Hello

[Spolvs]

no doubt about it boys, I think I'm going to try it out next week, should I be using foil to incase the chunk or should I just line the fire box with foil? Reason why I'm asking is because I already lined the fire box last smoke and got white smoke with ash remaining but once agin I was using the hickory that. And with the si

[NDKoze]

I would skip the foil all together and use the ramp-up method. It has never failed for me.

[DivotMaker]

no doubt about it boys, I think I'm going to try it out next week, should I be using foil to incase the chunk or should I just line the fire box with foil? Reason why I'm asking is because I already lined the fire box last smoke and got white smoke with ash remaining but once agin I was using the hickory that. And with the si

With really dry wood, you can still get combustion.  Get some good wood, and taste some real bbq!

[SconnieQ]

I would wrap the bottom part of the wood in foil anyway. True, with good wood, you shouldn't need to, but it wouldn't hurt, and takes little effort. If you get a few good smokes under your belt without off-flavors, then experiment with no foil, etc. The ramp-up method is another good option, but for me, I like to turn it on and walk away. I feel like I would get distracted with something else, and 2 hours later I would be "oh no, forgot to turn up the smoker".

[DivotMaker]

I would wrap the bottom part of the wood in foil anyway. True, with good wood, you shouldn't need to, but it wouldn't hurt, and takes little effort. If you get a few good smokes under your belt without off-flavors, then experiment with no foil, etc. The ramp-up method is another good option, but for me, I like to turn it on and walk away. I feel like I would get distracted with something else, and 2 hours later I would be "oh no, forgot to turn up the smoker".

+1!  Well-said!

[Smokster]

Hi Joe, welcome to the Smokin It family and nice to see a fellow Torontonian on the forum. I have had my #3 for a few few years now with no issues.

I do clean the bottom of my smoker with water and dish soap to degrease it, then a good rinsing with the garden hose does the trick to clean it out every few smokes, however I don't touch the sides unless I have to. The shelves and side racks will also go into the dishwasher for a cycle to get them degreased. 

I have used both chunks and chip, both with great success, however I don't use more than 2 ounces of wood for my ribs because I like my smoke on the lighter side. For my first attempt I used 3.5 ounces for ribs and they were definitely not to my liking. It was just to much for me and my family. I can relate to the 1 ounce that you are using considering the circumstances. And I do use different kinds of chips even from our local big box stores with no issues. Just be sure to soak your chips.

I also only use 1 pan of liquid next to the smoker/fire box and my ribs turn out great. Patience is key, keep them in the smoker for 5 - 6 hours at 235 and no peeking.

You also mentioned that your local BBQ joint uses cookshack. I am assuming you are referring to Big Bone BBQ? If so, I have tried there ribs, they are not bad, but I prefer mine (as does my family) over there ribs.  And the pulled pork and brisket that the SI produces is simply outstanding.

Have you tried smoking other meats such as a pork butt? If so, does it turn out greasy as well? Just seems odd, but I would give it a once over cleaning, then run it for 4 hours to season it again and then try another smoke.

Not sure where in TO you are, it's a big city, but I'm in the Northeast part of town.

[Spolvs]

Hey Tony, thanks for the welcome and you are correct. Thebbq joint is Memphis Q, which is part of big bone, they were an extension of the purple pig out in Berrie and they opened Memphis bbq about 5-8 years ago in Vaughan and started franchising and ended up calling it big bone! Im located near king municipality about a 30-45 min trek outside of Toronto.

I believe everyone is right on this forum in saying that my wood is combusting because I've been doing some research and it looks like I'm getting the white bellowing smoke. I'm going to take your advice and the rest of the great ideas I got from the forum members and do a rinse, 4hr sry run and then a smoke. I'm going to wrap my wood as well, I will do this because the inside of my fire box is lined and it's still combusting, the wood I use is the hickory that came with the si, I also have pecan chips but always use them separate. I've smoked chicken, ribs and pork shoulder so far, te chicken wings have been good but noticed they take in a lot of smoke flavour with little amount of wood. I would say the shoulder came out really good but some parts were a little stringy, but all in all not over powered with the smoke flavour and I believe that's due to me not using a lot of wood that is needed in order to penetrate suck a big piece of meat. I still get that funny taste on all my smokes and it is nowhere near the flavour profile of say a big bone, they win hands down and I know that there is much better, going to try these new tips and get me some premium wood and hopefully that will do the trick!

 

[Smokster]

Hey Joe, the amount of wood is key to our individual flavour profile. Some people like the heavier smoke flavour while others prefer lighter taste such as myself.  For ribs, I use no more than two ounces and for bigger cuts such as pork butt it brisket, I use 5 ounces. In time, you will figure out what amount best suits your preference.

I have been to the Big Bone BBQ at the Markham location where I live and it is great, but I get better results from my SI #3. For the bigger cuts, try brining them the day before. I have tried both brining va not brining and I have had equally great results.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Btw, I was in the King area not long ago for my son's soccer tournament.

[Hulk]

Joe I had kinda of the same issue. The dowels were good for the original seasoning but left an odd taste with food. I know the majority of the folks on the forum prefer chunks but I've had great success with large high quality chips. I make a foil boat (looks like a football) about 5 inches long and leave a small opening in the top - almost closed just enough to let the smoke out.  It's long enough that I place it in the back of the box and the other end is roughly centered. I get amazing results with 1.5 ounces for ribs and chicken and 3 ounces for pork butts. It's all what you like just buy good wood and stay away from the box store stuff.

[Spolvs]

thanks for the feedback  NFAA, i've been running some empty cycles and was tinkering with wrapping the wood in foil and noticed a huge difference. I immediately noticed the smoke lasted over an hr when it used to burn out in about 20mins and i also noticed that blue smoke color everybody mentions when the wood is burning clean which got me excited lol. unfortunatley i was not able to smoke anything this last week ue to a hectic schedule but im aiming to throw a rack on sometime this week! one thing i noticed was that when the i turned the unit off was that the wood in the fire box was still in tact but charred whereas before it was wehite ash so i think im doing something right in terms of controlling combustion. im going to give her a go this weekend and provide everyone with an update....crossing my fingers!

[Hulk]

I'll post a picture of how I do my "boat" this weekend.

[smokeasaurus]

I'll post a picture of how I do my "boat" this weekend.

I am interested in this, I have a large amount of mixed chips that I used to use in an old MES and would like to use them in my #3.......

[BBQ4YO]

Welcome Joe, I did a brisket last month and also had this funky taste............I'm all ears here!

[Spolvs]

Please do NFAA, that would be great! I was wrapping the whole piece of wood and punching holes in the foil with a nail, it seemed to work but I was getting mixed smoke, some white and some blue but no combustion which was great.

[Hulk]

My "boat" with 3 ounce of chips - less wood make a smaller boat.  You want to keep the chips bunched  together not spread out laying flat.  It's placed in the back of the box. Preparing for an overnight 9lbs pork butt smoke.