GOSM - Whers the smoke?

[smokinstevo]

Looking for some suggestions for getting the smoke going in the GOSM.

I have been smoking a tenderloin for about 90 mins and dont see any smoke, but I can smell it some. I have it set to 220 degress according to my ET-73 thermometer.

What am I doing wrong? Am I putting too many chips in the box? Do I need to crank it up to get it going then back it down before I put the meat in?

Any suggestions??

 

[pineywoods]

You aren't doing anything wrong in fact it sounds just right. If you can smell the smoke so can the meat. A very light blue smoke or no smoke but the smell of it is perfect and is what we call TBS

 

[smokinstevo]

Is TBS something you can see?

I thought you should be seeing the smoke, but it appears I am wrong.

 

[pineywoods]

TBS is not something you can always see with my GOSM once in awhile I see a little thin smoke but most of the time I only smell it

 

[smokinstevo]

The loin is almost done, so we will see.

Wondering if the TBS will give the smoke flavor, it must. I always thought more smoke is better.

Learning alot here.

Steve

 

[pineywoods]

More smoke is not always better and to much can lead to creosote and that doesn't taste good. If you find you want a stronger flavor then use a stronger flavored wood. If you want lighter than you go with a lighter flavor wood. Personally I use different woods for different things

 

[kansasqueball]

More smoke is not better; especially lots of white billowy smoke. If you are producing that then your meat is going to have some creosote on it. The creosote will impart a bitter taste and a tingling sensation. I don't know for sure, but wouldn't be surprised to find out that the creosote formation had some negative health effects.

Now, I too have a GOSM, and one thing that I did was to ditch the wood chip box that it came with. It sits to far above the burner. On my model I've got a raised ring the goes around the burner that perfectly accommodates a 10" cast iron skillet. The bottom of the skillet sits much closer to the heat source than the manufacturer's included wood box. I have much better ease with producing smoke with the skillet than with what comes with the smoker. Other folks take an empty metal coffee can and set that down there. So there are at least two options for you to try. And like the fella up above said, "if you can smell smoke, then you're smoking"

QueBall

 

[kansasqueball]

Yeah! Hickory and Mesquite will have a strong smoky flavor. Pecan is a nice alternative; still smoky but not as strong. Fruit woods such as apple and cherry will have a milder, sweeter taste. Just experiment until you find what works for you and your family's taste buds. Personally, I like a mix of pecan and cherry.

 

[old poi dog]

+1 for the assist from Pineywoods. If you can smell the smoke, its doing its job.

 

[smokinstevo]

Can someone guide me about the vents? Does the amount they are open have any affect to the smoke production?

 

[wingman]

Kansas Queball is on the money with ditching the OEM pan. I turned my pan grate upside down and bought a 8" dutch oven that works great. If my chips sem to burn to hot and quickly I can lay the dutch oven lid on 1/2 way to better control the air flow.

 

[pineywoods]

Keep the top vent open and I don't find the bottom vents on the GOSM propane smokers do much personally

 

[smokinstevo]

I just took the loin off, looks good.

I looked in the smoke box and it doesn't look like any chips were used. I expected to see ash from the chips, at least some.

Does this seem right? Still seems like something is amis.

Steve

 

[old poi dog]

Hmmmm.....You mentioned that you had the ET-73 confirming that your smoker temp was at 225. Usually I place my chunks /chips in the box (I use a 10 inch cast iron pan I got from GoodWill) in the beginning when I light the burner. By the time my ET-73 reads 160, the chunks / chips are already smoking. Your firebox was set on its stand in the proper position yes?

 

[kansasqueball]

Yes, you need oxygen to be able to get to your wood to support combustion. Too much O2 and your chips/chunks will flame, too little and there will be no smoke at all. What you want is just enough to let your wood smolder and produce a steady stream of TBS. Again, this is just something that you will need to experiment with until you get it "just right".

 

[smokinstevo]

Thanks all for the suggestions...

Just for giggles, I boiled water and put the probes of the ET-73 in it. It read 212, perfect. I was thinking that they might be off.

Yes, the box is on the grid correctly.

I'm wondering if there are too many chips in there, is that posible? I do load it up. Thinking it may be smothering itself and it cant burn right.

I did have my side vents closed off, would opening them be better.

Been reading about the people using the skillit, how does this work?

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[smokinstevo]

Another question..

I use chips, would chunks work better???

 

[kansasqueball]

you need to have those bottom vents open at least a little. Oxygen needs to be able to get to the wood; otherwise there will be no combustion, and therefore no smoke.

 

[justpassingthru]

You've been given some good advice, what I do is open the bottom vents until the wood starts to smoke and then close them, I have bent the tabs so that they will close completely and I use 3-4 fist sized chunks of smoke wood with 2 fist sized chunks of lump charcoal.

So, have you cut into it yet, does it have a smoke ring, can you taste the smoke flavor, what kind of wood did you use?

Like most said, I usually can't see any smoke from my GOSM, whereas my WSM I can, don't know why that is, maybe because it is propane.

Here is what I did when I first started smoking, maybe it will help you, all I had was mango wood for smoke wood, plus our lump is made from mango so I didn't know what a 'smoke' flavor really was. I ordered some hickory and mesquite flavored liquid smoke to have a point of reference, now when I smoke with a local fruit wood I can differentiate between what is the flavor of the lump and the smoke wood and if it is mild or strong.

I have found mango to be on the strong side and tends to overpower the milder smoke woods, so I put extra guava, or one of the other milder woods, in to carbonize and the next smoke I have some charred guava to add in with the dry and my mild smoke wood isn't overpowered.

I hope this is some help.

Gene

 

[smokinstevo]

I have had the bottom vents all the way closed, or as far as they can be with the tabs. There is a small opening on the vents because to the tabs on them keep them open a bit.

Maybe that is part of my problem. I'll try opening the vents more next time.

As far as wood, I am using a apple hickory mixture, mostly apple. I did not get a smoke ring on my loin. I dont think it ever really got smoked, all I really did was cook it.

I have ribs to cook this weekend, yippie!

Steve