Too much smoke question

[taco]

I smoked a 10 lb brisket over the weekend and it came out too smokey for my taste. It was cooked really well (thanks to advice read on this site), just a little too much smoke for my taste although the wife liked it.

I put it in sat night and smoked for about 12 hours at 200-250 with pecan chunks (from the bags you can get from Academy) and kingsford charcoal. I started a load of charcoal in a chimney then dumped them in and added some wood on top of that. For the rest of the time I would add charcoal and wood chunks as needed to keep the heat up. This was on fairly cheap offset smoker that’s a little leaky but works. I then finished it in aluminum foil for about 3 hours in the oven at 225.

Is my problem the wood? Is the wood not dried enough? Charcoal?
Should I switch to bigger logs from somewhere else instead of this store bought chunks? Switch to Oak logs maybe?

Thanks for the help, the previous threads about smoking are a great help.

 

[Luke Duke]

It's tough to say. Personally, I would probably only smoke a 10 lb brisket for about 8 hours, then wrap it in foil. You could probably even get by with as little as 6 hours of smoke before wrapping and still end up with a good brisket. I rarely use charcoal, so I may not be the best one to ask.

 

[#3Rules]

A few ideas here -

- If your tasting too much smoke, I doubt that you would like the amount of smoke you get from using logs. In addition, by using logs in a small offset you may run the risk of ruining the meat with creosote. That being said, I've used logs many times in my smaller offset with good results.

- Don't add as many chunks. You can throw the chunks on at first, and then just add charcoal for the rest of the smoke.

- Get away from using Kingsford for your smokes. I've only done it once and did not like the flavor briquettes left on the meat. Most folks who use charcoal to smoke use lump. You can get big bags of Royal Oak and B&B at Wal-Mart, I'm sure that Academy carries lump as well.

 

[LazyEngineer]

B&B Lump Charcoal is awesome.

 

[3_yard-out]

I make sure the vent on the stack is open all the way. Adjust the damper by the firebox for temperature, but leave the other one so the smoke can flow past the meat, but not really be trapped in there. I think this is most important when you just add the wood and you are getting that real white smoke.

 

[NCAAFBALLROX]

I only use charcoal as a kicker to get my wood going. Did you soak the wood chips, or let them burn while dry?

I'm for the Oak Lump...

 

[Brisketexan]

I actually had this issue happen with me recently -- I chalked it up to doing a 9-10 lb brisket (which is a bit smaller than I usually use). I now keep a 9-10 lb brisket on the smoke for 7-8 hours at most -- for a 12 lb one, I go about 8-9 yhours on the smoke. Then 3 hrs at 225 in foil for either one.

Also, I just use charcoal to get the fire going, use big oak logs for fuel, and keep the chimney ALL the way open, regulating the heat through the firebox vent only.

 

[taco]

thanks for the advice. I think I will switch from Charcoal. I have a feeling that was the problem

 

[austintexas]

I had this problem. Then I started wrapping in foil after a few hours and that fixed it.

Using logs you get a two-fer: heat and smoke. You won't get any more smoke from logs than you do chips, unless somehow the laws of chemistry changed and logs burn more than chips. Burning wood is burning wood.

Start the fire with charcoal, keep it going with logs. Open up the chimney, regulate with the damper. Wrap it in foil after a few hours.