Amount of Wood for Chicken vsBeef Brisket

Bill - my experience with the Cookshack is that a little smoke (wood chunks) goes a long way. Experiment. Try little to no smoke and work your way forwards. You would be surprised. In some cases, once the box is seasoned well, for light loads, you may not need any wood....try it. Meat in the shack with no wood is still awesome! As for the brisket, my preference is to go light on the wood.

Chicken's got a milder flavor to begin with compared to beef. Plus, it has a lot more surface area for its size so the smoke can penetrate easier. Still, may be worth sticking to around 2 oz for brisket especially if you're using hickory and prefer a less-smokey taste.

If using hickory for chickens and finding it too strong, you might want to switch to something lighter like a fruit wood or maple.

Thanks y'all.. my problem now is not so much with chicken now. I think I have the wood amount part figured out for that. I just have to overcome the rubbery skin.. and I guess I can continue to remove that or put it in the Weber or oven for a short time to crisp it up.

My real question has to do with the amount mentioned in the book for brisket vs. chicken.. 4 oz vs 1-2 oz. Maybe, as LABBQ mentioned.. is the surface area of the chicken.. however, I don't think the chicken meat was oversmoked.. it was the skin that took on a bitter flavor with 2-3 oz of wood.

So the question is.. why does the chicken taste bitter with 2 oz of wood and the brisket should be ok with 4 oz..

Just trying to understand before blowing a gasket.. er Brisket.

Bill

Bill - I wouldn't labor over the issue too much. As you have come to realize, the cookshack doesn't really crisp the skin. As for the recommendations in the book, I suggest that you use them as a guideline, and adjust accordingly. When in doubt, I would go lighter than heavy on the smoke. Just experiment......and have fun.

Chicken sucks up smoke like a vacuum! Very easy to overdo it so I stay at an ounce for a load. I'd start at 2 oz for the brisket. I don't do brisket much, but for a pork butt I'll use about 3 oz so 2 should be safe.

WeeWilly,

It's food chemistry, but poultry, all poultry, absorbs smoke readily because of the makeup of the actual meat molecules/proteins. That's why the do well with brining. Like Robbi said it absorbs it like a sponge.

Beef/Brisket on the other hand is denser more tightly packed protein and beef just needs more smoke to adhere/penetrate the protein.

Just works that way, poultry nees less and brisket needs more.

Smokin'

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinOkie:
[qb] WeeWilly,

Beef/Brisket on the other hand is denser more tightly packed protein and beef just needs more smoke to adhere/penetrate the protein.

Just works that way, poultry nees less and brisket needs more.
Smokin' [/qb]

Here is what I'm trying to understand.
I guess I'm not talking about too much smoke.. I'm talking about the bitterness I get when I use 3 oz of alder for chicken. If I use 4 oz of wood for a piece of beef or pork.. why will that not be bitter too?

The chicken itself was not bitter once I removed the skin.. Does this also have to be done with the bark on the beef/pork.. or does it simply not get bitter the way chicken does?

Geez, I wish I could talk face-to-face. Sometimes, I don't know if I get my thoughts across properly in forums.

Bill

Willy,
I don't know that this will help, but it always seems to me that the smoke seems to take to the fat more. My theory is that the fat in chicken is mostly just under the skin, where in red meat it's distributed throughout, so the fat in the chicken grabs all that smoke right at the skin and tends to make it more bitter. It's like a big blast of smoke right there. The smoke goes into the fat on red meat which is distributed throughout the meat taking a lot longer to get there because it's not right at the surface. You shouldn't have to peel off the bark. That's a favorite part for most people.
It sure is fun eating our experiments!

Peggy