Too much smoke flavor?!

[woodson]

Bought, off Amazon, a MES 30 with the "cold smoker" attachment. First cook I totally ruined, flavor wise, a bone in turkey breast. Juicy and so pretty you could take a picture of it but it was inedible. I am now gun shy using the thing honesty. Hoping I can get a little help as to where I went wrong.

Used the "cold smoker" attachment and put in about 2 cups of Pecan pellets. I only left the heat element on the "cold smoker" on for 10-15 minutes, enough to generate visible smoke. Cooked the main unit to 275 and pulled the turkey breast at an internal of 165. Perfectly cooked but inedible.

Where did I go wrong?

 

[woodson]

Before anyone asks, I left the vent wide open from the beginning.

 

[old sarge]

Too much wood?  Try cutting back to half or less.  And work up from there.  Better too little smoke than too much.

 

[dogwalker]

I have the cold smoker, and I like it a lot - BUT man, I had to sure work at it.  I had two problems with it, and both now *seem* to be fixed.  First, wood chips (I've never tried pellets or broken chunks) would jam in the feeder.  Two, it either poured out harsh, white smoke or pretty much none at all.

So, I've done two things, both from recommendations on this board.

1) http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/129890/mes-cold-smoker-kit/60#post_1526374 - I added the dryer vent, which REALLY helps with the smoke.  I mean, a lot!

2) I was still burning through the chips too fast, and wanted a little less smoke, so I followed mp3car's advice here (http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/129890/mes-cold-smoker-kit/60#post_1670119) and bought a $20 voltage controller, and turned my voltage down a lot.

Now, finally, my cold smoker works like a champ.  Oh, and I fill the column/feeder about 2/3 full.  Now, I get thin blue smoke that lasts much longer.

The controller I bought is here: http://m.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html

I like my MES very much.  I just wish they had done a better job on the cold smoker.

(BTW, I've never tried the AMPNS, but that's another option)