psychobrew
Smoke Blower
A few thoughts come to mind.
I have never had a problem with too much smoke on an electric smoker, even when the smoke comming out looked heavy. Having said that, I suppose you could have too much smoke.
How fresh was the wood you got from your tree? If the branch was too fresh, that could be the problem. Did you take the bark off?
How is your ventilation? Although I have not had an issue with too much smoke comming out of my (old) smoker, I have had a problem when the smoke can't escape. You do not want the smoke to get stale as that will leave a bad taste.
Let the meat cook itself. Tell everybody else you cooked it. What I mean is, although you have to regulate the temps, mop, add wood, etc., the meat is done when it's done and you need to let it cook until it's done. Taking it out too early will result in tougher BBQ. Sometimes you can get away with bumping the temp up a *little* (after all, people have had success with cooking brisket at 275-300 degrees, but you might want to foil if you do that), but at the very least, you need to get past the stall for cuts like brisket and pork shoulder.
In your circumstance, you would have been better off letting the brisket cook for the extra hour and skipping the resting period. Just cut it up in some kind of a pan so the brisket will lay in the juices you will lose from cutting it too early. It will still be tasty and more tender than what you ended up with.
I have never had a problem with too much smoke on an electric smoker, even when the smoke comming out looked heavy. Having said that, I suppose you could have too much smoke.
How fresh was the wood you got from your tree? If the branch was too fresh, that could be the problem. Did you take the bark off?
How is your ventilation? Although I have not had an issue with too much smoke comming out of my (old) smoker, I have had a problem when the smoke can't escape. You do not want the smoke to get stale as that will leave a bad taste.
Let the meat cook itself. Tell everybody else you cooked it. What I mean is, although you have to regulate the temps, mop, add wood, etc., the meat is done when it's done and you need to let it cook until it's done. Taking it out too early will result in tougher BBQ. Sometimes you can get away with bumping the temp up a *little* (after all, people have had success with cooking brisket at 275-300 degrees, but you might want to foil if you do that), but at the very least, you need to get past the stall for cuts like brisket and pork shoulder.
In your circumstance, you would have been better off letting the brisket cook for the extra hour and skipping the resting period. Just cut it up in some kind of a pan so the brisket will lay in the juices you will lose from cutting it too early. It will still be tasty and more tender than what you ended up with.
