HELP!!! All My BBQ is tastin' like sausage!!!!

Is your unit dirty? Just throwing that out there as its the only thing I can think of. I did around 4 cooks before wiping down the inside of my Amerique and I think the greasy build up had a effect on taste. I now wipe it down after every cook. No more being lazy for me.

I never wipe mine down, and the food tastes great. Are you placing the food directly on your grates and are the grates rusty? If so, may be time to get new ones. I'd go stainless steel. Get a round brush and clean out both holes. Just a couple thoughts.

Prior to smoking, I always...
1. Use a 4" putty knife (credit card will suffice) and scrape down lightly the interior walls and door.
2. Re-foil the top of the wood box and bottom of the smoker cabinet.
3. Use shelf racks that have been thoroughly cleaned from the previous smoke.
4. Empty the wood pan of any previous charred wood chunks.

I have no idea how clean you keep your smoker or how long it sits idle between one cook to the next. If you follow the prescribed routine you should be fine. If you don't use your smoker all that often, run it at high temp for an hour to burn off any mildew or "yuck" that may settle in due to your TX climate.

I'm wondering about the wood. Where do you store it and how old. Wood can pick up a rancid flavor if stored in poor conditions.

Sounds like creosote.

Check the wood, and amount.

Have you changed ANY techniques in that time period?

Thanks to all of the input.

I don't wipe it down after every smoke. Maybe it would be a good idea to at least do a wipe with a cotton cloth/paper towel once it's cooled down.

My grates are stainless steel. For the grates I usually just scrub them down with some crumpled up foil paper and then with a paper towel.

I've stopped putting foil on the smoker box. When I change out the wood I wipe it down with a paper towel.

It HAS been a long time between smokes. I went 2 months once, and yesterday it had been at least 6 weeks. Maybe too much build-up of rancid residual grease?

The wood I used yesterday was the last of the original hickory that came with my Smokette over 3 years ago.(!) The wood was in its original box it was sent in, and was being stored in the garage. I usually use only one chunk. The wood didn't "look" bad, and the smoke that was coming out of the unit was the very clean, pleasant sweet smell we all love.

Finally, in trying to describe the flavor, I guess you could also say that the meat has an "over smoked" aspect to it.

Technique for my last smoke:

Yesterday I did 10 chicken legs and 6 pork chops. I used a light seasoning of Seasoned Salt for both. The meat was cold, and the Smokette was cold when I put it in. I put the chicken legs on the middle rack, and the pork chops on the top rack. I used the remaining half-chunk of hickory I mentioned above, plus a very small amount of new apple chips wrapped in foil. I smoked at 230 for 2 1/2 hours. All of the meat was very dark and had the "sausage" taste I talked about.

Next Steps:

Here's what I'm gonna try:

1. Heat up the SM for about 15-20 minutes, then wipe down the inside as thoroughly as I can with a paper towel.

2. I'll thoroughly wash the grates.

3. I'll crank up the SM to it's highest setting and let it "self-clean" for 2-3 hours with nothing in the smoke box.

4. I'll buy new wood.

After doing all of this I don't know if I'll "re-season" with some fatback, or just go ahead and smoke a chicken or two.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. If anyone has any other recommendations, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll try the above steps and let everyone know how it comes out!

-XROD

it almost sounds like you've got a case of 'pine mouth'. bitter and metallic are the key symptoms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_nut

Wow! Almost a year and a half since the last post on this thread! I just wanted to finally give an update.

1. Yes, it turns out that my smoker was probably a little dirty. Not dirty due to dirt, but due to inactivity and the moldy/funky growth that can happen. I really think I had not been using the smoker often enough. I gave it a thorough scrubbing, and re-seasoned.

2. The cleaning and re-seasoning helped, but I was still getting a hint of sausage. This was true for subsequent smokes, no matter, it seems, what I was cookin'.

3. Amazingly enough, a thought came to me today, I researched here on the forums, and tried my experiment today.

The problem? Too much smoke.

Being in South Texas, we tend to use a lot of mesquite. I would fill up all three grills in the smoker, put in one chunk of mesquite, and I was still getting an oversmoked flavor.

Here's what I did today:

1. One slab of St. Louis Ribs.
2. Simple rub of light Seasoned Salt.
3. Cold ribs into a cold smoker set for 225.
4. A SMALL handful of Apple chips. (actually more like a few fingerfuls than a whole handful.)
5. Smoked at 225 for 4 hours and 15 minutes. Didn't open it once.
6. The small amount of Apple chips ceased smoking after about 2 hours.
7. Took the ribs out, they looked great!
8. Cut one rib off and tasted... Perfection! Not too much smoke, and it had that sweet overtone of the Apple wood!!!
9. I sauced the rest and finished them on the grill.
10. I'm not sure a finer rib can be had. The perfect tenderness, (great "give" without falling apart,) and that low and slow smoked taste that comes from a great pit. Just super.

It seems that the smoker is so well built, it's easy to forget just how much moisture and smoke can recirculate in the box!

Thanks!
Xavier

Sounds like you may have started solving your "problem".

Rule of thumb is "a smokette is about as foulable as an old iron skillet".

Rancid grease may not clean up with a few hrs burn.

Old wood either goes tasteless,or tastes like the dog peed on the woodpile.

Mold/mildew-in high humidity can get into the insulation.You shouldn't have humidity,but a pan of charcoal based cat litter setting on a shelf will work for months,years.

There is the adage that any mesquite grown north of "cowtown" shouldn't be cooked with .

Smoker folks will repeat the advice"Grill with mesquite for your short cooks where you need high heat".

"Don't use mesquite for long cooks,because it will almost always give a bitter taste/ bad mouth feel".

Can't say these are laws,but if you walk thru a comp cooksite,filled with experienced cooks,these are comments you get.
Right,or wrong.