new owner got a few questions.

[sullivanin]

I bought a bradely smoker the 4 rack digital module. I will admit i only seasoned it for about 20 minutes. But any way. I did some leg quarters,breast and ribs. The chicken was get but it seemed the ribs had a sooty taste. They where on the top two racks and the chicken the bottom two. Could it be the seasoning or maybe i used apple. The pucks burnt till they where all black but still one piece. There was aton of smoke but just alittle coming out as i had the vent almost all closed. All in all a get smoker i am still holding judgement till i get a few more smokes in it but it was a hit with everyone.

[JimmyDreams]

I am by no means an expert here, and I'm sure others will chime in....

Everyone says to leave your vent open at least 1/4 or more. Otherwise, too much moisture will develop. Perhaps that was was caused the sooty flavor of the ribs....too much smoke.

I'm sure you'll get a lot more tips from the pros...Happy smoking!

[IKnowWood]

JD, you are learning the basics for sure.  The Vent should never be closed. 

For most items its 1/4 or more open.  For more moisture intense items like poultry or veggies open it much more. 

Ribs and Chicken together you have two different temperature and smoke needs.  Ribs need much longer cook times and smoke times and moisture methods.  chicken not so much.

Its still a learning processes, figure one out well, then the other and with time you can experiment how to blend them.  Or not.

[Mr Walleye]

Sullivanin

JD has you pointed in the right direction. You need to keep the vent open enough to allow the moisture to escape. Chicken gives of a lot of moisture and typically you would start the smoke with the vent about 3/4 open. As the meat comes up to temp you can close down the vent some but I never close mine anymore then 1/4 to 1/2. You want the smoke to gently kiss the meat before exiting the smoker taking the moisture with it. If the vent is closed too much the combination of the stale smoke and moisture will cause the sooty taste you referred to.

I do think you should have seasoned it a bit longer. The main reason for this is to burn of any manufacturing oil that is on the metal surfaces in the smoker and this may have also contributed to the taste.

The other question is how much smoke did you apply?

Mike

[NePaSmoKer]

My vent is 1/2 to full open all the time.

Same with Mike here, how much smoke did you put to the food? If your pucks sat and burnt to a crisp you will get the sooty char taste. Do you have any bubba pucks to use?

nepas

[sullivanin]

no i did not get any yet. but when i went to check at the end i knocked off the last puck though it had got the second to last puck  burning i will check and make sure of how there burning next time.

My vent is 1/2 to full open all the time.

Same with Mike here, how much smoke did you put to the food? If your pucks sat and burnt to a crisp you will get the sooty char taste. Do you have any bubba pucks to use?

nepas