aged" a day or more. I often notice a change in flavor, when I eat a smoked product at a latter date. The best example of this is smoked cheese. Fresh out of the smoker it has too strong of a taste, after a few days it's great to eat. When I make smoked chicken wings, they taste much better the next day.

Although colder surfaces take on smoke at a faster rate, the temperature you are smoking at, and the amount of smoke is alright (though I like to keep my temperature under 215 F). My two cents, starting to smoke a butt a 150 degrees is way too low. You have to remember that you will loose heat when loading the BS, and once the meat is loaded, that will reduce your heat.

MallardWacker · March 10, 2005, 02:11:35 PM

EYE,

A good combo that is not over powering, PECAN and MAPLE. Either one I think gives a good smokey taste and not be over done. I use 4hrs of smoke on my briskets...

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

whitetailfan · March 10, 2005, 06:22:47 PM

2 things deadeye,
First, if you don't find it smokey enough after 5 hours, I would try another flavour as suggested. I personally use only up to 4 hours on any project.

Second, the phenominon you speak of (2nd day more smoke flavour) is not uncommon at all. In fact there are those here, who do not eat certain foods for one day to one week AFTER smoking. Cheese is commonly left at least overnight, and Oldman wraps up hams for several days after his smoke before re-warming and eating.

whitetailfan
"Nice Rack"
Lethbridge, AB

bsolomon · March 10, 2005, 10:41:17 PM

The last few times I have smoked something that I FTC'd and ate, I felt it should have been smokier to start off. Again, as others have said, it tasted fine the next day. Some of this is no doubt the smoke permeating through the food as it sits in the fridge.

However, I think that after standing in front of the smoker and working with the food all day, and getting all your clothing and hair "flavored" with smoke, that it is possible for a person to temporarily loose some sensativity to the smoke flavor. Others who are eating the same meal on the first day think the food is plenty smokey. I wonder if there is any way to determine whether this effect is also occurring?

johnintx1 · March 11, 2005, 05:39:07 AM

I am the same way, after smoking meat I cant really taste anything untill the next day, however everyone else says the flavor is most excellent. So I agree that its just a resistance to the smoke on the day of the smoke to the the one doing the smoking. Next day I allways say ,dang this is really good,everybody says ,"We told you it was good".

Smoke on!!

Oldman · March 11, 2005, 07:35:30 AM

<hr noshade size="1">However, I think that after standing in front of the smoker and working with the food all day, and getting all your clothing and hair "flavored" with smoke, that it is possible for a person to temporarily loose some sensativity to the smoke flavor. Others who are eating the same meal on the first day think the food is plenty smokey. I wonder if there is any way to determine whether this effect is also occurring?<hr noshade size="1">

This is an interesting thought line. My wife when I T-shirt a ham she always says that the ham the first day has to strong a taste (?). On my end after a week of the ham being wrapped in the T-Shirt and plastic the smoke takes on a more mellow/ refinded flavoring.

Olds

http://rminor.com

Habanero Smoker · March 11, 2005, 10:48:43 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsolomon
 However, I think that after standing in front of the smoker and working with the food all day, and getting all your clothing and hair "flavored" with smoke, that it is possible for a person to temporarily loose some sensativity to the smoke flavor. Others who are eating the same meal on the first day think the food is plenty smokey. I wonder if there is any way to determine whether this effect is also occurring?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Your statement is correct. Taste often depends on smell, and when you are exposed to an odor for long periods of time, you temporarily become desensitized to that odor. Smoke taste depends on odor and the sense of smell. Try this experiment - pinch your nose shut and then place a piece of smoked food in your mouth, after a few seconds of eating release your nose. Notice any difference? So, if your skin, clothing and hair are saturated with smoke on the day you smoked the food, your brain is going to block out that odor and interfer with your sense of taste.

Some examples of becoming desensitized to an odor; when I enter a hospital or a gym locker, I am immediately overpowered with an offensive smell. After being in that environment for a while, I no longer notice it. Another example is cigarette smokers, who are unaware of the smell that permeates their clothing and hair.

Habanero Smoker · March 28, 2005, 10:56:32 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsolomon
 However, I think that after standing in front of the smoker and working with the food all day, and getting all your clothing and hair "flavored" with smoke, that it is possible for a person to temporarily loose some sensativity to the smoke flavor. Others who are eating the same meal on the first day think the food is plenty smokey. I wonder if there is any way to determine whether this effect is also occurring?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
bsoloman
I knew that your statement was correct, but it took me awhile to find the source.

Last September I took a cooking class, and part of that class focused on the physiology of taste. We covered your theory in class. I posted the above response earlier, but at the time I could not find my notes that had the name of this occurrence or the reference. Well I just located my notes and the hand out from that class.

What you are describing is called Sensory Fatigue ("Too Much of a Good Thing..."); "The Sensory System Reacts to Ever-present Stimulus by Reacting Less to It." The notes I have give Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking...", 1984 edition as a source. I have the 2004 revised addition, and I have not been able to locate that reference in the 2004 edition.

When this pertains to the sense of taste it is called Palate Fatigue; which means that flavors tend to lose their intensity after exposure, often after a few bites. This is widely known in the food industry, and this phenomenon is taken seriously by professional chefs, wine/beer/cheese makers, and the list goes on.

bsolomon · March 30, 2005, 10:50:20 PM

Excellent to know. I don't know that there is too much we can do about it, other than to be aware of the issue. Otherwise, I think there might be a tendency for us as the chef to keep trying to add smoke flavor to a perfectly good item each subsequesnt time we cook it. In the meantime, our guests keep running the risk of us adding too much smoke flavor (if there is such a thing).

I do get a mental image of having to putting on a smock, safety goggles, and a filter respirator mask each time I open the door of the smoker, just so I can get the full flavor effect that evening after the FTC is complete...

JJC · March 31, 2005, 12:52:36 AM

Hi All,

Sorry I didn't pick up on this thread earlier. Bsolomon's question and Habanero's answer are absolutely spot-on. In neuropharmacology they call the phenomenon of becoming used to a particular taste or smell "accomodation", and the molecular mechanisms have been very well worked out during the past 3 decades. Unfortunately, the same thing can happen to some really useful drugs that we take for various illnesses . . . sometimes you can just up the dose, but sometimes you can't, which is a real bummer for the patient. Just so this doesn't sound too esoteric, it's the reason my mother always told me "never turn down an offer of a breath mint . . . " [;)]

John
Newton MA

Habanero Smoker · March 31, 2005, 07:34:11 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsolomon
 I do get a mental image of having to putting on a smock, safety goggles, and a filter respirator mask each time I open the door of the smoker, just so I can get the full flavor effect that evening after the FTC is complete...
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]
I'm sure someone on this forum will come up with a device to combat this.[;)]

MallardWacker · April 01, 2005, 10:51:36 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsolomon
 I do get a mental image of having to putting on a smock, safety goggles, and a filter respirator mask each time I open the door of the smoker, <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

As Cheek and Chong would say "Thats some bad ar$$ <s>weed</s> SMOKE" [:D][:D]

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

JJC · April 02, 2005, 12:07:08 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">

As Cheek and Chong would say "Thats some bad ar$$ <s>weed</s> SMOKE" [:D][:D]

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Hey Duck-man,

I think the actual Cheech and Chong jingle was:

It's long in the leaf and short in the can
No stem no seed that you don't need
Acapulco gold is [inhale noises] bad a$$ weed!

Can't remember exactly . . too much smoke [;)][}:)]

John
Newton MA