Newbie question

[sawchuk103]

Okay, this may be the dumbest question ever asked here. Sorry, but I am lost. I am lost as to how much smoke to make. Do I use a continuous feed of pucks? When I do this the meat tastes way too smokey. What am I doing wrong?

[Keymaster]

The only Dumb Question is "How do you spell Dum"  :) It seams people on the east side of the states like a lot more smoke than me on the West side. If I was to smoke a 10 pound batch of Jerky i would give it 2 hours of smoke tops. I never go over two hours of smoke on anything except when I was told i should give my cheese 3 hours of smoke and that was just right. YOU DONT HAVE TO SMOKE THE ENTIRE COOK, Just a little will do yah good ;) Were hear to help you along your journey so dont hesitate to ask questions!!

[hal4uk]

With some decent seasonings, anything you smoke will still be good even if it's under-smoked.
But, you can't "un-smoke" food...
Just start easy, and work your way up to what you like.

[mikecorn.1]

The smoke produced in The Bradley is very clean and not as strong as a stick burner. IMHO. --- just experiment and see what you like. Good luck.


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[TedEbear]

Okay, this may be the dumbest question ever asked here. Sorry, but I am lost. I am lost as to how much smoke to make. Do I use a continuous feed of pucks? When I do this the meat tastes way too smokey. What am I doing wrong?

What meat are you smoking?  With mine when I'm cooking a pork butt that might take 15 hours from start to finish I load enough bisquettes to smoke for the first 3 hours. For something like ribs I might only smoke them for the first two hours during cooking.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi sawchuk103;

As others have stated, the amount of smoke is a personal preference. The below link is a guide to help you get started. You can adjust the amounts from there.
How Much Smoke To Apply

Also the amount of smoke you want to use will depend on the type of bisquette you are using. So make sure you click on the "Bisquette" link.

[TonyL222]

My general rule of thumb is to apply smoke for about half the estimated total cook time. The only variation I have for that is with mesquite which is very strong.  I'd start our easy with that, and adjust to taste on the next smoke.  Take notes - meat, cook temp, bisquette flavor, smoke time, cook time, and outcome - so you can adjust on your next smoke.

[db14]

Same as the others, I only smoke for about the first 3 hours on most smokes.  The flavor of the wood will make a big difference as well as the meat.  If you're doing chicken, turkey or fish you might not want to use hickory or mesquite because they are too strong.  Where as for pork and beef they would be perfect.  It's all personal preference and finding what you like.  I like a strong smoke and use hickory on pretty much everything.  Trial and error doesn't hurt anything, just means more to eat.

[mrphilips]

i'd agree with most of what i've heard here, especially the "wood vs food" and "smoke vs cook" comments...
beef and pork can take a larger whack of stronger smoke, but the gentler products like fish and poultry will be over powered by strong smoke or long smoke times.
in my opinion, too much time with any of the woods (even the delicate ones like maple and alder) will make the flavour gross in the end.
i've found 4 hours for brisket is more than enough, up to 3 for ribs, everything else gets less as it gets more delicate.

i made my best chicken so far the other day, and that was rubbed with spices, smoked for 2 hours (2 parts cherry to 1 part alder) at about 220F, mopped once every hour, and continued cooking without smoke for another hour or so until the breast read 170F.
let it rest for 15 min and it was moist, skin was tender-crisp, smoke flavour was prominent but smooth.
(i no longer brine the chicken if i'm leaving skin on... the skin gets rubbery and won't crisp up)


Habs link is great, as is the chart on bisquettes.
definitely worth the read


BUT... 3-5 hours for cheese?
wow. i don't think my family wouldn't eat it if i smoked it that long.
i suppose it depends on the thickness of the brick you are smoking, and how long you let it rest for afterwards...
typically i cold smoke logs of sharp cheddar that are 2.5"x2.5"x5" (approximately), usually with 1-2 hours of smoke - generally cherry (my favourite), apple or maple - then vaccum sealed for at least 3 weeks before eating.
that tends to be enough, and any more smoke than that and it starts to taste like a campfire... maybe i'm doing something different tahn everyone else?

[sawchuk103]

Thanks for all your replies and links guys, much appreciated. I can't wait to start trying to apply these recommendations. Please feel free to add more tips!