# Pink In The Middle



## briaud (Oct 2, 2007)

Whats the secret for the meat to have the pink in the middle?

My smoker stays at 180-200 for the proper amount per pound and still no pink in the middle.

Too much smoke?

I have a horizontal smoker with tinder box, the vent is on the left away from the box. It has vented plates to allow the smoke to circulate.

Also not sure where I read it but the cresote taste is overbearing.

Thanks

Brian


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## shellbellc (Oct 2, 2007)

what meat are you cooking?  Are you looking for medium beef??


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## pigcicles (Oct 2, 2007)

Hi Briaud. By pink in the middle I assume you are after a medium cook. Cook the meat by temperature (about 160Âº for beef). If you meat has a bad taste then most likely you have creosote build up from either too much smoke, or maybe a low temp _with _wet or green wood. Now that statement will bring some controversy but you should use dry wood for the smoke with a Thin Blue Smoke (TBS) almost invisible.


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## Deer Meat (Oct 2, 2007)

Do you have the vents open to allow the smoke to pass by the meat and not be trapped in it.........= creasote.


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## briaud (Oct 2, 2007)

Thanks for all the quick replies, 

I am cooking a 10 lb brisket, and yes I tend to leave the vents closed during the (i believe i am oversmoking the meat) I build the fire like I am burning wood in a fireplace instead of maintianing a good heat and smoke effect on the meat. 

I like a little undercooked / tender meat versus the well done.

Also if I baste often would fat done be preferred or a choice.

Thanks

Brian


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## john davidson (Oct 2, 2007)

The first time I smoked quarter chickens they were black with cresote when they came out. They were perfectly tender but the taste was overwhelming. Smoked again next week except kept both vents *all the way open *and the chicken came out with a nice brown color and no cresote taste. I have always kept the vents all the way open since with any meats.


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## pigcicles (Oct 2, 2007)

Hi Brian. Keep your exhaust vents / damper open. Adjust your temps with the inlet vent. If your exhaust damper is closed it keeps the smoke from getting out and causes your food to collect creosote. You want the light smoke to kiss the meat and travel on it's way out the stack.

If you want tender brisket you need to cook it to an internal temp of 190Âº or so. I won't be pink like a steak but will be fork tender. You can pull it out earlier but it won't be fork tender.

Check out the brisket methods under the beef section or check out Jeff's Brisket How To article on the left side of the page.


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## chris_harper (Oct 3, 2007)

you know, i think the smoker manufacturers don't have a clue on how to build a proper smoker. look at them- you have to mod any affordable smoker. by that, i mean any smoker under $200. the exhaust stack is cut in in the wrong place, no deflector plate, etc. someone ought to start a company, making smokers based on the chargrill/charbroil  smokers; but make them the right way. 

 what gets me is people like this clown: guy at work (leadman on second shift in plating). says he is going to get the chargriller smoker. i tell him about the mods it needs. i write down the URL for this forum. tell him to come here, and give him my forum name. he buys the smoker, and smokes a brisket right off the bat. tells me it wasn't very good. i ask him what temp you take it to? he says, "i smoked it for 8 hours. it was a 5 pound flat". i had told him buy a small packer, to stay away from the "trimmed", "super trimmed", and "flats" at the store (we shop at the same store). now, he knows i smoke alot. he knows i built my smoker. he has tasted my smoked goodies. and he still doesn't listen. do i need to drive to house and teach him how to use the smoker? 
thanks for letting me rant on him. people like that make me mad. i spend about 2 hours total giving him info, and he does it exactaly wrong.


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## pigcicles (Oct 3, 2007)

Some people just have to take the hard road Chris. Let him screw up a couple hundred in meat then buy his smoker for cheap ... then mod it, smoke it and take him some Kick A brisket


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## chris_harper (Oct 3, 2007)

lol, i like your thinking. he has had some of my brisket. wanted to know why his didn't taste anything like what i have brought. i told him he smoked it the wrong way. 

another thing that gets me. i mentioned that i smoke mine fatcap down. alot of guys at work own a smoker. (duh, i am in texas afterall.) some of them laughed and say i smoke upside down briskets. i told them try it. one did, said he came in 3rd in a comp. they believe the myth about the fat melting and running thru the meat. they do not believe the internal fat melts, along with the connective tissue, to keep it tender and moist. to each his own i say. i told them all i would put my brisket against theirs any day.


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## gypsyseagod (Oct 3, 2007)

the old saying of a horse to water.... if the idiot nag don't know it's thirsty- slap all the water ya want.... it'll shake it's head & die of dehydration....i've been cooking packers all my life- never knew there was another(trimmed) kind of brisket.....so there ya go... this site has opened new avenues i never thought possible like... fatty,abts,pastrami, & (hold yer breath) i never even entertained the idea of pulling pork- being from texas.....pulled pork back home is getting a javelina out of the fence line.....


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## pigcicles (Oct 3, 2007)

Chris you gotta learn to smile and just recognize that *they must be right* and yours is over done. Keep cookin those upside down briskets and wait on that smoker to come up for sale ... just keep smilin


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## crewdawg52 (Oct 3, 2007)

Good idea, but after moding it and cooking some kick a$$ Q, sell it back to him at a profit for Chris!


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## shellbellc (Oct 3, 2007)

Brian, I think you chose the wrong cut of beef for undercooked.  A brisket, because of the cut, needs to be sloowww and loowwww until it comes up to temp. Temp being at least 195*.   If you want something medium, go for more of a roast beef or prime rib.  A brisket will get sooo tender when done the right way, it is definitely not a cut that you want medium.  There are many, many posts on here about doing a brisket, read them and trust them.  You won't be sorry.


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## briaud (Oct 3, 2007)

Thanks all for the helpful advice, I think my fireplace style tinder box was ALOT of the problem and no ventilation aggrevated the problem.

Great Forum

Brian


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