too much smoke...

Sorry to hear that, but with any smoker there is a little bit of a learning curver. You have to go with your taste buds and methods, so we can get you started (ask first) and then you can adjust.

We usually recommend, first, ignore the cookbook and ask us (don't ask why, but that CB is old and most of us don't like it, except for the actual recipes, but not the times nor methods)

Go with 1/2 that, say 2oz. Plus the wood itself will make a different, hickory is usually a stronger taste.

Yeah, I had read all over the forum to use the 2oz, then I saw the cookbook that was actually from CS which suggested the 4oz. I should have known better and stuck with my initial plan of 2oz like the forum says.

Hickory does seem to have a very strong taste/bite to it. What other woods are there besides like cherry and apple, etc?

I personally love cherry and pecan.

We typically quote the BBQ FAQ list, to get you started on woods, we also have the wood forum to help there:

The traditional woods for smoking are HICKORY and OAK. Here is a list of woods suitable for smoking:

ACACIA - these trees are in the same family as mesquite. When burned in a smoker, acacia has a flavor similar to mesquite but not quite as heavy. A very hot burning wood.

ALDER - Very delicate with a hint of sweetness. Good with fish, pork, poultry, and light-meat game birds.

ALMOND - A sweet smoke flavor, light ash. Good with all meats.

APPLE - Very mild with a subtle fruity flavor, slightly sweet. Good with poultry (turns skin dark brown) and pork.

ASH - Fast burner, light but distinctive flavor. Good with fish and red meats.

BIRCH - Medium-hard wood with a flavor similar to maple. Good with pork and poultry.

CHERRY - Mild and fruity. Good with poultry, pork and beef. Some List members say the cherry wood is the best wood for smoking. Wood from chokecherry trees may produce a bitter flavor.

COTTONWOOD - It is a softer wood than alder and very subtle in flavor. Use it for fuel but use some chunks of other woods (hickory, oak, pecan) for more flavor. Don't use green cottonwood for smoking.

CRABAPPLE - Similar to apple wood.

GRAPEVINES - Tart. Provides a lot of smoke. Rich and fruity. Good with poultry, red meats, game and lamb.

HICKORY - Most commonly used wood for smoking--the King of smoking woods. Sweet to strong, heavy bacon flavor. Good with pork, ham and beef.

LILAC - Very light, subtle with a hint of floral. Good with seafood and lamb.

MAPLE - Smoky, mellow and slightly sweet. Good with pork, poultry, cheese, and small game birds.

MESQUITE - Strong earthy flavor. Good with beef, fish, chicken, and game. One of the hottest burning.

MULBERRY - The smell is sweet and reminds one of apple.

OAK - Heavy smoke flavor--the Queen of smoking wood. RED OAK is good on ribs, WHITE OAK makes the best coals for longer burning. All oak varieties reported as suitable for smoking. Good with red meat, pork, fish and heavy game.

ORANGE, LEMON and GRAPEFRUIT - Produces a nice mild smoky flavor. Excellent with beef, pork, fish and poultry.

PEAR - A nice subtle smoke flavor. Much like apple. Excellent with chicken and pork.

PECAN - Sweet and mild with a flavor similar to hickory. Tasty with a subtle character. Good with poultry, beef, pork and cheese. Pecan is an all-around superior smoking wood.

SWEET FRUIT WOODS - APRICOT, PLUM, PEACH, NECTARINE - Great on most white or pink meats, including chicken, turkey, pork and fish. The flavor is milder and sweeter than hickory.

WALNUT - ENGLISH and BLACK - Very heavy smoke flavor, usually mixed with lighter woods like almond, pear or apple. Can be bitter if used alone. Good with red meats and game.

BBQ List members report that wood from the following trees is suitable for smoking: BAY, CARROTWOOD, KIAWE, MADRONE, MANZANITA, GUAVA and OLIVE. The ornamental varieties of fruit trees (i. e. pear and cherry) are also suitable for smoking.

Other Internet sources list the wood from the following trees as suitable for smoking: BEECH, BUTTERNUT, FIG, GUM, CHESTNUT, HACKBERRY, PIMIENTO, PERSIMMON, and WILLOW.

That's alot of stuff to sample!

CS or someone should put together a sample box with 4oz of several different woods. Or do they already?

I'd like to just get 2oz of cherry, pecan, mesquite, etc. to sample the different smokes.

I didn't realize there were that many trees.

I made a living in school tending bar.

I'd let everyone have a couple drinks,and those that used mixers,I'd bet them, they couldn't pick their favorite booze.

They all knew they could,and they paid for my college.

Woodsmoke can be the same way.

A couple old cooks taught me to learn to cook the meat,the rest was just conversation.

I use 4oz of wood for smoking my pork butts. I've done 4 so far, doing a 10 pounder tomorrow night. I use 3oz of apple wood and 1oz of hickory and they have turned out great.

the difference must be in the apple wood and only 1oz of hickory. The 4oz of hickory just didn't sit well with me.

I just picked up two racks of backribs and another 5pounds of pork butt. Going to do them tomorrow morning with a couple ounces of mesquite.

quote:

Originally posted by HeloMech:
....mesquite.

Actually Mesquite is probably the harshest smoke out there, comes out VERY heavy to me.

well cr*p... maybe I WON'T be smoking tomorrow then! Don't have any idea where to get apple wood up here, unless my neighbor cuts down his apple trees...

Just go with 2 oz of mesquite. I used mesquite the first time a few days ago, and it was good. Didn't go heavy though after reading feedback from others.

Cool, that's what I was going to try. About 2oz of mesquite. I have two racks of back ribs and about 5-6 pounds of pork butt.

Going to start it in the morning. I'll prolly pop the door after 3-4 hours and check on the ribs.

Well the ribs and butt have been in the smoker for about 2.5 hours with some mesquite. I had the GF pick up a bottle of apple juice which I dumped into a new spray bottle.

Getting the temp probe to work on the ribs is proving very difficult. Probe is too long to get it to not read the oven temp. I gave up on it and pushed it into the butt. I'll go with the 'check at 3hrs' idea. Probably go 4 in hopes of getting the bones to wiggle free.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... smoke.

Yea. Do the toothpick test on the ribs when it looks like they're getting done, probe in the PB. At 225* on the back ribs, you're probably looking at apprx. 4 hrs. More if larger.

Well, when I went to the butcher yesterday, I asked for a porkbutt around 5 lbs. He told me it was just over 5 lbs. I told him that was fine. When I opened the butcherpaper, it was actually two smaller pieces. Guessing just over 2.5 each. That made a huge difference. The ribs and butt(s) were actually both done at about 4hrs. I pulled the porkbutt apart and it's great. Ribs aren't quite fall off with a wiggle, but they are super tender. I think I like the 2x2.5lbs'ers better than the larger 5-6lbs. but. Nice that everything comes out about the same time. lol

I don't recommend trying to probe ribs, it's just near impossible to get a spot that will give you consistent temp readings.

The "flex" or "bend" test, for me, is hard to prove to newbies, and it can lead to broken racks of ribs.

The toothpick test is foolproof, you feel the resistence and it tells you if they're tender or not.

Keep in mind the CS is a VERY moist smoker, so you don't really have to spray them as the cook

And when you open the door, that will let the heat out and extend the cooking time.

So, the more you open the door, just extend the cooking time.

Personally, I don't like small butts, I can't not lie, I like big butts.... oh, started signing there. Actually I don't cook PB if they're less than 7 lbs. I just don't like the texture of them. If I do small ones, I put them together and cook them as one with a little butcher twine.

But it will work if you don't like big butts.