Proper vent usage

[wilbur747]

Hello to all!
My wife bought me...I mean us a smoker for Christmas and so far I've smoked a salmon and turkey.  They both turned out great, especially since I have no experience in hot smoking.  I followed several members' suggestions and for that I am truly grateful.

I have a question about the proper use of the vent.  How do I use it properly when hot smoking? I know that if there's smoke coming from the gap between the smoke generator and the tower I need to open the vent a little.  Where I'm confused is the proper vent opening when I hot smoke.  Is there a 'rule of thumb' I should follow when smoking certain foods? When I hot smoke a chicken/turkey/pork/beef loin, etc, how do I know how far to open the vent? Do I open it fully for fish and close it for a pork loin or vice-versa? I moslty hot smoke my food. Are there certain vent settings for the type of food I smoke?

Sorry for the 'stupid' questions, but I need to know!

[Wildcat]

Welcome to the forum.  As far as I am concerned, the only "stupid" question is the one not asked.  Even if it seems stupid, do not worry.  We all have brain farts once in a while.  Just look at some of my posts.

Back to your question - If a food needs to be dried out some, or has excessive moisture, such as chicken, then open up the vent.  As a general rule, 1/3 is what I would recommend for most foods.  When it comes to beef, then I would open it just enough to stop smoke from backing up because beef has little moisture and can dry out easily.

[Habanero Smoker]

Besides the information that Wildcat gave, it just takes practice. Vent openings depend on so many factors that it just takes experience to set it right for your situation. Chicken with skin generally requires a wider opening to let the moisture escape, and improve the skin texture. The amount of moisture that is produce by the chicken also depends on how it was processed. If you have the OBS, and you smoke poultry with skin with the vent too closed moisture will build up and leak out of the bottom door seal; which is not good because your wiring to the rheostat is locate there. So depending on how many chickens I have in the smoker my opening may be between 1/2 - 3/4 to start off with. Also I follow a tip posted sometime ago from another member. He set up his smoker to be 1/4" higher in the front, just in case the vent opening was not wide enough. Setting the smoker up this way ensured that any liquid build up would flow to the rear of the cabinet.

How wide you keep the vent opened can also depend on how the cabinet temperature you are trying to maintain. The size of a load you are smoking, ambient temperature, wind conditions etc will come into play. As you have mentioned the most important setting is to make sure no smoke is backing out of the generator vents, or connection point.

[Wildcat]

Thanks Habs.  Yur follow-up taught me something as well.  I never considered slightly elevating the front.  Although I have never encountered a problem, this makes perfect sense and you can bet that I will put it into practice from now on.

[wilbur747]

Thanks HS and Wildcat. That's the info I was looking for. Since the instructions never really addressed the vent, I needed your help.  I can see that this forum will be a great place to learn! Thanks again!

Now if you'll excuse me...I hear a pork loin calling!  There's something special about smoked pulled pork sandwiches that keeps me drooling!

[Wildcat]

Keep us posted with your results (good or bad).  Photo's if possible.  Enjoy and always remember that an adult beverage not only helps, but makes it even more fun.

[wilbur747]

Will do Wildcat.  About that adult bevearage...since I'm also a homebrewer. A good homemade pale ale would be in order for smoked pulled pork! It's brewing now, along with a chocolate (must be a woman thing) porter...for the wife.