Is all lump suitable for low&slow?

[souroull]

Topic says it all,

Does the type of hardwood used to make the lump have such the below effect on the outcome?

I'm getting an overly smoky yet very unpleasant flavor (not chemical ect) imparted in the meat, without even using any smoking wood.. just the lump.

First it happened using Marabu charcoal as i didnt havae anything else on hand at the time, and yesterday something similar happened using casuarina charcoal, as again it was the only thing on hand. Usually use those for hgih heat/direct grilling but they failed miserably for low/slow... wrong choice of lump or am i way off base here.

 

[sandro]

Generally yes, all natural lump charcoal is fine for L&S; the rare times I'm not smoking on the offset I use B&B Oak or Hickory lump in the PBC or SNS with no issues

 

[Big George's BBQ]

I have not had any problems using Lump in my Large BGE I loke Royal Oak, Jealous Devil, and Wicked Good

 

[jlrichar]

I’ve not heard of the woods your lump is derived from before. I can say that when I used oak based lump i do not get a strong over smoked flavor, but when I used mesquite lump I did.

You might try reducing the amount of charcoal you light. Using a smaller amount that is hotter should allow you to reduce the ashy flavor, while hitting your temp target.

 

[eggzlot]

What type of cooker? May need to correct airflow too to allow for clean smoke versus dirty smoke

 

[shares]

"I'm getting an overly smoky yet very unpleasant flavor"
It sounds like your fire is the problem, not your fuel choice

 

[Badjak]

I use locally made hardwood charcoal, mopani.
And using it for my low and slow of max 3-4 hours gives plenty smoky flavour, so I get what you are saying.
I can imagine a 8-10 hour+ smoke may be overpowering.
I would mix with "standard" charcoal and treat yr lump as low value smoking wood

 

[WSM18Lang48]

In my experience the unlit charcoal using the minion method imparts and overly smokey flavor. Getting all of the charcoal lit and ashed over before putting the meat on solves the issue but creates another, over temp. I choke down the vents a bit to manage the temp without causing smoldering. The charcoal always seems to burn really hot for the first 30 -60 min then it mellows out. I find the lump burns inconsistently due to variations in size. For smoking I prefer S&B charlogs and save the lump for high temp grilling.

 

[patrickd26]

There are some great suggestions there. Also, I'd add that try to only use the fuel you need for the cook. If it's a long cook, then you don't have to worry about it. But, if you're doing something light like fish or poultry, then add just enough for a cook. Finally, use something that is known good. I didn't recognize the names you said, either. But, B&B, Jealous, Blues Hog are solid. They might be more expensive, but it should give you a baseline of what known good lump cooks like. I use a Primo kamado and when I'm burning clean with the the amount of fuel I need, it's like an oven. There's very little smoke on the meat. And, that's what I want as my baseline on those types of proteins.

 

[sudsandswine]

How long do you wait from the time the coals are lit until you put on the meat. With my Primo kamado I usually get the grill to the temp I’ll be smoking at and wait 30-45 mins after that before putting the meat on:

 

[patrickd26]

That seems reasonable. If I'm doing a long cook on the Primo, then I wait for stuff to stabilize (30-45 minutes). If I'm doing something fast (chicken breast, burger, or fish) then I like to put the meat on as it's ramping up. I feel like the Kamado style cookers run so clean as they are heating up. I just add wood as necessary, but not much. Maybe a plum sized piece of wood or two.