I know that hickory is a pretty strong smoke, but I just do not understand why it is that every single time I try to use it, my food comes out horribly over-smoked. No matter how little of it I use, it overpowers everything and ruins my food.
I've tried pellets, I've tried chips, I've tried chunks. I've tried it in a Pit Barrel and in my Weber Summit Charcoal. I've smoked meats and cold smoked cheeses. Every time, without fail, my food comes out over-smoked. At this point, I've all but given up trying to use it.
Last time I smoked a brisket - 14 hours low and slow - I tossed in ONE chunk of hickory no bigger than a small lemon, with my usual mix of cherry, pecan and mesquite chips, and my brisket was ruined. Couldn't taste any other smoke except hickory and it had completely over-smoked the meat.
Yet, folks with big trailer smokers are throwing log after log of the stuff in to smoke their meats and winning competitions with it. BBQ joints use it and put out some dynamite barbecue.
I am thoroughly convinced at this point that hickory is not well-suited for small smokers, and for some reason, perhaps due to some unwritten law of physics, only works in large smokers.
*table flip* :doh:
I give up.
I've tried pellets, I've tried chips, I've tried chunks. I've tried it in a Pit Barrel and in my Weber Summit Charcoal. I've smoked meats and cold smoked cheeses. Every time, without fail, my food comes out over-smoked. At this point, I've all but given up trying to use it.
Last time I smoked a brisket - 14 hours low and slow - I tossed in ONE chunk of hickory no bigger than a small lemon, with my usual mix of cherry, pecan and mesquite chips, and my brisket was ruined. Couldn't taste any other smoke except hickory and it had completely over-smoked the meat.
Yet, folks with big trailer smokers are throwing log after log of the stuff in to smoke their meats and winning competitions with it. BBQ joints use it and put out some dynamite barbecue.
I am thoroughly convinced at this point that hickory is not well-suited for small smokers, and for some reason, perhaps due to some unwritten law of physics, only works in large smokers.
*table flip* :doh:
I give up.