Smokin-It User Forum!

General Discussions => Anything Goes!! => Topic started by: Smokin Jon on July 19, 2020, 04:05:35 PM

Title: Acrid Taste - Smoke profile - Advice?
Post by: Smokin Jon on July 19, 2020, 04:05:35 PM
Just finished my second cook in my new 3D.

Turkey - weight 10 lb.
•   Smoker Temperature -    235F
•   Time cooked -          ~3.5 Hours
•   Food Internal Temperature - 165F
•   Wood Type -          Pear - (Air dried in covered dry environment - 1 year)
•   Amount of Wood -       3 oz. - no bark
•   Taste -             Skin acrid.  I discarded the skin and the meat was good.

I'm going to cut the wood amount by half on my next poultry smoke.

My first smoke was a 14 lb. brisket cooked to an IT of 202F at smoker temp of 225F for ~12 hours with 6 oz. (kiln-dried) Hickory.  Smaller end slices of the flat had a slight acrid taste on the meats surface.  Thicker slices had virtually no smoke flavor at all. 

My thoughts on the acrid taste: 
Perhaps this is from too much slow moving (stagnate) smoke that just sits on the surface of the meat at the beginning of the cook vs. being spread out over a longer period of time.  However, I understand an acrid taste could occur from too much smoke at the beginning as well as too much smoke spread out over a longer period of time.

I've owned other smokers (gas, UDS, Weber smoky mountain, stick) to compare to my 3D.   All of these had greater airflow which required more wood but also produced a cleaner and deeper smoke profile.

Option #1:  Many of you have advised simply using less wood because of these smoker's efficiency. 
Option #2:  Start with 1/2 the recommended amount of wood at the beginning of a cook and then add the second 1/2 after 1-2 hours in effort to spread out the amount of slow moving smoke over a longer period of time. 

Have any of you tried option #2 and found it to be superior to adding all the wood at the beginning of the cook?  If no different, i'll go with option #1.

Side note:
I've read many people quote, "Meat doesn't take on any more smoke flavor after 140F".  However, I cannot find any objective support for this statement.  Some have quoted Amazingribs.com as a source of this information.  However, Amazingribs.com actually states, "There is no time limit on smoke absorption. The (smoke) ring stops growing when the meat hits about 170°F and myoglobin loses its oxygen retaining ability, not 140°F."  I believe some people have confused smoke absorption and smoke ring.   I know electric smokers do not produce a smoke ring.  The smoke ring is not my concern.

I love the simplicity of these smokers but wish I could achieve a cleaner deeper smoke flavor instead of an acrid one.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jon
Title: Re: Acrid Taste - Smoke profile - Advice?
Post by: barelfly on July 19, 2020, 04:31:52 PM
Jon, What did your wood chunk look like at the end of the cook? You mentioned smoke at the beginning, and with these smokers, sometimes smoke is heavy at the beginning of the cook. That may help understand what is going on with the cook.

That yardbird looks great though! I will say, chicken skin in the smokin-it doesn’t always taste good or have the greatest texture. I usually throw it on the gas grill for a bit at the end to crisp up the skin. But the acrid taste, that’s definitely smoke related.

Title: Re: Acrid Taste - Smoke profile - Advice?
Post by: Smokin Jon on July 19, 2020, 05:36:17 PM
The two Pear wood chunks, each ~1.5 oz., were "charcoal" not ash.