Questions about lumpwood best practice
Posted: 16 Aug 2015, 13:46
Hi there,
As a bit of background, I have been smoking meat (mostly pork shoulders, some legs of lamb and the odd spatchcock chicken) for a couple of years now. I don't have a dedicated smoker, instead a large barbecue with a lid which seems to do the trick fine.
Here's a pic if anyone's interested.
My questions are about the lumpwood charcoal that I'm using to cook. I really should have been asking these questions 2 years ago before I started but hey ho.
Up until last week every batch of lumpwood I've had has been that stuff in the light blue bag. This stuff:
The way I do it is to get my charcoal burning, stick the meat on and every couple of hours or so chuck a few more bits of charcoal on to keep the temperature around 225 degrees.
My latest batch of charcoal has been this stuff from Makro.
I have noticed that for 10-20 minutes after topping up the bbq with charcoal there is a thin blueish smoke being produced. I found this slightly concerning and wondered whether or not I should be starting the charcoal off in a chimney or another bbq before adding it to the main cooking chamber. I have read that some people do this, and others don't. Is the thin blueish smoke something I should be worried about?
And just for good measure, here's a pic of today's pork shoulder. It should be finished about 7pm, having gone on at 8am this morning. I'm hoping that coal smoke hasn't tainted the flavour too much.
Cheers
As a bit of background, I have been smoking meat (mostly pork shoulders, some legs of lamb and the odd spatchcock chicken) for a couple of years now. I don't have a dedicated smoker, instead a large barbecue with a lid which seems to do the trick fine.
Here's a pic if anyone's interested.
My questions are about the lumpwood charcoal that I'm using to cook. I really should have been asking these questions 2 years ago before I started but hey ho.
Up until last week every batch of lumpwood I've had has been that stuff in the light blue bag. This stuff:
The way I do it is to get my charcoal burning, stick the meat on and every couple of hours or so chuck a few more bits of charcoal on to keep the temperature around 225 degrees.
My latest batch of charcoal has been this stuff from Makro.
I have noticed that for 10-20 minutes after topping up the bbq with charcoal there is a thin blueish smoke being produced. I found this slightly concerning and wondered whether or not I should be starting the charcoal off in a chimney or another bbq before adding it to the main cooking chamber. I have read that some people do this, and others don't. Is the thin blueish smoke something I should be worried about?
And just for good measure, here's a pic of today's pork shoulder. It should be finished about 7pm, having gone on at 8am this morning. I'm hoping that coal smoke hasn't tainted the flavour too much.
Cheers