New to forum...school me.

[RUBYRW]

Hello all, first time poster, first time smoker.
I bought a Oklahoma Joe offset smoker and a 12pound packer for memorial day.
All and all i was satisfied with the results. As were all my guests...thank God.
My question is about the mysterious blue smoke. I started with a bed of lump charcoal. Got the temps up then tossed a hickory log on the fire. Then the thing started smoking like a forest fire and it lasted a long time. This happened every time I added a lot. How do I manage to add wood but maintain the thin blue smoke. If I used very tiny chunks it seemed ok, but I used logs when I wanted to sleep to keep smoke and temps up. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.


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[TX1911]

There's a few things to consider. First, whether or not the wood was sufficiently aged or dry. Fresh cut will smoke terribly as it's got too much moisture inside. I'm not familiar with cooking on hickory, as I use entirely oak. After I buy a supply, I age it where it can get plenty of air flow around it for a minimum of six months. Sometimes longer. The wood I'm cooking on now, I bought in October.

However, once the wood is dry enough to use, I'll start the fire with charcoal, poured over a couple splits. Once the temps settle and I have the lid to the firebox closed, I put the next 3 or 4 logs on top of the firebox to "preheat" them, so to speak.

Even with dry, preheated wood, there will still be a period of combustion that will result in a heavier smoke. You can minimize the amount of time by increasing the oxygen to the fire.

I've had good success by leaving the fire box door completely open when I add a split. I have a larger pit, so it minimizes the increase in temperature due to the increase in oxygen to the fire.

You may also want to look at mini logs or small splits. You can also use a circular saw or miter saw to make your own small splits out of larger splits.

Oh, and welcome!

[RUBYRW]

Yea..i like the idea of cutting into smaller pieces. I had several small chunks and they gave me a good smoke. Just the bigger logs were big smokers. I bought them in a bag from char broil smoking logs.

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[RUBYRW]

I'll try out your suggestions. I think my smoker is too small to be tossing on logs, I'll probably stick to smaller chunks.
Smoking is fun. Ribs next Sunday for sure.
Thanks!

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[rockinar]

Also you might be shutting the firebox door when you throw the log on cutting off the oxygen needed to get the log burning? Try leaving it open for a while, or just use large chunks.