OK Apple Chunks?

Smoke at the end of the run doesn't smell bad, but I haveen't used apple before. Doesn't smell nearly as good as the cherry I used last night...

quote:

Originally posted by Dan-Q:
... The chunks have a gray-black coating and smell musty. The smoke doesn't smell good either. ...

Go with your instinct. Next time, if it doesn't look good (wood) don't use it. Chunks are cheap. If the smoke doesn't smell good, how will the food smell?

Hi Okie -

Sound advice as ever.

I hit it with another 15 min shot and it is billowing smoke that smells good. The first shot barely produced any smoke. I think I was burning off some crud of some kind. I think I will dump out these chunks.

Opened up the machine and the smell was absolutely rancid. Cleaned it and pulled it in the garage and the whole place stinks. Throwing out the sausage, I can't imagine it's any good. Has anyone tried chunks from the charcoal store?

Seasoning again with Hickory.

Are you sure it was apple. I was raised in an orchard and that doesn't look like apple bark. Looks more like pine.

Better Picture

Note they look awfully dirty.

quote:

Originally posted by Wheelz:
Are you sure it was apple. I was raised in an orchard and that doesn't look like apple bark. Looks more like pine.

Wouldn't that be funny! I couldn't imagine that CS would send me a box of pine. Didn't smell like pine, but it did smell musty.

I ordered some apple chunks from the charcoal store. Got some pecan chunks as well. Shipping costs almost as much as the chunks....

Also ordered some BBQ sauce to try:
Big Bob Gibson - Habanero Red Sauce
Anybody try it?

I got some apple wood that looked the same. I ended up cleaning it using running water and a scrub brush. Seems to be fine.

I have had the same problem with Cookshack apple chunks. Mine were still somewhat green when they arrived. Not thinking, I put them in an airtight container and they grew mold. Looked just like the picture.

Bought apple from The Charcaol Store and it is working just fine. It sure does not look like the pics!!

I agree it looks more like pine than any apple tree bark around here. I can't imagine them sending pine!

I had 2 apple trees before a storm took them out and the bark was smooth on both of them. Not as smooth as a hackberry, but way smoother than those pics. They were old varieties, if that matters.

As to Big Bob's Hab sauce,it is much more mild than you would think.

Good flavor,as does their Championship Red,and just a touch of back heat.

I liked Cookshacks wood chunks for quality and consistency.

Like Smokin' says,chunks are cheap,use your judgement.

If in doubt, try it on a couple bucks worth of yardbirds.

Big Bob Gibson's Hab sauce is my table hot que sauce. Of course, I am a wimp with heat. But this sauce adds it nicely.

I received a box of apple chunks from CS that was molded. CS replaced them for me. Moldy wood can not be used for smoking. All of the wood chunks I had previously ordered were pristine. (The photo does look like pine.)QUOTE]Originally posted by Dan-Q:
I have started my first cold smoke with the CS cold smoke baffle. I am smoking breakfast sausage links from the local butcher. I am splitting some CS apple chunks into chips for faster and more smoke. The chunks have a gray-black coating and smell musty. The smoke doesn't smell good either. The chunks were hard to split, but the wood inside looks OK. Does this sound unusual? I would like to get an opinion before I feed them to the family.[/QUOTE]

That looks like mold on the wood. If you light that up it will smell like.... well....burnt mold!

I wasn't happy with the apple I got from Cookshack It just didn't smell like the apple chips I had used in the past. It smelled more like green (read sour) apples instead of sweet apple wood. $5.00 solved the issue as I bought some other at the bbq store. At the rate the Cookshack uses wood it is cheap.

I am going from bad to worse here. I just smoked some potatoes per the CS recipe (4 hrs at 250F). I used 4 oz Mesquite from the same variety pack as the rotten apple. The smoke didn't smell foul, but it didn't smell appetizing either. Kind of blah. Took the potatoes out after 4 hours and they are rock hard. Tasted the skin and it just doesn't taste smoky. I am baffled. We mulled over putting the potatoes in the microwave (it's dinner time after all) but decided to chunk them in the trash. I had suspicions that my CS runs cool - maybe 20 degrees or so, but it looks like it is a real problem. Does anyone know if there is an adjustment for this? I am really disappointed about the wood because mesquite is one of my favorites. Another box of chunks in the trash. Not buying any more from CS again. At least I learned my lesson on potatoes and sausage, not the perfect cherry smoked porterhouse last weekend (finished on the grill - medium rare - bovine nirvana!)

How depressing...

I am using an extension cord, but it is a 12ga 25 ft. Pretty stout..

dumped out the still smoldering embers. Has a distinct chemical smell.

Put some known good hickory in to season it again. Laid a temperature probe on the middle shelf and will monitor. I know they swing, which is OK but I think I am running cold. Stay tuned...

Have already hit 255 with a setpt of 225 so I am definately not running cold. Must have been a bad recipe.

I am impressed with your 25' ext cord ability to supply max amps to the smoker.

What is the lowest temp drop you recorded after the 255*?

Dan-q Do you have a Walmart nearby? If so go to their outdoors section. They usually have apple, mesquite, and hickory chips there plus Jack Daniels whiskey barrel chips for sale there. I use chips on shorter smokes and these would be perfect to try while waiting for wood you ordered. Just a thought....

bob

quote:

Originally posted by GLH:
I am impressed with your 25' ext cord ability to supply max amps to the smoker.

What is the lowest temp drop you recorded after the 255*?

I run mine with a 15' long 12g ext with no problems at all !

quote:

Originally posted by GLH:
What is the lowest temp drop you recorded after the 255*?

I shut off my thermometer when it hit 223 to save the battery since I wasn't smoking anything at the time. I have recorded it as low as 205 at a 225 setpoint.

quote:

Originally posted by Tha Freak:

quote:

Originally posted by GLH:

I run mine with a 15' long 12g ext with no problems at all !

Couldn't find a 15' 12g at the local Home Depot or I would have bought the shorter one. Where did you buy it?

quote:

Originally posted by cadillac:
Dan-q Do you have a Walmart nearby? If so go to their outdoors section. They usually have apple, mesquite, and hickory chips there plus Jack Daniels whiskey barrel chips for sale there. I use chips on shorter smokes and these would be perfect to try while waiting for wood you ordered. Just a thought....

bob

I have some whiskey barrel chips that I used on some chicken breasts (short cook, only 45 min) and they were great. Unfortunately the Home Depot and WalMart near me don't have much in the way of chunks. If I knew that the Mesquite was funky too, I would have put it on my Charcoal store order (due in tomorrow). Shipping is a killer!

quote:

Originally posted by Dan-Q:
Couldn't find a 15' 12g at the local Home Depot or I would have bought the shorter one. Where did you buy it?

well I live in Quebec (Canada) I bought it in a RONA store, like a home depot or home hardware...

This thread has somehow drifted away from the original topic and into the realm of extension cords. Although I am reluctant to post this here, it seems appropriate since this is where the eternal question of extension cords surfaced once again.

The criterion for good wiring design dictates that there should be less than a 3 volt drop from the breaker to the appliance. Since most electric companies are delivering 120 volts, then there should be 117 volts or more at the appliance when it is running. Knowing how Cookshack is such a reputable company, their designs tend to be on the conservative side and they do extensive pre-product-release testing I'd have to speculate that all of their products do meet or beat that criterion. So what exactly does this mean?

Very simply it means, Size Does Matter. The smaller the wire and the longer the cord length the greater the voltage drop will be. Dan didn't say which model Cookshack he's using, or maybe I missed it, so here are some numbers for all three of the home smokers based on his wire size (12 gage), length (25 ft.) and supply voltage (120V AC).

Model...Wattage...Voltage Drop
08-09....500..........0.33
50-55....1200.........0.79
AQ........1000.........0.66

From this appears that Dan's CS is operating well within the specified range and the cord should not be an issue.

yes, it's called Thread Jacking.

PLEASE when you have a tendency to go off topic, out of respect to the original poster(s) just make a comment that you're starting a new thread.

That way, when the thread about cords has that for a title, people will see that too.

Thus ended the Moderator Alert

But can an original poster "thread jack" his own thread?

This was an interesting thread until I got lost.....

C'Nooga

I reckon one CAN threadjack his own thread, since Dan-Q started the thread and was the first to mention an extension cord.

Just pondering outloud here, and no offense meant.

Is threadjacking the act of mentioning anything other than the original topic of the thread? In this case the original topic is 'OK Apple Chunks?'. So technically, anyone who mentioned anything other than 'whether or not the apple chunks are OK' is guilty of threadjacking.

Everyone has been guilty of threadjacking at one time or another in one thread or another, including myself, and I doubt anyone on this forum have threadjacked intentionally or maliciously.

Just my 2 cents.

Hey Smokin' quit theadjacking with this threadjacking talk!!

don't make the moderator mad....smiley faces don't work.

you can't moderate a moderator

the REASON, you missed, is because when you threadjack, the topic is LOST. IF you don't use the search, you'll NEVER find the good info.

So when you threadjack (hence change the topic) what happens is your question and replies just won't get seen, because very few people search. The read the name of the topic.

Don't think someone a month from now will look in a wood chunk thread for info on a cord

Moderators HAVE to threadjack, it's in my contract.

I bought some apple chunks from CS a while back and they look exactly like your picture. 20 lbs of molded wood. Not a happy customer.

Not to absolutely and completely beat this to death, my original threadjack was a mistake. Chalk it up to being a forum newbie. I intended to post the extension cord comment on my thread for "20 hours and counting for a packer" as a possible reason for my cook taking so long. But then again I did diverge into sauce preference... Will try to improve my discipline. This would be another good reason to open the chat room once a week or so for smoking novices to ask our questions.... Just a thought... Or have I threadjacked my thread again?

Yep, you did it again.

Anyone searching for apple, chunks, cord, wood, threadjacking, chat, moderator, and alot more will get this thread plus a whole lot more threads.



I just did a 1 word search for 'apple' in all forums. This thread is the 13th on the list, 1st page. I guess you didn't mess it up after all, Dan-Q!

I got great apple chunks from Charcoal Store. They look nothing like your pictures, Smooth gray bark, no mold. I would ask them to replace what you got.