[bluesman]

Nice work...and nice new addition as well my freind!

I like it! 

[deepsouth]

great pictures! 

[tschmidlin]

For those who cut their own wood for smoking, where do you stand on bark/no bark on the wood?  I left it on for the madrona I smoked with last weekend, and I just cut up some plum and don't feel like taking off the bark.  Any opinions?

[beerocd]

For those who cut their own wood for smoking, where do you stand on bark/no bark on the wood?  I left it on for the madrona I smoked with last weekend, and I just cut up some plum and don't feel like taking off the bark.  Any opinions?

If it falls off, toss it in the bonfire pit - if it sticks, smoke with it.

[bluesman]

For those who cut their own wood for smoking, where do you stand on bark/no bark on the wood?  I left it on for the madrona I smoked with last weekend, and I just cut up some plum and don't feel like taking off the bark.  Any opinions?

If it falls off, toss it in the bonfire pit - if it sticks, smoke with it.

+1

I generally use it with the bark.  I don't intentionally remove it.

[jeffy]

I have a friend who removes all traces of bark before he smokes his malt.  I find this a bit anal, but he says it helps with reducing astringency in the beer.

[tschmidlin]

I'm smoking a leg of lamb.  I wonder if it will be noticeable? 

[euge]

I'm smoking a leg of lamb.  I wonder if it will be noticeable? 

Doubtful. I haven't found it to make a difference one way or another.

[euge]

So on Wednesday I did a 7.5 hour smoke with Babybacks and wings. This time went low and kept it initially at 180F then raised it up to 215 for 4 hours. The thicker part of the rack could have went a little longer IMO but it's tender off the bone and tastes good. Amazingly the wings had stood up to the punishment- a couple got dried up a bit but the rest are still juicy.

I wasn't expecting a near double the time to smoke the ribs with such a small temperature difference. So is there a ROT to this? Are the benefits any greater by going that low and long or longer with the Babybacks or any rib cut for that matter?

The BGE can certainly go for a long time based on fuel usage. At 225 I bet I could go for 24 hours no problem.

[capozzoli]

The idea behind the low and slow (i think?) is that it will give the meat time to fully drink up the smoke and start breaking down to become more tender. same principle in the oven or on the stove, Tougher roasts and cuts of meat will get more tender when cooking low for a longer time.

I find that with the low and slow method it is better to with light wisps of smoke instead of a thick dense smoke. Kinda like with cold smoking.

[bluesman]

The idea behind the low and slow (i think?) is that it will give the meat time to fully drink up the smoke and start breaking down to become more tender. same principle in the oven or on the stove, Tougher roasts and cuts of meat will get more tender when cooking low for a longer time.

I find that with the low and slow method it is better to with light wisps of smoke instead of a thick dense smoke. Kinda like with cold smoking.

Correct!

Winner ...winner...smokey dinner!

This is the master plan Cap. 

[bluesman]

So on Wednesday I did a 7.5 hour smoke with Babybacks and wings. This time went low and kept it initially at 180F then raised it up to 215 for 4 hours. The thicker part of the rack could have went a little longer IMO but it's tender off the bone and tastes good. Amazingly the wings had stood up to the punishment- a couple got dried up a bit but the rest are still juicy.

I wasn't expecting a near double the time to smoke the ribs with such a small temperature difference. So is there a ROT to this? Are the benefits any greater by going that low and long or longer with the Babybacks or any rib cut for that matter?

The BGE can certainly go for a long time based on fuel usage. At 225 I bet I could go for 24 hours no problem.

If you want alot of smoke you need to smoke longer, but if you happy with a milder smoky flavor then increase the temp and decrease the time.  It's a matter of personal preference.


I like the best of both worlds so I like to target somewhere in the middle.  It's a time and temperature ratio and you need to find your comfort zone.

[nicneufeld]

If you are really adventurous, when it gets cold enough out to make it safe....cold (i mean COLD!) smoke some ribs for 8 hours, then hot smoke them much more quickly...would be interesting to try...a true cold smoking at refrigerator temps followed by a high heat smoke roasting around 350 deg.  May have to try it someday.

[capozzoli]

Nic, thats pretty much how I do my bbq.

I brine it cold smoke it then finish it hot over the coals. Works f-in awesome. Gives the ribs a "crust' that is reminiscent of bacon.

still, only salt though.

Real hard to do in the summer time though, for a long smoke at really low temps you end up in the "danger zone" as you may know.

But, Im thinking of stocking up towards the end of the winter, cold smoking and then vacuum sealing for the summer grill season.

[bluesman]

Interesting concept Nic.  I be interested in your findings should you decide to do it.
Sounds like it would work.  I wonder what the correlation is between smoke absorption and temperature.  Does the smoke get absorbed at the same rate no matter what the temp may be...or not. 
Sounds like an experiment waiting to happen.