HELP! Bitter taste...

[grizzog]

I have the model #1. 

It seems no matter what I make, and no matter how much wood I use, there is always a bitter aftertaste to the meat.  I used 1.2oz of applewood for a couple racks of ribs.  The smoke flavor was pretty light, but there was definitely a bitter aftertaste.  I did a meatloaf with 1.4oz of applewood, which resulted in a strong smoke flavor, but a very bitter aftertaste.

Any suggestions?  I'm using dry applewood chunks you can get from the big-box stores like Home Depot.

Thank you!

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[old sarge]

There are a couple of areas to look at.

Make sure the wood has no bark.  Bark makes for a bitter smoke.

Cut back on the amount of wood.  The model 1 is small and may not need as much wood

Try another variety of wood, maybe oak or maple

How thick, or thin was the smoke exiting the top vent?  If thin, you should be good; if thick white, or billowing, that may be contributing to the bitter taste.

Is your wood wet?  Old?

Hopefully some others will weigh in.

[grizzog]

The wood used is quite dry and had no bark.

It seemed that the top had relatively thin smoke, but not as thin as I'd like it.  However, I had opened the door very briefly to check that the meatloaf was staying in form, the entire chamber was full of thick, white smoke and I had to get out of the way.  This was just a singular 1.4oz piece of dry applewood. (I have taken to using a food scale since I've seen everyone talking about specific weights of chunks.)

[old sarge]

grizzog- Go light on the wood. I have a large smoker and normally use just 2 ounces.  It is roughly the same size as the model 3.  The chamber will fill with smoke, lots of it as the draw to exhaust is minimal.  You get a large chunk or two of wood smoldering and smoking inside, it will build up with only one place to go and it is not in any hurry. It lingers and the small particles in the smoke impart the flavor we all love.  But too much is a bad thing.
 
On wood. Buying in the big box stores is economical.  But what was the source of the wood?  How was it stored before being bagged and shipped?  Was it sap or heartwood? Lots of variables.
 
I would only buy wood from a reputable source like Smokin-it, or a commercial farm specializing in wood for bbq and smokers.

And I would cut back on the amount of wood. If you get good results but weak smokiness, you can sauce it up for the meal and increase the wood on the next cook.
 
Good luck.

[Grimm5577]

I would also check to see if the wood is flaring up when you are smoking, I have noticed that wood from big box stores like HD or Lowes is so dry and starts to catch flame which creates bad thick white smoke.

[swthorpe]

I agree with the comments about dry wood.   I wonder if the wood is catching fire and creating a heavy burning wood smoke.   Perhaps soaking the wood would help, and I agree on using less wood.

[mikeinctown]

I agree with trying to soak the wood for a bit. The amount may be too much as well. In my #2 I've found that one large chunk of the Smokin-It wood is sufficient for flavor.