4 cooks and food taste burnt

Oh heck, if Momma is not happy then no one is gonna be happy...so we'll all try to get you back in good grazes.

2 oz's of hickory on chicken is just wrong, so I'd guess you have black/bitter tasting chicken there. On the chicken, what kind are you cooking?...whole, breasts, thighs, leg quarters?

Maybe we outta do these one at a time. Is the apple wood in chunks and where did you buy them?

Are you using one big chunk or a few small ones?

Other questions - was the meat dry or moist? Was the meat good or is the skin the issue? Have you verified the operating temp of the pit with another thermometer? How long did you cook each of the products above? What temp did you cook them at? How much did they weigh?

We (or Cookshack) will get you lined out...

Nordy

pit for chicken was 250°. ribs was 250°. butt temp was set for 225°. everything coming out is very very dark brown and taste from everything is very icky. taste like out of a burning house. i am trying to love my smokette but family doesnt want anything out of it anymore.

Something just don't add up, I'm not questioning your results, but just trying to figure where the problem is.

While the PB will come out dark, 2oz's of apple wood shouldn't give it much of a smoke taste, especially after pulling and mixing it all together.

I'm wondering about the wood and if there is not a problem with it? Did you get it from CS or buy it somewhere else? Does it burn all the way up? What kind/color of smoke comes out of the exhaust hole, say 1-2 hrs after starting the smoker?

2oz's of wood on chicken is plenty, but on ribs and butts it shouldn't have the burnt house odor.

How big was the butt and how long it cook and at what internal temp did you pull, just trying to figure out if the smoker is cooking/reading the correct temps.

the hickory came from cookshack. the apple wood is from bbq galore and it weber product. the wood is always ash when i clean my wood box out. 7 lb butt pulled at 195°. rested for 2 hours and pulled. i'm really trying hard to love my smokette but the family isn't liking it.

Understood!

Did you say about 14 hrs on the cook time?

Are you weighing the wood or guess at weight? Just some idea on size....inches X inches

i am weighing the wood. butt cooked just over 12 hours.

I have never cooked on an electric unit.

But if your having too much smoke flavor, I would back down on how much wood your putting in till your flavor is where you want it.

I have found hickory can be very bitter some times.

i am using less wood than whats called for. family is not happy w/ my purchase at all.

I am very new to this (smoking and the SM025) as well, so just some thoughts from a fellow newbie. You said you only put salt and pepper on the chicken, I don't think it should have been that dark. I had a rub on my chicken with sugar and cooked it at 300 the whole time with Apple wood the first time I did chicken and that didn't come out dark. Most of the time if you have a rub with sugar that is the component that makes it darker. I would definately skip the Hickory for Chicken, as what I read on here, chicken takes in a lot of smoke flavor. 2oz sounds like a good weight, I think I used around that (the chicken did come out very smokey). Ribs for me usually get real dark, but then again, that's the sugar/spices in the rub, pork butt as well, but could easily have taken 6oz of apple without a problem. Has your family had anything to compare their experience to, say another smoke restaurants food. That is sad to me that they are so unhappy with the food, and I bet you feel that way too, I know I would. I don't know if the experts would recommend this, but maybe clean the sides of the smoker, just in case it was the wood, just to get the remainder of the smoke out of it. I agree with Randy E about backing down on the wood, perhaps you have to start from almost 1/2 to 1 oz to see if they like it and then add a tiny bit at a time each smoke to see where your family's threshold is??? Good Luck, Vicki

The first thing that comes to mind for me is: Have you verified the temperatures inside the smoker with a different thermometer? I really don't see anything wrong with what you are doing as far as the wood. I am just wondering if things inside the smoker are a lot hotter than what the controls on the smoker are showing.

i have 3 other pellet smokers and they love the food that comes off of them. everything is really dark and the flavor is not good at all from the smokette. i haven't check with another thermometer yet. i will do that tonight. i want to love my smokette but it is hard so far.

And you're not soaking the wood, but using it dry?

Only thing I can think of is the wood is catching fire instead of smoldering. I've had that happen to me a couple of times and now that I think about it, it did sort of have a burnt taste to it. Try putting the wood in a different part of the fire box and see what happens.

Your problem is definitely the exception and not the rule. I just finished smoking a 5.5lb. bird for dinner in my 020. Some garlic powder & Canadian seasoning, 1.2oz. chunk of orange wood. Smoked for about 1 1/2 hrs at 250. Then finished up in a 400 degree oven to crisp up the skin. Juicy, nice smoke flavor and nice crisp skin.

Had same issues way back when I first bought mine. Make sure your wood doesn't have bark on it. Hope I don't get hung here but.....Cookshacks wood they send with their smokers isn't that green. I learned that the hard way as well. Old wood = soot.

Also no foil on top of the fire box will make some funky drip burnings.

Also since its new did you wipe down the whole inside of the cooker? There may be oils on the metal from production that will smell on the first run as well.

Did you Burn it in for a few hours with no food in it?

How much black buildup is there on the inside?

It took me a while to get it where it needed to be for what it was.

I still think they are a hell of a prime rib oven!

Since those small units hold so much moisture (because I think it needs more vent) bad wood equals a smoke lacquer on everything...

Try a whole chicken with nothing but the heating element. No wood. and see what you get.

I saw Pags had posted this video on another post.

Pay attention to what he says at the 6:00 minute mark

SMoker Overview

I have bark on all my wood. Apple that just came from cookshack and apple and mesquit that is over two years old kept in my garage with no aigns of mold etc. or i wouldnt use it, but they all seem to work fine with no adverse reactions in the smoker??? This is a tough one to figure out.

I use wood with bark and without...can't tell the difference.

On chicken, if you don't use butter soaked cheesecloth after the first 45-60 minutes, you could very well wind up with very dark and heavy tasting skin.

I can't figure out the rib and butt problem. Is this your very first smoker? Are you using dry wood...not wood you soaked in water?

I see you have pellet grills/smokers! I have to agree with Randy E, you are getting way too much smoke for what you and your family is accustom to.

You will need to use smaller amounts of wood, on chicken one small golf ball size of apple and cook on high temp(300). On ribs use two small golf ball size and 250* will work.

The product coming out of the CS will not have a smoke ring, so your gonna have a darker product as opposed to your pellet grills, BUT that should not effect the taste of the product.