smoke ring

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slightly sauced bbq

Knows what a fatty is.
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Does anyone cook on a Humphreys? I got a battle box in oct. Done about 15 cooks on it. I've figured out the venting for temp control, but I'm not getting the coveted smoke ring . Is that normal for a Humphreys battle box?
 
I got a pint in September and have not had that problem. What are you using for wood and how much?
 
I got my Battle Box in November and have had not had any problems with the smoke ring or smoke flavor.
 
The first cook I did on it, I kept adding chunks. Butt tasted like chewing on a cigarette. I backed way off. Tried two handfuls of cherry. Flavor was great, but not much ring. Does the water pan have anything to do with that?
 
What kind of charcoal are you using? I have a backwoods and the smoke ring was different/less when I first used it. I was using my normal briquettes/wood chunk combo, but the ring was noticeably less. Then I switched to lump and the ring improved. The natural burning wood along with the chunks gave it a more pronounced ring.
 
I envy all you guys for having a Humphrey! Maybe one of these days . . .
 
Water will help in generating a smoke ring. What rub you use will also affect your smoke ring. Often home made rubs will not contain as much nitrite/nitrate, and produce less smoke ring as a result.
 
Since the air we breathe is about 60 percent nitrogen, the largest contributing factor is the amount of air passing over the meat. On my vault, it will be more pronounced cooking on the top rack (reverse flow smoke and air from top to bottom). If I cook on the bottom rack just above the water pan where the air leaves with the rising steam just above the meat, no ring. Middle racks don't get much of a ring either...best theory I have is the cooker is so efficient, it takes very little air to maintain the fire and the air after the top rack spreads out or dissipates where the meat doesn't get as much. Still gets heat, just not as much air flow over the meat.

I use a 10 cfm guru on the vault. The Yoder pellet has a 100 cfm fan that is always on. The smoke ring is remarkably more significant as a result in my scientific opinion. Same thing for offsets...they use more air.

Believe it or not. :blah:
 
Think about where the most air flow is and put it there for a larger ring if that's what you are looking for.

I've had a hard time getting people to believe this but...

I am a Chemical Engineer AND I sleep in a lot of Holiday Inn expresses. :-D
 
Last edited:
Multiple post I know.

I have posted this before. Google says air is 78 percent nitrogen. I'll take their word. Ammonia plants have as the largest raw material the air we breathe. Ammonia is NH3. A nitrogen with three hydrogens. Nitrate, NO3, the smoke ring is a nitrogen with three oxygens. The largest contributer to nitrates on your meat is air...if you don't use a curing salt.

Why does this always just get ignored? It IS the answer you are looking for...if you are looking for a smoke ring.
 
Rub it down in Tenderquick for a little while,rinse it off,season as you usually do and put it on Cold. Check out Thirdeye's blog.Playin with fire and smoke. That is for brisket but. I cannot see why it would not work for pork too.
 
I don't know if the battle box is similar to the Humphrey's DownEast Beast but I was having trouble with even cooking on the middle racks. I contacted Chad at Humphrey's and he told me with the colder air I need to close down the inside damper a little more which slows down the air flow. I did a brisket last weekend and had a light smoke ring but not a good one like on my offset. I used lump and peach. That was my first brisket on this smoker so nothing to compare it to. If SDAR is correct about the air flow and you also shut down your inside damper for cold weather it might get better when the weather warms up and we open the internal damper. I also use a Cyber Q with a 25 CFM fan.

Rick!!
 
I think folks who pay 8 or 9 grand for a high efficiency cabinet smoker like I did are afraid to admit it. I really like my vault and I can get a smoke ring now that I know where to put my brisket. I do competition cooking and I don't buy into the "no smoke ring" shouldn't matter. My brisket are now cooked on the YS640 for the smoke ring and I cook my ribs on the vault. I have won some big contests with brisket on the vault. Excellent cooker 1st place brisket 2 out of 3 years at the largest cookoff in the Panhandle of Texas. However, the smoke ring on the Yoder is about 10 times as large if there is one on the highly efficient Pitmaker Vault (10 cfm vs 100 cfm). I'm not trashing the vault or any other sleep easy highly efficient upright insulated vertical. This thread is certainly not the first thread I've seen with the same concerns as the OP.
 
Hoss said:
Rub it down in Tenderquick for a little while,rinse it off,season as you usually do and put it on Cold. Check out Thirdeye's blog.Playin with fire and smoke. That is for brisket but. I cannot see why it would not work for pork too.
Click to expand...

^^^^^ This if you want corned beef for the outer layer of your brisket. It will definitely look like a smoke ring.
 
Shagdog said:
Water will help in generating a smoke ring. What rub you use will also affect your smoke ring. Often home made rubs will not contain as much nitrite/nitrate, and produce less smoke ring as a result.
Click to expand...

^^^^^ This works somewhat because it takes more fire for the water heat sink...thus more air because of more fire...stick burner analogy with the added air...
 
ccdrrp said:
I don't know if the battle box is similar to the Humphrey's DownEast Beast but I was having trouble with even cooking on the middle racks. I contacted Chad at Humphrey's and he told me with the colder air I need to close down the inside damper a little more which slows down the air flow. I did a brisket last weekend and had a light smoke ring but not a good one like on my offset. I used lump and peach. That was my first brisket on this smoker so nothing to compare it to. If SDAR is correct about the air flow and you also shut down your inside damper for cold weather it might get better when the weather warms up and we open the internal damper. I also use a Cyber Q with a 25 CFM fan.

Rick!!
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, how far did you close the damper in your DEB? Mine came at about 50% direct from Chad/Humphrey's.
 
what is this internal damper? I have an insulated cabinet and run it without water at 300-325. The intake is barely open most of the time and I never had an issue with the smoke ring. It is not as prominent as my offset when I used to cook at 225 but it is always there. I have cooked on all the racks and never noticed any difference. I will try to pay better attention. SDAR's theory sounds valid.
 
I am sure you guys are talking about appearance for comps.My question is,,,what does a smoke ring taste like? It is something that looks good but what does it add to the flavor? Just asking.
 
Hoss said:
I am sure you guys are talking about appearance for comps.My question is,,,what does a smoke ring taste like? It is something that looks good but what does it add to the flavor? Just asking.
Click to expand...

Not much really. Kinda like that corned beef Tenderquick brisket you mentioned. Basically the same, probably not as salty maybe a little more smokey. It really is just looks. This is just my old worn out taste buds giving this opinion though.
 
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