Hello

[Spolvs]

That's definitely an option sconnieQ, I'm going to first run a cycle without anything in it and then try my next smoke without wood and see if I still get the taste.

[DivotMaker]

So here's my full run down on prepping/cooking spareribs...

I start off with rinsing/drying and removing membrane. Great!
- salt and let that sit in order to draw out some moister.
- mustard followed by dry rub (I used bone sucking sauce rub for the first time)
- wrap ribs in plastic wrap overnight (about 15 hrs) Up to here is good, too!
- take out of the fridge the next day and let the, come up to room temp (30min-45min) Skip this step! ...COLD meat in a COLD smoker.  You will get better results.
- I use 2 3x 10 aluminum foil trays that fit perfectly beside the fire box  Use one water pan...2 is overkill.  An aluminum mini-loaf pan should be plenty.
- place the ribs on the highest rack, close door and turn on the smoker to the 225 setting and let them rip for 5 hrs no peaking. (I used to foil previously but read on the forum that it was not needed so I skipped the foil and never looked back)
-also wanted to add that I just purchased a maverick 733 and noticed how much the smoker temp control was off, we're talking almost 75 degrees on some swings. I smoked pork shoulder last night and decided to moved the pans above the heat box and noticed that I got really good temp control with 25 degree swing at the most.  Don't worry about monitoring box temp, and I definitely recommend keeping the water pan on the floor, not between the meat and smoke box.  If you watch temp swings, you will possibly go insane, and we don't want that.

I used both pecan and hickory chips which were store bought because I thought the wood sent with the SI might have been bad so that's another area I covered. The end product looks fantastic however, they look better than they taste. Once every couple of smokes I get a good turn out but for some reason the usual taste that I can't pin point always makes an appearance. I was trying to upload some pics from my iPad but it just hangs and doesn't allow me to attach, not sure if I have to use an actual cup in order to upload pics?  See comments below...

I wanted to say thanks to everyone who reached out to this post, great to see how involved everyone is on this forum and hope that I can contribute to future discussions.

I will try uploading some pics.

Hey Joe,

I personally believe your problem is your wood, more than anything else.  First, you mentioned "pecan and hickory chips;" are you using a chip screen, and soaking them?  If they are chunks, are you doing anything to prevent combustion?  Most store-bought (big box, hardware) wood is VERY dry, and prone to burning.  Your problem sounds more like wood combustion (bad smoke) than anything else.  I would recommend ordering some good-quality wood from smokinlicious.com, fruitawood.com, or mainegrillingwoods.com.

Also, you mentioned the amount of wood you use... 1 oz?  This is also part of your problem.  First, that is such a small amount of wood, you probably wouldn't even notice the flavor it imparts.  And, if you are using dry wood, I bet you don't see much smoke coming out for very long!  Wood smoke is actually a VERY big part of good BBQ flavor profile, so up that amount and get your smoke on!  At least 3-4 oz for ribs.  Trust me, my wife doesn't really like most smoked food, but she devours my BBQ!  Most BBQ joints actually over-smoke.  You should be using 5-7 oz on those pork butts.

[old sarge]

Splovs - I would forgo the cleaning/wiping down the smoker with water.  Clean the racks but as for the interior of the cabinet, let it alone.  If the 'patina' becomes so thick that it alligators (cracks) then I would use a clean stiff brush to remove the loose particles. Also, you say you use 2 "3X10 foil trays.  Assuming this is for water or juice to help maintain moisture, you could be creating something akin to acid rain/liquid soot in your smoker as it liquifies the patina from prior cooks and some of it drips onto your food. I realize I am way out on the limb with the acid rain/liquid soot remark but try smoking without adding moisture. I hope this helps.

Dave

[Spolvs]

I'm thinking you guys might be right. How do you tell if there's combustion, what will I notice? This past weekend I experimented with lining the fire box with foil and rapping 1 piece of wood (SI hickory) in foil (put holes in foil) and noticed it produced a slower smoke stream and left a black chunk of burnt wood at the end where's before it was leaving white ash. I'm assuming it should leave something after its burnt out or should it be leaving ash?

[Spolvs]

I also forgot to mention that when I'm using chips im not using a screen but I am soaking the chips. I'm also using the chips separately, if I'm using pecan it's only pecan and vice versa. The reason why I'm using such little wood is due to my wife who is expecting and she can't handle too much smoke at the moment, but you have me thinking that maybe the smokers to strong because of combustion? I always had that in the back of my mind but it's not a creosote taste, it's not bitter or unbearable to eat.

[NDKoze]

First, for me I do not use chips unless I am smoking something like Jerky or cheese where I am smoking at a very low temperature. I really prefer chunks for 80% of my smokes.

The reason for this is that chips will start smoking earlier albeit for a shorter time than chunks and have more tendency to combust (regardless of soaking which I never do). The other time I would use chips would be if I was using a combination of chips and chunks and wanted to stagger my smoke. The chips will start early and the chunks will keep going after the chips are done smoking.

There are 4 main methods of avoiding combustion that I am aware of:

1. Foiling the bottom half of your wood chunk which it sounds like you have already tried. Many have very good luck with this.

2. Ramp-up method - Don't bother foiling. Just add your chunks and run your smoker at 140 for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, bump the temp up to your desired smoking temperature. During the 45 minutes, you will typically get through two on/off cycles of the element. This gets the wood to start smoldering and just prior to when it would normally combust, turns the element off and gives it a break. After smoking at the lower temperature and upping the temp, I don't think I have ever experienced combustion.

3. Using a combination of 1 and 2.

4. Buy good quality wood from Smokinlicious (probably the best option of the 4). I haven't read here about anyone getting combustion from their Smokinlicious wood even without foiling/ramping.

I also think that Old Sarge may be onto something with the extra moisture from two water pans. I only use one small tin loaf pan and that provides plenty of moisture.

Hopefully we can get this figured out for you. Let us know how things go. This is a thread that I am curious about what is causing the issue.

[SconnieQ]

You probably are getting combustion on the chips without the chip insert/screen, even if they are soaked. I only use chips for fish, quick smokes or cold smokes. Try some chunks, and if they are kind of dry, use the "foil boat" method. I wrap all sides of my chunks tightly in foil except the side that faces up. When the cook is over, occasionally I will end up with a foil boat filled with white ash, but most of the time I end up with what looks like a piece of black charcoal. Folks here are pretty fussy about their wood. And for good reason. I don't have any of the fancy wood (have a couple bags of Weber chunks I'm trying to use up), so my wood is kind of dry. I haven't had any problems if I foil boat my crappy Weber wood, and the food tastes great. The smoke flavor is clean. But once my crappy wood is gone (or maybe sooner), I'm ordering some double filet chunks from smokinlicious.com. Seems pricey, but these smokers use such a small amount of wood, the per smoke price is very reasonable.

Since you said the taste is not dirty smoke or creosote, and more like a funky grease, I'm wondering if any of this will help, but it's a place to start. Is the grease taste at all like rancid grease? Like cooking oil that's gone bad? Or is it like a spoiled meat taste? Or more of a chemical grease smell like machine grease?

[swthorpe]

When the wood catches fire, you will notice short "puffs" of white smoke coming from the top and perhaps even around the door.   When combustion really takes off, you will see a huge "belch" of white smoke from the top and around the door.    This usually happens within the first 30 minutes or so of the smoke, and then it typically does not happen again.   I always watch my #2 for the first heating cycle just to make sure this does not happen.    Have you noticed heavy white/gray smoke within the first 30 minutes, or seen puffs of smoke?   Having said this, many of us have experienced combustion in the first heating cycle but go on to get great Q, so I doubt this alone is the problem.

For most of my smokes, I end up with some ash but mostly charred pieces of wood.

[gregbooras]

To prevent combustion using chucks, just line the bottom of your firebox with a single piece of foil.

The result not more combustion and you don't need to change the foil.

Greg

[Spolvs]

Steve/Greg, that's exactly what's happening! The first 20 mins of the smoke is white and then that's it, no more smoke, mind you I'm using such a small amount and that was due to an over smoke flavour probably caused by combustion/bad wood. I think you guys nailed it on the head, going to order me some premium wood and try out another shoulder and see how she goes. Once again I wanted to thank everyone for reaching out and putting your two cents in, I will hit you guys with an update in a week or two to let you know how it goes. 😊

[swthorpe]

Sounds good, Joe.  I agree with such a small amount of wood, it probably ignited and burned out pretty quick, leaving you with an empty box of no smoke!   Try 3-4 oz of wood and see if you notice a difference.

[Grampy]

Joe, forgive me if I missed this in earlier posts but do you have a digital scale and are you using it to weigh your wood? If you are not, then you should get one so you know exactly how much wood you are starting with. If you are just guessing you may be way off on the estimation of the amount of wood you are really using.

[NDKoze]

I think we're making headway.

Hopefully switching to premium wood will fix the problem.

I understand that you are trying to limit the amount of smoke for your expecting wife, but even with premium wood I would try a single 2 ounce chunk of wood. This is still a relatively low amount of wood and I think a bigger chunk (especially premium wood) will have a lot less likelihood of combustion than a 1 ounce chunk. And if you use a lighter wood like Maple or Cherry verses hickory that will make a more smooth smoke flavor.

Good luck on the next smoke, and make sure you let us know how it goes.

[swthorpe]

+1

[gregbooras]

+2

Greg