Food taste too smokey

[Dudley6911]

1st time smoker.  I smoked chicken wings last night.  They were cooked perfectly but tasted terrible.  Too smokey and kind of taste like chemicals.  I used mesquite pucks.  I want to cook a chicken and ribs today but don't want to waste money on meat if it's going to taste like SH

[TedEbear]

First of all, mesquite is a very strong flavor.

A couple of questions.

1. Was the top vent all the way open?

2. How long did you APPLY smoke?

Especially for poultry you need to have the top vent all the way open.  Poultry has a lot of moisture and it needs to escape. 

If you're cooking something in the Bradley for 3-4 hours or whatever you don't need to apply smoke for that long.  Poultry absorbs smoke like a sponge and you just need a little to go a long way.  Maybe 2 hours and adjust from there the next time.

Some additional info here: 

Do I need to apply smoke the full time the food is cooking?

And finally, welcome aboard.   :)

[KyNola]

Good info has already been given to you.  One other thing to consider, mesquite can be a very strong smoke so you might want to consider going to a milder wood such as apple or maple.  Too much mesquite may impart a bitter taste to your meat.  I'm guessing that may be what you are tasting that you said tasted kind of like chemicals.

[NorthShoreMN]

Welcome from Minnesota, I quit using mesquite totally, too strong a flavor.

[devo]

Welcome from Minnesota, I quit using mesquite totally, too strong a flavor.

Yup, what he said. I just use hickory now

[tailfeathers]

I'll use a little mesquite for brisket, like every 3rd puck or so alternated with hickory. Other than that I don't use it either.


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[UncleAl]

Welcome from Michigan - I tried using mesquite the first couple of times and had the same problem. Now is apple an hickory for me.