# too much smoke??????????



## jdomep (Feb 14, 2011)

been smoking for two weeks now and i have hickory at this time. both smokes my food got too smokey that my family couldnt enjoy the food. any help would be great. i did three fatties this weekend and had smoke on for 4 hours straight. too much? back down to 2 hours of smoke? weekend before was pork shoulder, sausage and a chicken. same thing couldnt eat chicken skin too smokey. had same thing 4 hours of smoke. any help from you pros would rock. thanks!


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## tjohnson (Feb 14, 2011)

What smoker do you use?

Was your smoke billowing out or Thin Blue Smoke?

Chips, Chunks or Sawdust?

Please give us a little more info

Todd


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## les3176 (Feb 14, 2011)

How much wood are you using? How often are you adding wood? Are there big white billowing clouds of smoke? You are trying for thin blue whiffs of smoke,not white clouds.If you can smell smoke then so can your meat.When i use chunks i use 2-3 chunks every hour or so maybe a little longer,trying to keep then away from the fire so they don't just burn up in 5 minutes.Also make sure your exhaust vent is aleast half way open for good air flow.


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## jdomep (Feb 14, 2011)

i am using a bradley digital electric smoker. its feeding a new hickory biscuit every 20 minutes. i can smoke as many bisuits as i like i was under the impression i should be smoking during the whole cook time but i am totally wrong with that thinking. i am using hickory right now and as i read posts hickory is a stronger wood.


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## jdomep (Feb 14, 2011)

thanks for your help also.


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## coronaca92879 (Feb 14, 2011)

Try adding every 30 or 40 minutes as opposed to every 20 minutes.


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## jdomep (Feb 14, 2011)

i dont think i have that option with my bradley smoker. i think its programmed from factory for 20 minutes.


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## tjohnson (Feb 14, 2011)

I think you're stuck with burning a puck every 20 minutes in your Bradley.

I keep a log of good smokes and bad ones.  So much of smoking and BBQ is trial and error, that you need to learn by your mistakes.  My guess is you just kept the smoke on for too long.  Next time, I would smoke your fatties for only 2 hours and see if you like the flavor a little better.

I'm thinking 4 hours of heavy smoke is too much even for Bear!

Todd


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## les3176 (Feb 14, 2011)

I agree with todd with using the bradley you can't drop the pucks when you want to.So i would limit the smoke maybe try 3 hours next time. And you could try a differant wood too

hickory is pretty strong Try a cherry or a apple that might help too.


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## gotarace (Feb 14, 2011)

How does a Bradley vent? I would be keeping the vents wide open if they are adjustable.


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## jdomep (Feb 15, 2011)

i keep the vent closed because its so cold up here, i dont think i could get the temp up if i opened the vent the whole way. but thanks, i need to consider that also.


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## scarbelly (Feb 15, 2011)

You can play with the venting to see if that helps. If you  are getting too much smoke for your taste then stop after a couple of hours and see if that solves the problem. You can still use the heat from the unit to finish the cooking process


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## gotarace (Feb 15, 2011)

I live in Wisconsin and with my MES 30 i run the vent wide open in the winter when i smoke. If you fear it won't get up to heat i would take scars advice and at least open the vent half way to let some of the smoke escape. With that vent closed and water in the pan i think you could be setup for creosote in the smoker.


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## SmokinAl (Feb 15, 2011)

I agree with gotarace, the top vent needs to be open at least half way. I keep mine open all the way, but then I'm in Florida.


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## realtorterry (Feb 15, 2011)

Yes if you don't let the smoke vent it will devolop a crsote taste (too much smoke) it has to vent out somewhere. You only want the smoke to kiss the meat on it's way out, not sit on top of it.


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## alelover (Feb 15, 2011)

With the vent closed you probably got a lot of stale smoke and creosote flavor going on along with the good smoke we value so much.


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## jdomep (Feb 15, 2011)

thanks for all your help . i  will consider everything you guys gave me. thanks again. i am sure i can get a good one soon.


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## alelover (Feb 16, 2011)

I know you will.


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## chris_harper (Feb 16, 2011)

Takes practice. I am glad I live in a "warm" climate area. I don't have to worry about it being too cold. I have to worry about it being too hot!


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## miamirick (Feb 16, 2011)

hey JD my last smoker was the bradley and a did not use the feeder, about once an hour when i opened the door i would just carefully place a new puck on the metal burner   just  use the new puck to push the old one right into the water pan   just dont touch the burner    but after a blister or two you'll get it down   usually two or three pucks a smoke did the trick

good luck    just keep "practicing" as much as possible


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## tjohnson (Feb 16, 2011)

I know Bradley wants to sell pucks, but why doesn't the controller allow you to control the number of pucks per hour?

Passed on the Bradley when I was buying a smoker and opted for the MES.  It did not smoke good either!

Todd


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## dnovotny (Feb 16, 2011)

I HAVE  A BRADLEY  AND I USE APPLE MOSTLY, HICKORY IS OK  BUT LIKE YOU SAID IT  CAN BE STRONG,, JUST  CUT  BACK ON THE  SMOKE  IF YOU

DON'T  LIKE A HEAVY SMOKE  SET IT  FOR 2 HRS. AND STOP. ANOTHER  THING I DON'T  USE  WATER IN THE PAN. PRACTICE DIFFERENT  TIME LENGTHES  UNTIL  YOU KNOW  HOW MUCH  SMOKE YOU LIKE...PRACTICE.. SMOKING  IS  AN ART AND TIME  ...


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## tjohnson (Feb 17, 2011)

dnovotny said:


> I HAVE  A BRADLEY  AND I USE APPLE MOSTLY, HICKORY IS OK  BUT LIKE YOU SAID IT  CAN BE STRONG,, JUST  CUT  BACK ON THE  SMOKE  IF YOU
> 
> DON'T  LIKE A HEAVY SMOKE  SET IT  FOR 2 HRS. AND STOP. ANOTHER  THING I DON'T  USE  WATER IN THE PAN. PRACTICE DIFFERENT  TIME LENGTHES  UNTIL  YOU KNOW  HOW MUCH  SMOKE YOU LIKE...PRACTICE.. SMOKING  IS  AN ART AND TIME  ...




Great Answer!

Todd


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## Bearcarver (Feb 25, 2011)

dnovotny said:


> I HAVE  A BRADLEY  AND I USE APPLE MOSTLY, HICKORY IS OK  BUT LIKE YOU SAID IT  CAN BE STRONG,, JUST  CUT  BACK ON THE  SMOKE  IF YOU
> 
> DON'T  LIKE A HEAVY SMOKE  SET IT  FOR 2 HRS. AND STOP. ANOTHER  THING I DON'T  USE  WATER IN THE PAN. PRACTICE DIFFERENT  TIME LENGTHES  UNTIL  YOU KNOW  HOW MUCH  SMOKE YOU LIKE...PRACTICE.. SMOKING  IS  AN ART AND TIME  ...


I don't know anything about a Bradley, other than what's been mentioned here, but I do know there is a big difference between how heavy a smoke is & how long it is smoked.

I could give something a light smoke from one of my AMNS for 12 hours, and it tastes GREAT!

Or I could give something a heavy white smoke for 2 hours, and it could taste terrible.

Just my 2 pennies,

Bear


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