5698k Posted June 27, 2015 Report Posted June 27, 2015 The question is now, if you're trying to get more smoke flavor into your foods, should you try the opposite vent settings? Put your smoke wood on, let the billowy stuff burn off, then add food. My thinking is that the longer the smoke is in contact with food, the smokier it will be. Top vent open pulls the smoke thru much more quickly than the opposite. I get the thin blue smoke either way, it just depends on how smokey you want your food. This may all be painfully obvious, but you've at least proven your chunks don't just evaporate. Robert 1
Cookie Posted June 28, 2015 Author Report Posted June 28, 2015 Yeah, I agree, you can do it either way, and until now and receiving the new dual vent door, I was a small opening on top, wide open on bottom kind of guy. In experimenting with the new bottom damper, I've been trying to hold everything but the vents constant for the last few cooks and have been watching more closely. I have noted that a breeze blowing across the top hat and really increase the suction. What can be a light colored smoke (not billowy, but not blue) can suddenly get blue / super clean with a pickup in the breeze. This has led me to the conclusion that, for my taste buds, the best setup is very small draft door opening on bottom, large opening on top -- BUT, I need to use more smoking wood in this setup because I do like a smokier flavor. I think I've decided I like the smoke that is fast moving across the food, and faster means more smoke wood, but not a lot more...and the beauty is, the pit temp still holds constant. Fun stuff. 2
tony b Posted June 28, 2015 Report Posted June 28, 2015 One of the reasons that I can't wait to get my hands on one of the new dual-dial draft doors - sounds like a big improvement in design over the original for creating new options.
CeramicChef Posted June 28, 2015 Report Posted June 28, 2015 Cookie - your post sounds as if you are an engineer/scientist. Are you?
Cookie Posted June 29, 2015 Author Report Posted June 29, 2015 Nope, but I used to sell jet engines, now I sell and lease commercial airplanes. One of my degrees is in computer science - analytical thinking required. I'm also a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and had a very analytical role for about 3 years in the early 2000s. I like to find what works and then make it repeatable. These days I'm a sales guy with a BBQ addiction. 3
tony b Posted June 29, 2015 Report Posted June 29, 2015 And thank goodness there's no 12-step program for it either!!! 1
mguerra Posted October 7, 2015 Report Posted October 7, 2015 Here is how all the top barbecue places do it. They take the wood that they want to cook with and burn it down to coals in a fire pit, THEN they take the coals and put them in the smoker. All the heavy thick smoke is long gone by that time. You can do this in a chimney, on the ground, in a Weber kettle, a trash can...use your imagination. I never do it myself. I like the thick white billowing smoke and just use it on my meats.. It thins out soon enough. But not for vegetables, those I wait for the thin smoke. Veggies can get WAY oversmoked in minutes. 1
ckreef Posted October 7, 2015 Report Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Here is how all the top barbecue places do it. They take the wood that they want to cook with and burn it down to coals in a fire pit, THEN they take the coals and put them in the smoker. All the heavy thick smoke is long gone by that time. You can do this in a chimney, on the ground, in a Weber kettle, a trash can...use your imagination. Around where I live when people cook whole hogs on a homemade pit they do that. They make a wood burning barrel (55 gallon drum) with a few pieces of rebar going through the middle and a shovel hole in the bottom. As the hot coals drop through the rebar they transfer them (via shovel) to their pit. This is done throughout the entire cook and allows them to regulate the temp in the pit. Edited October 7, 2015 by ckreef
tony b Posted October 7, 2015 Report Posted October 7, 2015 Hence the reason that it's a major PITA to run a real, full-on BBQ pit restaurant - seriously long hours (early morning ones, too!) and backbreaking labor. I'd never do it!
croadie Posted January 26, 2016 Report Posted January 26, 2016 If you look in the manual, Dennis shows that very thing. Bottom closed, top open, more smoke, and vice versa. Robert Manual - am i supposed to have a manual???
5698k Posted January 26, 2016 Report Posted January 26, 2016 Dennis can email you one, it doesn't actually come with the grill. <br /> <br /> <br /> Robert
croadie Posted January 26, 2016 Report Posted January 26, 2016 Dennis can email you one, it doesn't actually come with the grill. <br /> <br /> <br /> Robert Great - thanks Robert I really appreciate that 1
tony b Posted January 27, 2016 Report Posted January 27, 2016 I think a few of us have posted a pdf of it here in the Forum. Use the search engine to find it. Sort of like geocacheing! 2
ckreef Posted January 27, 2016 Report Posted January 27, 2016 I think a few of us have posted a pdf of it here in the Forum. Use the search engine to find it. Sort of like geocacheing!I have a geocache I placed in my front yard. It's been up and going for around 10 years. Every once in a while a car parks in the front of the driveway and people get out looking around. Half the time I have to go up and help them out because in the night sky Polaris is not a 4 wheeler - LOL. You would be surprised how many people don't know Polaris is the north star. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT 1
tony b Posted January 27, 2016 Report Posted January 27, 2016 Funny story, ckreef! I never actually got into geocaching, but have buddies in my beer club that do it.
ckreef Posted January 27, 2016 Report Posted January 27, 2016 Funny story, ckreef! I never actually got into geocaching, but have buddies in my beer club that do it. I have 3 caches I placed in play. 2 of them are around 10 years old. A few travel bugs too. I retrieved a travel bug a while ago from FL. It needed a bit of fixing up. Since I put it back in play it traveled the states a little and then made its way to Australia. It's currently bouncing around Australia - sort of kewl - I'm sure the original owner was happy I fixed it up. When my son was younger we went geocaching all the time. Me and Mrs skreef do it on occasion as something to do when riding the motorcycle. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT
