Where’s the smoke ring?

[Pete6737]

Here is an interesting article from Texas Monthly regarding smoke rings if you are interested.

Interesting article. Thank you for posting that.

 

[Zonian Pyg]

Hello all
I’ve had my RT 1250 for a little over a year. I like the convenience of the pellet grill and the smoked meat usually comes out great. Lately I’ve noticed that my long cooks don’t have that great smoke ring. My last brisket cook last weekend had a very little ring. I used a smoke tube as well. The food tasted fine but you know, the male guests form around the kitchen island for the slicing reveal And well it’s a tad underwhelming. I see pics on this forum of serious smoke rings. How do you get that? Thanks, Pete

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I usually start mine straight out of the fridge at 200 for 4 hours or so then bump up the temp till I wrap in Paper. Have no use for or use a tube since I seem to always get a nice smoke ring. Could be that I also season with my rub overnight at least and uncovered. Almost makes a pellicle on the meat.

 

[Zonian Pyg]

Not a brisket just an old chuck roast but smoke ting is nice and meat was juicy. No tube used at all.

 

[snailtrax]

This is what I do. Also a link to the page where I answer some questions. https://www.recteqforum.com/threads/how-far-ahead-to-season-a-brisket.5624/#post-75850

Long winded and no paragraphs. Sorry.
I have been smoking briskets since 1994. I started with an offset stick burner. Bought a Bull when it first came out. I always seasoned and applied rub just before the cook. Did it that way for 10 years. I always had the smoke ring, the tenderness, the pull, the bend, beautiful bark, and was never dry. It just never had flavor all the way through. I tried injecting but that was a mess. Briskets leak. One day I was talking to one of my co-workers that fries turkeys on Thanksgiving. He probably does 30 all together. He said that if you are gonna fry Thursday, you inject and season on Monday or Tuesday. He let's it marinate in the seasoning for a long time. Made sense to me. I started doing mine the day before, eight to twelve hours total. After about six hours in your refrigerator, it starts to smell good. That is when the magic occurs. Salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. I like green Tobasco sauce for a binder. Gives it a little kick. The salt starts a process that makes the brisket "sweat" for a few hours. Then the process reverses. The brisket starts reabsorbing all that seasoning. That is when you can smell the goodness in your fridge. I also put the brisket on the smoker straight out of the fridge. That is the secret to a beautiful smoke ring. I smoke at 225, and will kick it up to 275 during the stall, till probe tender, which usually is 203 - 205. I have gotten alcohol involved and have gone as high as 210 and never a problem. I also trim "ALL" the fat off so I have more bark. 90% of people won't eat the fat anyway. I also separate the point and flat and stack them so they are uniform in size. I quit wrapping a couple years ago. Makes for a darker and crispier bark. I do pork buts the same way but with a sweeter rub. I love my Bull.

 

[Pete6737]

This is what I do. Also a link to the page where I answer some questions. https://www.recteqforum.com/threads/how-far-ahead-to-season-a-brisket.5624/#post-75850

Long winded and no paragraphs. Sorry.
I have been smoking briskets since 1994. I started with an offset stick burner. Bought a Bull when it first came out. I always seasoned and applied rub just before the cook. Did it that way for 10 years. I always had the smoke ring, the tenderness, the pull, the bend, beautiful bark, and was never dry. It just never had flavor all the way through. I tried injecting but that was a mess. Briskets leak. One day I was talking to one of my co-workers that fries turkeys on Thanksgiving. He probably does 30 all together. He said that if you are gonna fry Thursday, you inject and season on Monday or Tuesday. He let's it marinate in the seasoning for a long time. Made sense to me. I started doing mine the day before, eight to twelve hours total. After about six hours in your refrigerator, it starts to smell good. That is when the magic occurs. Salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. I like green Tobasco sauce for a binder. Gives it a little kick. The salt starts a process that makes the brisket "sweat" for a few hours. Then the process reverses. The brisket starts reabsorbing all that seasoning. That is when you can smell the goodness in your fridge. I also put the brisket on the smoker straight out of the fridge. That is the secret to a beautiful smoke ring. I smoke at 225, and will kick it up to 275 during the stall, till probe tender, which usually is 203 - 205. I have gotten alcohol involved and have gone as high as 210 and never a problem. I also trim "ALL" the fat off so I have more bark. 90% of people won't eat the fat anyway. I also separate the point and flat and stack them so they are uniform in size. I quit wrapping a couple years ago. Makes for a darker and crispier bark. I do pork buts the same way but with a sweeter rub. I love my Bull.

I like some of these ideas you’ve presented. I’ll try the trimming, injection and rub a day before, then put it in the grill from the fridge. Usually I do all that just before it goes on the grill. The meat is 45 degrees when the probes read as soon as it hits the grill. Maybe colder meat and the other above techniques will work better.

Pics of the chuck roast are great. I never see a ring like that on anything. Lol

Great “food for thought” lol

 

[WooPigFoodie]

Here’s my recipe. This is for a full packer starting out about 18 lbs before trimming.

Trim brisket to 1/4” fat

Make SPGC rub from 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup pepper, 2 T garlic powder, 1/2 cup coffee

Rub brisket both sides

Get smoker to 180

Add a water pan to smoker

Put brisket on at 10 pm. Add a full smoke tube, well lit.

When you wake up turn it to 225 until 11 am, then turn it up to 265

(Yes, that’s about 8 hours overnight at 180!!!)

Spritz with half vinegar half water as needed to even out the bark

When you pass the stall or when brisket looks set, wrap. 175 is a good spot to wrap. Not before.

Run it to 203

Put in cooler for 1 1/2 to 3 hours hours

Slice and serve

If I’ve done this right here’s a pic of my brisket.

 

[Pete6737]

Well that’s one hell of a smoke ring! I got smoke ring envy. Lol. Thanks for your recipe. I never used coffee grounds except whatever is in the espresso recteq rub. I might try that on my next brisket cook. Lots of great suggestions here to implement to improve my weak smoke ring. I’ll keep everyone posted.

 

[JerryAlan]

The smoke ring on your brisket looks good IMO. The depth of the smoke ring has nothing to do with how much smoke the meat took though. In fact, has nothing to do with smoke. I can get a smoke ring if I cook a chuck in the oven low and slow. I wouldn't change your cooking process in search of a better smoke ring, just see how the next brisket turns out.

 

[IMAWriter]

Well, I did switch to Costco pellets , fromRecteq. But my recollection is that the in the last year I had the pellet smoker, it’s been much different than my old Weber Smokey mountain.

I could switch pellets as another prong to the experiment

Pete, as a WSM owner, there is really no comparison with the product from a Pellet grill compared to a smoker… neither visually nor as to smoke ring, etc. Bark, yes. It’s a different sort of smoke. There are vids that demonstrate the chemistry of burning wood chunks vs pellets. I enjoy pellet grill cooked food, as along as In good with a more delicate flavor. Also, adding pellets to a cylinder is not really the answer. White smoke is bitter. Try adding a small wood chip box somewhere near the burn pot. Temperature set at 180-225f for 2-3 hours. Just a thought.

 

[okie]

Try your ribs and briskets with NO RUB. Just S & P and perhaps spray with apple juice during the cook.
Smoke ring goes all the way thru on last nights ribs. I think the heavy rubs block smoke absorption. These ribs had good smoke flavor.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Try your ribs and briskets with NO RUB. Just S & P and perhaps spray with apple juice during the cook.
Smoke ring goes all the way thru on last nights ribs. I think the heavy rubs block smoke absorption. These ribs had good smoke flavor.

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What's underneath? Top guess is onion, but it could be sautéed apples or poached pears as well.

 

[Waterboy]

Smoke ring and bark on a pellet grill can rival any other method of cooking IMO but smoke flavor not so much.

My wife and many of our friends prefer the light smoke flavor of the pellet grill, I prefer slightly more smoke flavor as long as it is clean smoke.

 

[Pete6737]

Great replies. Thank you for the input. I’ve been wanting to try a piece of wood on the deflector over the burn pot. I wasn’t sure what it would do. All those pics of deep pink smoke rings are what I’m asking why I can seem to get them. I have heard of just salt and pepper. To be honest that’s my go to rub for brisket, still no deep pink smoke ring. I guess I’m not going to stress to much about it. The food tastes great. Maybe it’s the pellet blend, cold meat temp of the meat, rub, grill temp. Or any combination …. I’ll keep everyone posted on my next cooks. I have meat in the freezer. Just looking for time! Thanks, Pete