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Re: Reverse flow offset, plenty of smoke hardly any smoke flavor

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 9:34 am
by Ken226
I'm posting a followup since I've had plenty of time with this smoker now. I have it dialed in and am getting great results now.

I tried the stronger woods such as oak with better results, but still wasn't getting as much smoke flavor as I wanted. After a few uses, I started to figure out that the small, hot, well oxygenated fire I ran was burning too clean. The result was meat that tasted like it came out of a kitchen oven. No smoke flavor at all.

I spent a few cooks experimenting with the fire size and the intake vents, and things started getting better. A bigger coal bed and more wood on the fire, with a more restricted setting to the intake vents produces more smoke, yet burns slower. So, for more smoke flavor, I added more wood but reduced the air flowing in. That seemed to be working.

Last weekend I experimented, going back to the Alder, Maple and Cherry, since I can get that anywhere around here. I smoked a pork shoulder, a brisket, 3 racks of ribs and a couple dozen chicken legs.
I ended up with both side vents completely closed and the rear vent about 40% open to get the color and quantity of smoke I wanted. Burning about 80% alder and 10% each of Cherry and Maple. The burn rate was about 1 split every half hour.

The results were perfect. I had a great smoke flavor and excellent bark. I'm very happy with the smokers performance, and turned out my best bbq ever.

Security waiting for his cut of the payoff.

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Just getting started.

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Security officer in the background, still waiting, but not so patiently now.

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I decided to go with sliced pork rather than pulled. It was almost fall-apart tender. I had to use my rediculously sharp Shun chefs knife to get it to slice without coming apart.

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Re: Reverse flow offset, plenty of smoke hardly any smoke flavor

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:57 am
by Rambo
:cheers: :salut: