Small loads-not enough smoke

Try splitting the chunks into smaller pieces or even use homemade packs of pellets on shorter or lower temp smokes. I smoke my beans for at least 4 hrs so I get plenty of smoke. Also, turn the beans every hour so more beans get exposed to the smoke if you haven't tried that.

Wood chunks on my Amerique and my previous Smokette usually take about 20-30 minutes to start producing smoke. Try giving the 025 30 minutes to churn out smoke before adding in your beans, or whatever else you might be smoking.

Thanks for the responses.

Pags: I do cook for at leat 4 hours and stir every hour. I have also split the CS chunks into smaller pieces but have not tried pellets.

The small load is the same problem that we always read about on here when people try to season the empty smoker for the first time. The wood slightly chars and only a little smoke. This is not an issue on larger loads.

Make sure that when you raised your element it didn't cause only the front of the wood box to come in contact with the element? The element should be in contact with ALL of the wood box.

I use my Amerique as an oven only (no smoke) to make my Old Fashioned baked beans. To add the good smoke flavor to the beans. I hot smoke my salt pork for 70 minutes then dice prior to adding to bean pot, half on bottom half on top. Cook low and slow, I will cook at 225 for 9 hours and hold at 140 for as much as 8 hours. This seems to give the beans a good smoke flavor. Use a tight fitting lid or you may even use cling wrap to keep moisture from escaping. Do not flood the beans. If you feel they are to wet at end, remove lid, raise temp to 250 for 1 hour. Hope this helps some.
Tom

Big Snack.

I'll get plenty of smoke for my beans. Generally, I make a batch in the 110+ oz range. Maybe I'm just making more than you do. But I'll smoke a 1.5 lb salmon and get plenty of smoke, and that seems like quite a small load. Also, I've smoked 6 sausages with good smoke.

I'll use the pellets on short or low temp smokes like smoking a steak to 95* internal and finishing on the grill.

If you've lifted your element to where it's touching the wood box, the wood should burn better if it's placed just touching the front holes of the wood box where the element contacts the box. Just throwing out ideas trying to help.

quote:

Posted January 27, 2011 06:09 AM
Make sure that when you raised your element it didn't cause only the front of the wood box to come in contact with the element? The element should be in contact with ALL of the wood box.
Posts: 1106 | Location: freeman,missouri | Registered: December 18, 2009

WOW! The element is supposed to be in contact with the wood box? Did not know that. Good to know!

Another trick is to put a pan under a brisket or whatever to collect the au jus. Chill the au jus and de-fat it, freeze the au jus in an old ice cube tray, and add a couple of the ice cubes and/or some smoked meat to the beans.

quote:

Originally posted by Chef-Boy-Arnie:
...

WOW! The element is supposed to be in contact with the wood box? Did not know that. Good to know!

Only if you're having trouble with the wood burning. It's a "fix" only if you're having issues.

...another reminder that "seeing white smoke" is not a good indicator of smoke flavor infusing the meat.

It is disconcerting when you look in the wood box and see your wood chunks turned to black coal, and not incinerated as you figure they ought to be, but it doesn't 'automatically' mean that the wood hasn't done its job.

I leave any wood that hasn't turned to ash at the back of the box and throw some new wood in the front and keep rolling. Eventually it all goes "up in smoke"...hahahah, I crack me up!